$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 24: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 116
Action folded around to the blinds where Loni Harwood moved all in from the small. That put the decision on Olivier Busquet and his stack of 830,000 chips, and he quickly called all in to put himself at risk.
Harwood: 
Busquet: 
The board ran out 
, and Busquet won the pot with aces up to double up.
Olivier Busquet – 1,710,000 (21 bb)
Loni Harwood – 1,330,000 (17 bb)
2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, FL
$300 Turbo No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 133
Prize Pool: $33,915
April 5, 2017
It was an anniversary of sorts on Wednesday for Ty Akbasli. Four years ago to the day, Akbasli won a tournament at the Hard Rock. On the four-year anniversary of his win, he came back to the Hard Rock to win another tournament.
Akbasli defeated a field of 133 entrants to take home $9,582 and a title in the $300 turbo no limit hold’em.
“I woke up this morning and I’m checking my Facebook and it said four years ago on this exact day, I won a tournament here at the Hard Rock,” said Akbasli. “I think it was a bounty and that was awesome.
“That got me riled up to play today, so I just hopped in the car and saw there was a tournament running and I got lucky again.”
Akbasli had to work hard for the title in the final preliminary event of the series. After coming into the final table in the middle of the pack, he found himself heads-up against Sean Perry with a huge chip deficit to overcome.
“I basically just waited it out,” said Akbasli. “I had a few favorable spots, nothing major. Just grinded it and then ended up coming in with a five-to-one chip deficit against a young hot shot guy that said he was 98% to win it. That gave me more motivatoin to show him what we do.”
What Akbasli did was deny Perry his second title of the series. Perry, who is only 20-years-old, had a monster series in South Florida. He had five cashes throughout the series, with two runner-up finishes and a win in the $570 no limit hold’em.
Akbasli and Perry were engaging in some back-and-forth banter heads-up, but Akbasli said that the minor trash talk was all in good spirits.
“It was all in good fun,” said Akbasli. “He was a big talker and had been talking the whole tournament. I told him with four tables to go that I was going to bust him and then somehow I ended up heads-up with him.”
Akbasli’s second Hard Rock trophy won’t be going far. Akbasli is a recreational player who lives in the area. He owns an internet marketing company, which allows him the freedom to get down to the poker room and put in some hours on the felt when he can.
The turbo format was appealing for Akbasli’s business life. It enabled him to come in and play for some good money without having to commit multiple days to the tournament.
“It’s very efficient,” said Akbasli. “I don’t want to sit around for two or three days. It’s good to just get one in and be able to finish in one day and get back to business afterwards.
After growing up in the Washington DC area, he moved down to South Florida five years ago. He’s been “loving life” ever since.
“I play poker for fun,” said Akbasli. “I play a lot, but I only play for fun. I’m not a pro or anything. I just wanted to get one for the good guys.”
Results:
1st: Ty Akbasli – $9,582
2nd: Sean Perry – $6,026
3rd: Andrey Plotnikov – $3,595
4th: Justin Conley – $2,204
5th: Dreyson Parker – $1,679
6th: Richard Katz – $1,424
7th: David Zemel – $1,238
8th: Seth Gilson – $1,085
9th: Ory Hen – $958
10th: Norman Zapcynski – $848
11th: Patrick Heneghan – $848
12th: Spencer Champlin – $848
13th: Adam Goldberg – $746
14th: Nicholas Baurichter – $746
15th: Ronald Magers – $746
16th: Angelo Castaldi – $653
17th: Ryan Dunn – $653
$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 24: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 116
Justin Bonomo opened the button to 180,000, and Sam Soverel three-bet shoved for about 1,100,000 in the small blind. Bonomo called the remainder to put Soverel at risk.
Bonomo: 
Soverel: 
The after-dinner session has not gone well for the chip leader at the break, and this time was no different for Soverel. The board ran out 
, and Bonomo won the pot with trip kings. Soverel was eliminated in sixth place.
Justin Bonomo – 4,000,000 (50 bb)
Sam Soverel – Eliminated in 6th place ($113,100)
$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 24: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 116
Sam Soverel opened to 175,000 under the gun, and SHRP Team member Loni Harwood three-bet shoved for about 1,300,000 next to act. Soverel called the remainder to put her at risk.
Soverel: 
Harwood: 
The 
flop was pretty bad news for Harwood, giving Soverel a set of tens and leaving her dead to a queen or a running flush. The 
turn was a decent start, though, and the on the river got her all the way over the hump, filling her flush to earn her a double-up.
She’s now contending with Justin Bonomo for the lead with six players left.
Loni Harwood – 2,700,000 (34 bb)
Sam Soverel – 1,150,000 (14 bb)
$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 24: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 8 of 116
Ari Engel waited as long as he could before ending up all in for his last 70,000 in the big blind. Action folded around to the button where Bryn Kenney moved all in for 935,000, putting the last action on Jason Mercier in the small blind. He spent a few minutes pondering, then called to put both players at risk.
Kenney: 
Mercier: 
Engel: 
The board ran out 
, and Mercier flopped an ace to win the double knockout pot.
Engel had the shorter of the at-risk stacks when the hand began, so he took the higher finishing position. He’s out in eighth place, Kenney in seventh, and Mercier is now becoming a threat atop the leaderboard.
Jason Mercier – 2,675,000 (33 bb)
Bryn Kenney – Eliminated in 7th place ($92,800)
Ari Engel – Eliminated in 8th place ($78,300)
$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 24: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 9 of 116
Jason Mercier moved all in for around 1,100,000 in early position, and Jeff Gross called all in for 390,000 to put himself at risk. Loni Harwood called, too, working with a similar stack as Mercier’s. And the same hand.
Mercier: 
Gross:
Harwood: 
The board ran out 
, and Gross could not catch up. He was eliminated in ninth place, sending half his chips each to Mercier and Harwood.
Jason Mercier – 1,550,000 (19 bb)
Loni Harwood – 1,350,000 (17 bb)
Jeff Gross – Eliminated in 9th place ($75,400)
$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 24: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 9 of 116
Two hands after doubling through Olivier Busquet, Justin Bonomo doubled again, this time through Ari Engel.
Action folded to Engel in the cutoff, and he moved all in for 1,110,000. Bonomo called all in for 990,000 on the button, putting himself at risk once again.
Engel: 
Bonomo: 
The board ran out safely for Bonomo, coming 
to give him another double-up. Thanks to this after-dinner rush, he’s suddenly second in chips and breathing down the neck of leader Sam Soverel.
Engel was left with less than two big blinds after paying off his debt.
Justin Bonomo – 2,190,000 (27 bb)
Ari Engel – 120,000 (2 bb)
$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 24: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 9 of 116
Olivier Busquet opened to 175,000 in early position, and Justin Bonomo three-bet shoved for 460,000 in the big blind. Busquet called the remainder to put Bonomo at risk.
Bonomo: 
Busquet: 
The flop was bad news for Bonomo, giving Busquet a big lead. The on the turn gave Bonomo a flush draw with one card to come, though, and the river saved Bonomo’s tournament life. He rivered a pair of queens to double up.
Justin Bonomo – 1,050,000 (13 bb)
Olivier Busquet – 1,400,000 (18 bb)
$2,200 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Level 18: 10,000/20,000
Players Remaining: 3 of 95
Maxx Coleman was the most recent elimination busting at the hands Joni Jouhkimainen. The flop was 
and Coleman claimed 
while Jouhkimainen held 
. Jouhkimainen’s two pair was good and it improved on the runout. Coleman headed home fourth good for a score of $14,725.
Maxx Coleman – Eliminated
$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
End of Level 23: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 9 of 116
Level 23 concluded, and the field was sent on a 40-minute dinner break. Here’s how the table will be set up when they return for the new level at 6:50 p.m.:
Seat 1: Jason Mercier – 1,220,000 (15 bb)
Seat 2: Jeff Gross – 450,000 (6 bb)
Seat 3: Ari Engel – 1,180,000 (15 bb)
Seat 4: Justin Bonomo – 470,000 (6 bb)
Seat 5: Sam Soverel – 2,935,000 (37 bb)
Seat 6: Loni Harwood – 1,040,000 (13 bb)
Seat 7: Olivier Busquet – 1,870,000 (23 bb)
Seat 8: Anthony Spinella – 1,180,000 (15 bb)
Seat 9: Bryn Kenney – 1,255,000 (16 bb)