2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 8
$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 816
Prize Pool: $791,520
April 9-12, 2018

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood presented its second WPTDeepStacks of the year, hosting the tournament after Hurricane Irma forced a cancellation of this event at our sister property in Immokalee. The tournament brought a huge crowd to the Event Center and WSOP bracelet winner Michael Tureniec was the last player standing to bank more than $140,000 for the win.

“It feels amazing,” Tureniec said of his win. “It was a very big tournament with a lot of runners and a very tough final table, so it feels really good to get the win.”

The tournament had two starting flights and featured a $250,000 guaranteed prize pool. They combined for 816 entries to put $791,520 up for grabs with the last 102 players set to take home some of that money.

Day 2 saw 171 players return and the money bubble burst early in the day when there was a double elimination with 104 players remaining, eliminating the need for hand-for-hand play. The pace was quick and the final table formed late in the evening.

They were unable to determine a winner before the 3 am stop time and three players returned for a bonus day. Ryan Hughes had the overnight lead but that quickly changed when Tureniec doubled through him with pocket kings in one of the first pots.

Hughes was eliminated soon after and the heads-up matches did not last long either. It took 28 total minutes from the start before Tureniec dispatched his two opponents to add a WPTDeepStacks title to his WSOP Little One for One Drop bracelet. He earned $143,324 for the win and that includes a seat in the season-ending WPTDeepStacks Championship later in the year.

“I think Seminole Hard Rock is a great venue for poker,” Tureniec said of his experience this week. “I played most of their major series during the past two years, and I like the big fields, big guarantees, and the great prize pools. Great bang for your buck.”

Congratulation to Michael and all the players who came out during the week to make the tournament a success.

Final table results:

1st: Michael Tureniec – $143,324 *
2nd: Scott Stewart – $98,368
3rd: Ryan Hughes – $63,507
4th: Dennis Rodriguez – $46,996
5th: Ravi Raghavan – $35,799
6th: Zachary Donovan – $28,434
7th: Donald Maloney – $23,529
8th: Chris Cornell – $18,719
9th: Brett Bader – $14,028
* – Includes $3,000 WPTDeepStacks Championship Package

• Download: Final Results (PDF)

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35: 125,000/250,000 with a 25,000 ante

Michael Tureniec extended his chip lead against Scott Stewart and made another move with a shove from the button. Stewart called for his final 3,600,000 and it was a race.

Stewart:
Tureniec:

Stewart was ahead for the double but Tureniec connected immediately on the flop. Stewart needed a nine but the turn and river ended his day and the tournament.

It did not take long to settle on a WPTDeepStack champion this afternoon. It was 28 minutes for those keeping score.

Congratulations to Michael and everyone else who made the tournament a success.

1st: Michael Tureniec – $143,324
2nd: Scott Stewart – $98,368

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35: 125,000/250,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 816

Heads-up play is underway in the WPTDeepStacks event with Michael Tureniec holding nearly a two-to-one chip lead.

Michael Tureniec – 13,200,000 (53 bb)
Scott Stewart – 7,200,000 (29 bb)

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35: 125,000/250,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 816

Ryan Hughes open-shoved from the button for 1,700,000 and Scott Stewart called in the big blind to put him at risk.

Stewart:
Hughes:

Hughes had two live cards to stay in the game but it was Stewart who paired the flop. The turn was a blank and Hughes was a quick KO after the river.

Scott Stewart – 7,200,000 (29 bb)
Ryan Hughes – Eliminated in 3rd place ($63,507)

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35: 125,000/250,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 816

With three relatively equal stacks, one big hand could be a major swing. One developed shortly after the restart. Ryan Hughes opened to 500,000 from the button and Michael Turniec three-bet to 1,350,000 from the small blind. Hughes put in a fourth bet for all his chips having Turniec covered. Turniec quickly called with a monster.

Turniec:
Hughes:

Turniec was in great shape for a massive double and his kings were safe on the board. Just like that, Hughes went from chip leader to short stack.

Michael Turniec – 12,475,000 (50 bb)
Ryan Hughes – 2,000,000 (8 bb)

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35: 125,000/250,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 816

Cards are in the air for WPTDeepStacks bonus day with three remaining but only one can be the champ.

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35: 125,000/250,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 816

There weren’t enough hours in the day to finish off the WPTDeepStacks event and crown a champion. Today, the last three players will retake their seats at the final table and play it out for the title along with the $143,324 first place prize.

Ryan Hughes had the lead several times on Day 2 and it’s still his for the return. His 7,775,000 leads the way but Michael Turniec (6,575,000) and Scott Stewart (6,050,000) are not that far behind.

Each of them is capable of taking home the win.

After taking an overnight break, the final table will resume at 1 pm and continue until we have one player posing with the Showdown trophy.

Seat 1: Ryan Hughes – 7,775,000 (31 bb)
Seat 2: Michael Turniec – 6,575,000 (26 bb)
Seat 3: Scott Stewart – 6,050,000 (24 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $143,324
2nd: $98,368
3rd: $63,507

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
End of Level 34: 100,000/200,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 816

After a 15-hour day of poker, the final three players opted to bag up chips and come back on Thursday to play down to a winner.

Ryan Hughes holds a slight chip lead over Michael Tureniec and Scott Stewart. They will return to blinds of 125,000/250,000 and a 25,000 ante with a guaranteed cash of at least $63,507, with the eventual champion taking home $143,324.

They reached the final table around 10:30 p.m., but after four and a half hours of play and 19 levels of play since the 12 p.m. start, the final three players remained. They will get cards back in the air at 1 p.m. to play down to a winner.

Here is a look at the chip counts:

Seat 1: Ryan Hughes – 7,775,000
Seat 2: Michael Tureniec – 6,575,000
Seat 3: Scott Stewart – 6,050,000

Here are the final table results thus far:

4th: Dennis Rodriguez – $46,996
5th: Ravi Raghavan – $35,799
6th: Zachary Donovan – $28,434
7th: Donald Maloney – $23,529
8th: Chris Cornell – $18,719
9th: Brett Bader – $14,028

That wrapped up Wednesday’s action of the 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. The primary event schedule gets back in the air at noon for the $2,200 eight-max no-limit hold’em.

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 34: 100,000/200,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 816

Scott Stewart raised on the button and Michael Tureniec called out of the big blind. The flop was and they both checked to the turn card.

Tureniec bet 425,000 and Stewart called. The river was the and Tureniec checked. Stewart bet 1,850,000 and Tureniec thought for just a few moments before folding.

Stewart won the pot and now all three players have nearly identical chip stacks.

Scott Stewart – 6,500,000
Michael Tureniec – 6,280,000

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33: 75,000/150,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 816

Dennis Rodriguez moved all in for 1,200,000 from under the gun. Scott Stewart called out of the small blind.

Rodriguez was in good shape with his against Stewart’s .

The flop was and Rodriguez flopped top set to take the lead. He began to celebrate slightly with his rail, but then realized that Stewart could make a straight with a seven.

The turn was the and the river was the . Stewart filled his straight draw and Rodriguez was eliminated in fourth place. He earned $46,996.

Scott Stewart – 6,400,000
Dennis Rodriguez – Eliminated