2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
$5,250 SHRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  1,180
Prize Pool:  $5,723,000
August 6-10, 2021

After five days and 1,180 entries, the 2021 SHRPO Championship came to an end on Tuesday night when Dimitri Vorbe defeated AP Louis Garza heads-up to win $929,365.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Vorbe. “I dreamed about this, but I did not understand what it would be. It’s a great feeling.”

Vorbe began the nine-handed final table with the chip lead, but as players busted, it was AP Louis Garza who rose to the top of the leaderboard, taking a big lead after doubling thru Mark Dube with four players left and holding onto it until heads-up play.

“I started very well at the final table,” said Vorbe. “I was the chipleader, but I didn’t know what to expect. There were a lot of professionals, and they were testing me.”

Vorbe, who was born and raised in Haiti but lives here in South Florida, is a recreational player who has been playing home games with friends for decades. But he only just started dabbling in tournaments over the past few years, and he’s only played a handful of them.

“Poker is fun,” said Vorbe. “But a tournament is very, very different. It’s a sport like all the other sports. There’s a physical energy that you have to put into it.”

One way that Vorbe handled the physical rigors of a four-day tournament was having a massage therapist, Francia, work on him for the entire duration of the final table.

“If you feel pressure, and if the professional poker players see you feeling pressure, they will eat you. I took a bad beat, and I was angry. But the massage helped me to relax, and I let it go. If you tilt when you are losing, you’ll lose a lot more chips.”

AP Louis Garza began heads-up play with the chip lead, but it didn’t last long, as Vorbe turned into a slow-and-steady steamroller that steadily won pot after pot, taking the chip lead and slowly weathering Garza down to the felt. Vorbe just kept picking up pots, including one 10-minute period where he won with , made a full house with , and then made another full house with .

“You have to be good, and you have to have some luck,” said Vorbe. “I was running over him [Garza] heads-up because all the cards were coming to me, and every single time I had a hand. It was a hurricane.”

There was only one all-in-and-call situation during heads-up play — the final hand — and it came after Vorbe had built up a 16-to-1 chip lead. Garza shoved with , but true to form, Vorbe had a very strong hand, . The eights held up for Vorbe to become a poker champion.

Vorbe seemed more interested in the trophy — designed to look like the iconic Seminole Hard Rock Guitar Tower — than the $929,365 he won.

“The trophy means more to me than anything, because this is an achievement,” said Vorbe. “It means that I started from scratch, and I won. I’m not a professional poker player, and some people spend 20-30 years playing poker professionally and never achieve that.”

Living in South Florida, Vorbe had many nice things to say about the Seminole Hard Rock.

“The Seminole Hard Rock is beautiful,” said Vorbe. “The shops are amazing, and the restaurants. The poker dealers are good, and they’re very respectful.”

Vorbe was also excited that soccer legend Lionel Messi was recently named the global brand ambassador for the Hard Rock.

“I’m a Messi fan, and Messi is now the star of the Hard Rock,” said Vorbe. “So I’m lucky to be the SHRPO champion right after Messi was here. Hopefully I’ll be back next year.”

$5,250 SHRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  150,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 1,180

AP Louis Garza raised all in for about 2,700,000 from the button and Dimitri Vorbe called with . Garza turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Vorbe won the pot — and the 2021 SHRPO Championship — with two pair, jacks and eights.

AP Louis Garza finishes as the runner-up, earning $674,285.

Congratulations to Dimitri Vorbe!

1st:  Dimitri Vorbe  –  $929,365 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  AP Louis Garza  –  $674,285
3rd:  Ian O’Hara  –  $437,350
4th:  Mark Dube  –  $324,035
5th:  Matt Affleck  –  $244,775
6th:  Darren Rabinowitz  –  $197,850
7th:  Jeff Trudeau  –  $163,390
8th:  Harrison Brown  –  $130,455
9th:  Michael Wang  –  $100,215

$5,250 SHRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,180

AP Louis Garza raised from the button to 600,000, Dimitri Vorbe reraised to 1,750,000, and Garza folded.

Vorbe said, “I have two kings.” Garza said, “No way.”

Vorbe showed as he took the pot.

Dimitri Vorbe  –  41,000,000  (164 bb)
AP Louis Garza  –  6,200,000  (25 bb)

Dimitri Vorbe won the next pot as well, and then AP Louis Garza limped from the button for 250,000, and Vorbe checked his option in the big blind.

Both players checked to the river on a board of , Vorbe bet 900,000, and Garza folded.

Vorbe said, “If I told you I had a full house, would you believe me?” Garza said, “Yes.”

Vorbe showed for jacks full of sevens as he took the pot.

Dimitri Vorbe  –  42,300,000  (169 bb)
AP Louis Garza  –  4,900,000  (20 bb)

A few hands later, Dimitri Vorbe raised from the button to 600,000, and AP Louis Garza called.

The flop came , Garza checked, Vorbe bet 500,000, and Garza called. The turn card paired the board with the , Garza checked, Vorbe bet 600,000, and Garza folded.

Vorbe said, “I have a full house,” and he showed for jacks full of tens as he took the pot.

“No way,” said Garza. “What the heck is going on?”

Dimitri Vorbe  –  43,125,000  (173 bb)
AP Louis Garza  –  4,050,000  (16 bb)

That was the last hand before the break. Here are the remaining payouts at stake:

1st:  $929,365 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $674,285

$5,250 SHRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,180

AP Louis Garza raised to 600,000 from the button and Dimitri Vorbe called from the big blind.

The flop was and Vorbe checked to Garza who continued for 500,000. Vorbe check-raised to 1,500,000 and Garza called.

The turn was the , Vorbe bet 3,000,000 and Garza folded.

Vorbe showed for a flush and said to Garza, “Bro, I’m going to be honest. I’m on a mission, and no one is going to stop me.”

Dimitri Vorbe – 37,200,000 (149 bb)
AP Louis Garza – 10,000,000 (40 bb)

$5,250 SHRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,180

Dimitri Vorbe limped from the button for 250,000, AP Louis Garza raised to 750,000, and Vorbe called. The flop came , Garza bet 500,000, and Vorbe called.

The turn card was the , Garza checked, Vorbe bet 875,000, and Garza folded. Vorbe showed for top pair as he took the pot.

Vorbe said, “I’m hot. I’m very hot. The cards are falling my way.”

Dimitri Vorbe  –  27,750,000  (111 bb)
AP Louis Garza  –  19,500,000  (78 bb)

The next hand, AP Louis Garza raised from the button to 600,000, and Dimitri Vorbe called. The flop came , Vorbe checked, Garza bet 400,000, and Vorbe called.

The turn card was the , and both players checked. The river card was the , Vorbe bet 1,000,000, and Garza folded face up, saying he had a strong flop but missed his outs.

As he took the pot, Vorbe turned over and said, “Two pair.”

Dimitri Vorbe  –  29,000,000  (116 bb)
AP Louis Garza  –  18,300,000  (73 bb)

The next hand, Dimitri Vorbe raised from the button to 625,000, AP Louis Garza reraised to 1,750,000, and Vorbe called. Both players checked to the turn on a board of , Garza bet 1,200,000, and Vorbe quickly called.

The river card was the , and both players checked. Vorbe showed to win the pot with two pair, tens and nines, and Garza mucked.

Dimitri Vorbe  –  32,000,000  (128 bb)
AP Louis Garza  –  15,000,000  (60 bb)

The next hand, AP Louis Garza raised from the button to 600,000, and Dimitri Vorbe called.

The flop came , Vorbe checked, Garza bet 450,000, and Vorbe called. The turn card was the , Vorbe checked, Garza bet 800,000, and Vorbe quickly called.

The river card was the , and both players checked. Vorbe showed to win the pot with queen high, and Garza mucked.

That’s four pots in a row for Vorbe, who has opened up a 2.5-to-1 chip lead.

Dimitri Vorbe  –  34,000,000  (136 bb)
AP Louis Garza  –  13,300,000  (53 bb)

And here are the remaining payouts at stake:
1st:  $929,365 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $674,285

$5,250 SHRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,180

AP Louis Garza raised to 700,000 from the button and Dimitri Vorbe called from the big blind.

They checked to the turn of a board where Garza bet 700,000. Vorbe check-raised to 2,100,000 and Garza tanked for a bit before he folded.

Vorbe showed for deuces full of aces.

Along with a few other small pots, Vorbe took the chip lead.

Dimitri Vorbe – 25,000,000 (100 bb)
AP Louis Garza – 22,200,000 (89 bb)

$5,250 SHRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,180

The beginning of heads-up play has been fairly slow, as you might expect when both players have more than 75 big blinds. This was the biggest hand they’ve played so far:

Dimitri Vorbe raised from the button to 600,000, AP Louis Garza reraised to 1,750,000, and Vorbe called.

The flop came , Garza bet 1,050,000, and Vorbe called.

The turn card was the , Garza checked, Vorbe bet 2,000,000, and Garza thought for a while before he folded. Vorbe took the pot.

AP Louis Garza  –  26,500,000  (106 bb)
Dimitri Vorbe  –  20,750,000  (83 bb)

Here are the final table payouts:

1st:  $929,365 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $674,285

3rd:  Ian O’Hara  –  $437,350
4th:  Mark Dube  –  $324,035
5th:  Matt Affleck  –  $244,775
6th:  Darren Rabinowitz  –  $197,850
7th:  Jeff Trudeau  –  $163,390
8th:  Harrison Brown  –  $130,455
9th:  Michael Wang  –  $100,215

$5,250 SHRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,180

AP Louis Garza – 27,000,000 (108 bb)
Dimitri Vorbe – 20,200,000 (81 bb)

1st: $929,365 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd: $674,285

$5,250 SHRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,180

AP Louis Garza raised to 550,000 from the button, Dimitri Vorbe called from the small blind and Ian O’Hara three-bet all in from the big blind for about 4,350,000.

Garza thought for a bit before he folded, while Vorbe called pretty quickly.

Vorbe:
O’Hara:

The flop came , safe for O’Hara.

The turn was the , however, vaulting Vorbe into the lead with a pair of queens.

The river was the , no help to O’Hara, ending his run in third place.

Dimitri Vorbe – 20,200,000 (81 bb)
Ian O’Hara – Eliminated in 3rd Place ($437,350)

$5,250 SHRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 1,180

AP Louis Garza raised from the button to 550,000, and Ian O’Hara moved all in from the big blind for 3,175,000. Garza waited for an exact count and thought for a bit.

Garza asked, “How much do you like your hand?”

O’Hara replied, “Enough to go all in with it.”

Garza thought a bit longer before he folded, and O’Hara took the pot.

Seat 1.  Dimitri Vorbe  –  16,000,000  (64 bb)
Seat 2.  Ian O’Hara  –  4,100,000  (16 bb)
Seat 3.  AP Louis Garza  –  27,000,000  (108 bb)

With three players remaining from a field of 1,180, the average chip stack is about 15,725,000 (63 big blinds). Here are the remaining payouts at stake:

1st:  $929,365 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $674,285
3rd:  $437,350