2016 Deep Stack Series
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, Fla.
Event #4
$1,650 Deepest Stack No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 367
Prize Pool: $550,500
May 26-30,2016

Heiligman late registers Day 2 with less than 10 big blinds, emerges victorious nearly 36 hours later.

Seminole Hard Rock Poker team members Sheddy Siddiqui and Mukul Pahuja finish 2nd and 3rd.

Scott Heiligman claimed victory in Event 4 of the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood Deep Stack series Monday night. Heiligman, who resides in Naples, maneuvered through a field of 367 entries in the $1,650 Deepest Stack tournament to score $121,202 following a heads-up chop with Seminole Hard Rock Poker team member Sheddy Siddiqui. In addition to the six-figure payday, Heiligman went home with an added seat in the $5,250 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship as well as the token guitar trophy.

While his short jaunt from across the state doesn’t seem like much at first glance, Heiligman’s road to the winner’s circle was anything but standard. He didn’t arrive at the Seminole Hard Rock until the morning of Day 2. He late registered the event with 10 big blinds, but skipped the first couple orbits. It wasn’t until he had 35,000 chips at the 2,500/5,000 level that he first took his seat. By 5 p.m., he held the chip lead.

The tournament required an extra day to finish and Siddiqui lead the final six that returned for Monday’s play. Heiligman chipped up during the early stages of play and took the chip lead an hour or so after cards went in the air. He watched as Siddiqui busted Samuel Wynder 5th and did some busting of his own eliminating Gil Haim 4th. Heiligman went into three-handed play with more than 10,000,000 of the just over 18,000,000 in play. He had Siddiqui doubled up and held an advantage of roughly 4-to-1 over Pahuja.  Pahuja chipped back up, but eventually busted 3rd. On his final hand, he called off holding top two pair, but was second best to Heiligman’s Broadway. Pahuja earned $51,362 for the deep run.

Heiligman and Siddiqui quickly came to a deal following Pahuja’s elimination. Heiligman held 10,930,000 chips to Siddiqui’s 7,430,000 and would take 1st place along with $121,202. Siddiqui settled on a runner-up finish and $110,000 score. For Siddiqui, this marked his third deep run in this event in as many years. He won the 2013 installment and finished 7th in last year’s. His 2016 finish marked his largest score of the three final table appearances.

Heiligman is 36 years old and works in real estate. The victory marks his third tournament win and nearly quadruples his reported lifetime earnings.

The $1,650 Deepest Stack was the headliner of the seven-event Deep Stack Series. It drew a field of 367 entries that obliterated the $300,000 guarantee before topping the prize pool out at $550,500. Other notable tournaments on the schedule included Event 1, a $350 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed tournament — which drew 1,075 entries — and Event 3, a $560 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed tournament — which 452 entries.

$1,650 Deepest Stack Final results:

1st: Scott Heiligman – $121,202 + SHRPO Seat
2nd: Sheddy Siddiqui – $110,000
3rd: Mukul Pahuja – $51,362
4th: Gil Haim – $41,288
5th: Samuel Wynder – $32,480
6th: Marcus Stein – $26,699
7th: Chris Bolek – $21,470
8th: Chad Eveslage – $16,240
9th: Qasem Jamhour – $11,010
10th: Daniel Blum – $7,157
11th: Jan Ziegler – $7,157
12th: Anthony Ruttler – $7,157
13th: Jeffrey Trudeau – $5,918
14th: Jonathan Marks – $5,918
15th: Steven Wolansky – $5,918
16th: Austin Peck – $4,707
17th: Ido Ashkenazi – $4,707
18th: Alexander Gambino – $4,707
19th: Paul Domb – $3,854
20th: Matthew Yorra – $3,854
21st: Jerry Wong – $3,854
22nd: Almog Biton – $3,854
23rd: Mark Dube – $3,854
24th: Michael Newman – $3,854
25th: Harvey Freedman – $3,854
26th: Theophilus Lawson – $3,854
27th: Frederick Goldberg – $3,854
28th: Joel Harwood – $3,413
29th: Brandon Setzer – $3,413
30th: Charlemagne Benjamin – $3,413
31st: Barry Pevner – $3,413
32nd: Kevin Chan – $3,413
33rd: Phil Woerner – $3,413
34th: Robert Oxenberg – $3,413
35th: James Kirvin – $3,413
36th: John Restrepo – $3,413

The 2017 Deep Stack Series runs May 18-29 right here in the Seminole Hard Rock poker room.