Escalator VII Series
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 4
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guarantee
Entries:  1,104
Prize Pool:  $574,080
March 1-5, 2023

Event 4 of the Escalator VII Series was a multi-flight $600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry). Across six starting flights, a field of 1,104 entries generated a prize pool of $574,080, easily topping the $400,000 guarantee.

A three-way deal was reached at the final table, and as the chip leader it was Brett Bader who was the official Event 4 champion for $80,000.

There were 141 players who returned on Day 2 in the money and Bader was in decent shape, coming back 42nd in chips. By the time the final table was reached, Bader sat fourth in chips.

The key hand for Bader came with five players left. He defended the big blind with seven-deuce suited and flopped a flush. After checking the flop, Bader saw a bet and an all-in raise that covered his already healthy stack. Bader called for his tournament life and held up against the nut-flush draw to take an overwhelming chip lead, en route to his victory in the three-way deal.

Bader, the 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Player of the Year, now boasts more than $1.8 million in career live tournament winnings per the Hendon Mob poker database.

*denotes three-way deal

Escalator VII Series Event 4
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 1,104

The remaining three players decided to look at the numbers and eventually worked out a deal.

Here were the chip counts at the time:

Brett Bader  –  17,450,000  (70 bb)
Richard Newell Jr.  –  10,425,000  (42 bb)
Haim Toorgeman  –  5,250,000  (21 bb)

Here were the resulting payouts:

Brett Bader  –  $80,000
Richard Newell Jr.  –  $66,396
Haim Toorgeman  –  $53,979

As the chip leader, Brett Bader was the official Event 4 champion of the Escalator VII Series.

A recap of the tournament will be posted later tonight.

Escalator VII Series Event 4
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 1,104

Brett Bader raised all in with his chip-leading stack from the button and Gary Gelman called all in for about 4,225,000 in the small blind.

Bader: 
Gelman: 

The board ran out , giving Bader fives full of jacks to eliminate Gelman in fourth place.

Brett Bader  –  17,450,000  (70 bb)
Gary Gelman  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($32,545)

With three players remaining from a field of 1,104 entries, the average stack is about 11,050,000 (33 bb). Everyone is guaranteed $42,800.

Escalator VII Series Event 4
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 1,104

Gary Gelman raised all in with a covering stack in the small blind and Haim Toorgeman thought for a little bit before he called all in for about 2,800,000 in the big blind.

Gelman: 
Toorgeman: 

The board ran out , giving Toorgeman aces and jacks to double up.

Haim Toorgeman  –  5,850,000  (23 bb)
Gary Gelman  –  5,000,000  (25 bb)

Escalator VII Series Event 4
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 1,104

Gary Gelman raised to 550,000 from UTG/hijack, Mark Wahba three-bet all in for 850,000 from the cutoff and Gelman called with , leading Wahba’s .

The board came , giving Gelman aces and tens to eliminate Wahba in fifth place.

Gary Gelman  –  7,400,000  (30 bb)
Mark Wahba  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($24,600)

With four players remaining from a field of 1,104 entries, the average stack is about 8,275,000 (33 bb). Everyone is guaranteed $32,545.

Escalator VII Series Event 4
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 1,104

Mark Wahba opened to 550,000 from UTG/hijack, Richard Newell Jr. three-bet all in for 4,025,000 from the button and Wahba called.

Wahba: 
Newell: 

The board ran out , giving Newell Jr. aces and queens to double up.

Richard Newell Jr.  –  8,675,000  (35 bb)
Mark Wahba  –  1,475,000  (6 bb)

Escalator VII Series Event 4
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 1,104

Mark Wahba raised to 400,000 from the button, Haim Toorgeman reraised all in for 450,000 in the small blind, Richard Newell Jr. called in the big blind and Wahba called.

They checked to the river of a board here Wahba isolated the pot and showed . Toorgeman tabled for a king-high flush to triple up.

Shortly thereafter, Gary Gelman raised to 450,000 from the cutoff, Mark Wahba called on the button and Toorgeman three-bet all in for 1,650,000 from the small blind. Gelman isolated the action with , while Toorgeman showed .

The board ran out , giving Toorgman a pair of kings to double up.

Haim Toorgeman  –  4,150,000  (21 bb)
Gary Gelman  – 4,850,000  (24 bb)

Escalator VII Series Event 4
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 1,104

Gary Gelman raised to 450,000 from UTG/hijack, Haim Toorgeman called on the button and Brett Bader called in the big blind.

The flop was and Bader checked to Gelman who continued for 650,000. Toorgeman raised all in for about 8,000,000, Bader called all in for 7,200,000 and Gelman open-folded the .

Toorgeman: 
Bader: 

The turn and river completed the board, safe for Bader to score the massive double into the chip lead.

Brett Bader  –  16,400,000 (82 bb)
Gary Gelman  –  5,800,000  (29 bb)
Haim Toorgeman  –  850,000  (4 bb)

Escalator VII Series Event 4
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 1,104

Matthew Lambrecht was all in for 325,000 from under the gun against Haim Toorgeman in the small blind.

Lambrecht: 
Toorgeman: 

The board ran out , ending Lambrecht’s tournament in sixth place.

Haim Toorgeman  –  11,475,000  (77 bb)
Matthew Lambrecht  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($20,100)

With five players remaining from a field of 1,104 entries, the average stack is about 6,625,000 (37 bb). Everyone is guaranteed $24,600.

Escalator VII Series Event 4
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$400,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 1,104

Haim Toorgeman raised to 325,000 from middle position, Calais Campbell reraised all in for 1,275,000 from the cutoff and Toorgeman thought for a little while before he called.

Toorgeman: 
Campbell: 

The board ran out , no help to Campbell, ending his run with a seventh-place finish for $16,430.

Haim Toorgeman  –  10,500,000  (70 bb)
Calais Campbell  –  Eliminated in 7th Place ($16,430)

With six players remaining from a field of 1,104 entries, the average stack is about 5,525,000 (37 bb). Everyone is guaranteed $20,100.