The last day of preliminary events took place on Friday with just the $5 Million guaranteed no limit hold’em main event set to get underway on Saturday.
The $1,650 heads-up no limit hold’em restarted at 2 p.m. with the final eight players coming back to play down to a winner. Ari Engel ended up taking home the title in an unorthodox three-way chop with both Alex Foxen and Aaron Mermelstein.
Engel took home the trophy after winning his first two matches, along with $28,800. Mermelstein and Foxen were locked in a semifinal battle when they agreed to chop with Engel. Merlstein and Foxen finished second and third. They each took home $19,200 for their efforts.
Along with the restart of the heads-up event, there were two single day events on the schedule for Friday. The $1,100 No Limit Hold’em turbo got cards under the way at 1 p.m.
Jake Schindler bested a field of 147 players to earn $42,628 for the win. He bested Dermot Blain heads-up in a final table that featured Joe Kuether, Cate Hall, Darren Rabinowitz, and Ben Heath.
The last event that kicked off was the $300 No Limit Hold’em Charity Series of Poker event. There were 167 players that made their way to the Seminole Hard Rock to generate a prizepool of $16,050 along with plenty of money for charity.
The top nine players earned a cash and SHRPO Team member Chance Kornuth won the event to earn $5,000.
On Saturday, the Main Event is the only tournament on the schedule. The $5,250 No Limit Hold’em freezeout event carries a guaranteed prizepool of $5 million. It is the first of the “Big 4” tournaments to get underway.
Here is a look at Saturday’s schedule:
- 12 p.m. – Day 1 – $5,250 No Limit Hold’em Main Event – $5 Million GTD Prizepool.