2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 4
$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  365
Prize Pool:  $43,800
January 10, 2020

Frenchman Frederic Konowitz flew in from Paris on Friday, entered Event 4 on a single bullet, dropped down to three big blinds shortly after registration closed, and then bounced back and went on to win by making a heads-up deal with runner-up Steven Moreno.

“It feels good,” said Konowitz. “I just arrived from Paris at two o’clock, and came directly to the casino.”

Everything seemed to go his way once Konowitz reached the final table. “I had a very good run. I flopped two pair in the big blind, and then I had ace-jack against ace-ten.”

In addition to his prize money, Konowitz received an $1,100 seat into WPTDeepStacks Hollywood, which begins its final starting flight tomorrow at 11:00 am. He’s looking forward to playing that event, but unfortunately he’ll be flying back to Paris next week and won’t be able to enter the $3,500 WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open.

There were a total of 365 entries in this event, and the final 46 players finished in the money. The tournament began at 6:00 pm, and finished shortly after 3:30 am.

“I like to play in the U.S. when I can,” said Konowitz. “Each year I go to Las Vegas once or twice, and this is my second time here in Hollywood. I’m very happy to be here, and thanks to the organization, it’s perfect to play the series here. It’s very good.”

Final Table Results:

1st:  Frederic Konowitz  –  $8,001* + LHPO Trophy + $1,100 WPTDS seat
2nd:  Steven Moreno  –  $7,633*
3rd:  Faris Qumsieh  –  $4,140
4th:  Nick Ahmadi  –  $2,709
5th:  Ricardo Velasco  –  $2,087
6th:  Anthony Moreda  –  $1,726
7th:  Elizabeth Hagensick  –  $1,448
8th:  Igor Evseev  –  $1,183
9th:  Joseph Patalano  –  $920

* Indicates a heads-up deal.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with an 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 365

After the elimination of Faris Qumsieh in third place, Frederick Konowitz and Steven Moreno agreed to a deal for the remaining prizepool. These were their official chip counts:

Frederic Konowitz  –  3,585,000  (72 bb)
Steven Moreno  –  1,895,000  (38 bb)

As chipleader, Konowitz was declared the winner, and in addition to his prize money, he would also receive the trophy, the title, and the $1,100 seat into Day 1C of WPTDeepStacks Hollywood tomorrow.

The final table payouts are listed below, and stay tuned for a recap, which will be posted later tonight.

1st:  Frederic Konowitz  –  $8,001 + LHPO Trophy + $1,100 WPTDS seat
2nd:  Steven Moreno  –  $7,633
3rd:  Faris Qumsieh  –  $4,140
4th:  Nick Ahmadi  –  $2,709
5th:  Ricardo Velasco  –  $2,087
6th:  Anthony Moreda  –  $1,726
7th:  Elizabeth Hagensick  –  $1,448
8th:  Igor Evseev  –  $1,183
9th:  Joseph Patalano  –  $920

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with an 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 365

Faris Qumsieh got it all in from the big blind for about 800,000 with , but he was dominated by the of Frederic Konowitz in the small blind.

The board came , and Konowitz flopped two pair, aces and jacks, to win the pot and eliminate Qumsieh in third place.

Faris Qumsieh  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($4,140)

Here are the official chip counts for heads-up play, followed by the remaining prizepool:

Frederic Konowitz  –  3,585,000  (72 bb)
Steven Moreno  –  1,895,000  (38 bb)

1st:  $9,195 + LHPO Trophy + $1,100 WPTDS seat
2nd:  $6,439

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with an 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 365

After a flop of , Nick Ahmadi got it all in from the big blind for about 400,000 with (pair of queens), but he was dominated by the (pair of queens, ace kicker) of Steven Moreno in the cutoff.

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Moreno won the pot with his ace kicker to eliminate Ahmadi in fourth place.

Steven Moreno  –  1,900,000  (48 bb)
Nick Ahmadi  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($2,709)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,825,000 (46 big blinds), and the next player to bust will receive $4,140.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with an 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 365

After a flop of , Frederic Konowitz checked from the big blind, Ricardo Velasco bet 85,000 from the hijack, and Konowitz check-raised all in for about 1.75 million.

Velasco thought for a while before he called all in for about 700,000 with for a pair of nines. Konowitz turned over for two pair, fives and deuces, and Velasco needed to improve to stay alive.

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Konowitz won the pot with his two pair to eliminate Velasco in fifth place.

Frederic Konowitz  –  2,600,000  (65 bb)
Ricardo Velasco  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($2,087)

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,370,000 (34 big blinds), and the next player to bust will receive $2,709.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  15,000/30,000 with an 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 365

Faris Qumsieh raised under the gun to 65,000, Anthony Moreda moved all in from the cutoff for 230,000, and Qumsieh asked for an exact count and thought for a bit before he called with .

Moreda turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Qumsieh paired his king on the flop and his six on the turn to win the pot with two pair, eliminating Moreda in sixth place.

Faris Qumsieh  –  1,050,000  (35 bb)
Anthony Moreda  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($1,726)

With five players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,100,000 (37 big blinds), and the next player to bust will receive $2,087.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  15,000/30,000 with an 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 365

With the board showing on the turn, Elizabeth Hagensick moved all in for about 175,000, and Steven Moreno thought for a while before he called with for the trip nines on the board with an ace kicker.

Hagensick turned over for a full house, nines full of queens, and she needed to avoid an ace on the river to stay alive.

The river card was — the .

Both players reacted strongly as Moreno rivered a higher full house, nines full of aces, to win the pot and eliminate Hagensick in seventh place.

Steven Moreno  –  1,350,000  (45 bb)
Elizabeth Hagensick  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($1,448)

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 915,000 (31 big blinds), and the next player to bust will receive $1,726.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  15,000/25,000 with an 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 365

Igor Evseev got it all in from the cutoff for about 270,000 with , but he was dominated by the of Anthony Moreda in middle position.

The board came , and Moreda won the pot with two pair, kings and fives, to eliminate Evseev in eighth place.

Anthony Moreda  –  1,415,000  (57 bb)
Igor Evseev  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($1,183)

With seven players remaining, the average chip stack is about 780,000 (31 big blinds), and the next player to bust will receive $1,448.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  15,000/25,000 with an 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 365

Joseph Patalano got his short stack all in preflop from the big blind against Igor Evseev (button) and Frederic Konowitz (small blind). Any further betting would create a side pot.

Both players checked all the way down on a board of , and all three revealed their cards:

Frederic Konowitz:    (nine-high spade flush)
Igor Evseev:    (nine high)
Joseph Patalano:    (five-high spade flush)

Konowitz won the pot with his higher flush to eliminate Patalano in ninth place.

Frederic Konowitz  –  910,000  (36 bb)
Igor Evseev  –  270,000  (11 bb)
Joseph Patalano  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($920)

With eight players remaining, the average chip stack is about 685,000 (27 big blinds), and the next player to bust will receive $1,183.

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  10,000/20,000 with an 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 365

Once the field got down to the final nine players, they redrew for random seats at the final table. Here are their seating assignments and approximate chip counts, with Steven Moreno in the lead:

Seat 1.  Elizabeth Hagensick  –  170,000  (9 bb)
Seat 2.  Anthony Moreda  –  1,075,000  (54 bb)
Seat 3.  Steven Moreno  –  1,230,000  (62 bb)
Seat 4.  Igor Evseev  –  335,000  (17 bb)
Seat 5.  Frederic Konowitz  –  770,000  (39 bb)
Seat 6.  Joseph Patalano  –  70,000  (4 bb)
Seat 7.  Ricardo Velasco  –  400,000  (20 bb)
Seat 8.  Faris Qumsieh  –  1,010,000  (51 bb)
Seat 9.  Nick Ahmadi  –  445,000  (22 bb)

Here is the remaining prizepool at stake:

1st:  $9,195 + LHPO Trophy + $1,100 WPTDS seat
2nd:  $6,439
3rd:  $4,140
4th:  $2,709
5th:  $2,087
6th:  $1,726
7th:  $1,448
8th:  $1,183
9th:  $920

And here is the full list of players who finished in the money up to this point:

10th:  Patrick Novak  –  $771
11th:  Robert Arnedo  –  $771
12th:  Antonio Campbell  –  $771
13th:  Willie Wiggins  –  $653
14th:  Erik Greulach  –  $653
15th:  David Coughlin  –  $653
16th:  Trent Smith  –  $537
17th:  Christopher Wilson  –  $537
18th:  Garrick Young  –  $537
19th:  Andre Bryan  –  $447
20th:  Martin Belous  –  $447
21st:  Aaron Frei  –  $447
22nd:  Michael Schoen  –  $366
23rd:  Leonardo Clavel  –  $366
24th:  Evan Haw  –  $366
25th:  James Allen  –  $316
26th:  Ariel Rosello Quintana  –  $316
27th:  Patricia Conrad  –  $316
28th:  Alex Paredes Diaz  –  $258
29th:  Carlo Rodriguez  –  $258
30th:  Solange Lucas  –  $258
31st:  Richard Arno  –  $258
32nd:  Christopher Boegler  –  $258
33rd:  Jacinto Allegue  –  $258
34th:  Tuan Phan  –  $258
35th:  Carlos Garcia  –  $258
36th:  Michael Gilfedder  –  $258
37th:  Gene Hochman  –  $238
38th:  Jonathan Dobson  –  $238
39th:  Barbara Cardin  –  $238
40th:  Saber Salum Penayo  –  $238
41st:  Francis Chaviano  –  $238
42nd:  David Moreno  –  $238
43rd:  Ketan Patel  –  $238
44th:  Antonio Colon  –  $238
45th:  Andrew Daire  –  $238
46th:  David Kahan  –  $219