2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood, FL Event #1 $570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $1,000,000 Guaranteed Entries: 3,173 Prize Pool: $1,586,500 August 3 – 7, 2017
Nipun Java, Event 1 Champ, poses with Tournament Directory Tony Burns
The 2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open series kicked things off with a huge-field, big-prize tournament. The $1,000,000 guaranteed tournament pushed over that mark to put more than $1,500,000 up for grabs and it was poker pro Nipun Java walking away with the lion’s share in the end.
The tournament started with a great showing in the first of six flights and never slowed down. Nearly 1,500 entries were put in the game in the last two flights and it finished with a total of 3,173 when registration closed. They combined to create a prize pool worth $1,586,500 with the last 300 players earning a piece and the winner set to take home more than $270,000.
More than 600 players returned for Day 2 and Paul Kelly led the way with the biggest stack. Those chips helped produce a deep run but he went out in 37th place, short of the last four tables. Seminole Hard Rock Poker team members Loni Harwood, Michael Laake, and Sheddy Siddiqui cashed in the tournament along with Seminole Hard Rock Tampa poker ambassador Wally Maddah. Both Siddiqui and Laake took turned at the top of the counts, but neither was around when Day 2 ended with 12 players remaining.
Those 12 returned for a bonus day with Java holding a big lead. Two players, Ross Ramlal and Paulo Treu, were quick eliminations to form the final table ten.
They settled in for a long grind with the chip lead changing several times throughout. David Shmuel and Andrea Lloha were the first sent off followed by former SHRP champ Manny Minaya. Players continued to push chips around the table with the stacks evening out until Brian Powell dropped out in fifth place. Java regained a huge lead with that elimination to start a chop conversation.
His stack was over 30,000,000 for almost half of the chips in play with four remaining. They discussed a deal to divide the remaining prize pool and it was complete without too much trouble.
Java was awarded $230,849 for his huge stack and he was declared the $1,000,000 guaranteed Event 1 Champion.
This is merely another example of the hot run Java has been on all summer. He earned two WSOP bracelets this year, in the $1,000 WSOP Tag Team tournament and the WSOP Online Championship, and finished seventh out of 3,542 in the WPT500 Las Vegas event.
Java kicked off his summer right here when he won the $360 No Limit Hold’em Event 27 during the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.
“It’s a confidence game,” Java commented about his recent run. “It’s tough to quantify what exactly works, why it’s a confidence game, but there’s something about poker which momentum is a real thing.”
“I think if you’re playing well and you keep putting yourself in good spots,” he continued, “It does help.”
Java has no plans to buy in to the high rollers, though he will attempt to satellite his way in, but he will be here for the rest of The Big 4 trying to stay hot.
Final table results:
1st: Nipun Java – $230,849 * 2nd: Alfredo Guevara – $169,791 * 3rd: Josh Robins – $133,824 * 4th: Ana Clara Freitas – $130,701 * 5th: Brian Powell – $79,722 6th: Michael Mehallis – $62,667 7th: Zach Donovan – $46,009 8th: Manny Minaya – $30,937 9th: Andrea Lloha – $22,211 10th: David Shmuel – $14,279 * – denotes four-way deal
4 way chop to win another sick trophy @shrpo.Love playing at this venue with the best tournament staff and dealers. Thanks everyone! pic.twitter.com/TlLQU8SjBu
$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry) Structure | Prizes Level 8: 400/800 with a 100 ante Entries: 305
The largest pot so far erupted on the last hand before the first break.
On a flop, the player in the small blind bet 3,000, and Patrick Eskandar raised to 6,000 a couple seats over. The small blind clicked it back to 9,000, and Eskander four-bet. “Sixteen thousand five hundred twenty-five,” he announced, then cut the requisite chips into the pot. The small blind called.
The turn was the , and the small blind led out again for 9,000. Eskandar shoved, and his opponent called all in for about 30,000 to put himself at risk.
Small blind: Eskandar:
Eskandar’s set of fives had the pot already locked up, and the meaningless completed the board on the river.
With that haul, Eskandar steals the chip lead at the tape, and he’ll almost certainly be the recipient of the $1,000 bonus once the stacks are verified.
2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood, FL Event #3 $1,650 Purple Chip Bounty No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry) Entries: 105 Prizepool: $105,000 + $52,500 Bounties August 6-7, 2017
Guifang Liu
Hollywood, Fla. — Guifang Liu claimed her first career tournament title Monday night in Event 3 of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. Liu bested a tough field of 105 entries in the $1,650 Purple Chip Bounty ultimately defeating Seminole Hard Rock Poker team member Matt Affleck for the outright win. Liu pocketed a $31,497 prize along with a trophy while Affleck scored $19,425.
Event 3 began Sunday at 6pm and saw its $100,000 guarantee comfortably surpassed as the prize pool hit $105,000 with another $52,500 in bounties. Over the course of 14 Day 1 levels, the field trimmed to just nine remaining and it was Liu who held the chip lead. As it was, “lead” was an understatement. Liu sat on nearly 475,000 chips overnight good for 157 big blinds and an almost three-to-one chip lead over second place.
Joining Liu at the final table was none other than Kirk Morrison. Morrison, who claims a World Series of Poker gold bracelet and carded a second-place finish in the WPT Five Star World Poker Classic good for more than $2,000,000, had only recorded a handful of cashes since the early 2000’s. His presence at the bounty final table was welcomed, but ended in a sixth-place finish when his flopped second-nut flush was bested on the turn by the nut flush. He earned $4,830.
From there, Derek Sudell finished fifth, Wenhao Ying fourth and Gavin O’Rourke third. By the time heads-up play began, Liu claimed about a two-to-one advantage over Affleck. The pair battled it out for a short time before Affleck got roughly 65 big blinds in on the turn. Affleck had flopped two pair, but was second best to Liu’s turned straight. The river completed a blank and Liu was crowned champion.
Liu had previously earned just two cashes — a ninth-place finish in a WPT event in Beijing good for just over $28,000 and a 35th-place in this summer WSOP Colossus for over $24,000. The bounty win marked her first career victory.
Final results:
1st: Guifang Liu – $31,497 2nd: Matt Affleck – $19,425 3rd: Gavin O’Rourke – $11,655 4th: Wenhao Ying – $7,613 5th: Derek Sudell – $5,880 6th: Kirk Morrison – $4,830 7th: Andre Crooks – $4,095 8th: Carlos Guerrero – $3,570 9th: Scott Levitt – $3,150 10th: Jorge Bello – $2,783 11th: Sean Perry – $2,783 12th: Ira Schwartz – $2,783 13th: Dantonio Brown – $2,468 14th: Robert Gianquitti – $2,468
$300 CSOP/Jeff Conine Celebrity Event (Re-Entry) Structure | Prizes Level 7: 300/600 with a 75 ante Entries: 292
Kimmy B
There were three players involved on the turn of a board, and John Gorsuch was first to act from the small blind. He bet 2,000 into a pot of just more than that, and local radio personality Kimmy B called next to act in the big blind. Jessica Dawley moved all in on the other side of the table, and Gorcush called all in for just less to put himself at risk. Kimmy B did the same for her last 4,225, so she was at risk, too.
Gorsuch needed the board to pair to stay alive, and Kimmy B needed to find a miracle three-outer.
“She’s going to hit the king, for sure,” Dawley predicted the future.
Sure enough, the landed on the river, and an uproar ensued. Kimmy B tripled up, Dawley essentially broke even on the exchange, and Gorsuch was sent back to the cashier for another registration ticket.
$300 Seniors 50+ No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Payouts Level 18: 2,500/5,000/500 ante Players Remaining: 16 of 188
Rob Mazzie
John Roveto three-bet to 60,000 from the button, and Rob Mazzie four-bet shoved from the cutoff. Roveto called with and was flipping against Mazzie’s .
The board came giving Mazzie the winning full house, saving him from elimination.
and Bloom’s pocket jacks held, eliminating his opponents.
flop, the player in the small blind bet 3,000, and Patrick Eskandar raised to 6,000 a couple seats over. The small blind clicked it back to 9,000, and Eskander four-bet. “Sixteen thousand five hundred twenty-five,” he announced, then cut the requisite chips into the pot. The small blind called.
, and the small blind led out again for 9,000. Eskandar shoved, and his opponent called all in for about 30,000 to put himself at risk.
completed the board on the river.
giving Patel the winning flush eliminating Pham and Bloom.
board, and John Gorsuch was first to act from the small blind. He bet 2,000 into a pot of just more than that, and local radio personality Kimmy B called next to act in the big blind. Jessica Dawley moved all in on the other side of the table, and Gorcush called all in for just less to put himself at risk. Kimmy B did the same for her last 4,225, so she was at risk, too.
(set of nines)
Yvonne Mcquillan is all in with 
