2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 1
$600 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  3,229
Prize Pool:  $1,711,370
August 1-5, 2019 

Raminder Singh is a local businessman who considers himself to be a recreational player, but don’t assume that makes him a rookie, as he has won more than two dozen poker tournaments in the past five years, including a handful right here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. And with his victory today in Event 1 ($600 Deepstack NLH), Singh officially crosses the $1 million mark in career tournament earnings.

“Poker is my hobby,” said Singh. “This is really a great accomplishment for me, competing against some of the best players in the world in tournaments like this.”

Raminder was among the chipleaders for most of Day 2 and Day 3, and he believes the last time he was all in as the shorter stack facing elimination came early on Day 2.

“The biggest hand that made my tournament was in the second hour of Day 2,” said Singh. “I made a set of aces against Zoltan Czinkota’s set of queens. That double-up put me over a million in chips, and I never looked back.”

There were 12 players remaining at the end of Day 2, and recent WPT champion Craig Varnell was just behind Singh on the leaderboard. But Varnell was on the wrong end of a painful cooler with 11 players left (link to the hand), cold-four-betting all in from the button with kings, only to have chipleader Kevin Blewitt wake up in the small blind with pocket aces. Sean Remz folded pocket tens face up, and José Duarte was the third player in the hand with pocket sevens and a short stack.

Duarte flopped a set of sevens and rivered quads to triple up, but Blewitt won a huge side pot to eliminate Varnell in 11th place.

That hand carried Blewitt to the final table with a huge lead, but Singh regained the lead with seven players left, and then knocked out Devond Marshall in seventh place to increase his lead even further. That’s when the final six players agreed to a slightly adjusted ICM chop to split the remainder of the prizepool.

The final six players seemed to have a great rapport with each other at the table. Singh called them “a good bunch of guys. Everyone was very friendly, and that made the experience way better and enjoyable.”

As for Singh, he adds another trophy to his family’s collection. Singh has a friendly competition with his 11-year-old daughter, Sonya, to see who can win more trophies. Sonya has more than 30 medals and trophies for ice skating, and today’s victory brings Singh to about 25, so he has some catching up to do.

“She has a big lead in trophies, which makes me a proud father. But I’ve got to catch up with her in the coming years.”

Singh’s eight-year-old son Shawn has recently joined the friendly competition as he competes in soccer, ice hockey, and other sports.

Singh is a regular player here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, and he had high praise for the casino and staff. He’s particularly excited for the opening of the new Guitar Tower in October. “This is a really great experience,” Singh said, “but I’m looking forward to the new Hard Rock Poker Room near the Guitar.”

Singh plans to go back to work tomorrow, and he may go to India soon to visit his parents. But if he’s still in town, he’ll be back at the end of this week for the $5,250 SHRPO Championship.

“I’m really looking forward to the championship,” said Singh. “I will try to satellite into the main, which I always do.”

Final Table Results:

1st:  Raminder Singh  –  $200,000 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  Kevin Blewitt  –  $176,335
3rd:  Kayeen Ellis-Kemp  –  $144,265
4th:  José Duarte  –  $120,110
5th:  Sean Remz  –  $109,320
6th:  Kevin Greene  –  $105,615
7th:  Devond Marshall  –  $46,995
8th:  Scott Weidema  –  $30,735
9th:  Richard Gress  –  $21,325

• Download: Final Results (PDF)

$600 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35: 200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 3,229

After the elimination of Devond Marshall in seventh place, the final six players agreed to a deal to split up the remaining prizepool as a slightly modified ICM chop.

These were the official chip counts when they made the deal:

Seat 1.  Kayeen Ellis-Kemp  –  9,800,000  (25 bb)
Seat 2.  José Duarte  –  5,900,000  (15 bb)
Seat 3.  Raminder Singh  –  23,100,000  (58 bb)
Seat 4.  Kevin Greene  –  4,400,000  (11 bb)
Seat 5.  Sean Remz  –  4,500,000  (11 bb)
Seat 6.  Kevin Blewitt  –  16,900,000  (42 bb)

As chipleader, Raminder Singh is the Event 1 champion. Here are the official payouts for these final six players:

1st:  Raminder Singh  –  $200,000 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  Kevin Blewitt  –  $176,335
3rd:  Kayeen Ellis-Kemp  –  $144,265
4th:  José Duarte  –  $120,110
5th:  Sean Remz  –  $109,320
6th:  Kevin Greene  –  $105,615

Stay tuned for a recap from this event.

$600 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35: 200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 3,229

Devond Marshall was all in from the big blind for about 2,400,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Raminder Singh in the cutoff.

The board came , and the pocket kings held up for Singh to win the pot and eliminate Marshall in seventh place.

Raminder Singh  –  23,100,000  (58 bb)
Devond Marshall  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($46,995)

The final six players are all guaranteed at least $64,965 each.

$600 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35: 200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 3,229

The blue 25K chips were colored up during the break, and the 500K plaques have been introduced into play. (Running deep enough in a big tournament to play with plaques should be on the bucket list of every poker player.)

The players return from break to begin Level 35, with increased blinds of 200,000-400,000 and a 400,000 big blind ante. With seven players remaining, the average chip stack is about 9.2 million (23 big blinds). Here are the official chip counts, followed by the remaining prizepool at stake:

Seat 1.  Kayeen Ellis-Kemp  –  8,400,000  (21 bb)
Seat 2.  José Duarte  –  6,900,000  (17 bb)
Seat 3.  Raminder Singh  –  19,700,000  (49 bb)
Seat 4.  Kevin Greene  –  4,200,000  (11 bb)
Seat 5.  Sean Remz  –  5,500,000  (14 bb)
Seat 6.  Devond Marshall  –  3,000,000  (8 bb)
Seat 7.  Kevin Blewitt  –  16,900,000  (42 bb)

1st:  $291,665 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $189,380
3rd:  $123,235
4th:  $103,040
5th:  $83,360
6th:  $64,965
7th:  $46,995

$600 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 34: 150,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 3,229

Kevin Greene was all in from the big blind for 2,325,000 with , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive against the of Raminder Singh in the small blind.

The board came , and Greene wins the pot with a pair of aces to double up in chips.

Kevin Greene  –  4,950,000  (17 bb)
Raminder Singh  –  10,000,000  (33 bb)

Scott Weidema raised UTG+1 to 750,000, José Duarte moved all in from middle position, and Weidema called all in for 3,600,000 with .

Duarte turned over , and Weidema needed his jacks to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Duarte paired his ace on the flop to win the pot and eliminate Weidema in eighth place.

José Duarte  –  11,750,000  (39 bb)
Scott Weidema  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($30,735)

The final seven players are guaranteed at least $46,995 each.

$600 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 34: 150,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 3,229

With the board showing on the river and a little less than 4 million in the pot, Kevin Blewitt bet 2,000,000 from the big blind, and Sean Remz tanked for a long time on the button before he called.

Blewitt showed to win the pot with two pair, fives and fours, and Remz mucked as he dropped down to less than 1.5 million. Blewitt increased his chipleading stack to more than 20 million.

Kevin Blewitt  –  20,175,000  (81 bb)
Sean Remz  –  1,450,000  (6 bb)

Two hands later, Remz moved all in from the hijack for 1,450,000 to take the blinds and antes, taking him back above 2 million.

Sean Remz  –  2,075,000  (8 bb)

Level 33 came to an end, and Level 34 began with increased blinds of 150,000-300,000 and a big blind ante of 300,000.

A short while later, Remz moved all in from the hijack for about 2,500,000, and Richard Gress tanked for a while in the big blind before he called all in for 1,750,000 with .

Remz turned over , and Gress needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket eights held up for Remz to win the pot and eliminate Gress in ninth place.

Sean Remz  –  4,700,000  (16 bb)
Richard Gress  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($21,325)

The final eight players are guaranteed at least $30,735 each.

$600 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33: 125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 3,229

After the elimination of Richard Gress in 10th place, the final nine players redraw for random seats at the final table:

Seat 1.  Kayeen Ellis-Kemp  –  7,025,000  (28 bb)
Seat 2.  Richard Gress  –  2,675,000  (11 bb)
Seat 3.  Scott Weidema  –  3,075,000  (12 bb)
Seat 4.  José Duarte  –  7,900,000  (32 bb)
Seat 5.  Raminder Singh  –  10,850,000  (43 bb)
Seat 6.  Kevin Greene  –  4,000,000  (16 bb)
Seat 7.  Sean Remz  –  5,275,000  (21 bb)
Seat 8.  Devond Marshall  –  6,100,000  (24 bb)
Seat 9.  Kevin Blewitt  –  17,750,000  (71 bb)

And here is the remaining prizepool at stake:

1st:  $291,665 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $189,380
3rd:  $123,235
4th:  $103,040
5th:  $83,360
6th:  $64,965
7th:  $46,995
8th:  $30,735
9th:  $21,325

Now that they are at the final table, levels will be one hour long.

$600 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33: 125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 3,229

Kayeen Ellis-Kemp was all in from the button for 3,200,000 with , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive against the of Mateusz Sikorski, who was under the gun.

The board came — Sikorski turned a gutshot straight draw, but improved no further. Ellis-Kemp won the pot with his pocket aces to double up in chips.

Kayeen Ellis-Kemp  –  7,025,000  (28 bb)
Mateusz Sikorski  –  1,500,000  (6 bb)

A few minutes later, Devond Marshall moved all in from the button for about 4.6 million, and Mateusz Sikorski called all in from the big blind for 1,250,000 with .

Marshall turned over , and Sikorski needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket kings held up for Marshall to win the pot and eliminate Sikorski in 10th place.

Devond Marshall  –  6,100,000  (24 bb)
Mateusz Sikorski  –  Eliminated in 10th Place  ($14,530)

$600 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32: 100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  10 of 3,229

Sean Remz raised from the hijack to 450,000, and José Duarte moved all in from the cutoff for 1,575,000. Craig Varnell moved all in over the top from the button for about 7,000,000, and chipleader Kevin Blewitt moved all in over the top from the small blind for more than 14,000,000.

Remz thought briefly before folding face up. The remaining players showed their cards:

Kevin Blewitt:  
Craig Varnell:  
José Duarte:  

The board came , and Duarte flopped a set of sevens and rivered quads to win the main pot and triple up to 5.65 million. Blewitt won the much larger side pot to eliminate Varnell in 11th place and skyrocket up to 18.3 million.

José Duarte  –  5,650,000  (28 bb)
Kevin Blewitt  –  18,300,000  (92 bb)
Sean Remz  –  5,650,000  (28 bb)
Craig Varnell  –  Eliminated in 11th Place  ($14,530)

After the hand, Kevin Greene is moved from Table 1 to Table 2, seat 7 to balance the two tables with five players each. As soon as one more player is eliminated, the final nine will redraw for random seats at the final table.

$600 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32: 100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  11 of 3,229

Devond Marshall was all in from the big blind for 2,125,000 with , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive against the of Mateusz Sikorski in the hijack.

The board came , and Marshall flopped a set of tens and rivered a full house to win the pot and double up in chips.

Devond Marshall  –  4,550,000  (23 bb)
Mateusz Sikorski  –  3,500,000  (18 bb)

At the other table, Kevin Blewitt raised under the gun to 500,000, Sean Remz moved all in from the button for 2,700,000, and Craig Varnell called from the big blind. Blewitt thought for a while before he folded.

Remz turned over , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive against Varnell’s .

The board came , and the pocket nines hold up for Remz to win the pot and double up in chips.

Sean Remz  –  6,200,000  (31 bb)
Craig Varnell  –  7,300,000  (37 bb)