2016 SHRPO Live Updates

Event 26: Bubble Right Around the Corner

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 16: 2,000/4,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 44 of 506

SHRPO-Event-25-07923

Barely a level into the day, the field has already shrunk by 10 players putting the money bubble less than a table away. The clock shows 44 left and tournament staff is gearing up for hand-for-hand play which is expected to begin within the next level or two.

Here’s a look at the payouts for the final 36 players:

1st – $16,396
2nd – $9,715
3rd – $6,376
4th – $4,402
5th – $3,249
6th – $2,581
7th – $1,973
8th – $1,427
9th – $1,032
10th-12th – $789
13th-15th – $638
16th-18th – $546
19th-27th – $455
28th-36th – $395

Event 26: Joe Patalano Triples Up, Robert William Busts

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 15: 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 52 of 506

Joe Patalano
Joe Patalano

Robert Williams raised from early position and Martin Robbins called from his direct left. It folded around to Joe Patalano and he shoved the cutoff for 50,000. The button and blinds folded. It was back on Williams and he called. The action was on Robbins and he promptly announced “all-in” having both players covered. Williams called off and Robbins had the opportunity to bust two players.

Patalano: AcQs
Robbins: As9s
Williams: KdQd

The flop fell Th5s2s giving Robbins outs to a flush. The turn was the 8d. Robbins needed a spade to bust both players while Williams was looking for a king or queen. Fifth street came the 3h officially earning Patalano the hand. He tripled up while Robbins’ ace-high was enough to take a side pot off Williams. With that, Williams busted while Patalano jumped into contention for the chip lead.

Joe Patalano – 158,500 (52 bb)
Martin Robbins – 142,000 (47 bb)
Robert Williams – Eliminated

Event 26: Day 2 Underway; $16,396 Up Top

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 15: 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 54 of 506

The clock strikes 5pm in South Florida and we are back in action on the final event of the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. The $150 buy-in tournament began Sunday with the first of two starting flights. Amassing a field of 506 total entries, just 54 remain with only the top 36 finishing in the money.

Out in front of the action is Jeffrey Berry with a stack of 247,500. Rafael Ramos (158,500), Andrew Reid (157,500) and Martin Robbins (157,500) are also still in contention along with Eli Levy (137,000), Joe Patalano (57,000) and Stuart Newman (20,000).

Chip leader Rafael Ramos
Rafael Ramos
Andrew Reid
Andrew Reid
Martin Robbins
Martin Robbins

The remaining players are jockeying for a piece of the tournament’s $60,720 prize pool, but all eyes are squarely fixed on the $16,396 top prize.

Updates throughout the day’s play will be available right here at SHRPO.com.

Prize Pool

Event 26: Prize Pool

2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, FL
Event 26: $150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Entries: 506
Prize Pool: $60,720
August 15-17, 2016

1st – $16,396
2nd – $9,715
3rd – $6,376
4th – $4,402
5th – $3,249
6th – $2,581
7th – $1,973
8th – $1,427
9th – $1,032
10th-12th – $789
13th-15th – $638
16th-18th – $546
19th-27th – $455
28th-36th – $395

Championship: Jason Koon Beats Former Roommate Seth Davies Heads-Up to Win $1 Million

2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood
Event #22
$5,250 SHRPO Championship
Entries: 847
Prize Pool: $5,000,000
August 13-16, 2016

2016 SHRPO Main Event Champion Jason Koon
2016 SHRPO Main Event Champion Jason Koon

“It’s something that I reminded myself to burn into my brain, so on rough days I can think about this awesome day.”

That’s how Jason Koon felt about the final table of the SHRPO $5,250 Championship after defeating one of his closest friends heads-up to win $1 million.

The Championship event of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open is one of the biggest events of the poker year, something players from all over the world look forward to playing at the end of each summer. This year, the freeze-out event (no re-entries) attracted 847 players, including some of the biggest names in the poker world. The final 150 players each took home a piece of the guaranteed $5 million prize pool, though they all had their eyes on the first prize of $1 million.

Only the final nine would play on Tuesday as part of the Seminole Hard Rock’s The Big 4 — four tournament final tables playing simultaneously in the Hard Rock Live arena in front of TV cameras for Poker Night in America, and livestreamed around the world.

Koon began the day third in chips at a tough final table, followed by his close friend Seth Davies, who started the day fourth in chips. They were hoping to make it heads-up against each other for the title, and that’s exactly what happened. Said Koon, “[Seth] and I were laughing about the opportunity, and the next thing you know, we’re sitting across the table from each other with the trophy sitting in between us, so it’s a really surreal moment.”

The two former roommates have known each other for more than five years, and their friendship extends beyond poker. According to runner-up Davies, “Jason is very much a mentor to me in poker, and in life. […] I’ve learned so much from him, just about how to grow as a person and as a poker player.” Davies has apparently learned well, because he won a WPT title back in May and won SHRPO Event 17 ($1,100 Six-Max NLHE) just last week.

But this final table belonged to Koon, who took a big lead when his pocket kings held against Paul Balzano’s pocket queens to knock out Balzano in seventh place. That hand catapulted Koon to more than 10 million in chips, and he held onto the chip lead all the way to victory.

“I feel fantastic. I mean, it’s a great result, it’s a lot of money, and I got to play heads-up with my buddy … It’s a special moment.”

Final table results:

1st:  Jason Koon  –  $1,000,000
2nd:  Seth Davies  –  $575,000
3rd:  Tim Burt  –  $310,000
4th:  Roman Valerstein  –  $220,000
5th:  Tom Midena  –  $180,000
6th:  Joe Serock  –  $150,000
7th:  Paul Balzano  –  $125,000
8th:  Ryan Fair  –  $100,000
9th:  Zo Karim  –  $75,000

Download Final Results (PDF)

High Roller: Marvin Rettenmaier Conquers the SHRPO High Roller

2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood
Event #25
$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Total Entries: 105
Total Prize Pool: $2,625,000
August 15-16, 2016

Marvin_Rettenmaier_Winner3

The $25,500 SHRPO High Roller featured the biggest buy-in on the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open schedule and it drew a great crowd. There were 105 entries into the tournament, more than doubling the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.

When it was over, it was Marvin Rettenmaier standing along as the champion. He earned $787,497 for the title along with the SHRPO High Roller trophy.

The last 14 players earned a piece of the $2,625,000 prize pool and it took several hours after their noon start time to make into the money. The event was scheduled to play down the final table nine and they finally got there in the early morning hours.

The leader was Ray Qartomy when they returned to The Big 4 final table in the Hard Rock Live arena in front of the Poker Night in America cameras. There were three short stacks at the start of play with Francisco Picasso, Andjelko Adrejevic, and Rainer Kempe hitting the payout cage early in the day.

“I was playing relatively passively at the beginning of the final table,” Rettenmaier said as he reflected on the win. “There were some short stacks, and I was six out of nine.”

Qartomy seemed to be running over the table but his huge lead disappeared when there were only three players remaining. Dan Colman took several large pots from Qartomy before Rettenmaier sent him out with aces versus kings.

“I ran very well on the final table,” Rettenmaier said. “I got some — three-handed I get queens to jacks and aces to kings. So… yeah.”

The heads-up match between Colman and Rettemaier was in the German’s favor for most of the match though Colman continued to battle with several doubles. Colman even wrestled the lead away from Rettenmaier but that was only temporary.

The final hand saw Colman get all in with the best hand preflop but Rettenmaier came from behind when he flopped a flush. It was a great end to a great heads up match, one worthy of the High Roller event.

Final table results:

1st: Marvin Rettenmaier (Stuttgart, Germany) $787,497
2nd: Daniel Colman (Holden, MA) $485,625
3rd: Ray Qartomy (Spring, TX) $291,375
4th: Nick Petrangelo (Feeding Hills, MA) $190,313
5th: Daniel Strelitz (Torrance, CA) $147,000
6th: Barry Hutter (Hollywood, FL) $120,750
7th: Rainer Kempe (Berlin, Germany) $102,375
8th: Andjelko Andrejevic (Miami, FL) $89,250
9th: Francisco Picasso (San Isidro, CA) $78,750

Download Final Results (PDF)

High Roller: Marvin Rettenmaier Defeats Dan Colman to Win High Roller ($787,497)

$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 28: 100,000/200,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 105

Marvin Rettenmaier moved all in from the button, and Dan Colman called all in for 2,875,000 in the big blind, putting himself at risk.

Rettenmaier: Jd9d
Colman: Ks9s

There was a king right in the window, but the Kd4d2d flop gave Rettenmaier a king-high flush and a hammer lock on the pot. Colman needed running cards to stay alive, but the Jc on the turn left him drawing dead. The two men were already shaking hands as the meaningless 8s completed the board.

Rettenmaier won the pot and the tournament with a flush. Colman was eliminated as the runner-up, earning $485,625.

High Roller: Marvin Rettenmaier Takes from Dan Colman

$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 27: 75,000/150,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 105

Dan Colman opened to 325,000 from the button and Marvin Rettenmaier called to the 9s7h4c flop. They both checked, the turn came 7d and Rettenmaier led out for 400,000.

Colman called, the river was 8c, and Rettenmaier checked. Colman bet 1,400,000 and Rettenmaier went deep into his person thinking tank. After a few minutes, Rettenmaier called and Colman said “ace high”.

Rettenmaier’s Ad4d was better than Colman’s Ac6c to drag the big pot.

Marvin Rettenmaier – 6,850,000 (46 bb)
Dan Colman – 3,650,000 (24 bb)

Event 23: 21-Year-Old Princeton Student Bradley Snider Earns First Cash in $2,650 Title

2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood
Event #23
$2,650 No Limit Hold’em Freeze-Out 
Total Entries: 529
Total Prizepool: $1,282,825
August 14-16, 2016

Bradley Snider won the $2,650 No Limit Hold'em Freeze-Out in his first tournament cash.
Bradley Snider won the $2,650 No Limit Hold’em Freeze-Out in his first tournament cash.

Most 21-year-old college students spend their summers working minimum wage jobs to save up just enough money to go out and have fun during the school year.

Bradley Snider took a different approach to his summer vacation and will head back to Princeton University in the fall with more than just some spare change. On Tuesday evening, in what was his first-ever recorded tournament cash, Snider bested a field of 529 in a $2,650 freeze-out tournament to earn his first-ever tournament score and $246,400.

Snider grew up playing poker for fun with his family before heading to Princeton and beginning to take the game more seriously. According to Snider, December of his freshman year was when he really started dedicating some time to the game.

“Me and my brother started watching poker on Twitch,” said Snider. “And that’s what really got us into it. I wanted to play more and learn the game and study.”

Snider’s busy schedule as a math major in an Ivy League school doesn’t allow him much spare time to travel and play live poker tournaments. Most of his time with poker has been spent studying and learning the game. But in his limited experience, he hasn’t had the best results before his win at the Seminole Hard Rock.

“I’ve been running pretty bad at them up until now,” said the 21-year-old Fort Lauderdale native. “So it feels good to kind of get rewarded.”

Snider’s hard work and study got him the chip lead heading into Tuesday’s final table. He had a massive chip lead, but was the youngest player at the table and was facing some seasoned competition. All while being under the bright lights of The Big 4 and a televised final table.

None of those thing shook Snider’s mindset. He was able to keep his nerves about him even with all of the other action going on around him.

“I think I sort of just felt like I was freerolling,” said Snider. “It was already such an amazing run to be in this spot and to come in as the chip leader. So I didn’t really feel much pressure.

“There were times when we were three-handed when I was put to some really tough decisions. But other than that, I was able to stay calm and not really let the pressure of playing in The Big 4 get to me.”

Snider’s calm demeanor allowed him to outlast a final table that featured two-time WSOP bracelet winner Dan Heimiller, 2016 November Niner Jerry Wong, Koray Aldemir, and well-known online grinder Nicholas Immekus.

He defeated Irish pro Dermot Blain to take home the title, his first cash, and an extra $246,600 to his name.

“It was a really great experience,” said Snider of The Big 4. “I think it’s a really cool thing about tournament poker. Everything sort of builds up to a final table and here, it builds up to something bigger.”

Most 21-year-olds that earn a score this size begin to look at poker as more of a career path and put their education on the back burner. Snider plans to keep poker as a recreational activity and has no plans on skipping out on his education.

“I think poker will continue to just be a serious hobby for me,” he said. “I really enjoy playing casually and thinking about the game. And this will let me play a lot more poker in the future.”

Here is a look at the final table results:

1st: Bradley Snider – $246,400
2nd: Dermot Blain – $147,800
3rd: Nicholas Immekus – $88,400
4th: Koray Aldemir – $73,900
5th: Jeffrey Chang – $61,600
6th: Alex Wilson – $49,300
7th: Dan Heimiller – $37,000
8th: James Gilbert – $30,800
9th: Jerry Wong – $25,575

Download Final Results (PDF)