2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 6
$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  160
Prize Pool:  $155,200
March 27-28, 2022

Nick Palma overcame a long Day 2, where he spent much of his time as a short stack, to win the $1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em event, earning $41,050 and his first Seminole Hard Rock trophy.

“It feels amazing,” said Palma after his victory. “I’ve been grinding really hard lately, with a lot of online poker and cash games, sharpening my skills for tournaments. It feels good to see hard work pay off.”

Day 2 began with 23 players, and Palma had the second shortest stack. Nearly four hours later, the final table began with nine players, and once again, Palma had the second shortest stack. But he never gave up.

“I grinded short stack for a long time today,” said Palma. “You just need to stay composed and wait for your spots. Your hands have to hold up, and you have to get lucky here and there, but if the right things fall your way, you’ll get the W.”

Palma picked his spots well at the final table. He lost an early race, but the impact was small as it was against the only player with a shorter stack (eventual ninth-place finisher Mike Beasley). Over the next four-and-a-half hours, Palma got into four all-in situations, and he was the dominant favorite each time. Palma’s hands held up to take him all the way to the final three.

Three-handed play lasted for a while, with Palma battling Don Flynn and Brandon Navarrete, and the stacks fluctuated so much that all three of them spent time as both chipleader and short stack.

Eventually, Palma knocked out Navarrete in third place to get heads-up against Flynn, though Flynn had the lead. But the right things fell Palma’s way, and over the next half hour he won both heads-up all-in situations to win the title, the trophy, and $41,050.

Palma is from New York, but he’s a regular player in the big tournaments down here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

“This is a great venue,” said Palma. “I’ve been coming here for years. I know all the dealers and all the players, and everyone’s friendly. It’s a great place to play.”

Final Results:

$1,100 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 160

Nick Palma limps from the button for 50,000, Don Flynn moves all in for about 1.55 million, and Nick Palma quickly calls with a similar stack.

Flynn turns over , and he needs to improve to stay alive against Palma’s .

The board came , and the pocket sevens held up for Palma to win the pot.

The chip stacks were counted down, and Palma had slightly more chips to win the title, the trophy, and $41,050.

Stay tuned for a recap from this event.

1st:  Nick Palma  –  $41,050 + Showdown Trophy
2nd:  Don Flynn  –  $26,060
3rd:  Brandon Navarrete  –  $15,950
4th:  Michael Graffeo  –  $9,700
5th:  Wasim Assaf  –  $7,490
6th:  Nick Yunis  –  $6,205
7th:  Eric Siegel  –  $5,410
8th:  Viktor Kovachev  –  $4,845
9th:  Mike Beasley  –  $4,270

$1,100 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 160

Nick Palma limped on the button, Don Flynn shoved for effectively 975,000 from the big blind and Palma called all in immediately with , needing to improve against Flynn’s .

The board came , giving Palma aces and jacks on the river to double through Flynn into the lead.

Nick Palma  –  2,000,000  (40 bb)
Don Flynn  –  1,200,000  (24 bb)

$1,100 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 160

The final two players return from break to begin Level 26, with increased blinds of 25,000-50,000 with a 50,000 ante.

Here are the official chip counts from the break, followed by the final table payouts:

Don Flynn  –  2,055,000  (41 bb)
Nick Palma  –  1,145,000  (23 bb)

1st:  $41,050 + Showdown Trophy
2nd:  $26,060

3rd: Brandon Navarrete  –  $15,950
4th: Michael Graffeo  –  $9,700
5th: Wasim Assaf  –  $7,490
6th: Nick Yunis  –  $6,205
7th: Eric Siegel  –  $5,410
8th: Viktor Kovachev  –  $4,845
9th: Mike Beasley  –  $4,270

$1,100 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 160

Brandon Navarrete raised from the button to 350,000, Nick Palma moved all in from the small blind, and Navarrete called all in for 515,000 with .

Palma turned over , and Navarrete needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came — Navarrete turned a club flush draw, but improved no further. Palma won the pot with his pocket queens to eliminate Navarrete in third place.

Brandon Navarrete  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($15,950)

Here are the approximate chip counts for the start of heads-up play:

Don Flynn  –  1,850,000  (46 bb)
Nick Palma  –  1,350,000  (34 bb)

There will be a break in less than two minutes, when we will get more accurate counts.

$1,100 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 160

Nick Palma moved all in from the button for 580,000, and Brandon Navarrete called from the big blind with .

Palma turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Palma paired his queen on the river to win the pot and double up in chips.

Nick Palma  –  1,220,000  (31 bb)
Brandon Navarrete  –  565,000  (14 bb)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,065,000 (27 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $15,950 each.

$1,100 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 160

Nick Palma was all in from the small blind for 250,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Don Flynn in the big blind.

The board came — Palma flopped a pair of nines with an open-ended straight draw, and it held up for him to win the pot and double up in chips.

Nick Palma  –  540,000  (14 bb)
Don Flynn  –  1,375,000  (34 bb)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,065,000 (27 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $15,950 each.

$1,100 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 160

Michael Graffeo moved all in from the button for about 525,000, and Don Flynn called from the small blind with .

Graffeo turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket kings held up for Flynn to win the pot and eliminate Graffeo in fourth place.

Don Flynn  –  1,100,000  (28 bb)
Michael Graffeo  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($9,700)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,065,000 (27 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $15,950 each.

$1,100 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 160

Don Flynn raised to about 490,000 from the small blind, Brandon Navarrete three-bet all in for 805,000 from the big blind and Flynn called.

Flynn: 
Navarrete: 

The board ran out , giving Navarrete kings and jacks to double through Flynn.

Brandon Navarrete  –  1,640,000  (55 bb)
Don Flynn  –  380,000  (13 bb)

$1,100 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 160

Wasim Assaf raised to 70,000 from under the gun, Nick Palma three-bet all from the small blind for about 500,000 and Assaf called all in for about 310,000.

Assaf: 
Palma: 

The board ran out , no help to Assaf, ending his tournament in fifth place.

Nick Palma  –  860,000  (29 bb)
Wasim Assaf  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($7,490)

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 800,000 (27 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $9,700 each.