2019 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 5
$250 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Entries:  76
Prize Pool:  $15,960
January 12, 2019

When she woke up this morning, Elanit Hasas had no plans to play the Ladies Event. But shortly after midnight, she had come back from a 5-to-1 heads-up deficit to win $5,394 and a bonus prize package that includes an $1,100 seat into the Lucky Hearts Poker Open main event.

Hasas and her friends had come to South Florida for a few days to play Event 1. But those plans changed mid-afternoon.

“I ended up busting out of Event 1 earlier today, around four o’clock. That’s when Nancy [Birnbaum] convinced me to play the Ladies Event instead of re-entering.”

Hasas outlasted most of the field of 76 entries to start the final table with an average chip stack, and then worked her way into the final two with just 13 big blinds. Things got worse before they got better, and she quickly found herself down more than 5-to-1 against Suscia Bathgate.

That’s when Hasas moved all in preflop with , and it held up against Bathgate’s to double her stack. That gave her some breathing room, and it was only about 10 minutes before they played the hand Hasas considered the key to her victory.

“She raised, and I just flatted her with five-six. I ended up turning a full house,” said Hasas.

In that hand, they had built up a pot of about 270K on a board of . Hasas bet 100K, Bathgate moved all in, and Hasas quickly called with her . Bathgate showed for two pair, and Hasas won the pot with her full house to take the chip lead and carry that momentum to victory.

While this was the first live tournament win for Hasas, she’s no novice — she had 21 cashes last year, including five final tables.

Hasas was quick to praise runner-up Suscia Bathgate and fourth-place finisher Sachi Botner. “There were a lot of really great players at the table. Lauren [Failla] is a really tough competitor as well, but the two of them — Bathgate and Botner — had the biggest stacks, and they were doing a good job maintaining and growing their stacks.”

Hasas needs to return home to Atlanta this week, but she plans to be back next weekend as her victory includes an $1,100 seat into the Lucky Hearts Poker Open main event. Hasas also received a prize package from the Seminole Hard Rock Atlantic City, which includes a two-night stay at that property, a $200 dining credit, and a $200 credit to the Rock Spa.

Final results:

1st:  Elanit Hasas  –  $5,394 + Bonus Prize Package*
2nd:  Suscia Bathgate  –  $3,112
3rd:  Susanna Haedelt  –  $1,947
4th:  Sachi Botner  –  $1,317
5th:  M.G. Fernandez  –  $998
6th:  Joanne Milburn  –  $798
7th:  Sherriee Williams  –  $718
8th:  Lauren Failla  –  $638
9th:  Patricia Conrad  –  $559
10th:  Lenor Ryan  –  $479

* In addition to the prize money, the winner of the Ladies Event received a seat into the $1,100 main event, along with a prize package from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City that includes a two-night hotel stay, a $200 dining credit for one of their gourmet restaurants, and a $200 credit to their Rock Spa.

$250 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 22: 15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 1 of 76

Suscia Bathgate limped for 25,000, Elanit Hasas raised to 75,000, and Bathgate moved all in.

Hasas quickly called with , and Bathgate turned over . Bathgate needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Hasas won the pot — and the Lucky Hearts Poker Open Ladies Event — with a pair of aces.

1st:  Elanit Hasas  –  $5,394 + Main Event seat and Hard Rock AC package
2nd:  Suscia Bathgate  –  $3,112
3rd:  Susanna Haedelt  –  $1,947
4th:  Sachi Botner  –  $1,317
5th:  M.G. Fernandez  –  $998
6th:  Joanne Milburn  –  $798
7th:  Sherriee Williams  –  $718
8th:  Lauren Failla  –  $638
9th:  Patricia Conrad  –  $559
10th:  Lenor Ryan  –  $479

$250 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 76

These were the approximate chip counts when heads-up play began:

Suscia Bathgate – 950,000 (63 bb)
Elanit Hasas – 200,000 (13 bb)

After a handful of hands, Elanit Hasas moved all in for 185,000, and Suscia Bathgate thought for a moment before she called with . Hasas turned over , and she was a big favorite to double up here.

The board came , and Hasas paired her king on the flop and turned trips to win the pot and double up in chips.

Elanit Hasas  –  385,000  (26 bb)
Suscia Bathgate  –  755,000  (50 bb)

A little while later, they had built up a pot worth about 270K on a board of .

Hasas bet 100,000, Bathgate moved all in, and Hasas called all in for 240,000 with for a turned full house.

Bathgate showed for two pair, aces and fives, and Hasas won the pot to double up into the chip lead.

Elanit Hasas  –  750,000  (50 bb)
Suscia Bathgate  –  400,000  (27 bb)

$250 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 76

Susanna Haedelt was all in from the small blind for about 60,000 with , and she needed her hand to hold to stay alive against the of Suscia Bathgate on the button.

The board came , and Bathgate paired her eight on the flop to win the pot and eliminate Haedelt in third place.

Susanna Haedelt  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($1,947)

And here are the approximate chip counts before heads-up play:

Suscia Bathgate  –  950,000  (63 bb)
Elanit Hasas  –  200,000  (13 bb)

$250 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 76

Sachi Botner is all in with , and she needs to improve to stay alive against the of Elanit Hasas.

The board came , and the pocket nines held up for Hasas to win the pot and eliminate Botner in fourth place.

Elanit Hasas  –  365,000  (30 bb)
Sachi Botner  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($1,317)

$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 76

Susanna Haedelt moved all in from the button for 96,000, and M.G. Fernandez called from the big blind with . Haedelt turned over , and was dominated as she faced elimination.

The board came , and Haedelt paired her three on the turn to win the pot and double up in chips, knocking Fernandez down to barely more than one big blind.

Susanna Haedelt  –  210,000  (18 bb)
M.G. Fernandez  –  15,000  (1 bb)

The next hand, Haedelt limped from the cutoff for 12,000, Elanit Hasas limped from the button, and Fernandez moved all in from the small blind for 15,000. Suscia Bathgate called from the big blind, and Haedelt and Hasas both called as well.

Bathgate, Haedelt, and Hasas checked all the way down on a board of , and all four players turned over their cards.

Suscia Bathgate:    (six-high straight)
Susanna Haedelt:    (two pair, jacks and fives)
Elanit Hasas:    (ace high)
M.G. Fernandez:    (king high)

Bathgate won the pot to increase her chip lead and eliminate Fernandez in fifth place.

Suscia Bathgate  –  590,000  (49 bb)
M.G. Fernandez  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($998)

$250 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 76

Suscia Bathgate raised from the button to 35,000, Sachi Botner moved all in from the small blind for about 330,000, and Bathgate tanked for a while before calling all in for 258,000 with .

Botner turned over , and Bathgate needed her hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket queens held up for Bathgate to win the pot and double up in chips.

Suscia Bathgate  –  540,000  (45 bb)
Sachi Botner  –  70,000  (6 bb)

$250 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 76

Elanit Hasas moved all in from the small blind for 143,000, and Joanne Milburn called from the big blind with . Hasas turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Hasas paired her nine on the flop to win the pot and double up in chips.

Elanit Hasas  –  298,000  (25 bb)
Joanne Milburn  –  35,000  (3 bb)

A few hands later, Milburn was all in preflop from the cutoff with , and she needed her hand to hold to stay alive against Sachi Botner’s in the big blind.

The board came , and Botner paired her seven on the turn to win the pot and eliminate Milburn in sixth place.

Sachi Botner  –  330,000  (28 bb)
Joanne Milburn  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($798)

$250 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18: 5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 76

With the board showing on the turn and a little more than 90K already in the pot, Sachi Botner moved all in from the big blind, and Sherriee Williams tanked for a while before she called from the cutoff.

“I’m on a draw,” said Williams, as she turned over for a spade-flush draw. Botner turned over for two pair, tens and deuces, and Williams needed an ace or a spade on the river to stay alive.

The river card was the , and Botner won the pot with her two pair to eliminate Williams in seventh place.

Sachi Botner  –  325,000  (33 bb)
Sherriee Williams  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($718)

After the hand, M.G. Fernandez called Botner “Miss Ten,” because tens have been good to her today. Botner appeared to accept the nickname, saying, “Well, it is my favorite number. So if there’s a ten out there, just assume I have a ten.”

$250 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17: 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 ante
Players Remaining: 7 of 76

Sachi Botner min-raised from the hijack to 16,000, Lauren Failla moved all in from the button for 42,000, and Botner called with .

Failla turned over , and she needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Botner won the pot with two pair, tens and fives, to eliminate Failla in eighth place.

Sachi Botner  –  225,000  (28 bb)
Lauren Failla  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($638)