Event 10: Jeff Fogel Earns Seminole Hard Rock Trophy With Turbo Win

2017 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 

Hollywood, Florida
Event 10 
$360 No Limit Hold’em Turbo 
Entries: 77 
Prize Pool: $30,000 
November 26, 2017 

Event 10 Champion Jeffrey Fogel

Poker players face adversity every time they sit at the table. Whether it’s a cold streak of cards, an unlucky river card or being short stacked and on the brink of bubbling a tournament. By nature, they learn to deal with the curveballs that the poker gods throw at them.

Having been diagnosed with ALS six years ago, Jeffrey Fogel is no stranger to dealing with less than ideal situations.

On Sunday, things went Fogel’s way. He defeated a 77-entry field in the $360 no limit turbo to win his first Hard Rock trophy. As part of a six-way deal, the 46-year-old poker player from Miami won $3,939 for the win.

“It’s a great feeling to come in first,” said Fogel after his win.

It’s the second time this series that Fogel was a part of a six-way deal. In the $570 deep stack no limit hold’em re-entry event, Fogel finished fourth in a six-way deal for $30,019.

“I’m blessed that I’m having a good series,” said Fogel. “I chopped the $570 six ways and I did not play the main. I didn’t want to. It’s just a blessing.”

Blessed was a word that Fogel used frequently after his win. Living with advanced stages of ALS, he has a couple of friends that are with him around the clock to help take care of him both medically and at the poker table. He just feels lucky to have those guys around.

“Pierre, right here, is my nurse,” said Fogel. “He drives me. He takes care of me. I’m blessed to have him in my life.”

In order for Fogel to talk after his win, Pierre needed to detach him from his ventilator. The ventilator is a machine that ran down his throat via a tracheostomy tube that helps him breathe.

He’s unable to speak when he’s attached to the machine and when he’s not, he can’t talk for long. Pierre is there to make sure all of his medical needs are met.

At the poker table, however, his friend Miguel helps him out. Miguel met Fogel through a mutual friend and they’ve known each other for seven or eight years.

Miguel peels Fogel’s cards, he places the bets, moves the chips and physically makes the action that Jeff wants.

“It’s a blessing that they have been with me for so long,” said Fogel about the team of people that surround them.

Living in the area, Fogel spends a lot of time grinding tournaments at the Hard Rock, but he’s succeeded on bigger stages as well. In 2015, he finished 158th out of 22,374 entries in the Colossus at the World Series of Poker. He cashed for $8,155.

“I learned a lot at the World Series of Poker,” said Fogel. “It’s amazing. It was like a kid in a candy store.”

To cash in the Colossus, Fogel needed to grind for dozens of hours over several days. This being a turbo event, Fogel only needed about seven hours to earn his money.

He preferred the faster structure.

“I love it,” said Fogel. “I love the turbos. I get in and out.”

This is Fogel’s third career live tournament win. All of which came at Hard Rock properties in South Florida. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I just enjoy playing poker a lot,” said Fogel. “The Hard Rock. This is my home.”

Complete Results:

1st: Jeffrey Fogel – $3,939*
2nd: Cangir Elcin – $3,939*
3rd: Jason Walker – $3,939*
4th: Leon Benmargui – $3,939*
5th: Larry Hirschfield – $3,939*
6th: Richard Arno – $3,939*
7th: Jeronimo Abalos – $1,193
8th: Frank Gil – $1,035
9th: Georges Boyadjian – $915
10th: Aaron Friedman – $825
11th: Robert Campbell – $825
12th: Luis Mantilla – $825
13th: Konstantin Tourevski – $750

*Indicates adjusted payout to reflect the final deal 

Event 10: Down to the 10-Handed Final Table

$360 Big Stack Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guarantee | Payouts
Level 20: 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 77

The 10-handed final table

Following less than six hours of play, the 77-entry starting field in today’s 12pm $360 Big Stack Turbo is down to the final 10 and consolidated to one table. Cangir Elgin leads the way while Aaron Friedman is the short stack with just two big blinds.

Here’s a look at the final table seating chart, the remaining payouts and updated results to this point:

Seat 1: Jeronimo Abalos – 113,000
Seat 2: Jason Walker – 102,000
Seat 3: Jeffrey Fogel – 88,800
Seat 4: Cangir Elcin – 269,500
Seat 5: Leon Benmargui – 229,000
Seat 6: Richard Arno – 160,500
Seat 7: Georges Boyadjian – 48,000
Seat 8: Larry Hirschfield – 66,000
Seat 9: Frank Gil – 63,000
Seat 10: Aaron Friedman – 16,000

1st – $9,149 + Trophy
2nd – $5,625
3rd – $3,450
4th – $2,250
5th – $1,755
6th – $1,403
7th – $1,193
8th – $1,035
9th – $915
10th – $825

11th: Robert Campbell – $825
12th: Luis Mantilla – $825
13th: Konstantin Tourevski – $750

A winner photo, final report and final results will be provided after the tournament concludes.

Event 10: Registration Closed in Big Stack Turbo

$360 Big Stack Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guarantee | Structure
Level 16: 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 23 of 77

Level 16 is underway and registration is closed in Event 10 of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open, a $360 buy-in Big Stack Turbo. A total of 77 entries ponied up the buy-in and the top 13 of them will finish in the money. A min-cash earns $750 while the winner is slated to pocket $9,149.

Here are the details:

2017 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 10
$360 Big Stack Turbo (Re-Entry)
Entries: 174 
Prize Pool: $30,000
November 26, 2017

1st – $9,149 + Trophy
2nd – $5,625
3rd – $3,450
4th – $2,250
5th – $1,755
6th – $1,403
7th – $1,193
8th – $1,035
9th – $915
10th-12th – $825
13th – $750

We’ll take another look at this event when it narrows to the 10-handed final table.

Event 10: Big Stack Turbo

$360 Big Stack Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guarantee | Structure
Level 1: 25/50

Just because players didn’t manage to make their way into Day 2 of the RRPO Championship, that doesn’t mean their series has to be over. We have two new tournaments kicking off today with the first set to roll at noon with a one-day trophy at stake.

Event 10 is a $360 buy-in Big Stack No Limit Hold’em tournament with a turbo structure and $30,000 guaranteed prize pool to juice up the action. The tournament will cruise along at a brisk pace with a lot of money to be made at the end.

Each entrant will sit start with a 15,000 stack and the turbo structure calls for 15-minute levels throughout. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 16 at 4:20pm. After that, they will continue playing down until we crown another RRPO champion.

  • $30,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 15,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 16
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 10 Structure Sheet

With Day 2 of the Championship playing down, much of our live reporting efforts will be concentrated there. We’ll provide turbo updates when registration closes, at the 10-handed final table and then again when the tournament concludes.

RRPO Day 12 Schedule

Primary Event Schedule

12PM: Day 2 – $3,500 RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)

12PM: Event 10 – $360 Big Stack Turbo NL Hold’em (Re-Entry)

  • $30,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 15,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 16
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 10 Structure Sheet

3PM: Event 11 Day 1 – $1,650 Purple Chip County NLH (Re-Entry)

  • $100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 12,000 in chips
  • Levels 1-10 last 30 minutes; Levels 11+ last 40 minutes
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 11
  • Day 1 will end after Level 16 or Tournament Director discretion
  • Event 11 Structure Sheet

Secondary and Satellite Schedule

7PM: Event 46 – $150 Survivor No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

  • 1-in-10 players will win $1,200 in cash
  • Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 46 Structure Sheet

8PM: Event 47 – $550 Turbo Satellite in Event 13 (1-in-10)

  • 1 seat guaranteed into $5,000/$200K Guarantee Event 13
  • Players begin with 8,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 47 Structure Sheet

Players are encouraged to park in Seminole Way Garage for easy, covered access to the tournament area and poker room
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