Super High Roller: Jason Mercier Continues to Pressure the Shorter Stacks

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 41

Jason Mercier

HAND #14  –  Giuseppe Iadisernia limped from the cutoff for 20,000, Tom Boivin moved all in from the small blind for about 280,000, and Iadisernia folded. Boivin took the pot.

HAND #15  –  Everyone folded to Franklin Fok, giving him a walk in the big blind.

HAND #16  –  Giuseppe Iadisernia raised from the hijack to 85,000, and Jason Mercier called from the cutoff. The flop came Jh9s3h, Iadisernia checked, Mercier bet 80,000, and Iadisernia folded. Mercier took the pot.

HAND #17  –  Jason Mercier raised under the gun to 40,000, Tom Boivin moved all in from the cutoff for 300,000, and Mercier folded. Boivin took the pot.

HAND #18  –  Everyone folded to Jason Mercier, giving him a walk in the big blind.

HAND #19  –  Jason Mercier completed the small blind to 20,000, Tom Boivin moved all in from the big blind for 370,000, and Mercier folded. Boivin took the pot.

HAND #20  –  Jason Mercier raised from the button to 40,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #21  –  Jason Mercier raised from the cutoff to 500,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #22  –  Everyone folded to Giuseppe Iadisernia, giving him a walk in the big blind.

HAND #23  –  Manig Loeser raised from the button to 330,000 (with 5K behind), taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #24  –  Jason Mercier moved all in from the small blind, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #25  –  Jason Mercier moved all in from the button, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #26  –  Giuseppe Iadisernia limped under the gun for 20,000, Jason Mercier raised from the cutoff to 65,000, and Iadisernia called. The flop came 10d8h2d, Iadisernia moved all in for about 710,000, and Mercier folded. Iadisernia took the pot.

Championship Day 1A: Trent Smith Leads

$5,250 SHRPO Championship (Single Re-Entry)
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 3: 200/300 with a 300 ante
Flight A Entries: 290

Trent Smith

The first break is complete and Championship players are back in their seats. Out of all of them, it seems Trent Smith had the best time so far. He ran his 40,000 starting stack all the way up to 134,000 in two hours for 447 big blinds at this point.

Smith is having a nice run this week; besides his fine start today, he won SHRPO Event 10 a few days ago. That win earned him $9,200 along with his seat today in the Championship.

Other big stacks include Mike Del Vecchio (98,100), Jacob Naumann (81,000), Mike Leah (80,000), and Mike Graffeo (78,000).

Super High Roller: Sam Sweilem – 6th Place ($109,370)

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 41

Sam Sweilem

HAND #13  –  Manig Loeser raised from the cutoff to 40,000, Giuseppe Iadisernia called from the dead button, and Sam Sweilem called from the big blind.

The flop came 9d4s2d, and Sweilem moved all in for about 270,000. Loeser folded, and Iadisernia called.

Giuseppe Iadisernia:  Ad5d  (flush draw, gutshot straight draw)
Sam Sweilem:  5h4d  (pair of fours)

Sweilem needed his pair of fours to hold to stay alive.

The turn card was the 8d, the river card was the Qc, and Iadisernia turned a diamond flush to win the pot and eliminate Sweilem in sixth place.

Giuseppe Iadisernia  –  935,000  (47 bb)
Sam Sweilem  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($109,370)

The remaining five players are all guaranteed at least $139,195 each.

Super High Roller: Albert Daher – 7th Place ($79,540)

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 41

Albert Daher

HAND #12  –  Albert Daher moved all in from the small blind for about 475,000, and Jason Mercier called from the big blind with Ah10s. Daher turned over KhQs, and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came 7s5d2d9c4h, and Mercier won the pot with his ace to eliminate Daher in seventh place.

Jason Mercier  –  3,070,000  (154 bb)
Albert Daher  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($79,540)

Super High Roller: One Flop in Nine Hands

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 41

HAND #3  –  Jason Mercier raised from middle position to 40,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #4  –  Everyone folded to Albert Daher, giving him a walk in the big blind.

HAND #5  –  Albert Daher moved all in from the small blind for 475,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #6  –  Franklin Fok moved all in from middle position for 230,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #7  –  Jason Mercier moved all in from the button, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #8  –  Sam Sweilem raised from the button to 65,000, Franklin Fok moved all in from the big blind for 260,000, and Sweilem folded. Fok took the pot.

HAND #9  –  Giuseppe Iadisernia raised under the gun to 50,000, and Manig Loeser called from the big blind. The flop came 9d3c2s, Loeser checked, Iadisernia bet 70,000, and Loeser folded. Iadisernia took the pot.

HAND #10  –  Manig Loeser moved all in from the small blind for about 340,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #11  –  Jason Mercier raised under the gun to 40,000, Manig Loeser moved all in from the button for about 380,000, and Mercier folded. Loeser took the pot.

Super High Roller: Tom Boivin Doubles Thru Franklin Fok

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 41

Tom Boivin

HAND #1  –  Giuseppe Iadisernia raised from middle position to 50,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #2  –  Jason Mercier raised from the hijack to 40,000, Tom Boivin moved all in from the small blind for 130,000, and Franklin Fok moved all in over the top from the big blind for 360,000. Mercier folded.

Boivin turned over AsAd, and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive against Fok’s QhQd.

The board came Js5s2s4s7s, and Boivin won the pot with a spade-high flush to double up in chips.

Tom Boivin  –  320,000  (16 bb)
Franklin Fok  –  230,000  (12 bb)

Championship Day 1A: First SHRPO Champ

$5,250 SHRPO Championship (Single Re-Entry)
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 2: 100/200 with a 200 ante
Flight A Entries: 269

Blair Hinkle

As with all things, there had to be a beginning. The first Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open was held at the end of August in 2013, an ambitious debut that featured a $10,000,000 guaranteed prize pool for a $5K Championship. The prize pool rose to $11,920,000 by the time registration closed, the biggest we’ve ever run.

Blair Hinkle outlasted the 2,384-entry field to become our first ever SHRPO Champion and he banked $1,745,000 for the feat. He returns every year hoping to be the first two-time SHRPO Champion and 2019 is no different.

Super High Roller: Shuffle Up & Deal!

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 41

There are about 55 minutes remaining in Level 16, with blinds at 10,000-20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante.

The final seven players have taken their seats, and everything is set and ready to go. It’s time to shuffle up and deal!

We will be providing hand-for-hand coverage for this event. Here are the starting chip counts, with Jason Mercier holding a huge lead:

Seat 1.  Giuseppe Iadisernia  –  550,000  (28 bb)
Seat 2.  Albert Daher  –  465,000  (23 bb)
Seat 3.  Jason Mercier  –  2,635,000  (132 bb)
Seat 4.  Sam Sweilem  –  480,000  (24 bb)
Seat 5.  Tom Boivin  –  140,000  (7 bb)
Seat 6.  Franklin Fok  –  400,000  (20 bb)
Seat 7.  Manig Loeser  –  465,000  (23 bb)

Championship Day 1A: Table 17 Lineup

$5,250 SHRPO Championship (Single Re-Entry)
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 2: 100/200 with a 200 ante
Flight A Entries: 233

Darryll Fish (left) and Nancy Thomas (right)

The Event Center is filling in as the Championship moves into Level 2. With any tournament of this quality, you’re always going to find a table or two with a stacked lineup. Today that is Table 17.

They are still waiting for a few players to draw their seat there but the lineup is already a tough one. From around the horn, we have Jonathan Dobson, Brian Hastings, Ralph Massey, Ian O’Hara, Darryll Fish, and Nancy Thomas.

That is a combined $12.5 million in career earnings, four WSOP bracelets, two WSOP Circuit rings, one WPT title, and one Aussie Million champion all sitting at a six-handed table.

Jonathan Dobson (left) and Brian Hastings (right)
Ralph Massey (left) and Ian O’Hara (right)

Super High Roller: Final Table Begins at 1 P.M. with Jason Mercier Holding Massive Lead

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Returning to Level 16: 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 7 of 41

Jason Mercier
Jason Mercier

The 2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open’s largest buy-in event, the $50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry), is down to seven players and is in the money.

South Florida’s own Jason Mercier is the overwhelming chip leader, holding more than half of the chips in play and nearly five times as many chips as his nearest competitor. Mercier was already the chip leader at the final table when he eliminated Dan Shak on the money bubble, who was second in chips at the time. 

Here is the final table lineup, followed by the payouts:

Seat 1: Giuseppe Iadisernia – 550,000 (28 bb)
Seat 2: Albert Daher – 465,000 (23 bb)
Seat 3: Jason Mercier – 2,635,000 (132 bb)
Seat 4: Sam Sweilem – 480,000 (24 bb)
Seat 5: Tom Boivin – 140,000 (7 bb)
Seat 6: Franklin Fok – 400,000 (20 bb)
Seat 7: Manig Loeser – 465,000 (23 bb)

Payouts
1st: $715,860
2nd: $457,355
3rd: $288,330
4th: $198,850
5th: $139,195
6th: $109,370
7th: $79,540

The final table begins at 1 p.m. and hand-for-hand updates of the action will be provided by the SHRPO updates team.