2019 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 2
$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Entries: 86
Prize Pool: $29,240
November 20, 2019 

Gloria LoRusso is an experienced high-low player from New Jersey who played in her first tournament here at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood — Event #2, $400 Limit Omaha 8 — and she won it.

LoRusso is from Brigantine, New Jersey, and she regularly plays in Atlantic City. But while she’s visiting family in South Florida, she also wanted to take advantage of the various high-low tournaments on the RRPO schedule.

“What I love most, I came down to visit my son. And I came here to play the tournaments because they’re so varied and they have high-low games, which, for me, is everything.”

The first two cashes of LoRusso’s career were in ladies no-limit hold’em events, but since then, all but one of her cashes have come in high-low events. “I really enjoy high-low,” said LoRusso. “I’m not a no-limit player, so this is very exciting.” She plans to return tomorrow to enter Event #3, $400 H.O.R.S.E.

The final 11 players finished in the money, and when the final nine combined to the final table, LoRusso was fourth in chips. “I learned a lot from the other players,” said LoRusso. “How to handle the button, how to handle the big stack, how to be patient.”

After the elimination of Hal Klein in third place, LoRusso and Marc Rabuse found themselves nearly even in chips, with LoRusso holding a slight lead. They agreed to an equal chop of the remaining prizepool ($7,566 each), and since she was chipleader, LoRusso won the trophy and the title.

“It’s been quite a while since I won a trophy,” said LoRusso. “It’s wonderful.”

Final Results:

1st:  Gloria LoRusso  –  $7,566 + RRPO Trophy
2nd:  Marc Rabuse  –  $7,566
3rd:  Hal Klein  –  $3,545
4th:  Antony Vidmer  –  $2,398
5th:  Bryce Fox  –  $1,828
6th:  Buddy Frezza  –  $1,462
7th:  Joanne Granteed  –  $1,213
8th:  Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr.  –  $1,023
9th:  Michael P. Lee  –  $943
10th:  John Creed  –  $877
11th:  Robert Leff  –  $819

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  20,000/40,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  1 of 86

After the elimination of Hal Klein in third place, these were the official chip counts for the final two players:

Gloria LoRusso  –  530,000  (27 bb)
Marc Rabuse  –  505,000  (25 bb)

After a short discussion, LoRusso and Rabuse agreed to split the remaining prizepool evenly, and as chipleader, LoRusso would win the RRPO trophy and the title.

1st:  Gloria LoRusso  –  $7,566 + RRPO Trophy
2nd:  Marc Rabuse  –  $7,566
3rd:  Hal Klein  –  $3,545
4th:  Antony Vidmer  –  $2,398
5th:  Bryce Fox  –  $1,828
6th:  Buddy Frezza  –  $1,462
7th:  Joanne Granteed  –  $1,213
8th:  Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr.  –  $1,023
9th:  Michael P. Lee  –  $943
10th:  John Creed  –  $877
11th:  Robert Leff  –  $819

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  20,000/40,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  2 of 86

After a flop of , Hal Klein bet 20,000 from the small blind, and Marc Rabuse called from the big blind.

The turn card was the , Klein bet 40,000, Rabuse raised, and Klein called all in.

Marc Rabuse:    (trip kings, open-ended straight draw, low draw)
Hal Klein:    (flush draw, gutshot straight draw, low draw)

The river card was the , and Klein missed all of his draws. Rabuse scooped the pot with a six-high straight and a 6-5 low to eliminate Klein in third place.

Marc Rabuse  –  505,000  (25 bb)
Hal Klein  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($3,545)

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  20,000/40,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  3 of 86

Antony Vidmer was short-stacked and got it all in preflop from the button against Hal Klein in the small blind and Marc Rabuse in the big blind.

Klein and Rabuse checked every street on a board of , and all three players turned over their cards.

Hal Klein:    (two pair, 8-7 low)
Marc Rabuse:    (pair of queens, no low)
Antony Vidmer:    (king high, no low)

Klein scooped the entire pot to eliminate Vidmer in fourth place.

Hal Klein  –  400,000  (20 bb)
Marc Rabuse  –  275,000  (14 bb)
Antony Vidmer  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($2,398)

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  12,000/24,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  4 of 86

With the board showing on the turn, Bryce Fox got it all in from the cutoff for about 55,000 against Gloria LoRusso in the small blind.

Gloria LoRusso:    (pair of jacks, low draw)
Bryce Fox:    (pair of sixes, low draw)

The river card was the , and with no qualifying lows, LoRusso won the pot with her pair of jacks to eliminate Fox in fifth place.

Gloria LoRusso  –  330,000  (28 bb)
Bryce Fox  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($1,828)

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  12,000/24,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  5 of 86

With the final board showing on the river, Buddy Frezza got it all in from the small blind for about 25,000 against Hal Klein in the cutoff, and they turned over their cards.

Hal Klein:    (aces full of tens)
Buddy Frezza:    (ace-high straight)

Frezza had the lead on the turn with his straight, but the ace on the river gave Klein a full house to scoop the pot with no possible lows, eliminating Frezza in sixth place.

Hal Klein  –  240,000  (20 bb)
Buddy Frezza  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($1,462)

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 10,000/20,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  6 of 86

Joanne Granteed was short-stacked and all in preflop from the button, with a side pot roughly equal to the main pot between Bryce Fox in the small blind and Buddy Frezza in the big blind.

The flop came , Fox checked, Frezza bet, and Fox folded. Frezza took the main pot, and he and Granteed turned over their cards.

Buddy Frezza:    (nines full of sevens)
Joanne Granteed:   (nines full of sixes)

Granteed was dominated and facing elimination. The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Frezza won the pot with his higher full house to eliminate Granteed in seventh place.

Buddy Frezza  –  110,000  (11 bb)
Joanne Granteed  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($1,213)

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 10,000/20,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  7 of 86

Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr. moved all in from the hijack for 14,000, Bryce Fox called from the button, Buddy Frezza called from the small blind, and Marc Rabuse called from the big blind.

The flop came , Frezza bet 10,000, and Rabuse and Fox both folded.

Buddy Frezza:    (trip nines, flush draw)
Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr.:    (two pair)

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Frezza scooped the pot with a nine-high straight and an 8-7 low to eliminate Trudeau in eighth place.

Buddy Frezza  –  183,000  (18 bb)
Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr.  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($1,023)

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 8,000/16,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  8 of 86

With the board showing on the turn, Michael P. Lee got it all in from the big blind for about 50K against Jeffrey Trudeau in middle position.

Jeffrey Trudeau:    (two pair, low draw)
Michael P. Lee:    (higher two pair, low draw)

The river card was the , and Trudeau came from behind to river a higher two pair, and neither player made a low. Trudeau won the pot to eliminate Lee in ninth place.

Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr.  –  150,000  (19 bb)
Michael P. Lee  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($943)

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 8,000/16,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  9 of 86

After the elimination of John Creed in 10th place, the final nine players redraw for random seats at the final table. Here are their seating assignments and their approximate chip counts:

Seat 1.  Marc Rabuse  –  175,000  (22 bb)
Seat 2.  Gloria LoRusso  –  140,000  (18 bb)
Seat 3.  Michael P. Lee  –  54,000  (7 bb)
Seat 4.  Antony Vidmer  –  37,000  (5 bb)
Seat 5.  Hal Klein  –  190,000  (24 bb)
Seat 6.  Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr.  –  84,000  (11 bb)
Seat 7.  Joanne Granteed  –  19,000  (2 bb)
Seat 8.  Bryce Fox  –  268,000  (34 bb)
Seat 9.  Buddy Frezza  –  55,000  (7 bb)

10th:  John Creed  –  $877
11th:  Robert Leff  –  $819