2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 1
$600 Deep Stack NLH (Single Re-Entry Per Flight)
$500,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  3,902
Prize Pool:  $2,048,550
April 15-19, 2021

It’s a great sign for a major tournament series when the first event more than quadruples its guarantee. Event 1 ($600 Deep Stack NLH) had a $500,000 guarantee, but the massive field of 3,902 entries created a total prizepool worth more than $2 million.

The event took five days from start to finish, and at the end of it all, Michael Casson had a huge 4.5-to-1 chip lead over Andrew Heckman when they made a heads-up deal, giving Casson the victory.

“It feels amazing,” said Casson. “I came down here from Massachusetts for only one thing, and that was the trophy. And I got it. It feels great.”

Runner-up Heckman started the final day with a substantial chip lead with 15 players remaining, while Casson didn’t make his surge until late.

When the final table got down to the final six players, the action slowed as they played for two-and-a-half hours before the next elimination. During that time, it was Shai Arbel who had the big chip lead.

But shortly after Aleksandr Denisov was eliminated in sixth place, Casson picked the best time to go on a hot streak.

“I came in, and I dominated all of them,” said Casson.

First Casson doubled thru chipleader Arbel, getting it all in preflop with pocket tens against Arbel’s pocket nines. Casson flopped a set and rivered a full house to double up, creating a three-way tie for the lead between Casson, Heckman, and Arbel.

Arbel’s struggles with the second-best hand continued a little while later, when he got it all in preflop with , only to run into Casson’s . Casson flopped a set of kings to take a massive chip lead and knock Arbel down to less than a single big blind. (Two hands later, Arbel was eliminated in fifth place.)

Shane Raikes was knocked out in fourth shortly after that, and a few minutes later Casson flopped a flush to Evan Sandberg’s top pair. They got it all in at that point, and Casson took out Sandberg in third place.

A couple of players at the final table were resistant to making any deals, but once Casson and Heckman reached heads-up, they quickly agreed to terms. As chipleader, Casson was awarded the title and the trophy, along with $280,000.

Casson was thrilled to earn the victory, which bookended the pandemic for him. One of the last things Casson did before the lockdowns hit was chop a big tournament heads-up in Massachusetts to earn $80,000, which had been the biggest score of his career by far — until this one.

Now that he has won his first trophy here, we can expect to see more of Casson here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

“I love Florida,” said Casson, “and I love this casino.”

Final Table Results:

1st:  Michael Casson  –  $280,000* + Trophy
2nd:  Andrew Heckman  –  $242,085*
3rd:  Evan Sandberg  –  $158,400
4th:  Shane Raikes  –  $122,700
5th:  Shai Arbel  –  $92,250
6th:  Aleksandr Denisov  –  $67,700
7th:  Jose Montes  –  $49,060
8th:  Jake Schwartz  –  $35,350

* Indicates results of a heads-up deal.

$400 Omaha 8/Stud 8 (Freeze-Out)
Structure
Level 1:  100/200 Limits

Each day gets us one step closer to the Championship but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop putting non-Hold’em tournaments out there for our players. Today’s flavor is a mix game with Omaha 8 and Stud 8 changed up every eight hands. That’s a lot of big bets and split pots.

They’ll start with 12,000 in their stacks and play 30-minute levels. Late registration is available until the start of Level 9 at 2:30 pm but no re-entries are allowed in the freeze-out. A dinner break is scheduled at 4 pm and we will crown a champ after that.

Cards go in the air at 10 am and we will follow them on their journey to a trophy.

• Players begin with 12,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (2:30pm)
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 11 Structure Sheet

Primary Event Schedule

10AM: Event 11 – $400 Omaha 8/Stud 8 (Freeze-Out)

• Players begin with 12,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (2:30pm)
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 11 Structure Sheet

12PM: Event 12 – $600 Big Stack Six-Max NLH (Single Re-Entry)

• $50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 15,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/single re-entry until start of Level 9 (4:30pm)
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 12 Structure Sheet

3PM: Event 13 – $400 Six-Max Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Single Re-Entry)

• Players begin with 12,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/single re-entry until start of Level 9 (7:30pm)
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 13 Structure Sheet

7PM: Event 14 – $600 Deep Stack Turbo NLH (Freeze-Out)

• Players begin with 20,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (9:15pm)
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 14 Structure Sheet

Secondary and Satellite Schedule

9AM: Event 50 – $550 Super High Roller Turbo Satellite (1-in-10)

• 1 seat guaranteed into $5,100 buy-in Showdown Super High Roller Satellite on April 20
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• Satellite will be held in the Poker Room
• Structure Sheet

5PM: Event 51 – $400 Championship Satellite (1-in-10)

• 5 seats guaranteed into WPT Poker Showdown Championship
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 8
• All participants must be 21 years of age or older to play in the Championship and related satellites
• Players will be entered into the earliest starting day
• Structure Sheet

6PM: Event 52 – $5,100 Super High Roller Satellite (1-in-10)

• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 8
• Structure Sheet

9PM: Event 53 – $130 Event 15 Turbo Satellite (1-in-10)

• 2 seats guaranteed into $1,100 buy-in Showdown Event 15
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 5
• Structure Sheet

Seminole Hard Rock Safe + Sounds Guidelines

2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 10
$150 Big Stack NLH (Double Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 585
Prize Pool: $70,200
April 19, 2021

Event 10 of the 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, a $150 Big Stack NLH (Double Re-Entry), drew 585 entries and generated a prize pool of $70,200, septupling the $10,000 guarantee.

The eight players who made the final table agreed to a deal before the cards were put in the air, and as the chip leader, it was Carlos Dorca who was the official winner.

*denotes eight-way deal

2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 9
$400 Black Chip Bounty PLO (Single Re-Entry)
Entries: 251
Prize Pool: $58,985
Bounty Prize Pool: $25,100
April 19, 2021

Event 9 of the 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was a $400 Black Chip Bounty PLO (Single Re-Entry). A field of 251 entries generated a prize pool of $58,985, along with $25,100 set aside for bounties.

The tournament lasted about 14 hours and in the end, it was Chris Kondrat who took it down, winning outright for $13,070.

2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 8
$600 Double Black Chip Bounty NLH (Single Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 582
Prize Pool: $189,150
Bounty Prize Pool: $116,400
April 19, 2021

Event 8 of the 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was a $600 Double Black Chip Bounty No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry). A field of 582 generated a prize pool of $189,150, more than tripling the guarantee, along with another $116,400 set aside for bounties.

The tournament lasted about 14 hours and in the end, it was James Anderson who outlasted them all, winning outright for $35,540.

This marked his fourth cash at a Seminole Hard Rock major. The Ohioan has a sparkling poker résumé and now boasts more than $2.7 million in career tournament earnings according to the Hendon Mob database.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Double Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 25: 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining: 8 of 585

As the players took their seats to begin the final table, they decided to look at the numbers for a deal and after a few minutes, everyone agreed.

Here were the chip counts:

Carlos Dorca – 2,150,000 (54 bb)
Juan Garcia – 1,950,000 (49 bb)
John Lanese – 1,385,000 (35 bb)
Dave Kilcoyne – 1,315,000 (33 bb)
James Tomblin – 825,000 (21 bb)
Ysidro Diaz – 540,000 (14 bb)
Rob Abner – 360,000 (9 bb)
Altabal Mohamed – 260,000 (7 bb)

Here were the payouts:

Carlos Dorca – $7,698
Juan Garcia – $7,399
John Lanese – $6,398
Dave Kilcoyne – $6,254
James Tomblin – $5,058
Ysidro Diaz – $4,143
Rob Abner – $3,423
Altabal Mohamed – $2,947

As the chip leader, Carlos Dorca is officially the winner of Event 10 of the 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.

A recap of the event will be posted later tonight.

2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 7
$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Single Re-Entry)
Entries:  386
Prize Pool:  $129,310
April 19, 2021

The previous record field for a Seniors Event here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood was 226, but when today’s Seniors Event began at 10:00 am, there were already 221 players in the field, and the record was broken shortly after that. When registration finally closed, there were an incredible 386 entries, which created a prizepool worth $129,310.

This event was only open to players who were at least 50 years old, and James Diaz won the title in a six-way ICM chop in his first year of eligibility.

“This was my first Seniors Event,” said Diaz after his victory. “I just turned 50 in January, and I was really looking forward to playing in this one.”

Sometimes things just seem to go your way, and Diaz had some luck on his side as he got pocket aces far more often than you’d expect in this one-day tournament.

“I had aces ten times today,” said Diaz. “I knocked out a few people with them, and they held up every single time, all ten times. That helped me out quite a bit.”

Diaz is originally from South Florida, though he has been living in Cincinnati, Ohio for the past 15 years. He still returns frequently to visit his parents, and when he does, he often finds his way here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood to play some poker.

“This is the best place to play when I come down to Florida,” said Diaz. “I appreciate everybody’s hospitality, and this was an excellent tournament.”

* Indicates results of a six-way deal.

$600 Double Black Chip Bounty NLH (Single Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 28: 50,000/75,000 with a 75,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 582

Mark Gallo raised to 250,000 from the button, James Anderson three-bet to 675,000 from the big blind, Gallp four-bet shoved for 3,100,000 and Anderson called.

Gallo:
Anderson:

The board came down , safe for Anderson to win Event 8 outright for $35,540. Mark Gallo finished runner-up for $23,675.

$400 Black Chip Bounty PLO (Single Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 5,000/10,000
Players Remaining:  8 of 251

Seat 1: Meryn Tobian – 165,000 (17 bb)
Seat 2: Allen Farris – 390,000 (39 bb)
Seat 3: Alex Feiner – 200,000 (20 bb0
Seat 4: Chris Kondrat – 100,000 (10 bb)
Seat 5: Dien Le – 350,000 (35 bb)
Seat 6: Zach Bucuvalas – 290,000 (29 bb)
Seat 7: Marc Schiller – 780,000 (78 bb)
Seat 8: Leif Force – 730,000 (73 bb)

1st: $13,070 + Trophy
2nd: $8,695
3rd: $6,350
4th: $4,705
5th: $3,535
6th: $2,695
7th: $2,085
8th: $1,470