Event 8: Schahin Ghiai Captures Purple Chip Bounty Title

2019 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 8

$1,700 Purple Chip Bounty NLH (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 111
Prize Pool: $113,775
Bounty Prize Pool: $55,500
November 24-25, 2019 

Schahin Ghiai, Purple Chip Bounty Champ

Until we reach RRPO Championship weekend, Event 8 had the biggest buy-in of the series so far. It was a $1,700 buy-in Purple Chip Bounty NLH tournament that brought out some tough players. In the end, Atlanta’s Schahin Ghiai took home the title after an outright win for $34,105.

“I was up and down all day,” Ghiai said of his Day 1 on Sunday. “But I was patient and it paid off.”

The tournament drew 111 entries and easily surpassed the $100,000 guarantee. They put $113,775 in the regular prize pool with another $55,500 in the bounty prize pool. The last 14 spots were paid with the money bubble bursting late on Day 1.

There were still eight players around when they bagged up for Day 2. Zhi Cheng Wu had the overnight lead but Ghiai was not far behind. Cheng Wu kept that lead for most of the final table and knocked out every player on Day 2 until he was heads-up with Ghiai.

That’s where the good news ended for Cheng Wu. Ghiai had taken over the lead, shipped a double up to Cheng Wu early in heads-up action, but he finished it off when he outflopped Cheng Wu on the last hand. Cheng Wu took home $21,015 for second place along with a lot of $500 bounty chips.

The part-time player and full-time real estate broker finished his trip to South Florida with his first SHRPO title and pushed his career total earnings over $190,000.

Event 8 results:

1st: Schahin Ghiai – $34,105 + RRPO Trophy
2nd: Zhi Cheng Wu – $21,015
3rd: Tomas Soderstrom – $12,595
4th: Moshe Shabat – $8,215
5th: Albert Daher – $6,335
6th: Ronny Beda – $5,200
7th: Carlos Guerrero – $4,405
8th: Padraig O’Neill – $3,835
9th: Rami Hahitti – $3,415
10th: Scott Zakheim – $3,415
11th: Mark Amaral – $2,980
12th: Jack Salter – $2,980
13th: Thi Dao – $2,640
14th: Peter Walsworth – $2,640