2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, FL 
Event 9
$360 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo
Entries: 87
Prize Pool: $26,100
April 10, 2018 

Matt Kaplan has been playing hi-lo games for as long as he can remember. He used the knowledge he picked up as a child and used that knowledge to take down the $360 pot-limit Omaha hi-lo event on Tuesday night at the Hard Rock.

Kaplan defeated Sheila O’Connor heads-up to finish off an 87-entry field and take home $8,416. Despite having decades of poker experience under his belt, Kaplan spends a good chunk of his time in cash games and this is his first recorded tournament win.

“I’ve been playing poker since I was born,” said the New York native after his win. “And I’ve played on and off for a living.”

During his childhood growing up in New York, he learned the game from his father. It sparked an interest in the game that never waned.

“When I was real young, my dad, every Wendesday night had a hi-lo game in my house,” said Kaplan. “I would literally sit on his lap and learn how to play. Ace-two-three-four-six was the nuts, not a wheel. I learned how to play declare hi-low when I real little.”

After learning the fundamentals, it was off to the races for Kaplan.

“Ever since then, I’ve always played,” said the 45-year-old. “I played Omaha at Foxwoods for a long time. It’s one of my favorite games.”

During his time in New York, Kaplan spent time playing both professionally and semi-professionally. When he wasn’t playing in New York, he was managing restaurants. He moved down to South Florida three years ago to get away from New York and ended up pouring his energy back into poker.

Now, he’s back playing poker as his sole source of income.

“I moved down here to get away from New York,” said Kaplan. “I was there for like 40 years…. I came down here expecting to work and play, but the games are pretty soft. It’s been good.”

Aside from wanting to get out of the cold and under the sun, the poker boom hurt the New York poker games. Having played for so long, Kaplan saw the difference in the games and the ability to beat the games in New York before and after Moneymaker’s victory.

“The New York poker scene really changed because the underground games, the owners started taking big rakes and it became tough to beat the game,” said Kaplan. “You have to drive to Atlantic City or Foxwoods. It was really annoying. I started working for a long time and then started getting back into it again.”

Kaplan came into the final table with the chip lead and seemingly never let up. He went heads-up with O’Connor with a chip lead and finished her off fairly quickly.

“That’s basically what happened,” said Kaplan when asked if he just steamrolled the final table. “I did get hit with the deck a little bit. Had a lot of aces today, but I played solid the best I could.”

With an 87-entry field, the top 11 spots finished in the money. Here is a look at the results:

1st: Matt Kaplan – $8,416
2nd: Sheila O’Connor – $5,090
3rd: Frank Argano – $3,165
4th: Mitchell Smith – $2,140
5th: Stephen Allen – $1,631
6th: Ralph Broderick – $1,305
7th: Joseph Orsino – $1,083
8th: Claudangelo Beaudouin – $914
9th: David Mclure – $842
10th: Sean Remz – $783
11th: Jeffrey Higgins – $731

$360 Pot Limit Omaha/8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 15: 1,500/3,000
Players Remaining: 10 of 87

The pot-limit Omaha hi-lo event is down to its final 10 players and they have redrawn for seats at the unofficial final table. With one more player eliminated, the final nine will be credited with making the final table.

Everybody is guaranteed a cash of at least $783, but the winner will leave with $8,416.

Here is a look at the seating arrangement and chip counts for the final 10 players:

Seat 1: Frank Argand – 37,000
Seat 2: Andy McClure – 76,000
Seat 3: Sheila O’Connor – 145,000
Seat 4: Joseph Orsino – 34,000
Seat 5: Steve Allen – 61,500
Seat 6: Ralph Broderick – 32,000
Seat 7: Matt Kaplan – 251,000
Seat 8: Mitchell Smith – 81,000
Seat 9: Claudangelo Beaudouin – 11,000
Seat 10: Sean Remz – 120,000

$360 Pot Limit Omaha/8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 9: 400/800
Players Remaining: 32 of 87

Registration closed for the $360 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha/8 tournament with 87 total entries. They combined to create a prize pool worth $26,100 and the last 11 players will share in the money.

A min-cash is worth $731 and the PLO8 Champ will walk away with $8,416 plus the Showdown trophy.

2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, FL
Event 9
$360 Pot Limit Omaha/8 (Re-Entry)
Entries: 87
Prize Pool: $26,100
April 10, 2018

1st: $8,416 + Trophy
2nd: $5,090
3rd: $3,165
4th: $2,140
5th: $1,631
6th: $1,305
7th: $1,083
8th: $914
9th: $842
10th: $783
11th: $731

$360 Pot Limit Omaha/8 (Re-Entry)
Structure
Level 1: 25/50

We are well into the first week of the 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown and are ready to roll out the ninth tournament on the schedule. And it should be a fun one.

Event 9 is a $360 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha/8 tournament, combining the skills of those who like their poker in the PLO-style with some split action in there to chop some pots.

Each entrant will start with a 10,000 stack and all levels will run 30 minutes long. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 9 at 3:30 pm and the re-entry desk should be busy. There is a dinner break scheduled at 5:30 pm and the remaining players will return to play down to the champion.

Cards go in the air at 11 am and we will provide some highlights along the way.

• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 8
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 9 Structure Sheet

Primary Event Schedule

11AM: Event 9 – $360 Pot Limit Omaha/8 (Re-Entry)

• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 8
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 9 Structure Sheet

12PM: Day 1B – $1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event (Re-Entry)

• $250,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 25,000 in chips and 40-minute levels
• Late registration available until start of Level 10
• Day 1 will end after Level 15 or Tournament Director discretion
• WPTDeepStacks Structure Sheet

Secondary and Satellite Schedule

9AM: Event 39 – $140 Turbo Satellite to WPTDeepStacks (1-in-10)

• 2 seats guaranteed into $1,100 WPTDeepStacks Event
• Players begin with 8,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• Satellite will be held in the Poker Room
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 39 Structure Sheet

3PM: Event 40 – $150 Double Green Chip Bounty (Re-Entry)

• $390 Showdown satellite seat added to 1st place
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 20-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 40 Structure Sheet

6PM: Event 41 – $150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

• $20,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• $3,500 WPT Championship seat added to 1st place
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 20-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 41 Structure Sheet

8PM: Event 42 – $200 Turbo into Purple Chip Bounty (1-in-10)

• 2 seats guaranteed into $1,650/$100K GTD Purple Chip Bounty
• 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 42 Structure Sheet