2019 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 5
$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Entries: 137
Prize Pool: $46,580
November 22, 2019 

Tommy Tran of Atlanta, Georgia, booked his flights and accommodations this week around the hope of making Day 2 of Event 1, but after firing a few bullets, he wasn’t able to find a bag. That’s okay, because his preferred game is Pot Limit Omaha, and after a roller-coaster ride thru Event 5 ($400 Pot Limit Omaha), Tran defeated Hyndi Khomutetsky heads-up to win his second PLO trophy this year.

“I’ve never done really well in hold’em,” said Tran. “I’m an action, gambling type of player. I love PLO. I’ve always played PLO cash games.”

In the past year or so, Tran has started to play more tournaments, fitting them into his schedule when he’s not busy running two different businesses — a financial education and services company, and a restaurant consulting and development firm.

The transition to tournaments has been going well, as Tran won a PLO trophy in Atlantic City back in January, followed by a runner-up finish in $570 Pot Limit Omaha at the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic in February.

When asked about his path to victory in this event, Tran said, “I had the biggest roller-coaster. I knocked out 10 or 11 players at my first table, and probably took out at least 16 players in this tournament.”

When the field was down to the final two tables, Tran was chipleader with 330K, but then the tournament hit a wall with 13 players remaining, and they played for well over an hour without anybody busting. During that time, Tran dropped all the way down to 65K, but he bounced back to start the nine-handed final table third in chips with 250K.

“I thought I played pretty well,” said Tran. “I caught a lot of people in a lot of good spots, and I made some really tough calls. Then [Sean][Shah] caught a five-outer against me to knock me back down with eight players left. Huge swings for me, but it was worth it.”

Tran won the event just a couple of hours before he and his wife, Magdalena Hernandez, had to catch a flight back to Atlanta. But they’re leaving most of their luggage here at the hotel because they’ll be returning on another flight tomorrow night. Both of them are big fans of Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

“We came here three months ago when there was still construction,” said Tran. “But the new poker room is absolutely beautiful. I love it here.”

Final Results:

1st:  Tommy Tran  –  $11,705 + RRPO Trophy
2nd:  Hyndi Khomutetsky  –  $7,805
3rd:  David Moreno  –  $5,455
4th:  Iman Nikmaram  –  $3,915
5th:  Sean Shah  –  $2,895
6th:  Wilfor Marentes Pinto  –  $2,205
7th:  Kenny McCollough  –  $1,730
8th:  Steve Roth  –  $1,400
9th:  Gabriel Ramos  –  $1,170
10th:  Trenton Pippin  –  $1,170
11th:  Federico Herrera  –  $1,010
12th:  Brandon Sinawi  –  $1,010
13th:  Aaron Kupin  –  $905
14th:  Christopher Back  –  $905
15th:  David Carvara  –  $840
16th:  Hossein Ghodosi Fard  –  $840
17th:  Stewart Yancik  –  $810
18th:  Joshua Adkins  –  $810

$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  20,000/40,000
Players Remaining:  1 of 137

After a flop of , Hyndi Khomutetsky got it all in for 735,000 against Tommy Tran, who had her covered with 830,000.

Tommy Tran:    (queen-high flush draw with two pair, nines and sixes)
Hyndi Khomutetsky:    (king-high flush draw with a pair of fives)

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Tran won the pot — and the Pot Limit Omaha title — with two pair, tens and nines.

1st:  Tommy Tran  –  $11,705 + RRPO Trophy
2nd:  Hyndi Khomutetsky  –  $7,805
3rd:  David Moreno  –  $5,455
4th:  Iman Nikmaram  –  $3,915
5th:  Sean Shah  –  $2,895
6th:  Wilfor Marentes Pinto  –  $2,205
7th:  Kenny McCollough  –  $1,730
8th:  Steve Roth  –  $1,400
9th:  Gabriel Ramos  –  $1,170

$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  15,000/30,000
Players Remaining:  2 of 137

Hyndi Khomutetsky raised from the button, David Moreno reraised from the big blind for 280,000, and Khomutetsky called.

The flop came , Moreno checked, Khomutetsky moved all in for 170,000, and Moreno called.

David Moreno:    (pair of aces)
Hyndi Khomutetsky:    (two pair, eights and fives)

Khomutetsky needed her hand to hold to stay alive. The turn card was the , and the river card was the . Moreno rivered a higher two pair, kings and sevens, but the same card gave Khomutetsky an eight-high straight to win the pot and double up in chips.

Hyndi Khomutetsky  –  915,000  (31 bb)
David Moreno  –  25,000  (<1 bb)

The next hand, Moreno folded his small blind, sacrificing 15,000.

David Moreno  –  10,000  (<1 sb)

The next hand, Moreno called all in from the button for 10,000, Khomutetsky completed the small blind to 30,000, and Tommy Tran checked his option in the big blind.

The flop came , Khomutetsky checked, Tran bet 40,000, and Khomutetsky folded. Tran took the side pot, and he and Moreno showed their cards.

Tommy Tran:    (two pair, aces and deuces)
David Moreno:    (pair of jacks)

Moreno needed to improve to stay alive, but the turn was the , and the river paired the board with the . Tran won the pot with two pair, aces and eights, to eliminate Moreno in third place.

David Moreno  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($5,455)

$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  15,000/25,000
Players Remaining:  3 of 137

Iman Nikmaram moved all in button for 85,000, and Tommy Tran called from the small blind.

Tommy Tran:  
Iman Nikmaram:  

The board came , and Tran won the pot with a full house, tens full of eights, to eliminate Nikmaram in fourth place.

Tommy Tran  –  660,000  (26 bb)
Iman Nikmaram  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($3,915)

$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  15,000/25,000
Players Remaining:  4 of 137

Sean Shah (hijack) and David Moreno (button) got it all in preflop with exactly 270,000 each, so unless they chopped the pot, one player would be knocked out while the other would double up to 580,000.

David Moreno:  
Sean Shah:  

The board came , and Moreno won the pot with a flopped set of aces to double up and eliminate Shah in fifth place.

David Moreno  –  580,000  (23 bb)
Sean Shah  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($2,895)

$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  10,000/20,000
Players Remaining:  5 of 137

After a flop of , Tommy Tran bets 40,000 from the small blind, and Wilfor Marentes Pinto moves all in from the big blind for 210,000. Hyndi Khomutetsky folds in the cutoff, and then Tran goes into the tank for a very long time.

Eventually, Tran calls, and both players show their cards.

Tommy Tran:    (pair of kings gutshot straight draw)
Wilfor Marentes Pinto:    (pair of nines)

Tran is ahead, and he called out for a seven to complete his straight. Sure enough, the turn card was the , and Tran briefly celebrated before realizing that Pinto picked up a diamond flush draw. “No diamond!”

The river card was the , and Tran won the pot with his nine-high straight to eliminate Pinto in sixth place.

Tommy Tran  –  620,000  (31 bb)
Wilfor Marentes Pinto  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($2,205)

$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  10,000/20,000
Players Remaining:  6 of 137

Kenny McCollough was all in from the small blind for about 100,000, against Wilfor Marentes Pinto in the hijack, and they turn over their cards.

Wilfor Marentes Pinto:  
Kenny McCollough:  

The board came , and Pinto wins the pot with two pair, kings and queens, to eliminate McCollough in seventh place.

Wilfor Marentes Pinto  –  345,000  (17 bb)
Kenny McCollough  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($1,730)

$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  10,000/20,000
Players Remaining:  7 of 137

The final eight players return from break, and here are their official chip counts:

Seat 1.  Hyndi Khomutetsky  –  410,000  (21 bb)
Seat 2.  Kenny McCollough  –  120,000  (6 bb)
Seat 3.  Iman Nikmaram  –  155,000  (8 bb)
Seat 4.  Steve Roth  –  30,000  (2 bb)
Seat 5.  Sean Shah  –  235,000  (12 bb)
Seat 6.  Tommy Tran  –  410,000  (21 bb)
Seat 7.  Wilfor Marentes Pinto  –  220,000  (11 bb)
Seat 8.  David Moreno  –  65,000  (3 bb)

In the first hand of Level 23, Steve Roth gets it all in from middle position for 30,000 against Sean Shah in the hijack.

Sean Shah:  
Steve Roth:  

The board came , and Shah wins the pot with a pair of aces to eliminate Roth in eighth place.

Sean Shah  –  295,000  (15 bb)
Steve Roth  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($1,400)

$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  6,000/12,000
Players Remaining:  8 of 137

Sean Shah raises from early position to 32,000, and Iman Nikmaram calls from one of the blinds.

Both players checked to the river on a board of , Nikmaram checked, Shah bet 20,000, and Nikmaram called.

Shah showed to win the pot with a flopped royal flush in spades, and Nikmaram said, “That’s overkill” as he mucked his cards. Nikmaran would later say he had flopped two pair.

Sean Shah  –  215,000  (18 bb)
Iman Nikmaram  –  275,000  (23 bb)

A short while later, after a flop of , Shah checks the small blind, Tommy Tran bets 30,000 from the big blind, and Shah pot-raises to 154,000, with just 10,000 more behind.

Tran goes into the tank, eventually asking himself out loud, “Do I want to race right now?”

After a little more thought, Tran says, “Let’s race,” and he calls.

Sean Shah:    (pair of sixes)
Tommy Tran:    (pocket aces, pair of sixes)

Shah was pretty dominated in this spot, but the turn card was the , and the river card was the . Shah turned two pair, queens and sixes, to win the pot and double up into the chip lead.

Sean Shah  –  400,000  (33 bb)
Tommy Tran  –  155,000  (13 bb)

$400 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  5,000/10,000
Players Remaining:  8 of 137

With the blinds at 4,000-8,000, Gabriel Ramos raised under the gun to 23,000, Kenny McCollough reraised from the big blind to 73,000, and Ramos thought for a while before he called.

The flop came , McCollough moved all in for 42,000, and Ramos called.

Gabriel Ramos:    (pair of jacks)
Kenny McCollough:    (pair of kings)

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and the pocket kings held up for McCollough to win the pot and double up in chips.

Kenny McCollough  –  26,000  (3 bb)
Gabriel Ramos  –  234,000  (29 bb)

After the blinds increased to 5,000-10,000, Ramos moved all in from middle position for 26,000, and David Moreno called from the big blind.

David Moreno:  
Gabriel Ramos:  

The board came , and Ramos flopped two pair, tens and nines, to win the pot and double up in chips.

Gabriel Ramos  –  57,000  (6 bb)
David Moreno  –  31,000  (3 bb)

A few hands later, Ramos raised from the button to 35,000, Iman Nikmaram raised from the small blind, and Ramos called all in for about 62,000.

Iman Nikmaram:  
Gabriel Ramos:  

The board came , and Nikmaram won the pot with a higher two pair, jacks and sevens, to eliminate Ramos in ninth place.

Iman Nikmaram  –  350,000  (35 bb)
Gabriel Ramos  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($1,170)