2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 11
$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  486
Prize Pool:  $58,320
January 13, 2020

“It was all one crazy ride, and to be honest, I’m so tired I don’t remember half of it.”

Marc Schiller registered Event #11 ($150 Big Stack NLH) on time when it started at 6:00 pm, and on a single bullet, he navigated his way through a field of 486 entries to win the trophy around 5:30 am.

The final table didn’t even begin until after 3:00 am, and even though the players seemed eager to make a deal, it was difficult to come to an agreement because there was a $3,500 seat to the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open added as a bonus to the first place prize.

Early in the final table, eliminations came quickly, but when they hit the final four, the action slowed, and even after Robinel Eugene busted in fourth, they played a surprising amount of time three-handed. The chips went back and forth, with all three holding the chip lead at some point, but nobody able to score a knock out.

Eventually, with the blinds high and all three stacks fairly close, they came to terms on a deal, with Schiller receiving the title, the trophy, and the $3,500 WPT seat.

Schiller has been a regular here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood since it opened, saying, “It’s the best poker room in town. It blows everyone else away. This is the place to go for sure.”

Final Table Results:

1st:  Marc Schiller  –  $8,546* + LHPO Trophy + $3,500 WPT seat
2nd:  Earl Gallegos  –  $8,545*
3rd:  Andre Bryan  –  $7,651*
4th:  Robinel Eugene  –  $3,566
5th:  Evan Haw  –  $2,737
6th:  Peter Bodnar  –  $2,281
7th:  Pasquale Caiazza  –  $1,904
8th:  Wilmer Diaz  –  $1,527
9th:  Jonathan Marcu  –  $1,151

* Indicates a three-way deal.

2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 10
$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Entries:  108
Prize Pool:   $36,720
January 13, 2020

About two hours after watching his friend Chris Blik win Event 9 in a heads-up deal, Justin Lee won Event 10 ($400 Pot Limit Omaha) outright after a lengthy heads-up battle against Dmitry Savelyev.

Lee and a group of his friends came down from Michigan primarily to play in the $1,100 WPTDeepStacks event that just finished, and the $3,500 WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open that begins on Friday. But in between those two events, they’ve now won two trophies.

“It feels amazing,” said Lee. “I just ran well, played well, and the cards came. It felt good.”

In addition to his supportive rail of friends, Lee caught a small bit of luck at just the right time. “I got it in bad with a set against the nut straight, and I rivered a boat,” said Lee. “After that, I had a big lead, and I just kind of hung out until heads-up.”

“It’s Omaha,” said Lee. “Anything can happen.”

The heads-up battle was fairly long, and Lee and Savelyev both had very deep stacks, so it could have gone either way. But shortly after watching his friend Blik win a trophy, Lee was able to match it with one of his own.

“It feels amazing. It feels great,” said Lee. “The positive energy worked out.”

Final Results:

1st:  Justin Lee  –  $10,035 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  Dmitry Savelyev  –  $6,695
3rd:  David Levy  –  $4,550
4th:  Aaron Frei  –  $3,205
5th:  Gabriel Ramos  –  $2,340
6th:  Michael Dreese  –  $1,780
7th:  Bobbi Smith  –  $1,410
8th:  Reed Orem  –  $1,165
9th:  Sergii Noskov  –  $1,005
10th:  Andrew Klivan  –  $1,005
11th:  Yuval Bronshtein  –  $905
12th:  William McMahan  –  $905
13th:  Riley Fuller  –  $860
14th:  Zachary Milchman  –  $860

2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 9
$600 Double Black Chip Bounty NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  168
Prize Pool:  $55,400
Bounty Prize Pool:  $33,600
January 13, 2020

“It always feels great to win a trophy,” said Chris Blik. “It’s hard to win tournaments these days.”

Did you ever have one of those days where everything seemed to go right? That seemed to be the sentiment from Blik after winning Event #9 ($600 Double Black Chip Bounty) in a heads-up deal with Al Gomez.

Not just the specifics of winning key hands in his own event, but the fact that he and his friends came down to Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood from Michigan (where it’s snowy and freezing) to play and support each other, and when Blik won this event, his friend Justin Lee was down to the final four in Event #10 ($400 Pot Limit Omaha).

When Blik had his winner’s photo taken, he requested an extra photo with his friends who all traveled down here together, and they waited for Lee to have a moment in between hands so he could run over and join the photo.

After that quick photo, Lee returned to his table, played for another two hours or so, and won that event outright. And this group of friends got to celebrate all over again with two trophies in one night.

Blik ended his post-victory interview singing the praises of his friends.

“Tournaments are fun,” said Blik. “They’re so stressful until you win one, and then when you win one, it’s the most amazing thing ever. I feel lucky with the people I surround myself with. Our friend Jesse was supposed to come down here with us, but he’s playing some tournaments in L.A. He’s going to be my first phone call. I wouldn’t be who I am in poker without him. He’s here with us in spirit.”

Final Table Results:

1st:  Christopher Blik  –  $11,175* + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  Aldring Gomez Torres  –  $11,175*
3rd:  Andrew Macdonald  –  $6,430
4th:  Yanir Hahitti  –  $4,710
5th:  Bradley Coultas  –  $3,520
6th:  Robert Banks  –  $2,680
7th:  Cangir Elcin  –  $2,085
8th:  Mark Metsla  –  $1,655
9th:  David Frenkel  –  $1,340

* Indicates a heads-up chop.

2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 8
$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Entries:  155
Prize Pool:  $52,700
January 13, 2020

Phil Rigby has a couple of big SHRPO final tables on his resume, finishing ninth in a Big 4 event in 2017, and fourth in another Big 4 event last year. But Monday he finally won his first Seminole Hard Rock trophy, outlasting a field of 155 to win the Seniors event.

“I’ve been close a few times,” said Rigby. “It’s been overdue.”

Three-handed play lasted a very long time, and there was talk of a deal at one point, but Rigby shut it down because he wasn’t the chipleader, and wouldn’t get the win — and the trophy.

“The trophy was more important for me in a tournament like this,” said Rigby. “It’s not huge, life-changing money, so I wanted the chance to win the trophy.”

Three-handed play continued for a surprisingly long time, and the final three players eventually agreed to a deal. Since Rigby had the chip lead this time, he was declared the winner, receiving both the title and the trophy.

And not just any trophy — a Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood trophy.

“I love this place. They do a great job.” said Rigby. “I live in Belize predominantly, but I come here for every series. Everything they’ve put on has been great over the years, and it just gets better and better and better.”

Final Results:

1st:  Phil Rigby  –  $10,689* + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  Bruce Gans  –  $9,453*
3rd:  Yvonne McQuillan  –  $8,627*
4th:  Greg Spinder  –  $3,294
5th:  Harvey Bruce Freedman  –  $2,543
6th:  Jill Pike  –  $2,108
7th:  Richard Whitebrook  –  $1,831
8th:  David Albertson  –  $1,644
9th:  Greg Rosen  –  $1,417

* Indicates a three-way deal.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 486

After playing three-handed for several levels, the final three players agreed to a deal to split up the remaining prizepool.

These were their official chip counts:

1.  Marc Schiller  –  2,725,000  (14 bb)
2.  Earl Gallegos  –  2,725,000  (14 bb)
3.  Andre Bryan  –  1,850,000  (9 bb)

Schiller and Gallegos were tied in chips, but the agreement was that Schiller would win the title, the trophy, and the $3,500 seat into the main even of this series, the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open.

Here are the adjusted final table payouts to reflect their deal:

1st:  Marc Schiller  –  $8,546* + LHPO Trophy + $3,500 WPT seat
2nd:  Earl Gallegos  –  $8,545*
3rd:  Andre Bryan  –  $7,651*
4th:  Robinel Eugene  –  $3,566
5th:  Evan Haw  –  $2,737
6th:  Peter Bodnar  –  $2,281
7th:  Pasquale Caiazza  –  $1,904
8th:  Wilmer Diaz  –  $1,527
9th:  Jonathan Marcu  –  $1,151

Stay tuned for a recap from this event to be posted later tonight.

* Indicates a three-way deal.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 30:  75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 486

Robinel Eugene was all in from the button for 550,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Marc Schiller in the small blind.

The board came , and Schiller won the pot with his queen to eliminate Eugene in fourth place.

Marc Schiller  –  2,150,000  (17 bb)
Robinel Eugene  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($3,566)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 2,425,000 (19 bb), and the next player to be eliminated will receive $5,182.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 29:  50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 486

Marc Schiller was all in from the button for 1,625,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Andre Bryan in the small blind.

The board came , and Schiller rivered an ace-high straight to win the pot and double up in chips.

Marc Schiller  –  3,410,000  (43 bb)
Andre Bryan  –  650,000  (8 bb)

After the blinds had increased to 50,000-100,000, Evan Haw moved all in from the cutoff for 790,000, and Andre Bryan tanked for a while before he called from the big blind with .

Haw turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Bryan paired his queen on the flop and turned trips to win the pot and eliminate Haw in fifth place.

Andre Bryan  –  1,645,000  (16 bb)
Evan Haw  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($2,737)

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,825,000 (18 bb), and the next player to be eliminated will receive $3,566.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 486

Peter Bodnar got it all in from the big blind for about 575,000 with , but he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Andre Bryan in the small blind.

The board came , and the pocket kings held up for Bryan to win the pot and eliminate Bodnar in sixth place.

Andre Bryan  –  1,750,000  (29 bb)
Peter Bodnar  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($2,281)

With five players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,460,000 (24 bb), and the next player to be eliminated will receive $2,737.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 486

Marc Schiller raised UTG+1 to 175,000, Pasquale Caiazza moved all in from the small blind for 705,000, and Schiller called with .

Caiazza turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Schiller won the pot with a flopped pair of tens to eliminate Caiazza in seventh place.

Marc Schiller  –  1,600,000  (27 bb)
Pasquale Caiazza  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($1,904)

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,215,000 (20 bb), and the next player to be eliminated will receive $2,281.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 486

Wilmer Diaz raised UTG+1 to 125,000, chipleader Pasquale Caiazza moved all in from the cutoff, and Diaz called all in for about 375,000 with .

Caiazza turned over , and Diaz needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Caiazza won the pot with his king kicker to eliminate Diaz in eighth place.

Pasquale Caiazza  –  1,550,000  (31 bb)
Wilmer Diaz  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($1,527)

With seven players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,040,000 (21 bb), and the next player to be eliminated will receive $1,904.