2025 LHPO Live Updates

Martins Adeniya Wins the LHPO Championship on His Fiancée’s Birthday ($512,600)

2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 35
$3,500 LHPO Championship
$2,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  1,162
Prize Pool:  $3,718,400
January 17-21, 2025

Lucky Hearts Poker Open Champion Martins Adeniya

From a field of 1,162 entries, the Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship came down to nine players on Tuesday afternoon. It was a long four days leading up to this, including a very late night the night before, but on Tuesday the nine-handed final table played down to a winner in just four hours.

The final hand was simultaneously dramatic and anti-climactic, as Spencer Champlin made a bold bluff on the river with king high, unaware that Martins Adeniya had made a flush. Adeniya quickly called to win the title, the trophy, and $512,600.

It’s the biggest live tournament win of Adeniya’s career, and it comes at a great time — and a not-so-great time.

“It’s just perfect timing,” said Adeniya after his victory. “I’ve got a baby on the way in April, and I’m getting married in two weeks. The only problem is I’m missing my fiancée’s birthday today.”

When Adeniya returns home with a championship trophy and half a million dollars, we expect his fiancée Dana will forgive him.

The Championship had two starting flights with unlimited re-entries, but Adeniya only needed one entry. But that’s not to say it was an easy path.

“I lost nearly half my stack in the first couple levels of the tournament,” said Adeniya. “Then someone ran a big bluff on me, but I hero called.”

Adeniya bagged a nice stack on Day 1, but he was down to about 20 big blinds by the time the Money Bubble came around on Day 2.

“I had two of the chipleaders to my left,” said Adeniya, “so it was quite a tricky bubble to navigate. And I was actually put all in on the bubble with aces, and had to fold aces on the bubble.”

Adeniya went on to finish Day 2 among the larger stacks (15th of 56), but Day 3 would be an incredibly long day. Luckily for Adeniya, he got better as the day went on.

“Yesterday was pretty long,” said Adeniya about Day 3. “We played until 3:30 in the morning, and we were on the featured table the entire time so it was quite tiring and draining.”

With 15 players left, Adeniya doubled thru then-chipleader Yingui Li, getting it all in on the turn with pocket queens on a ten-high board against Li’s flush and straight draw. Li missed his outs, and that kickstarted a run for Adeniya where he would take the lead with 14 players left, and hold onto it for most of the rest of the tournament.

Day 3 played so long because they were trying to reach the final eight players, but they went three hours with no eliminations. The blinds kept increasing, so when they returned on Tuesday afternoon to play to a winner, the average chip stack was only worth 26 big blinds, even though they had been playing a slow structure with 90-minute levels.

Well, the math caught up to the players, and on Tuesday afternoon it only took four hours to play down from nine to a winner.

Incredibly, the top seven finishers in this event all earned the top live tournament cash of their careers. For Ryan Hogan, it was the second career-high cash of this series, as he finished third in Event #1 to earn $116,750, then nearly doubled it by cashing for $205,000 for fourth place here in the Championship.

Even though he is from London, Adeniya has been a regular presence in our big events here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

“It’s a nice place with good weather,” said Adeniya. “Right now in London it’s like zero degrees, so it’s nice to have some sunshine. The people here are great, there’s lots of stuff to do, and there are good cash games and good tournaments. I love it here.”

Lucky Hearts Poker Open Champion Martins Adeniya
Lucky Hearts Poker Open Champion Martins Adeniya

Results:

PlaceFirst NameLast NamePrize Amount
1MartinsAdeniya$512,600*
2SpencerChamplin$425,000*
3CaioDe Lucca$275,000
4RyanHogan$205,000
5JoostSchippers$156,000
6AdamNattress$119,000
7KyleTaddei$92,000
8RyanHoenig$71,000
9RicardoEyzaguirre$56,000
10BrockWilson$56,000
11LongNguyen$46,500
12VencentWelch$46,500
13YinguiLi$39,000
14MichaelDwyer$39,000
15BenMiner$39,000
16ChristianRoberts$32,500
17BenScrogins$32,500
18ScottFrier$32,500
19NadeemHirani$32,500
20GregBaird$27,500
21RickyLandais$27,500
22JulianPineda$27,500
23JoshReichard$27,500
24RajVohra$23,100
25ArtemSuhak$23,100
26KaifanWang$23,100
27CherishAndrews$23,100
28DanStavila$23,100
29NickFunaro$23,100
30KenFishman$23,100
31GarethMcMahon$23,100
32JustinCarey$19,400
33ClementMichaud$19,400
34ChrisConrad$19,400
35EmmanuelMcKenzie$19,400
36CarlosBermudez$19,400
37VitalijsZavorotnijs$19,400
38T.K.Miles$19,400
39AnthonyZinno$19,400
40DavidDiBernardi$16,300
41JasonHickey$16,300
42AsherConniff$16,300
43DanielSwartz$16,300
44AnatolyNikitin$16,300
45OwenSavir$16,300
46BrentHart$16,300
47TuanNguyen$16,300
48KevinCalenzo$13,800
49RustyWadsworth$13,800
50GuillermoHamilton$13,800
51ToddIvens$13,800
52DerekNold$13,800
53ScottWright$13,800
54JasonRocha$13,800
55OlivierRebello$13,800
56DavidNathaniel Jr.$11,500
57JohnRacener$11,500
58NiallCostigan$11,500
59SteveBuckner$11,500
60AnibalPabon$11,500
61MaxYoung$11,500
62PadraigO'Neill$11,500
63KharlinSued$11,500
64MichaelGathy$9,600
65FrankFunaro$9,600
66TomDobrilovic$9,600
67DanHeimiller$9,600
68RamelDiaz-Warner$9,600
69MartinCarnero$9,600
70HarrisonGimbel$9,600
71FrankStepuchin$9,600
72CarlCarodenuto$9,600
73MichaelNewman$9,600
74RobertKennedy$9,600
75KyNguyen$9,600
76FredericNormand$9,600
77MicaLamar$9,600
78MatthewSabia$9,600
79RobertGrossman$9,600
80BrandonKessous$8,200
81JamieFlynn$8,200
82SteveKarp$8,200
83JonathanTamayo$8,200
84ElvynBello Santos$8,200
85ViniciusLima$8,200
86TylerPhillips$8,200
87MatthewLeecy$8,200
88AndrewMoreno$8,200
89DaniloAlvarenga$8,200
90JonathanBorenstein$8,200
91BrandonSunshine$8,200
92MarcosExterkotter$8,200
93TimothyPai$8,200
94BrettBader$8,200
95GabeRamos$8,200
96JordanWestmorland$8,200
97JonathanAkiba$8,200
98RenLin$8,200
99KevenStammen$7,000
100FabioSantos$7,000
101EricAfriat$7,000
102FrankBrannan$7,000
103RobertLeBeau$7,000
104FrankLagodich$7,000
105JamesRaymond$7,000
106GlennBecker$7,000
107AlessioIsaia$7,000
108TahaMaruf$7,000
109EricBonin$7,000
110NikolaiTulin$7,000
111DomenicArmano$7,000
112JonathanJaffe$7,000
113TonyDunst$7,000
114MichaelGraffeo$7,000
115DavidJackson$7,000
116Shon ShlomoPerez$7,000
117EricYanovsky$7,000
118GaryGreenlee$6,400
119AlainMedesan$6,400
120FilippKhavin$6,400
121NadyaMagnus$6,400
122SterlingSavill$6,400
123AriOxman$6,400
124BenWarrington$6,400
125StevenSanzone$6,400
126JerryWong$6,400
127BuckBucceri$6,400
128IsaacKempton$6,400
129JohnWilder$6,400
130StephenKehoe$6,400
131ViktorKovachev$6,400
132AnthonyCousineau$6,400
133SteveYagudaev$6,400
134MaksimPisarenko$6,400
135DavidAdam-Castrillo$6,400
136HaimToorgeman$6,400
137ChadEveslage$6,400
138JoelGola$6,400
139KurtJewell$6,400
140HarveyVandeven$6,400
141AlexanderLampropoulos$6,400
142AdamLucosky$6,400
143BenLudlow$6,400
144IgorMerda$6,400
145BrianBarros-Vazquez$6,400
146KamilZeman$6,400

* Indicates the adjusted payouts from a heads-up deal.

Anderson Montana Wins Event 54 of the 2025 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Outright for $6,980

2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 53
$300 Quad Stack Black Chip Bounty NLH (Re-Entry)
Entries:  188
Prize Pool:  $28,300
Bounty Prize Pool:  $18,700
January 21, 2025

2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open Event 54 Champion Anderson Montana

Event 54 of the 2025 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open was a $300 Quad Stack Black Chip Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry). A field of 188 entries generated a prize pool of $28,300, with an additional $18,700 set aside for bounties.

Earning the victory was Anderson Montana, winning outright for $6,980.

PlaceFirst NameLast NamePrize Amount
1AndersonMontana$6,980
2AlonShahar$4,800
3MatanLemel$2,900
4SajibulAlam$1,765
5JackBattaglia$1,365
6AllanCarlisle$1,130
7ScottNorman$960
8RafaelMaciel Menezes$840
9JuanMontoya Bernal$720
10TimothyAmidon$620
11BrandonChoran$620
12DonaldSomers$620
13HarrisonRuggiero$525
14PeterBodnar$525
15DolphusPowers$525
16MonalizaKenny$435
17ShawnWilmot$435
18BenjaminSriqui$435
19PatrickEvangelista$350
20AyedShweihat$350
21EdwardGalpine$350
22DouglasMontone$350
23EldoRodriguez$350
24GilfredBertin Jr.$350

Mitchell Ellis Wins Event 51 of the Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open in Heads-Up Chop for $11,328

2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 51
$400 Triple Stack Six-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
Entries:  158
Prize Pool:  $52,140
January 21, 2025

2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open Event 51 Champion Mitchell Ellis

Event 51 of the 2025 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open was a $400 Triple Stack Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)drawing a field of 158 entries and a prize pool of $52,140.

A heads-up chop took place and Mitchell Ellis was the chip leader at the time, making him the official Event 51 winner for $11,328.

PlaceFirst NameLast NamePrize Amount
1MitchellEllis$11,328*
2SteveKarp$11,327*
3AaronFlores$6,025
4EricZheng$4,165
5MichaelTarafa$3,000
6ChristopherBucceri$2,185
7JaredGable$1,660
8JohnBinns$1,660
9ArthurAzen$1,300
10RichardHead$1,300
11NathanRush$1,060
12SandeepVelkuru$1,060
13AndrewSchneider$890
14JorgeGalarza$890
15JohnMcConnell$775
16BenjaminGoldstein$775
17FrederickRobitalle$705
18FadyKhabbaz$705
19GeorgeHortelano$665
20AndrewBecker$665

*denotes heads-up chop

Steven Levy Wins Event 53 of the 2025 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Outright for $31,595

2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 53
$1,100 Deep Stack Six-Max Pot-Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Entries:  115
Prize Pool:  $111,550
January 21, 2025

2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open Event 53 Champion Steven Levy

Event 53 of the 2025 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open was a $1,100 Deep Stack Six-Max Pot-Limit Omaha (Re-Entry), drawing a field of 115 entries for a prize pool of $111,550.

Taking it down was Steven Levy, winning outright for $31,595.

PlaceFirst NameLast NamePrize Amount
1StevenLevy$31,595
2SamuelEbert$20,500
3JohnMcDonald$13,700
4DanteCianfarra$9,370
5KharlinSued$6,660
6ToddIvens$4,910
7VadimShlez$3,755
8GlenCressman$3,755
9RyanBrown$3,000
10ArtemSuhak$3,000
11JeffreyKenny$2,465
12DechangZhang$2,465
13DavidLichentin-Rubintin$2,125
14TravellThomas$2,125
15MikhailChykilov$2,125

Michael Berk Wins Event 52 of the 2025 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Outright for $175,350

2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 52
$5,000 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  153
Prize Pool:  $726,750
January 21, 2025

2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open Event 52 Champion Michael Berk

Event 52 of the 2025 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open was a $5,000 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry), drawing a field of 153 entries for a prize pool of $726,750.

Emerging victorious was Michael Berk, winning outright for $175,350 and his second six-figure score of the series, having previously chopped the one-day $10K event for $179,260

PlaceFirst NameLast NamePrize Amount
1MichaelBerk$175,350
2ArtemMetalidi$117,000
3KyleJulius$87,000
4JohanSchumacher$65,000
5BrockWilson$49,000
6MichaelGathy$37,500
7JonathanTamayo$29,000
8CherishAndrews$22,400
9MathewFrankland$17,600
10JoshuaStewart$17,600
11StoyanMadanzhiev$13,800
12KevinMacDonald$13,800
13ByronKaverman$11,400
14NadyaMagnus$11,400
15AntonWigg$11,400
16MikeGao$9,500
17FlorianRibouchon$9,500
18AsherConniff$9,500
19DavidJackson$9,500
20JasonRaber$9,500

Event 52: Michael Berk Wins! ($175,350); Artem Metalidi Finishes Runner-Up ($117,000)

$5,000 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $726,750  | Structure  |  Payouts
Level 25:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 153

Michael Berk raised all in with his chip-leading stack from the button and Artem Metalidi thought for a bit before he called all in for 470,000 in the big blind.

Berk showed 4d4c, while Metalidi showed Jd7d.

The board ran out Kh6s4h3cAc, giving Berk a set of fours to eliminate Metalidi and win Event 52 outright for $175,350. Metaldi finished runner-up for $117,000.

A recap of Event 52 will be posted later tonight.

Event 52: Artem Metalidi Doubles Up

$5,000 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $726,750  | Structure  |  Payouts
Level 25:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 153

Artem Metalidi raised all in for 235,000 from the button and Michael Berk called in the big blind Ks7c.

Metalidi showed Ah2c and needed his hand to hold up to survive.

The board ran out Ts8c2hQdTh, safe for Metalidi to double up.

Artem Metalidi  –  520,000  (10 bb)
Michael Berk  –  2,540,000  (51 bb)

1st:  $175,350 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  $117,000

Event 52: Kyle Julius – 3rd Place ($87,000)

$5,000 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $726,750  | Structure  |  Payouts
Level 25:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 153

Kyle Julius raised to 100,000 from the button, Michael Berk reraised all in for 1,240,000 in the small blind, and Julius called with 8h8s.

Berk showed KdQd and needed to improve to survive.

The board ran out 7d5d2d3s6d, giving Berk a flush right off the bat to double through Julius.

Michael Berk  –  2,580,000  (52 bb)
Kyle Julius  –  225,000  (5 bb)

The next hand, Berk raised all in with his chip-leading stack from the button, Artem Metalidi folded his small blind, and Julius called all in for about 175,000.

Berk:  9h2h
Julius:  Kh7h

The board came Qc9s7cTdQh, giving Berk queens and nines to eliminate Julius in third place.

Michael Berk  –  2,825,000  (56 bb)
Artem Metalidi  –  235,000  (5 bb)
Kyle Julius  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($87,000)

1st:  $175,350 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  $117,000

Event 52: Johan Schumacher – 4th Place ($65,000)

$5,000 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $726,750  | Structure  |  Payouts
Level 25:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 153

Johan Schumacher was all in for 445,000 on the button against Michael Berk in the small blind.

Schumacher:  Ad2d
Berk:  AcTc

The board came Ah9h5sTh7h, giving Berk aces and tens to eliminate Schumacher.

Michael Berk  –  1,240,000  (25 bb)
Johan Schumacher  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($65,000)

Event 52: Brock Wilson – 5th Place ($49,000)

$5,000 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $726,750  | Structure  |  Payouts
Level 23:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 153

Brock Wilson was all in from the small blind for 225,000 against Michael Berk in the big blind.

Wilson:  KsJd
Berk:  Ac5c

The board came AhJs7h7s6c, not enough help to Wilson, ending his tournament in fifth place.

Michael Berk  –  1,150,000  (38 bb)
Brock Wilson  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($49,000)

With four players remaining from the field of 153 entries, the average stack is about 765,000 (26 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed $65,000.