2023 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 1
$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  4,535
Prize Pool:  $2,358,200
January 12–16, 2023

“It’s always fun to come down to Hollywood and show off your poker skills.”

The first event of the Lucky Hearts Poker Open was a massive affair with 4,535 entries paying $600 each across six starting flights, creating a prizepool of $2,358,200 that more than doubled the $1 million guarantee. On Tuesday night, the final seven players agreed to a deal to end the tournament and split the remaining prizepool.

As chipleader, Scott Woodring was awarded the title, the trophy, and $190,939.

“It was a great tournament,” said Woodring. “There were a lot of roller-coaster rides for a lot of folks, especially at the final table.”

When Woodring began Day 2 with 36 big blinds, his goal was to tighten up a bit.

“The cards fell in my favor when I was playing tight,” said Woodring. “I got some more chips, and then I got more aggressive with my bigger stack, which everyone does, and it worked out in my favor. When I was bluffing, I never got caught, and when I was getting called, I had the best hand.”

Woodring was chipleader for a while on Day 2, and never seemed too far away from the lead. He came into Day 3 fifth in chips with 25 players remaining.

When the nine-handed final table began, Woodring was in the middle of the pack with an average chip stack, but it quickly took a turn for the worse after he lost an all in against Jake Schwartz to drop down to just eight big blinds. (Click here for details.)

“Then I woke up with the queens against two ace-kings, and that was a crucial turning point,” said Woodring.

Woodring had in a three-way preflop all-in situation against two players who both had ace-king — and his queens held up to triple him up to 29 big blinds. (Click here for details.)

Pocket queens not only saved Woodring in his darkest hour, they also catapulted him into the lead shortly before the dinner break.

Woodring got it all in with against Schwartz’s , and the queens held up again for him to double into the chip lead. (Click here for details.)

Woodring held onto the chip lead, and shortly after the dinner break, the final seven players agreed to a deal to split up the remaining prizepool. As chipleader, Woodring won the title, the trophy, and $190,939.

“The title and the trophy is why we come here,” said Woodring. “The money is great, but it’s more about the bragging rights. Everybody looks each other up when we get to a table. You’re always looking up who’s been where and who’s cashed what. So these are the patches on your shoulder, if you will, if you’re in the military.”

In addition to being a military veteran, Woodring appeared on Season 17 of the reality TV show, Deadliest Catch.

“I retired from the military in Alaska,” said Woodring, “and I knew some guys up there and I started salmon fishing.”

That’s when he met the Hillstrand brothers who captained the fishing vessel Time Bandit.

“They asked me to go out and go crab fishing for the Deadliest Catch. So I did Season 17 with those guys. It was a really cool experience, and I had a great time doing that. We played a lot of poker on that boat.”

Nowadays, Woodring lives in central Florida, and he spends more time playing poker.

“You can’t really beat the Florida tournament circuit,” said Woodring. “The fields are just as good if not better than most other places in the U.S.”

“I appreciate Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, and their hospitality,” said Woodring. “It’s a beautifully run tournament, with a great staff and great dealers. Everything’s been tip-top.”

Final Table Results:

* Indicates a seven-way deal.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,535

Shortly after the final seven players returned from dinner, they agreed to a deal for the remaining prizepool.

As chipleader, Scott Woodring was awarded the title, the trophy, and $190,939.

Here are the payouts they agreed to:

1st:  Scott Woodring  –  $190,939 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  Christie Yau  –  $176,885
3rd:  John Miller  –  $167,269
4th:  Juan Maceiras  –  $156,000
5th:  Arlon Berdos  –  $155,167
6th:  Jake Schwartz  –  $129,015
7th:  John Stevenson  –  $125,000

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

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,535

The players have returned from dinner to begin Level 36, with increased blinds of 300,000-500,000 with a 500,000 ante. Here are the official chip counts:

Seat 1.  Christie Yau  –  18,100,000  (36 bb)
Seat 2.  John Stevenson  –  7,800,000  (16 bb)
Seat 3.  John Miller  –  15,100,000  (30 bb)
Seat 4.  Arlon Berdos  –  12,200,000  (24 bb)
Seat 5.  Jake Schwartz  –  5,500,000  (11 bb)
Seat 6.  Scott Woodring  –  21,800,000  (44 bb)
Seat 7.  Juan Maceiras  –  10,200,000  (20 bb)

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,535, the average chip stack is around 13.0 million (26 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $57,990 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,535

Level 35 comes to an end, and the players take a 40-minute dinner break. Here are the official chip counts:

Seat 1.  Christie Yau  –  18,100,000  (36 bb)
Seat 2.  John Stevenson  –  7,800,000  (16 bb)
Seat 3.  John Miller  –  15,100,000  (30 bb)
Seat 4.  Arlon Berdos  –  12,200,000  (24 bb)
Seat 5.  Jake Schwartz  –  5,500,000  (11 bb)
Seat 6.  Scott Woodring  –  21,800,000  (44 bb)
Seat 7.  Juan Maceiras  –  10,200,000  (20 bb)

And here are the final table payouts:

1st:  $340,000 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  $226,845
3rd:  $166,400
4th:  $129,700
5th:  $101,790
6th:  $77,550
7th:  $57,990

8th:  Aaron Flores  –  $43,800
9th:  Robert Barto  –  $31,225

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,535, the average chip stack is around 13.0 million (26 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $57,990 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,535

Jake Schwartz raised from the cutoff to 800,000, Scott Woodring reraised from the button to 2,400,000, and Schwartz moved all in.

Woodring called all in for 9,200,000 with , and Schwartz turned over . Woodring needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Schwartz paired his jack on the flop, but improved no further. Woodring won the pot with a rivered set of queens to double up in chips — and take the chip lead.

Scott Woodring  –  19,400,000  (49 b)
Jake Schwartz  –  6,200,000  (16 bb)

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,535, the average chip stack is around 13.0 million (33 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $57,990 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,535

Christie Yau raised from the button to 3,000,000, and John Stevenson tanked for a while before he moved all in from the small blind for 4,000,000.

Yau called with , and Stevenson turned over . Stevenson needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Stevenson paired his ace on the flop to win the pot and double up in chips.

John Stevenson  –  8,800,000  (22 bb)
Christie Yau  –  17,000,000  (43 bb)

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,535, the average chip stack is around 13.0 million (33 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $57,990 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,535

Jake Schwartz min-raised UTG+1 to 800,000, Scott Woodring moved all in from the hijack for 4,300,000, and Juan Maceiras moved all in over the top from the cutoff for about 11,600,000. Schwartz folded, saying later that he had pocket nines.

Woodring turned over , and he needed it to hold to stay alive against the of Maceiras.

The board came , and Woodring paired his king on the flop and rivered an ace-high flush to win the pot and double up in chips.

Scott Woodring  –  10,400,000  (26 bb)
Juan Maceiras  –  7,300,000  (18 bb)

With seven players remaining from a field of 4,535, the average chip stack is around 13.0 million (33 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $57,990 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 4,535

Aaron Flores raised all in for 3,800,000 from UTG+1, Jake Schwartz reraised all in for 9,600,000 from the button, and Scott Woodring called in the small blind with a covering stack.

Flores: 
Schwartz: 
Woodring: 

The flop fell , keeping Woodring in the lead with tens while giving Flores a flush draw.

The turn was , giving Flores a pair of kings to take the lead in the main pot, while Schwartz pulled ahead of Woodring in the side pot.

The river was the , however, giving Schwartz kings and queens to eliminate Flores, while doubling through Woodring to take the chip lead.

Flores finished in 8th place for $43,800, on the heels of his 7th-place finish in this same event last year.

Jake Schwartz  –  23,800,000  (60 bb)
Scott Woodring  –  10,200,000  (26 bb)
Aaron Flores  – Eliminated in 8th Place  ($43,800)

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 34:  200,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 4,535

Scott Woodring limped from the hijack for 300,000, Juan Maceiras limped from the cutoff, and Christie Yau raised from the button to 800,000. Woodring and Maceiras both called.

All three players checked to the turn on a board of , Woodring checked, and Maceiras bet 1,600,000. Yau folded, and Woodring called.

The river card was the , Woodring checked, Maceiras bet 2,800,000, and Woodring called.

Maceiras showed for a nine-high bluff (missed his flush draw), and Woodring turned over to win the pot with just a pair of fours.

Scott Woodring  –  17,600,000  (59 bb)
Juan Maceiras  –  8,200,000  (27 bb)

With eight players remaining from a field of 4,535, the average chip stack is around 11,300,000 (38 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $43,800 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 34:  200,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 4,535

Jake Schwartz raised from the button to 600,000, Scott Woodring called from the small blind, and Juan Maceiras called from the big blind.

The flop came , and it checked to Schwartz, who bet 900,000. Woodring called, and Maceiras check-raised all in for 11,600,000.

Schwartz folded, and Woodring showed one card — the — as he also folded. Maceiras took the pot.

Juan Maceiras  –  14,600,000  (49 bb)
Jake Schwartz  –  10,500,000  (35 bb)
Scott Woodring  –  8,300,000  (28 bb)

With eight players remaining from a field of 4,535, the average chip stack is around 11,300,000 (38 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $43,800 each.