2023 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 16
$1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  478
Prize Pool:  $463,660
November 19 – 21, 2023

Event 16 of the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open was a $1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry). A field of 478 entries generated a prize pool of $463,660, more than doubling the guarantee.

A heads-up deal was reached between the final two players and Armando Romero was the chip leader at the time, making him the official Event 16 winner for $78,000.

“The final table was very challenging,” said Romero after the win. “There were a lot of great players there, but I ran very well. I’m mainly a cash-game player, but I’ve been putting in a lot of work. A lot of videos, and a lot of training, and I want to give a special thanks to my coach Alec Torelli.”

*denotes heads-up deal

$1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 29:  50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 478

Before heads-up play began, Armando Romero and John McDonald looked at the numbers and soon agreed to a deal.

Here were their chip counts at the time:

Armando Romero  –  8,950,000  (90 bb)
John McDonald  –  5,400,000  (54 bb)

Here were the resulting payouts:

Armando Romero  –  $78,000
John McDonald  –  $74,895

As the chip leader, Arman Romero was the official Event 16 winner for $78,000. John McDonald finished runner-up for $74,895.

A recap of Event 16 will be posted later tonight.

$1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 29:  50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 478

Armando Romero raised to 200,000 from the button, Daniel Frederick (who had been the shortest stack basically the entire final table) three-bet all in for 900,000 from the big blind, and Romero called with , leading Frederick’s .

The board ran out , no help to Frederick, ending his tournament in third place.

Armando Romero  –  8,950,000  (90 b)
John McDonald  –  5,400,000  (54 bb)
Daniel Frederick  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($41,300)

$1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 28:  50,000/75,000 with a 75,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 478

Michael Wang raised to 150,000 from the button, John McDonald three-bet from the small blind, Wang four-bet all in for 2,675,000, and McDonald called.

Wang: 
McDonald: 

The board ran out , no help to Wang, ending his tournament in fourth place.

John McDonald  –  5,675,000  (76 bb)
Michael Wang  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($28,355)

$1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 28:  50,000/75,000 with a 75,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 478

Seat 1:  Michael Wang  – 4,825,000  (64 bb)
Seat 2:  John McDonald  –  3,475,000  (46 bb)
Seat 6:  Daniel Frederick  –  1,675,000  (22 bb)
Seat 8:  Armando Romero  –  4,425,000  (59 bb)

1st:  $90,695 + RRPO Trophy
2nd:  $62,200
3rd:  $41,300
4th:  $28,355

$1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 478

Zhen Cai was all in for about 700,000 from the button with against Michael Wang under the gun holding .

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

Michael Wang  –  5,210,000  (87 bb)
Zhen Cai  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($21,770)

With four players remaining, the average stack is 3,585,000 (60 bb). The remaining players are guaranteed $28,355.

$1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 478

John McDonald raised from the button and Raminder Singh called in the big blind.

The flop was and Singh check-called a small continuation bet from McDonald.

The turn was the and Singh check-called another bet from McDonald.

The river was the , Singh went all in for roughly 700,000, and McDonald called with for a flush, besting Singh’s to eliminate Singh in sixth place.

John McDonald  –  3,500,000  (70 bb)
Raminder Singh  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($18,145)

With five players remaining, the average stack is 2,870,000 (57 bb). The remaining players are guaranteed $21,770.

$1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 478

Seat 1:  Michael Wang  – 4,525,000  (90 bb)
Seat 2:  John McDonald  –  3,275,000  (66 bb)
Seat 4:  Zhen Cai  –  1,360,000  (27 bb)
Seat 5:  Raminder Singh  –  1,305,000  (26 bb)
Seat 6:  Daniel Frederick  –  1,160,000  (23 bb)
Seat 8:  Armando Romero  –  2,415,000  (48 bb)

1st:  $90,695  + RRPO Trophy
2nd:  $62,200
3rd:  $41,300
4th:  $28,355
5th:  $21,770
6th:  $18,145

$1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 478

Armando Romero raised to 80,000 from the middle position, Eric Siegel reraised all in for 305,000 from the hijack, and Romero called.

Romero: 
Siegel: 

The board ran out , no help to Siegel, ending his tournament in seventh place.

Armando Romero  –  2,540,000  (64 bb)
Eric Siegel  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($15,150)

With six players remaining, the average stack is 2,390,000 (60 bb). The remaining players are guaranteed $18,145.

$1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 478

Kharlin Sued was all in for about 600,000 from the hijack with against Zhen Cai in the cutoff holding .

The flop came , giving Cai the lead with a set of tens. Sued couldn’t catch up and was out in eighth place.

Zhen Cai  –  2,450,000  (61 bb)
Kharlin Sued  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($12,160)

With seven players remaining, the average stack is about 2,050,000 (51 bb). The remaining players are guaranteed $15,150.