Aram Oganyan Dominated the High Roller From Three Tables to the Winner’s Circle

2023 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 25
$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  74
Prize Pool:  $1,827,800
January 19-20, 2023

$25,500 High Roller Champion Aram Oganyan
High Roller Champion Aram Oganyan

Aram Oganyan held the top spot on the leaderboard from the final three tables until the end of the $25,500 High Roller, eventually winning in a four-way deal.

After his victory, Oganyan pointed to his big hand on Day 1 where he eliminated Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel.

“Seidel had queens, and I had aces,” said Oganyan. “What can you do? And we both flopped a set. It was unreal.” (Click here for hand details.)

After knocking out Seidel in 18th place, Oganyan catapulted into a huge lead as chipleader, a position he never gave up for the rest of the tournament.

Oganyan was already on a bit of a heater before this event, final tabling three other high rollers in the past six weeks to earn $363,640. And his good fortune continued in this event.

“Every time I felt like I was raising with dog shit, they let it go,” said Oganyan. “And every time I was raising with a really good hand, they happened to wake up with a worse hand. But that’s just card distribution. What can you do?”

Oganyan then smiled and said, “It’s not my fault, it’s the dealers fault.”

Oganyan continued to dominate at the final table, knocking out three of the five players who busted. He had 60% of the chips in play with four players left, and that’s when they agreed to a deal. As chipleader, Oganyan was declared the winner and awarded the title and the trophy.

After his victory, Oganyan was eager to hop into the $3,500 Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship.

“The tournaments here are great, and I think the staff does a really good job. The dealers are very good.”


PlaceFirst NameLast NamePrize Amount
1AramOganyan$480,175*
2JustinSaliba$353,175*
3JesseLonis$260,175*
4PhilipShing$250,175*
5MariusGierse$110,500
6LeonSturm$83,100
7JoeMcKeehen$67,600
8GytisLazauninkas$58,500
9MartinStausholm$56,600
10GalenHall$54,800
11CoreyWade$53,000

* Indicates a four-way deal.

High Roller: Aram Oganyan Wins in a Four-Way Deal ($480,175)

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 74

Aram Oganyan
Aram Oganyan

After Justin Saliba doubled thru Aram Oganyan, the final four players stopped play to consider a deal. These were their official chip counts:

1.  Aram Oganyan  –  4,430,000  (111 bb)
2.  Justin Saliba  –  1,630,000  (41 bb)
3.  Jesse Lonis  –  700,000  (18 bb)
4.  Philip Shing  –  640,000  (16 bb)

After some discussion, they agreed to a four-way deal, with the following payouts:

1st:  Aram Oganyan  –  $480,175
2nd:  Justin Saliba  –  $353,175
3rd:  Jesse Lonis  –  $260,175
4th:  Philip Shing  –  $250,175

As chipleader, Aram Oganyan was awarded the title and the trophy. Stay tuned for a recap of this event, which will be posted this evening.

High Roller: Justin Saliba Doubles Thru Aram Oganyan

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 74

Justin Saliba
Justin Saliba

Aram Oganyan raised from the cutoff, Justin Saliba moved all in from the small blind for 775,000, and Oganyan called with 10d6d.

Saliba turned over AcKd, and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came AhJd5hQhQs, and Saliba won the pot with two pair, aces and queens, to double up in chips.

Justin Saliba  –  1,630,000  (41 bb)
Aram Oganyan  –  4,430,000  (111 bb)

With four players remaining from a field of 74, the average chip stack is about 1,850,000 (46 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $165,400 each.

High Roller: Jesse Lonis Doubles Thru Aram Oganyan

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 74

Jesse Lonis
Jesse Lonis

Aram Oganyan moved all in from the small blind, and Jesse Lonis called all in from the big blind for 410,000 with KdQd.

Oganyan turned over Ad7c, and Lonis needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came Jd4s3hJcKs, and Lonis pairs his king on the river to win the pot and double up in chips.

Jesse Lonis  –  860,000  (22 bb)
Aram Oganyan  –  5,160,000  (129 bb)

With four players remaining from a field of 74, the average chip stack is about 1,850,000 (46 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $165,400 each.

High Roller: Marius Gierse – 5th Place ($110,500)

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 74

Marius Gierse
Marius Gierse

Aram Oganyan raised from the hijack to 80,000, Marius Gierse moved all in from the small blind for about 900,000, and Oganyan called with 10h10d.

Gierse turned over AdKh, and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came 7h6d5s2hQh, and the pocket tens held up for Oganyan to win the pot and eliminate Gierse in fifth place.

Aram Oganyan  –  5,550,000  (139 bb)
Marius Gierse  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($110,500)

With four players remaining from a field of 74, the average chip stack is about 1,850,000 (46 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $165,400 each.

High Roller: Aram Oganyan Leads the Final Five at the Break with 3.37 Million

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 74

Aram Oganyan
Aram Oganyan

Level 18 came to an end, and the players took a 15-minute break. When they return, the blinds will increase to 20,000-40,000 with a 40,000 ante.

Here are the official chip counts from the break, followed by the prizepool:

Seat 1.  Aram Oganyan  –  3,370,000  (84 bb)
Seat 2.  Jesse Lonis  –  650,000  (16 bb)
Seat 3.  Justin Saliba  –  1,105,000  (28 bb)
Seat 4.  Marius Gierse  –  1,625,000  (41 bb)
Seat 5.  Philip Shing  –  650,000  (16 bb)

1st:  $563,300
2nd:  $372,900
3rd:  $242,100
4th:  $165,400
5th:  $110,500

6th:  Leon Sturm  –  $83,100
7th:  Joe McKeehen  –  $67,600
8th:  Gytis Lazauninkas  –  $58,500
9th:  Martin Stausholm  –  $56,600
10th:  Galen Hall  –  $54,800
11th:  Corey Wade  –  $53,000

With five players remaining from a field of 74, the average chip stack is about 1,480,000 (37 big blinds).

High Roller: Leon Sturm – 6th Place ($83,100)

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 74

Leon Sturm
Leon Sturm

Philip Shing raised from the button to 65,000, Leon Sturm reraised from the small blind to 140,000, and Shing moved all in.

Sturm called all in for about 200,000 with 9s9h, but he needed to improve to stay alive against Shing’s AsAh.

The board came KdJh7dQc7h, and the pocket aces held up for Shing to win the pot and eliminate Sturm in sixth place.

Philip Shing  –  650,000  (22 bb)
Leon Sturm  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($83,100)

With five players remaining from a field of 74, the average chip stack is about 1,480,000 (49 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $110,500 each.

High Roller: Jesse Lonis Shoves the Turn Against Leon Sturm

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 74

Jesse Lonis
Jesse Lonis

Jesse Lonis raised from the hijack to 65,000, and Leon Sturm called from the big blind.

The flop came Kd10d8d, Sturm checked, Lonis bet 90,000, and Sturm called.

The turn card was the 2c, Sturm checked, Lonis moved all in for about 445,000, and Sturm folded. Lonis showed AcKs for a pair of kings as he took the pot.

Jesse Lonis  –  800,000  (27 bb)
Leon Sturm  –  280,000  (9 bb)

With six players remaining from a field of 74, the average chip stack is about 1,235,000 (41 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $83,100 each.

High Roller: Joe McKeehen – 7th Place ($67,600)

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 74

Joe McKeehen
Joe McKeehen

In the next hand after the elimination of Gytis Lazauninkas, Aram Oganyan moved all in from the hijack for about 2.6 million, and Joe McKeehen called from the big blind for 740,000 with AcKs.

Oganyan turned over 8s8c, and McKeehen needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came Qs4h2d5h8d, and Oganyan won the pot with a set of eights to eliminate McKeehen in seventh place.

Aram Oganyan  –  3,380,000  (113 bb)
Joe McKeehen  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($67,600)

We’ve just lost three players in three straight hands.

With six players remaining from a field of 74, the average chip stack is about 1,235,000 (41 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $83,100 each.

High Roller: Gytis Lazauninkas – 8th Place ($58,500)

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 74

Gytis Lazauninkas
Gytis Lazauninkas

The next hand after the elimination of Martin Stausholm, Gytis Lazauninkas moved all in from the hijack for about 300,000, and Justin Saliba called from the big blind with AsAc.

Lazauninkas turned over Kc10c, and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came KsJh8s4c3h, and Lazauninkas paired his king on the flop, but improved no further. Saliba won the pot with his pocket aces to eliminate Lazauninkas in eighth place.

Justin Saliba  –  790,000  (26 bb)
Gytis Lazauninkas  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($58,500)

With seven players remaining from a field of 74, the average chip stack is about 1,055,000 (35 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $67,600 each.