Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship (Freeze-Out)
Level 30: 75,000/150,000/25,000 Ante
Hand #151 – Omar Zazay raises from the button with 
, and Dan Colman calls with 
.
The flop comes 
, Colman checks, Zazay bets 325,000, and Colman folds. Zazay takes the pot.
– – – – – –
Hand #152 – Brian Phillis raises from the button to 350,000 with 
, taking the blinds and antes.
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship (Freeze-Out)
Level 30: 75,000/150,000/25,000 Ante
Hand #143 – Dan Colman limps from the small blind for 150,000 with 
, and Omar Zazay checks his option in the big blind with 
.
Both players check to the river on a board of 
. They show their cards, and Zazay wins the pot with his jack.
– – – – – –
Hand #144 – Omar Zazay raises from the small blind to 350,000 with 
, Brian Phillis reraises from the big blind to 850,000 with 
, and Zazay folds. Phillis takes the pot.
– – – – – –
Hand #145 – Omar Zazay raises from the button to 350,000 with 
, Dan Colman reraises from the big blind to 1,100,000 with 
, and Zazay tanks for a while before he reraises to 1,900,000.
Colman thinks for a bit before he folds, and Zazay takes the pot.
– – – – – –
Hand #146 – Brian Phillis raises from the button to 350,000 with 
, taking the blinds and antes.
– – – – – –
Hand #147 – Omar Zazay raises from the small blind to 375,000 with 
, taking the blinds and antes.
– – – – – –
Hand #148 – Brian Phillis completes the small blind to 150,000 with 
, and Dan Colman checks his option in the big blind with 
.
The flop comes 
, Phillis bets 150,000, and Colman calls.
The turn card is the , Phillis checks, Colman bets 1,000,000, and Phillis folds. Colman takes the pot.
– – – – – –
Hand #149 – Dan Colman limps from the small blind for 150,000 with , and Omar Zazay checks his option in the big blind with 
.
The flop comes , Colman bets 200,000, and Zazay calls.
The turn card is the , and both players check.
The river card is the 
, Colman bets 375,000, and Zazay folds. Colman takes the pot.
– – – – – –
Hand #150 – Omar Zazay limps from the small blind for 150,000 with , and Brian Phillis checks his option in the big blind with unknown cards.
The flop comes 
, Zazay checks, Phillis bets 150,000, and Zazay folds. Phillis takes the pot.
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
$1,000,000 Guarantee
August 16th-18th, 2015
Total Entries: 502
Total Prize Pool: $1,217,350
The final table bubble of Event 22 ($2,650 NLHE) at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open proved to be a pivotal stretch in the tournament that drew a field size of 502 players. It took close to four hours of play to bust one player when 10 remained, and it was during this time that Fabrizio Gonzales separated his stack from the pack to enter the final table in second chip-position with 1.74 million.
“Oh man that was really long. It was really entertaining too. I came in with 600,000 and I was down to 300,000, and then I ended up with 1.7 million so it was really fun. I just tried to create pressure with 10 people left because I felt like it was a good moment for my chips,” said Fabrizio when asked about the long final table bubble.
During the early stretch of play at the final table tonight, Fabrizio made sure to stay away from the overwhelming chip leader Xuan Liu (3.15 million) as Casey Yontz (ninth), David Diaz (eighth), Jon Borenstein (7th), Chris Hunichen (6th), and Seth Davies (5th) hit the rail during the first four hours of play. “I knew she was going to put pressure on the players. I just tried to play my best to avoid her pressure, and it worked out,” said Fabrizio when he was asked about his approach to Xuan.
The nature of the final table reset with four players remaining, and it was now Fabrizio who held the chip lead with 3.5 million. Daniel Fuhs then doubled up thru Xuan, and that left her with just 400,000. She was all in a short time later with , but Fabrizio was waiting with 
. The board ran out 
and Fabrizio improved to a flush to send Xuan home in fourth place, good for $70,900.
Just one hand later, Darryl Ronconi chose his moment to shove with 
in the hole. Fuhs was waiting with a pocket pair this time around, and he tabled . The flop fell and Ronconi was eliminated with authority by the quad sevens held by Fuhs. Ronconi was awarded the third-place prize money of $84,800.
Fabrizio held the chip lead when heads-up play began, and he only increased it further with steady aggression as play continued. Fuhs was down to 1.1 million when he shoved all-in holding . Fabrizio called with , and it was off to the races. The board was dealt 
, and Fuhs was eliminated in second place after a nice deep run in the tournament that gave him $141,800.
The made Fabrizio the champion, and the young resident of Spain took home the top prize worth $236,400 along with the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open trophy. “He was a tough player, but I think I picked up some good cards. I think I played very good heads up. I was grinding him down and kept the pressure on, and everything worked out,” said Fabrizio about the heads-up final against Fuhs. Congratulations to our champion – Fabrizio Gonzalez.
Final Table Results:
1st: Fabrizio Gonzales – $236,400 (Pontevedra Marin)
2nd: Daniel Fuhs – $141,800 (San Diego, CA)
3rd: Darryl Ronconi – $84,800 (Naperville, IL)
4th: Xuan Liu – $70,900 (Toronto, ON)
5th: Seth Davies – $59,100 (Bend, OR)
6th: Chris Hunichen – $47,300 (Clayton, NC)
7th: Jon Borenstein – $35,500 (Teaneck, NJ)
8th: David Diaz – $29,500 (Bartlett, TN)
9th: Casey Yontz – $23,150 (Columbus, OH)
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship (Freeze-Out)
Level 30: 75,000/150,000/25,000 Ante
Hand #141 – Dan Colman raises from the button to 350,000 with 
, and Brian Phillis calls from the big blind with .
The flop comes , Phillis checks, Colman bets, and Phillis calls.
The turn card is the 
, and both players check.
The river card is the , Phillis checks, Colman bets 875,000, and Phillis calls with his to win the pot with a full house, sixes full of tens.
Seat 6. Dan Colman – 4,850,000
Seat 7. Omar Zazay – 11,925,000
Seat 9. Brian Phillis – 10,425,000
– – – – – –
Hand #142 – Omar Zazay raises from the button with , and Dan Colman calls from the big blind with .
The flop comes 
, Colman bets 500,000, and Zazay thinks for a bit before he moves all in for 11,550,000.
Colman snap-calls all in for 4,475,000 with his for top two pair, and Zazay turns over his for … ace high with only runner-runner outs.
The turn is the , the river is the , and Colman wins the pot with his two pair to double up in chips.
Seat 6. Dan Colman – 9,800,000
Seat 7. Omar Zazay – 7,075,000
Seat 9. Brian Phillis – 10,325,000
$25,400 High Roller Event (Re-Entry)
Level 21: 20,000/40,000/5,000 Ante
There was a dead button when Jason Mercier raised to 80,000. Ian O’Hara three-bet to 230,000 from the small blind and Sean Winter moved all-in for 1,350,000 in the big.
Mercier released his hand and O’Hara called with 
. Winter had two overs with but couldn’t hit either one as the board ran out 
to get the final table heads up in a hurry. Sean Winter earned $245,500 for his third place finish.
Sean Winter – Eliminated in 3rd Place ($245,500)
Jason Mercier – 3,455,000 (86 bb)
Ian O’Hara – 4,845,000 (121 bb)
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship (Freeze-Out)
Level 30: 75,000/150,000/25,000 Ante
Hand #135 – Dan Colman raises from the button to 350,000 with 
, Omar Zazay reraises from the small blind to 800,000 with 
, and Colman calls.
Both players check to the river on a board of 
. Zazay says, “Two kings,” and shows his hand to win the pot.
Colman says, “Not the best board for kings,” then admits, “I had ace-jack.”
– – – – – –
Hand #136 – Everyone folds to Dan Colman, giving him a walk in the big blind.
– – – – – –
Hand #137 – Brian Phillis raises from the button to 350,000 with -X, taking the blinds and antes.
– – – – – –
Hand #138 – Dan Colman raises from the button to 350,000 with , Brian Phillis reraises from the big blind to 1,000,000 with , and Colman folds. Phillis takes the pot.
– – – – – –
Hand #139 – Omar Zazay raises from the button to 350,000 with , Brian Phillis reraises from the small blind to 1,050,000 with , and Zazay folds. Phillis takes the pot.
– – – – – –
Hand #140 – Dan Colman limps the small blind with , and Omar Zazay checks his option in the big blind with .
Both players check to the turn on a board of , Colman bets 275,000, Zazay raises to 725,000, and Colman calls.
The river card is the , Colman checks, Zazay bets 1,125,000, and Colman tanks for about a minute before he folds. Zazay takes the pot.
$25,400 High Roller Event (Re-Entry)
Level 21: 20,000/40,000/5,000 Ante
Just two hands after Barry Hutter was sent out, Ankush Mandavia got unlucky against Jason Mercier.
Mercier shoved from the small blind ] and Mandavia quickly called in the big blind with .
Everything was good for a Mandavia double on the 
flop and turn. Mercier had a gutshot after the flop but paired the instead to send Mandavia out in 4th place for $186,200.
Ankush Mandavia – Eliminated in 4th Place ($186,200)
Jason Mercier – 3,500,000 (88 bb)
$25,400 High Roller Event (Re-Entry)
Level 21: 20,000/40,000/5,000 Ante
Barry Hutter was under ten big blinds coming back from break and put them all-in on the first hand. He was under the gun and Jason Mercier called in the cutoff with .
Hutter was ahead with 
and stayed that way on the flop. The turn was unkind to Hutter and he was gone in 5th place after the river. He picked up $141,900 while Mercier chipped up.
Barry Hutter – Eliminated in 5th Place ($141,900)
Jason Mercier – 2,920,000 (73 bb)
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship (Freeze-Out)
Level 30: 75,000/150,000/25,000 Ante
The final three players are back in their seats after dinner and ready to continue playing for the $1 million first prize. Shuffle up and deal!
2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
August 17-18, 2015
Total Entries: 794
Total Prize Pool: $794,000
David Eldridge came into this afternoon’s showdown in Hard Rock Live as the chip leader in this tournament. He continued to stay on a roll for most of the final table and then hung on to claim the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Event 23 championship.
The final table in Hard Rock Live started off with two quick exits as Gavin O’Rourke put away Mohammed “Sheddy” Siddiqui in 9th and Jamie Lewin in 8th. But then David Eldridge started to let his presence be known.
Eldridge used his chip advantage and managed to take out the next four players in the tournament. Eldridge was ahead in the first three eliminations taking out Viet Vo in 7th place, Evan Panesis in 6th place and Anthony Nardi in 5th. Eldridge then hit a flop with and called down Dan Ikashi’s all-in with holding the nut flush draw. Iskashi missed sending him out in 4th place and we were down to three with Eldridge well in control.
But then this event got very interesting. Both Gavin O’Rourke and Rubin Ybarra doubled up through Eldridge. Ybarra continued to pound away on both of his opponents and eventually found himself out in front. Ybarra continued his outstanding play and after taking out O’Rourke found himself with a two million chip lead over Eldridge as they went into heads-up play.
Ybarra had a shot to win the tournament as he held against Eldridge’s but Eldridge turned a five to win the hand and flipped things around on Ybarra in just one hand. On the final hand, Ybarra found himself ahead again with against Eldridge’s . But Eldridge hit a club flush on the river and completed his comeback to wrap up the Event 23 title.
Congratulations to our Event 23 Champion – David Eldridge!
1st: David Eldridge (Gibosnia, PA) – $146,100
2nd: Rubin Ybarra (Park Ridge, IL) – $84,700
3rd: Gavin O’Rourke (Portlaosie, Ireland) – $51,100
4th: Dan Ikashi (Miami, FL) – $43,800
5th: Anthony Nardi (Madison, WI) – $36,500
6th: Evan Panesis (St. Petersburg, FL) – $29,200
7th: Viet Vo (Pearland, TX) – $21,900
8th: Jamie Lewin (Cibralda) – $18,300
9th: Mohammed Siddiqui (Pembroke Pines, FL) – $14,050