2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood
Event #7
$570 No Limit Hold’em / Pot Limit Omaha (Single Re-Entry)
Total Entries: 94
Total Prize Pool: $28,200
Harold Mahaffey made his way down to South Florida specifically for two tournaments – the $300 HORSE and the $570 No Limit Hold’em / Pot Limit Omaha.
The 53-year-old business owner from South Carolina made the most of those two tournaments. After a fourth place finish in the HORSE on Monday evening, Mahaffey came back on Tuesday for the only other event he planned on playing.
More than 12 hours of poker, Mahaffey took $6,981 and a trophy back to his hometown of Anderson, South Carolina after besting a field of 94 players and earning the win in a three-way chop.
“It feels wonderful,” said Mahaffey of the win. “I got lucky with one hand with quad tens and got paid off for it. I pretty much kept the chip lead from then on.”
Mahaffey flopped quad tens in Pot Limit Omaha with two tables remaining. He got all in on the turn against both opponents and had one players full house and the other’s flush drawing dead.
He never relinquished the chip lead and was able to outlast the rest of the field all the way down to a chop with Bradley Young and Cesar Fuentes.
“The structure was fairly good,” said Mahaffey. “I was able to keep around 700,000 the whole time and I was never really below that number. I was able to have chips to play and just be patient.
“I’m leaving in the morning and to be lucky enough to final table both of them and to win one of them is wonderful.”
Mahaffey’s entrepreneurial ventures have allowed both him and his wife Renea the freedom to travel around playing poker tournaments.
“We own our own businesses and have been our own bosses for about 22 years,” said Mahaffey. “We travel around a good bit playing poker.”
Having a poker playing wife has been good for Mahaffey. He even owes her a bit of the credit for his win at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
“She’s actually the one who taught me how to play Pot Limit Omaha,” said Mahaffey with a laugh.
Here is a look at the results:
1st: Harold Mahaffey – $6,981
2nd: Bradley Young – $6,821
3rd: Cesar Fuentes – $4,809
4th: Schneur Borenstein – $2,538
5th: Jon Brody – $1,974
6th: Marc Levy – $1,692
7th: Mark Gaudino – $1,410
8th: Asher Conniff – $1,128
9th: Barry Gallaher – $846