2018 Rock N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 3
$360 HORSE 
Entries: 98
Prize Pool: $24,400 
November 15, 2018 

Sebastien Soares doesn’t get the opportunity to play mixed games very often. Living in Montreal for most of the year, they mostly spread no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha.

He got a chance to play a few different games on Thursday and in the early hours of Friday morning, he shipped his first Hard Rock trophy in the $360 HORSE. He defeated Barry Levy heads-up to best the 98-entry field and earned $8,965 for his first victory in South Florida.

“I slipped one of these tournaments in the past,” said Soares. “I got second place. I felt good today, so I wanted to win.”

Soares owns two restaurants in Montreal and lives there most of the year. He has a second home in South Florida, which allowed him to get away from the cold, and the big bet games, and get into Thursday’s mixed event.

“Back in Montreal, we don’t have these mixed games tournaments often,” said Soares.

The Canadian was cruising for most of the tournament. He had the chip lead with two tables left, just outside of the money and never lost it from there.

He came into the final table with the chip lead, continued to chip up and started heads-up play with a 3-to-1 chip lead over Levy, a native of New York.

“I was playing good, but I was obviously getting good cards and good flops. I just kept going,” said Soares about his performance.

Soares won the majority of the pots, and all of the key ones, heads-up before putting Levy away in limit hold’em when they got all in preflop with Soares’ ace-five against Levy’s pocket eights. Soares flopped the wheel and Levy picked up $5,513 for his runner-up finish.

The 98-entry field paid out the top 13 spots. Carey Pickus, who finished runner-up to Phil Hui in this event last year, finished one spot worse this year. She finished third for $3,381.

Hard Rock mixed regulars Joel Harwood and John Holley also made the final table. Harwood, father of poker pro Loni, finished fifth for $1,720, and Holley busted in seventh for $1,169. Poker reporter Mickey Doft finished just shy of the final table. He took home $809 for his 11th place finish. He now has a mixed game cash every year over the last four years of his budding poker career.

Here is a look at the full results:

1st: Sebastien Soares – $8,965
2nd: Barry Levy – $5,513
3rd: Carey Pickus – $3,381
4th: Michael Barry – $2,205
5th: Joel Harwood – $1,720
6th: Antonio Pezzi – $1,374
7th: John Holley – $1,169
8th: Mark Hurst – $1,014
9th: Kevin Nettle – $897
10th: Mihails Morozovs – $809
11th: Mickey Doft – $809
12th: James Juvanic – $809
13th: Michael Sopko – $735