2022 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 6
$1,100 Five-Card Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Entries: 102
Prize Pool: $98,940
November 17-18, 2022
Back in August, during the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, Robert Lupo was at the final table of the $2,700 No-Limit Hold’em when the final four players agreed to a deal. Lupo was a close second in chips, so while his $146,039 prize in that event was only $5K less than winner Josh Adcock, Lupo missed out on the trophy.
“I’ve been upset about that,” said Lupo, “because I had chopped when [Adcock] had a slight chip lead, so he got the trophy. That’s why I wanted this trophy so much.”
At Friday’s final table in $1,100 Five-Card Pot-Limit Omaha, Lupo wasn’t interested in any deals unless he was chipleader and ended up as the victor with the trophy. His stubbornness paid off, and Lupo won the title, the trophy, and $24,148 in a heads-up deal with runner-up Charles Rosenblatt.
“This was my first event of the series,” said Lupo. “It’s a great way to start out, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.”
This was a five-card Omaha event, and while Lupo usually plays PLO, he’s only played the five-card variation a little bit online. But he might have developed a taste for it after this event.
“I’m not going to lie, five-card was pretty fun,” said Lupo. “I’m definitely going to try this again.”
This was a two-day event, and the field of 102 players made it down to the final eight on Day 1 before stopping for the night, and Lupo started Day 2 with 108 big blinds for the chip lead.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Lupo. “There were some good players, but it was a friendly atmosphere, and everyone was cool.”
When asked about Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, Lupo said, “I just love this place. The schedules are always really good, and it’s really well-run here. The people are really nice, and it’s the greatest casino I’ve seen.”
Lupo ended his post-game interview with a shoutout to the online poker training site Solve For Why, and founder Matt Berkey in particular.
“They’ve really helped me out a lot with my game,” said Lupo. And now he has the trophy to prove it.
Final Results:
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Prize Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert | Lupo | $24,148* |
| 2 | Charles | Rosenblatt | $24,147* |
| 3 | Ha | Tran | $11,375 |
| 4 | Seyed | Hosseini | $7,520 |
| 5 | Leif | Force | $5,785 |
| 6 | Aaron | Kupin | $4,625 |
| 7 | Zyad | Qasem | $3,925 |
| 8 | Steve | Yagudaev | $3,425 |
| 9 | Kevin | Macdonald | $3,020 |
| 10 | Khaled | Al-Khatib | $3,020 |
| 11 | Quinn | Bruno | $2,720 |
| 12 | Yuval | Bronshtein | $2,720 |
| 13 | Christopher | Kostoulas | $2,500 |
* Indicates a heads-up deal.