$300 Seniors 50+ No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Structure Level 5: 50/100 Total Entries: 157
Francis Margaglione
Seniors Event players took the first break of the day as noon hit with 154 entries in the game. The field has a little work to do to catch the 190 entries from last year but they are giving it their best.
Three-time SHRP champ Francis Margaglione is the early leader after nearly quintupling his starting stack to 49,500. He has a nice little streak going at the moment with a SHRPO trophy in each of the last to series.
If you want a lot of action with some big money up for grabs, we have something for you today. Event 5 is a $360 Black Chip Bounty Turbo tournament with a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool and it will move along at a nice clip.
Players begin with 15,000 stacks and the structure features action-inducing 15-minute levels. Late registration is open until the start of Level 16 at 4:45pm and players are limited to a single re-entry if they lose their stack. There is a dinner break scheduled around 6:30pm and will return to play down to a champion.
This tournament will kick off in the poker room and move towards the ballroom as tables open.
$50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Players begin with 15,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
Late registration/single re-entry available until start of Level 16
This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
The Jeff Conine Celebrity Poker Classic is a night of fun and philanthropy, with an opportunity for attendees to take home more than $30,000 in cash and prizes. Best of all, it will improve the lives of children and families coping with serious medical issues.
The 6th annual fundraiser will be held this evening to benefit the Conine Clubhouse, a home-away-from-home where families of children under care at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital can stay for free as long as necessary. The charity event kicks off with an exclusive VIP player party at Kuro Japanese Restaurant from 5 – 7 p.m. prior to the tournament’s start time at 7 p.m. Guests will enjoy live music, cocktails, hors d’ oeuvres and a chance to win more than $30,000 in cash and prizes including a $5,250 seat in the SHRPO $3 Million Guarantee Championship. In addition, there will be two $1,000 bonus payouts. The first will go to the chip leader at the time registration closes while the second will go to the player who has the most re-entries.
The event, hosted by “Mr. Marlin,” Jeff Conine, presented by Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and the Charity Series of Poker, will feature celebrities playing alongside players of all skill levels for a first prize valued at $10,000. Other prizes include vacation and hotel packages, jewelry, and cash totaling more than $20,000. Live and silent auctions of unique items from the worlds of sport and entertainment will also be part of the action.
A $300 donation to the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation reserves a seat for poker and entry to the VIP reception. Those not playing poker can purchase admission to the reception for $100.
Proceeds benefit the Conine Clubhouse, which has provided free lodging to nearly 11,000 families that have had a child hospitalized at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. More than $100,000 was raised at the 2016 event.
“Cindy and I stayed at the clubhouse when our son was younger and know firsthand the importance of being close to the hospital,” said Conine. “It provides all the amenities of a three-star hotel but, more importantly, gives families a temporary place to call home when they need it most.”
“One of the hardest things for a parent is watching their child suffer and having to leave them alone for even the briefest of moments,” said Susan Renneisen, vice president of community affairs and special events for Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “The Conine Clubhouse is an established and integral part of our community, allowing families the opportunity to stay close to their loved ones in a beautiful and relaxing facility during a difficult time. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Charity Series of Poker is honored to support the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation’s fundraising efforts through the Jeff Conine Celebrity Poker Classic.”
$300 Seniors 50+ No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Structure Level 2: 50/100 Total Entries: 94
Paul Balzano
The Seniors Event kicked off right on time and the meeting room tables are filling quickly. There are plenty of regular grinding away early including Paul Balzano, Neil Blumenfield, and Marsha Wolak.
They will spend their entire day in the smaller room and continue until one player is left standing.
The first weekend is complete and it’s time to roll out some new tournaments on the schedule as we prepare for The Big 4 weekend. Today the Seniors Event kicks off bright and early, a tournament that is always a lot of fun.
Those players 50 years and up are eligible to join in this morning/afternoon for the $300 buy-in tournament. SHRP regular Marc Levy captured the title last year, his second of three titles here, and we expect him back to defend.
Each entrant will sit down to a 10,000 starting stack and play 30-minute levels. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 9 at 2:30pm with a dinner break built in at 4:30pm. This is a one-day tournament and we will have our next Seniors Event champion before the night is complete.
Cards fly at 10am and we’ll keep track of them as they make their way through the day.
Players must be born on or before 8/7/1967
Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood, FL Event #2 $300 Deep Stack Turbo NLH (Re-Entry) Entries: 354 Prizepool: $90,270 August 6, 2017
Nigel Murray
Nigel Murray is the winner of Event 2 at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. He defeated a field of 354 entries in the $300 Deep Stack Turbo event to claim the trophy and the top prize of $18,570 in a three-way deal.
Born and raised in Jamaica, the 36-year-old Murray relocated to South Florida about a dozen years ago, jumping headlong into one of the more robust poker communities in the county. He plays the game full-time now — and with some good success, too.
During his time in the States, Murray has amassed nearly $700,000 in live tournament earnings, including several victories right here at this venue. After this most recent win, he was congratulated by SHRP’s own Stewart Newman, among others.
“Everybody knows me around here because I’m always winning,” Murray beamed in his postgame interview. “I’m a sick poker player. You guys will see in the future.”
The confident Murray entered the ten-handed final table with a commanding chip lead that he never relinquished. Things happen quickly in an event of this format, and it took less than an hour to run from there down to the final three players.
With the stacks all shallowing out and some big pay jumps looming, the trio decided to pause and talk numbers. An agreement was quickly reached, and Murray’s big stack earned him the hardware and the lion’s share of the prizepool.
“I just bullied the table,” he told reporters about his final table strategy. “They were so soft. That’s it. They didn’t understand. They kept on folding, folding, folding until they missed their opportunity.”
The trophy for Event 2 was the first one handed out for this edition of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open, and it joins a few others residing on Murray’s mantel.
Final Table results:
1st: Nigel Murray – $18,570* + trophy 2nd: Jeff Fogel – $12,432* 3rd: Hector Pacheco – $10,000* 4th: Rafael Ramos – $5,588 5th: Gary Malcom – $4,306 6th: Vitor Coelho – $3,561 7th: Vincent Spadavecchia – $2,988 8th: Angel Jara – $2,442 9th: Justin Levy – $1,907
$570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts Returning to Level 33: 100,000/200,000 with a 25,000 ante Players Remaining: 12 of 3,173
Nipun Java
It was always an ambitious goal to take this event from 609 players down to a winner in one day, and reality has finally hit in the wee hours of Monday morning. The clock has run out on Level 32 and on Day 2 as a whole, and the final 12 players will return Monday afternoon to play it out on an unscheduled Day 3.
Nipun Java tore though the later stages of Day 2, amassing nearly a quarter of the total chips in play before the clock stuck zero. His stack of 14,925,000 will be good for about 75 big blinds entering the final day.
Java, an Indian-born pro from California, is an accomplished tournament player with more than $2 million in live career earnings. A big chunk of the came this past summer when he claimed a pair of WSOP bracelets, first sharing the $1,000 Tag Team title and then winning the $1,000 online event outright. He’ll be a tough out for his 11 remaining opponents in this event, too.
Local standout Manny Minaya is also among the remaining field, as are one-time chip leaders Mike Mehallis and Zach Donovan. Ana Frietas is the last lady left and a former chip leader herself, and she’ll return to the tables in the middle of the pack.
Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $14,279 at this point, but none of them will likely be content with that result. The series’ opening trophy and the top prize of $272,508 are reserved for the eventual winner.
$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry) $100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts Returning to Level 15: 1,500/3,000 with a 500 Ante Players Remaining: 9 of 105
Guifang Liu
Short stack Jorge Bello Fuentes was eliminated in 10th place, and the nine finalists played through the end of Level 14 before bagging up for the night. They’ll return to settle the score on Day 2.
10th place: Jorge Bello – $2,783 11th place: Sean Perry – $2,783 12th place: Ira Schwartz – $2,783 13th place: Dantonio Brown – $2,468 14th place: Robert Gianquitti – $2,468
Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $3,150, with a trophy and a top prize of more than 10 times that amount reserved for the winner.
