SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 26: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante Players Remaining: 9 of 847
Hand #6 – Roman Valerstein raised from the button to 125,000, taking the blinds and antes.
Hand #7 – Seth Davies raised from the hijack to 150,000, taking the blinds and antes.
Hand #8 – Tim Burt raised from middle position to 140,000, Ryan Fair moved all in from the button for about 1,165,000, and Burt folded. Fair took the pot.
Hand #9 – Jason Koon raised from the button to 140,000, taking the blinds and antes.
Hand #10 – Jason Koon raised from the cutoff to 150,000, Paul Balzano reraised from the small blind to 375,000, and Koon folded. Balzano took the pot.
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 26: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante Players Remaining: 9 of 847
Hand #1 – Seth Davies raised UTG+1 to 150,000, and took the blinds and antes.
Hand #2 – Joe Serock completed the small blind to 60,000, and Tim Burt checked his option in the big blind. Both players checked to the turn on a board of , Serock checked, Burt bet 75,000, and Serock folded. Burt took the pot.
Hand #3 – Tim Burt completed the small blind to 60,000, and Seth Davies checked his option in the big blind. Both players checked to the turn on a board of , Burt bet 80,000, and Davies called.
The river card was the , Burt bet 240,000, and Davies folded. Burt took the pot.
Hand #4 – Tom Midena raised under the gun to 130,000, Seth Davies called from the small blind, and Roman Valerstein called from the big blind. The flop came , and it checked to Burt, who bet 175,000. Davies called, and Valerstein folded.
The turn card was the , and both players check. The river card was the , and they check again. Davies showed to win the pot with a pair of aces, and Midena mucked.
Hand #5 – Seth Davies raised from the button to 150,000, Roman Valerstein reraised from the small blind to 460,000, and Davies folded. Valerstein took the pot.
After three days of play, the four marquee events on the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open schedule are ready to play out their final tables. The Big 4 includes the $5 Million GTD Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship, the $25,500 High Roller, $2,650 NLH Freeze-Out, and $1,100 Event 24 with a $500,000 Guarantee.
Nine players remain in each event, each with a shot at a major SHRPO title.
Action is set to get underway at 2pm and all four tables will be live-streamed on Poker Night in America’s Twitch page.
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 26: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante Players Remaining: 9 of 847
Seat 1: Seth Davies – 3,350,000 (56 bb) Seat 2: Roman Valenstein – 2,895,000 (48 bb) Seat 3: Thomas Midena – 4,395,000 (73 bb) Seat 4: Ryan Fair – 1,335,000 (22 bb) Seat 5: Jason Koon – 3,595,000 (60 bb) Seat 6: Zo Karim – 1,295,000 (22 bb) Seat 7: Paul Balzano – 4,120,000 (69 bb) Seat 8: Joe Serock – 1,845,000 (31 bb) Seat 9: Tim Burt – 2,575,000 (43 bb)
$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 22: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 9 of 105
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 26: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante Players Remaining: 9 of 847
The 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Poker Championship final table features players who have earned nearly $13 million dollars in the career but the $1,000,000 first place prize here will the biggest for any other them.
Seat 1: Seth Davies Bend, OR 3,350,000 (56 bb)
Davies has $558,000 in career earnings and got his first career tournament victory when he won the Won partypoker WPT Canadian Spring Championship in April. He followed it up with a win this series when Davies won the $1,100 Six-Max event.
Seat 2: Roman Valerstein Langhorne, PA 2,895,000 (48 bb)
An east coast grinder that has more than $1 million in career earnings including a WSOP Circuit victory. He also won a Borgata Deep Stack event and another in Malta one year ago. Valerstein is seen mostly on the east coast but he has a chance for a South Florida title.
Seat 3: Tom Midena Brooklyn, MI 4,395,000 (73 bb)
Midena is successful on the MSPT Tour player and won one of their events back in 2013. He also owns a WSOP circuit ring that he picked up less than a month after his MSPT title. Midena’s biggest career cash was for nearly $100,000 when he finished 2nd during an HPT tournament two weeks later.
Seat 4: Ryan Fair Miami, FL 1,335,000 (22 bb)
Fair’s highest position cash came when he made the final table during the 2013 PCA Main Event when he finished up 9th for $120,000. But his two biggest results came when he finished 31st in the 2009 WSOP Main Event then 48th for another deep run in the WSOP Main Event in 2014.
Seat 5: Jason Koon Weston, WV 3,595,000 (60 bb)
Koon is one of the most accomplished players at the final table with more than $4 million in career earnings. He won the Bellagio High Roller this summer to go along with eight WSOP final tables and a 4th place finish in the 2010 WPT World Championship.
Seat 6: Zo Karim Orlando, FL 1,295,000 (22 bb)
Zo is a local favorite and also very successful. He has a WSOP Circuit ring from 2013 and two Seminole Hard Rock Poker titles from 2011 and 2014. He has more than $1.4 million in career earning and the biggest came when he finished 3rd at the 2013 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship.
Paul Balzano
Seat 7: Paul Balzano Sunrise, FL 4,120,000 (69 bb)
Balzano is a SHRP regular with two series trophies to his credit. He has nearly $700,000 in career earnings with his best result coming from a Wynn Poker Classic victory followed by a fourth place finish last week in the 2016 SHRPO $570 Event 10.
Joe Serock
Seat 8: Joe Serock San Diego, CA 1,845,000 (31 bb)
With more than $3 million in career earnings, he’s still due for a major tournament victory. Serock has second place finishes in three different major series including two runner-up WSOP results in 2009 and 2010.
Seat 9: Tim Burt Dilberbille, MS 2,575,000 (43 bb)
Burt has more than a dozen tournament victories to his credit including three WSOP Circuit rings. He’s still waiting for his first six-digit cash with his biggest to date coming from a deep run in the WSOP Main Event last month for $42,000.
Final table lineup:
Seat 1: Seth Davies – 3,350,000 (56 bb) Seat 2: Roman Valenstein – 2,895,000 (48 bb) Seat 3: Thomas Midena – 4,395,000 (73 bb) Seat 4: Ryan Fair – 1,335,000 (22 bb) Seat 5: Jason Koon – 3,595,000 (60 bb) Seat 6: Zo Karim – 1,295,000 (22 bb) Seat 7: Paul Balzano – 4,120,000 (69 bb) Seat 8: Joe Serock – 1,845,000 (31 bb) Seat 9: Tim Burt – 2,575,000 (43 bb)
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 26: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante Players Remaining: 9 of 847
Day 3 of the SHRPO $5 Million Guaranteed Championship began with 38 players, all battling for the nine seats at tomorrow afternoon’s final table, where they’ll be guaranteed at least $75,000 each with a shot at the first prize of $1,000,000.
Without further delay, here are the final nine players, along with their official chip counts and seating assignments for tomorrow’s final table:
1. Seth Davies – 3,350,000 (56 bb) 2. Roman Valerstein – 2,895,000 (48 bb) 3. Thomas Midena – 4,395,000 (73 bb) 4. Ryan Fair – 1,335,000 (22 bb) 5. Jason Koon – 3,595,000 (60 bb) 6. Zo Karim – 1,295,000 (22 bb) 7. Paul Balzano – 4,120,000 (69 bb) 8. Joe Serock – 1,845,000 (31 bb) 9. Tim Burt – 2,575,000 (43 bb)
Thomas Midena leads the pack with nearly 4.4 million in chips, and if he finishes eighth or better, it’ll be the biggest live tournament cash of his career. Local player Paul Balzano isn’t far behind in the counts with 4.1 million in chips.
Roman Valerstein has more than $1 million in career earnings, and has televised final table experience after finishing sixth at last September’s WPT Borgata Poker Open. Zo Karim has more than $1.4 million in earnings, and finished third at the 2013 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, which was also a TV final table.
Seth Davies is fresh off a victory here last week in Event 17 ($1,100 Six-Max NLHE), and he won a WPT title in Montreal just four months ago. Jason Koon has more than $4.2 million in earnings, and would love to commemorate his birthday (which was yesterday) by adding another million to his career total.
Joe Serock
World Poker Tour Season 10 Player of the Year Joe Serock might have been the chipleader at this final table if not for a hand that went down with 11 players remaining. In a pot worth 4.45 million, Midena got it all in on the turn with a pair and a flush draw against Serock’s two pair. Midena made his flush on the river to knock Serock down to the short stack, but Serock was able to hold on and fight his way back into contention. Serock has more than $3 million in career earnings, but is still looking for his first high-profile title, and would love to win it here at the Seminole Hard Rock.
Full bios for all nine finalists will be posted here later this evening.
Here is the remaining prizepool at stake, followed by the players who finished in the money here on Day 3:
10th: Corey Hochman – $50,000 11th: Said Mossallam – $50,000 12th: Justin Swilling – $50,000 13th: Esther Taylor-Brady – $40,000 14th: Chris Klodnicki – $40,000 15th: Lexy Gavin – $40,000 16th: Ting Ho – $35,000 17th: Theo Lawson – $35,000 18th: Thomas Houghteling – $35,000 19th: Sam Ho – $32,500 20th: Brett Bader – $32,500 21st: David Wolff – $32,500 22nd: Angel Guillen – $30,000 23rd: Tom Marchese – $30,000 24th: Paul Dlugozima – $30,000 25th: Matt Affleck – $27,500 26th: Patrick Eskandar – $27,500 27th: Zach Mullennix – $27,500 28th: Bob Mather – $25,000 29th: Brian Wachs – $25,000 30th: Michael Cohen – $25,000 31st: Michael Newman – $25,000 32nd: Andre Crooks – $25,000 33rd: Santana Noronha – $25,000 34th: David Peters – $25,000 35th: Tom Gity – $25,000 36th: David Belikov – $25,000 37th: Mark Johnson – $22,500 38th: Rich Alsup – $22,500
The final table begins tomorrow at 2:00 pm ET as part of the Seminole Hard Rock’s “Big Four,” with a livestream on a 30-minute delay. As always, you’ll also be able to follow live updates right here at SHRPO.com.
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 25: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 9 of 847
Corey Hochman
Joe Serock limped from under the gun and Corey Hochman moved all in for 130,000 from middle position. Zo Karim called in the small blind along with Paul Balzano in the big.
Karim bet 75,000 after the flop, Balzano released, and Joe Serock called. Karim checked dark before the turn and Serock bet 200,000.
Karim let his hand go, showing the and Koon showed . It was better than Hochman’s to send him out in 10th place and set the televised final table.
Joe Serock – 1,845,000 (37 bb) Corey Hochman – Eliminated in 10th place ($50,000)
SHRPO $5 Million GTD Championship Level 25: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 10 of 847
Jason Koon opened to 125,000 from the button and Paul Balzano called to see the flop. Balzano checked, Koon bet 75,000 and Balzano check-raised to 225,000.
Koon called and Balzano led for 290,000 after the turn, Koon called, and the river was . Balzano bet 675,000, Koon called, and Balzano showed to win the pot with a wheel.
Paul Balzano – 3,570,000 (71 bb) Jason Koon – 4,300,000 (86 bb)
, Serock checked, Burt bet 75,000, and Serock folded. Burt took the pot.
, Burt bet 80,000, and Davies called.
, Burt bet 240,000, and Davies folded. Burt took the pot.
, and it checked to Burt, who bet 175,000. Davies called, and Valerstein folded.
, and both players check. The river card was the 
, and they check again. Davies showed 
flop, Balzano released, and Joe Serock called. Karim checked dark before the 
turn and Serock bet 200,000.
to send him out in 10th place and set the televised final table.
flop and Hochman couldn’t catch back up on the 
turn or 
river. Serock picked up the big double while Hochman was left short.
flop. Balzano checked, Koon bet 75,000 and Balzano check-raised to 225,000.
to win the pot with a wheel.