2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 2
$400 Limit Omaha 8
Entries: 92
Prize Pool: $31,280
August 1, 2019 

David Levi has won more than 30 tournaments in his career, but it was his victory in Event 2 of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open that pushed his career earnings over $4 million.

When asked about the milestone, Levi said, “I’ve been around, and I’ve played a lot of tournaments.” Levi’s first recorded tournament victory came back in 1996, and this is his 195th tournament cash according to HendonMob.com. Levi continued, “I slowed down the last few years. I still need to win a really big one. I’ll keep going until I hit a big one, because I’ve never won a million-dollar tournament.”

While this one-day tournament didn’t have a million-dollar first prize, the 92 entries surpassed the guarantee to create a prizepool worth $31,280. The final 12 players finished in the money.

The day started out rough for Levi, who entered shortly before the first break. “I didn’t win a hand, and I dropped down to 500 — one chip. I was ready to leave, but I won the hand, and then boom, boom, boom. I made it to the final table, picked up a few hands, and that’s basically the way it went.”

Levi was fourth in chips when the nine-handed final table began, and even though he didn’t knock out either of the next two players, he built his stack up to the chip lead with seven players remaining. That’s when the final seven players agreed to a deal based on an ICM chop, and as chipleader, Levi was officially declared the winner, receiving the largest amount of money and the SHRPO trophy.

“I love to come here,” Levi said about the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. “I come here for a lot of the tournaments. It’s a nice atmosphere with nice people. The staff are really, really great, and they run the tournaments really good. These tournaments seem to get better and better all the time.”

Final Results:

1st:  David Levi  –  $5,208 + SHRPO trophy
2nd:  Stewart Yancik  –  $5,069
3rd:  Aron Dermer  –  $4,455
4th:  Jacobo Fernandez  –  $3,919
5th:  Bryce Fox  –  $3,148
6th:  Brian Gelrod  –  $2,477
7th:  Robert Wachtel  –  $2,384
8th:  Elias Nassif  –  $1,095
9th:  Jeff Trudeau  –  $950
10th:  Mike Soroka  –  $950
11th:  Lee Jordan  –  $845
12th:  Jason Lopesilvero  –  $780

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 18:  15,000/30,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  7 of 92

A short while after the elimination of Elias Nassif in eighth place, the final seven players decided to run the numbers and they agreed to an ICM chop.

These were the chip counts when they agreed to the deal:

Seat 1.  David Levi  –  275,000  (18 bb)
Seat 2.  Brian Gelrod  –  60,000  (4 bb)
Seat 3.  Jacobo Fernandez  –  155,000  (10 bb)
Seat 4.  Bryce Fox  –  100,000  (7 bb)
Seat 5.  Robert Wachtel  –  55,000  (4 bb)
Seat 6.  Stewart Yancik  –  260,000  (17 bb)
Seat 7.  Aron Dermer  –  200,000  (13 bb)

And here are the updated payouts for these final seven players:

1st:  David Levi  –  $5,208 + SHRPO trophy
2nd:  Stewart Yancik  –  $5,069
3rd:  Aron Dermer  –  $4,455
4th:  Jacobo Fernandez  –  $3,919
5th:  Bryce Fox  –  $3,148
6th:  Brian Gelrod  –  $2,477
7th:  Robert Wachtel  –  $2,384

Stay tuned for a recap of this event.

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 18:  10,000/20,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  7 of 92

Elias Nassif got it all in from the small blind for about 50,000, and he was up against Brian Gelrod in the hijack.

Brian Gelrod:  
Elias Nassif:  

The board came , and neither player made a qualifying low, so Gelrod scooped the pot with two pair, aces and fives, to eliminate Nassif in eighth place.

Brian Gelrod  –  150,000  (15 bb)
Elias Nassif  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($1,095)

The final seven players are guaranteed at least $1,250 each, with $9,925 waiting for the winner.

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 18:  10,000/20,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  8 of 92

In the first or second hand at the final table, Jeff Trudeau got it all in from the small blind with A-A-Q-2, but it failed to hold, and he was eliminated in ninth place by Stewart Yancik.

Stewart Yancik  –  135,000  (14 bb)
Jeff Trudeau  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($950)

The final eight players are guaranteed at least $1,095 each, with $9,925 waiting for the winner.

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 18:  10,000/20,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  9 of 92

After the elimination of Mike Soroka 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.  David Levi  –  150,000  (15 bb)
Seat 2.  Brian Gelrod  –  100,000  (10 bb)
Seat 3.  Jacobo Fernandez  –  190,000  (19 bb)
Seat 4.  Bryce Fox  –  125,000  (13 bb)
Seat 5.  Jeff Trudeau  –  40,000  (4 bb)
Seat 6.  Elias Nassif  –  75,000  (8 bb)
Seat 7.  Robert Wachtel  –  35,000  (4 bb)
Seat 8.  Stewart Yancik  –  155,000  (16 bb)
Seat 9.  Aron Dermer  –  235,000  (24 bb)

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 16:  6,000/12,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  12 of 92

The Money Bubble has burst in the Omaha 8 event, and the final 12 players are now in the money, guaranteed at least $780 each, with $9,925 and the SHRPO trophy waiting up top for the winner.

Following the new TDA rules, they will combine to a final table with nine players remaining, and that’s when we’ll pick up our coverage. They will play as long as it takes tonight to reach a winner.

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 11: 2,000/4,000 Limits
Players Remaining: 45 of 92

The math is complete and we have our official numbers for the Omaha 8 event. The tournament drew 92 entries to beat the $30,000 Guarantee and put $31,280 in the prize pool.

The last 12 spots will be paid out with $780 for a min-cash and $9,925 for the first SHRPO champ of the series.

2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 2
$400 Limit Omaha 8
Entries: 92
Prize Pool: $31,280
August 1, 2019 

1st: $9,925 + SHRPO trophy
2nd: $5,945
3rd: $3,755
4th: $2,425
5th: $1,875
6th: $1,485
7th: $1,250
8th: $1,095
9th: $950
10th: $950
11th: $845
12th: $780

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 8: 800/1,600 Limits
Entries: 89

The Omaha 8 tournament is nearing the end of its registration period and they crossed over the $30,000 guaranteed prize pool not long before Level 8 came to an end. They might pick up a few more entries to push it higher.

One of the recent entries has history in this tournament. Peter Walsworth returned to the Event Center as the defending champion when he won the 2018 SHRPO Omaha 8 title for his third overall SHRP win.

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 300/600 Limits
Entries: 76

The Omaha 8 tournament got a little tougher before the first break. Phil Hui was already a successful player by any measure before he went to Las Vegas this summer for the WSOP. He already owned a bracelet and four WSOPC rings along with four SHRP titles (the lastest coming this spring during the Poker Showdown).

Then Hui bought into the $50K WSOP Poker Players Championship field, one of the toughest and most prestigious tournaments you’ll find, and conquered it. He was the last player standing over an incredibly tough field that featured top players from start to finish playing an eight-game mix. Hui earned more than $1,000,000 for his second bracelet and the rest of the world found out what we knew in the states. Hui is one of the best.

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 2: 150/300 Limits
Entries: 45

Flight A of Event 1 isn’t the only game drawing well this afternoon. The Omaha 8 tournament is up to 45 entries after the first level and it is halfway towards reaching the $30,000 Guarantee with four hours remaining to register.

We’re happy to have Kevin “Kevmath” Mathers join us for the start of the 2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. The fount of poker knowledge already has success in this room when he locked up a second-place finish in the 2018 Poker Showdown $300 Deep Stack Turbo NLH event.

Joel Harwood already has his first SHRP trophy sitting at home. The Omaha specialist regularly makes the four-card final tables and he won his first title a year ago in the SHRPO $360 Pot Limit Omaha 8 tournament.