2018 RRPO Live Updates

Championship: Marius Gierse – 4th Place ($179,710)

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | WPT Live Stream
Level 30: 75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 898

Marius Gierse

Jim Gilbert opened to 250,000 from under the gun and Pavel Plesuv called from the button. Marius Gierse moved all in for 4,950,000 from the big blind to get a fold from Gilbert and called from Plesuv.

Gierse: AcQc
Plesuv: 9h9d

It was a race that Gierse needed to win to stay in the Championship but the board ran all low 7c6s3d3s6d to send him out in fourth place.

The hand pushed Plesuv further into the lead with a two-to-one advantage over the other two combined.

Seat 2: Jim Gilbert – 6,575,000 (53 bb)
Seat 3: Pavel Plesuv – 24,375,000 (195 bb)
Seat 4: Jeremy Joseph – 4,975,000 (40 bb)
Marius Gierse – Eliminated in 4th place ($179,710)

Championship: Pavel Plesuv Versus Jeremy Joseph

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | WPT Live Stream
Level 30: 75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 898

Pavel Plesuv opened to 400,000 from the small blind and Jeremy Joseph called in the big to the 8d7c3h flop. Plesuv checked, Joseph bet 300,000 and Plesuv check-raised to 1,700,000.

Joseph called, the turn was the 9c and both players checked. The river was 5c and Plesuv bet 3,000,000.

Joseph took his time to consider all the information, used four of his 30-second time chips, and called. Plesuv tabled Th6c for the ten-high straight and Joseph mucked.

Pavel Plesuv – 18,975,000 (152 bb)
Jeremy Joseph – 5,050,000 (40 bb)

Event 15: Restart Goes at 2pm in the Poker Room; 143 Remain, 81 Pay, $36K to the Winner

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Returning to Level 15: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 BB ante
Players Remaining: 143 of 1,297

It took two days and six starting flights, but the Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open $150 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed trophy event is on to the decisive playing session. Action restarts at 2pm and the 1,297-entry starting field is whittled to only 143 still in the game. The top 81 are set to score a payday with a min-cash awarding $389. Payouts escalate from there and top out in the form of a $36,687 prize.

Day 2 chip counts | Table draws | Payouts

Patrick Quinn tops the returners with 445,500 chips. Others around for Day 2 include Francis Margaglione, David Poces, Ory Hen and Elliott Zaydman.

Play resumes at 2pm and updates will be available all the way through to a crowning of a champion.

Good luck, players!

Championship: Chris Kennedy – 5th Place ($135,505)

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | WPT Live Stream
Level 29: 50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 898

Jeremy Joseph opened to 225,000 from under the gun, Chris Kennedy called on the button, and Pavel Plesuv called from the big blind to see the 9s8c7s flop.

Plesuv checked, Joseph bet another 225,000 and Kennedy moved all in for 2,625,000. Plesuv folded and Joseph called.

Joseph: KsKd
Kennedy: Jd9d

Joseph’s monster over pair was ahead of Kennedy’s flopped top pair/gutshot draw and he could not improve on the 4h turn or Kc river to exit in fifth place.

Jeremy Joseph – 9,475,000 (95 bb)
Chris Kennedy – Eliminated in 5th place ($135,505)

Championship: Updated Counts

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | WPT Live Stream
Level 29: 50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 898

After the abbreviated Level 28 came to an end, the five remaining players took a ten-minute break to color off the 5K chips and introduce the 500K plaques.

Seat 1: Christopher Kennedy – 3,275,000 (33 bb)
Seat 2: Jim Gilbert – 8,450,000 (85 bb)
Seat 3: Pavel Plesuv – 10,350,000 (104 bb)
Seat 4: Jeremy Joseph – 6,550,000 (66 bb)
Seat 6: Marius Gierse – 7,300,000 (73 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $504,820
2nd: $326,565
3rd: $240,945
4th: $179,710
5th: $135,505

Championship: Jeremy Joseph Versus Pavel Plesuv

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | WPT Live Stream
Level 28: 40,000/80,000 with a 80,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 898

In a battle of the blinds, Pavel Plesuv opened to 280,000 from the small and Jeremy Joseph called in the big blind to the 7d5s2d flop. Plesuv bet 425,000 and Joseph called before the turn came 6s.

Plesuv checked, Joseph bet 525,000 and Plesuv called to the 4h river. Another check from Plesuv and a big 2,000,000 bet from Joseph forced a fold.

Jeremy Joseph – 6,755,000 (84 bb)
Pavel Plesuv – 8,425,000 (105 bb)

Championship: Chop it Up

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | WPT Live Stream
Level 28: 40,000/80,000 with a 80,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 898

Marius Gierse opened to 180,000 from the button and Chris Kennedy three-bet to 350,000 from the small blind. Jim Gilbert took his time to think it out from the big blind, used one of his eight time chips, and four-bet to 875,000.

Gierse folded and it was Kennedy’s turn to use a time chip. Before the clock ticked down, he moved all in for 3,640,000 and Gilbert tossed in another time chip. He called and the hands were tabled.

Kennedy: AcQc
Gilbert: AdQd

They were each freerolling some flushes but the more likely chop happened after the Qh9s5sJc3h board.

Christopher Kennedy – 3,770,000 (47 bb)
Jim Gilbert – 8,705,000 (109 bb)

Championship: Ravi Raghavan – 6th Place ($103,310)

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | WPT Live Stream
Level 28: 40,000/80,000 with a 80,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 898

Ravi Raghavan

Pavel Plesuv opened to 175,000 from the cutoff and Ravi Raghavan moved all in for 1,160,000 from the small blind. Marius Gierse made a shove himself for 6,100,000 from the big blind and Plesuv folded.

Raghavan: AcJh
Gierse: AhKd

Raghavan was dominated and found no help on the 5s4d2s flop. He had some wheel chop outs along with the jacks but missed the 8h turn and 8d river to fall short of his second WPT title.

Marius Gierse – 7,515,000 (94 bb)
Ravi Raghavan – Eliminated in 6th place ($103,310)

Ravi Raghava (left) versus Marius Gierse (right)

Championship: Final Table Ready to Go

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 28: 40,000/80,000 with a 80,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 898

What started out with 898 entries is now down to the last six. The 2018 WPT Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship is down to its final table and they gather together to play it out in front of the WPT live-stream cameras.

Unlike last year when we had three South Florida regulars (Ari Engel, Sheddy Siddiqui, and RRPO champ Michael Newman), this time we have six visitors from around the world.

The Czech Republics Pavel Plesuv leads the field followed by Philly pro Jim Gilbert. Chris Kennedy, Jeremy Joseph, and Austria’s Marius Gierse are in the middle of the pack while WPT Champions Club member Ravi Raghavan will have some work to put in to win his second WPT title.

Cards fly on the final table at noon with more than $500,000 awaiting the winner later today. The WPT live-stream will be broadcast with hole cards on a 30-minute delay.

Seat 1: Chris Kennedy – 3,800,000 (48 bb)
Seat 2: Jim Gilbert – 8,655,000 (108 bb)
Seat 3: Pavel Plesuv – 10,920,000 (137 bb)
Seat 4: Jeremy Joseph – 5,045,000 (63 bb)
Seat 5: Ravi Raghavan – 1,320,000 (17 bb)
Seat 6: Marius Gierse – 6,180,000 (77 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $504,820
2nd: $326,565
3rd: $240,945
4th: $179,710
5th: $135,505
6th: $103,310

Championship: Meet the Final Table

The 2018 WPT Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship drew a huge crowd of 898 entries, the biggest in series history, and it is down to the last six players.

The final table has an international feel with players coming from around the world. They have combined to earn $10 million in their careers with $7 million of it split between chip lead Pavel Plesuv and WPT Champions Club member Ravi Raghavan.

Here is your lineup for Wednesday’s WPT live-stream final table.


Seat 1: Chris Kennedy
Chip count – 3,800,000

Kennedy comes from Pennsylvania via South Korea and making his second big final table in a week. He has more than $150,000 in career earnings and added to it last week with a ninth-place finish at the Borgata Fall Poker Open Championship.


Seat 2: Jim Gilbert
Chip count – 8,655,000

Gilbert is another player hailing from Pennsylvania and this cash will push his career earnings over $1.5 million. He won a WSOP Circuit ring in 2012 and his biggest cash was a runner-up finish in the 2015 WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship.


Seat 3: Pavel Plesuv
Chip count – 10,920,000

Plesuv is our returning chip leader and comes to South Florida from the Czech Republic. He is the highest earning player at the final table and won more than $1.5 million this year; $925,000 from the partypoker Millions in Germany and he won the MSPT Las Vegas Main Event for another $640,000.


Seat 4: Jeremy Joseph
Chip count – 5,045,000

Joseph is a Las Vegas poker pro with $1.3 million in career earnings. He won his first WSOP Circuit ring earlier this year and he cashed for $316,000 for a second place finish in the 2017 WSOP $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo bracelet event.


Seat 5: Ravi Raghavan
Chip count – 1,320,000

Raghavan is an Illinois native and the only final table player with his name already on the WPT Champions Cup. He won his first WPT title at the 2012 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Championship. No matter where he finishes at the final table, his career total will move over $3.5 million.


Seat 6: Marius Gierse
Chip count – 6,180,000

Gierse rounds out our international final table and he is a student in Vienna, Austria. He has nearly $170,000 in earnings from the WSOP alone including a sixth-place finish in the 2016 WSOP $5,000 NLH event.