2021 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 6
$400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Entries:  125
Prize Pool:  $41,875
November 19, 2021

“It feels good to win. It’s always nice to win.”

On Friday night, John Binns of Ft. Myers, Florida won Event 6 ($400 Pot Limit Omaha 8), beating a field of 125 players to win $9,000, a title, and his second trophy from Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. (His other victory came in the 2017 Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open, and it was also in Omaha 8.)

“I got pretty lucky,” said Binns. “I took some chances and ended up winning one huge pot where I knocked out two players at once, which put me in a big chip lead. I was playing a little bit reckless, trying to end the tournament.”

Binns lives on Florida’s west coast, so he mostly plays at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa. But he also has high praise for Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

“They put on a very nice show here,” said Binns. “They know what they’re doing. They run it well, and they get good fields with good prizepools.”

Regardless of his chip stack, Binns had been reluctant to agree to a deal when other players brought it up, but he eventually agreed when there were three players left. As chipleader, Binns won the most money, along with the title and the trophy.

As he was leaving, Binns had one final thing to say.

“If I weren’t so tired, we wouldn’t have chopped.”

Final Results:

* Indicates results of a three-way deal.

$400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  8,000/16,000
Players Remaining:  3 of 125

After the elimination of Wally Maddah in fourth place, the final three players took a look at the ICM numbers and agreed to a deal to end the tournament. These were the official chip counts:

1.  John Binns  –  694,000  (43 bb)
2.  Natan Wager  –  440,000  (28 bb)
3.  Bret Atiyeh  –  367,000  (23 bb)

And these were the payouts they agreed to:

1st:  John Binns  –  $9,000* + RRPO trophy
2nd:  Natan Wager  –  $7,736*
3rd:  Bret Atiyeh  –  $7,264*

As chipleader, Binns would receive the title and the trophy. Congratulations to John Binns!

Stay tuned for a recap from this event, which will be posted later tonight.

$400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  8,000/16,000
Players Remaining:  3 of 125

After a flop of , Wally Maddah got it all in for about 116,000 against Bret Atiyeh.

Bret Atiyeh:    (pair of fives, gutshot straight draw, 5-3 low draw)
Wally Maddah:    (pair of aces, 6-5 low draw)

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Atiyeh turned a wheel (five-high straight) to scoop the entire pot and eliminate Maddah in fourth place.

Bret Atiyeh  –  395,000  (25 bb)
Wally Maddah  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($2,825)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 500,000 (31 big blinds). The next player to be eliminated will earn $4,500.

$400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  6,000/12,000
Players Remaining:  4 of 125

John Binns raised to 60,000 Michael Masella moved all in for 142,000, and Warren Colman moved all in over the top for 167,000.

Binns tanked for a while before he said he felt like gambling and he called, covering both players.

John Binns:  
Warren Colman:  
Michael Masella:  

The board came , so with no possible lows, Binns won the entire pot with his nine-high straight to eliminate both players on the same hand.

Since Colman began the hand with the bigger chip stack, he was awarded fifth place (with the higher payout), while Masella finished sixth.

John Binns  –  800,000  (67 bb)
Warren Colman  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($2,095)
Michael Masella  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($1,800)

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 375,000 (31 big blinds). The next player to be eliminated will earn $2,825.

$400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  6,000/12,000
Players Remaining:  6 of 125

After a flop of , Long Nguyen got it all in from the big blind for 23,000 against Natan Wager in the small blind.

Natan Wager:    (pair of kings, gutshot straight draw)
Long Nguyen:    (club flush draw, gutshot straight draw)

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and the pair of kings held up for Wager to win the pot and eliminate Nguyen in seventh place.

Natan Wager  –  360,000  (30 bb)
Long Nguyen  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($1,560)

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 250,000 (21 big blinds). The next player to be eliminated will earn $1,800.

$400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  6,000/12,000
Players Remaining:  7 of 125

After a flop of , Jay Kerbel got his short stack all in from under the gun against John Binns in the small blind.

John Binns:    (trip fours)
Jay Kerbel:    (pair of aces)

The turn card was the (killing any possible lows), and the river card was the . Binns made quad fours to win the pot and eliminate Kerbel in eighth place.

John Binns  –  430,000  (36 bb)
Jay Kerbel  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($1,385)

With seven players remaining, the average chip stack is about 214,000 (18 big blinds). The next player to be eliminated will earn $1,560.

$400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  5,000/10,000
Players Remaining:  8 of 125

There is a three-way all-in situation after a flop of , with Warren Colman all in from the button for 144,000, Cory Blum all in from the hijack for 146,000, and John Binns covering them both from the big blind.

John Binns:    (two pair, kings and eights)
Cory Blum:    (pair of deuces, ace-high flush draw, 8-7 low draw)
Warren Colman:    (ace high, 8-4 low draw)

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Binns won the high side of the main pot with two pair, kings and eights, while Colman won the low side of the main pot with an 8-4 low.

Blum made an 8-7 low, so he chopped the miniscule side pot with Binns to finish the hand with just 2,000.

John Binns  –  520,000  (52 bb)
Warren Colman  –  260,000  (26 bb)
Cory Blum  –  2,000  (<1 bb)

The next hand, Natan Wager raised UTG+1 to 35,000, Cory Blum called all in from middle position for 2,000, and John Binns called from the small blind.

The flop came , Binns checked, and Wager bet the pot (88,000). Binns tanked for a while before he raised, and Wager called all in for 185,000.

Everyone turned over their cards, and here they are in descending order of chip counts:

John Binns:    (set of jacks, open-ended straight draw)
Natan Wager:    (set of aces)
Cory Blum:    (wrap straight draw)

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Wager made a wheel (five-high straight) to scoop the entire pot, doubling thru Binns and eliminating Blum in ninth place.

Natan Wager  –  462,000  (46 bb)
John Binns  –  300,000  (30 bb)
Cory Blum  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($1,215)

With eight players remaining, the average chip stack is about 188,000 (19 big blinds). The next player to be eliminated will earn $1,385.

$400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  5,000/10,000
Players Remaining:  9 of 125

After the elimination of Jonathan Orr in 10th place, the final nine players drew for random seats at the final table. Here is the lineup:

Seat 1.  Long Nguyen  –  76,000  (8 bb)
Seat 2.  Cory Blum  –  288,000  (29 bb)
Seat 3.  Wally Maddah  –  110,000  (11 bb)
Seat 4.  Warren Colman  –  200,000  (20 bb)
Seat 5.  Bret Atiyeh  –  92,000  (9 bb)
Seat 6.  John Binns  –  398,000  (40 bb)
Seat 7.  Michael Masella  –  120,000  (12 bb)
Seat 8.  Jay Kerbel  –  180,000  (18 bb)
Seat 9.  Natan Wager  –  64,000  (6 bb)

With nine players remaining, the average chip stack is about 167,000 (17 big blinds).

They will be playing down to a winner tonight, and here are the payouts, followed by the players who have finished in the money so far:

1st:  $12,060 + RRPO trophy
2nd:  $7,440
3rd:  $4,500
4th:  $2,825
5th:  $2,095
6th:  $1,800
7th:  $1,560
8th:  $1,385
9th:  $1,215

10th:  Jonathan Orr  –  $1,215
11th:  Steven Novak  –  $1,070
12th:  Michael Suggs  –  $1,070
13th:  Christopher Labrie  –  $945
14th:  Barak Zaken  –  $945
15th:  Scott Baumstein  –  $875
16th:  William Milligan  –  $875

2021 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 6
$400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Entries:  125
Prize Pool:  $41,875
November 19, 2021

Event 6 continued the trend of great turnouts for our non-hold’em games and the $400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 tournament drew 125 entries to create a prize pool worth $41,875.

The last 16 spots will be paid with a min-cash worth $875 and the Event 6 will earn $12,060 plus the RRPO trophy.

1st: $12,060 + RRPO trophy
2nd: $7,440
3rd: $4,500
4th: $2,825
5th: $2,095
6th: $1,800
7th: $1,560
8th: $1,385
9th-10th: $1,215
11th-12th: $1,070
13th-14th: $945
15th-16th: $875

$400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure
Level 9:  400/800
Entries:  125

The $400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 tournament is playing out across the hallway from the Grand Ballroom and pulled a big crowd of 125 entries. That’s a great turnout for the specialty game.

Wally Maddah leads with 81,000 after eight levels and will pace the field as they play down towards the final table and eventual RRPO champion.