2021 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 16
$150 Holiday Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  259
Prize Pool:  $31,080
November 25, 2021

“My Thanksgiving was very good.”

Event 16 ($150 Holiday Triple Stack) began on Thanksgiving evening at 6:00 pm, and attracted a field of 259 entries to more than triple the guarantee with a prizepool worth $31,080.

Less than eight hours later, Rosario Simone had a massive chip lead when the final six players agreed to a chop, which meant Simone won the title, the trophy, and the bonus $3,500 seat into the WPT Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open Championship, which begins tomorrow.

“It was a great turnout, and I ran very well,” said Simone. “I had a lot of tough competition, with a lot of great players here in Florida. But I ran well, and I got lucky.”

A final table deal seemed unlikely with the $3,500 seat being added on top of the prizepool, but when Simone built up a massive chip lead with six players left (he had more than 42% of all the chips), the other players were more eager to deal than Simone.

“I never had plans to split anything,” said Simone, “but since I got the seat, and a little bit of money from the tournament, it was just fine with me.”

Now that he’s earned his way into the Championship, Simone has his eyes on an even bigger prize.

“I set a goal early this morning, and I achieved it,” said Simone. “My next goal is to win the WPT main event. Or at least make the final table.”

Final Results:

* Indicates results of a six-way deal.

$150 Holiday Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Prizepool
Level 23:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 259

The final six players battled for another 20-25 minutes before they agreed to a six-way chop, with the $3,500 seat into the WPT Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open Championship going to the chipleader, along with the title and the trophy.

The chipleader was Rosario Simone, who had 3.27 million in chips (65 big blinds), which represented more than 42% of all the chips in play.

Here are the payouts they agreed to:

1st:  Rosario Simone  –  $3,221 + RRPO trophy + $3,500 Championship Seat
2nd:  Anil Butisingh  –  $3,221
3rd:  Manny Minaya  –  $3,221
4th:  Louie Perri  –  $3,221
5th:  Willie Wiggins  –  $3,221
6th:  Nicolas Majdalani  –  $3,220

Congratulations to Rosario Simone!

$150 Holiday Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Prizepool
Level 22:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 259

Max Digilov was all in from the button for 325,000 with , but he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Rosario Simone, who was under the gun.

The board came — Digilov flopped two pair, but Simone rivered a diamond flush to win the pot and eliminate Digilov in seventh place.

Rosario Simone  –  2,800,000  (70 bb)
Max Digilov  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($1,040)

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,295,000 (32 big blinds), and they are all guaranteed at least $1,240 each.

$150 Holiday Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Prizepool
Level 21:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 259

Rafael Fernandez was just eliminated when his failed to hold up against Rosario Simone’s .

The final board showed , and Simone paired his queen on the turn to win the pot and eliminate Fernandez in eighth place.

Rosario Simone  –  2,575,000  (86 bb)
Rafael Fernandez  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($870)

With seven players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,110,000 (37 big blinds), and they are all guaranteed at least $1,040 each.

$150 Holiday Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Prizepool
Level 21:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 259

Rosario Simone raised UTG+1 to 100,000, and Tamra Piderit called from the big blind.

The flop came , Piderit moved all in for about 240,000, and Simone called with .

Piderit turned over , and she needed to improve to stay alive.

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Simone won the pot with his king kicker to eliminate Piderit in ninth place.

Rosario Simone  –  2,000,000  (67 bb)
Tamra Piderit  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($720)

With eight players remaining, the average chip stack is about 970,000 (32 big blinds), and they are all guaranteed at least $870 each.

$150 Holiday Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Prizepool
Level 21:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 259

The final nine players have drawn for random seats at the final table, and here is the updated lineup:

Seat 1.  Rosario Simone  –  1,595,000  (53 bb)
Seat 2.  Willie Wiggins  –  585,000  (20 bb)
Seat 3.  Manny Minaya  –  650,000  (22 bb)
Seat 4.  Rafael Fernandez  –  185,000  (6 bb)
Seat 5.  Louie Perri  –  2,950,000  (98 bb)
Seat 6.  Max Digilov  –  750,000  (25 bb)
Seat 7.  Anil Butisingh  –  705,000  (24 bb)
Seat 8.  Tamra Piderit  –  375,000  (13 bb)
Seat 9.  Nicolas Majdalani  –  710,000  (24 bb)

Here are the final table payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $6,605 + RRPO trophy + $3,500 Championship Seat
2nd:  $4,580
3rd:  $3,190
4th:  $2,110
5th:  $1,600
6th:  $1,240
7th:  $1,040
8th:  $870
9th:  $720

And here are the last three players eliminated:

10th:  Louis Raton  –  $720
11th:  Stephen Caplan  –  $610
12th:  Federico Herrera  –  $610

With nine players remaining, the average chip stack is about 865,000 (29 big blinds).

$150 Holiday Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Prizepool
Level 20:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  12 of 259

With 12 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 650,000 (26 big blinds). Here are the most recent eliminations:

13th:  Igal Azani  –  $525
14th:  Bhakeerathan Naahanathan  –  $525
15th:  David Mochon Sued  –  $525

16th:  Daniel Orgil  –  $440
17th:  Yaniv Yarkony  –  $440
18th:  Peter Kambolin  –  $440

19th:  Spyros Malkotsis  –  $355
20th:  Anwar Mohamed  –  $355
21st:  Bradley Young  –  $355

22nd:  Guillermo Reyes Cardoso  –  $300
23rd:  Richard de Vivo  –  $300
24th:  Pierre Adam  –  $300

$150 Holiday Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Prizepool
Level 19:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  24 of 259

The players return from break to begin Level 19, with increased blinds of 10,000-20,000 and a big blind ante of 20,000.

With 24 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 325,000 (16 big blinds), and the remaining players are all guaranteed at least $300 each.

A scan of the field during the break turned up three players with at least 500K in chips, creating an unofficial leaderboard:

1.  Manny Minaya  –  795,000  (40 bb)
2.  Louie Perri  –  720,000  (36 bb)
3.  Rosario Simone  –  635,000  (32 bb)

And here are the players who have finished in the money so far:

25th:  Ducarmel Beaubien  –  $275
26th:  Richard Paradis  –  $275
27th:  Kenny Despuzeau  –  $275

28th:  Andrew Eastom  –  $250
29th:  Kirby Conserve  –  $250
30th:  Neil Zonenashvili  –  $250
31st:  Osmany Saldanas  –  $250
32nd:  Steve Olivier  –  $250
33rd:  Samantha Gruber  –  $250

$150 Holiday Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Prizepool
Level 15:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  50 of 259

The field is shrinking fairly quickly with 50 players remaining and 33 getting paid — the Money Bubble is on the horizon.

With 50 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 155,000 (19 big blinds).

The chipleader at this point appears to be Rosario Simone, who has about 330,000 in his stack (41 big blinds). The levels increased from 15 minutes to 20 minutes after registration closed, but the pace of the tournament is moving quickly, and nobody appears to have built up enough momentum to really pull away from the pack yet.

2021 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 16
$150 Holiday Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  259
Prize Pool:  $31,080
November 25, 2021

Registration closed for the $150 Holiday Triple Stack tournament, and with 259 entries, the field more than tripled the $10K guarantee, creating a prizepool worth $31,080.

The final 33 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $250 each, while the winner will receive $6,605 plus a $3,500 seat into the WPT Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open Championship.

1st:  $6,605 + RRPO trophy + $3,500 Championship Seat
2nd:  $4,580
3rd:  $3,190
4th:  $2,110
5th:  $1,600
6th:  $1,240
7th:  $1,040
8th:  $870
9th-10th:  $720
11th-12th:  $610
13th-15th:  $525
16th-18th:  $440
19th-21st:  $355
22nd-24th:  $300
25th-27th:  $275
28th-33rd:  $250