2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 12
$200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$150,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  1,775
Prize Pool:  $284,000
April 17-19, 2023

Event 12 of the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was a multi-flight $200 Big Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry). A field of 1,775 entries across six starting flights generated a prize pool of $285,000, nearly doubling the guarantee.

A six-way deal was reached at the final and Rick Kalgstein was the chip leader, making him the official Event 12 champion for $26,177.

This marked Kalgstein’s first official win at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, having previously taken a runner-up finish in a multi-way deal in the 2019 September Deepstack for $32,079. Kalgstein’s biggest career live score came at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa, also in 2019, for $32,133.

“It’s nice to get the win in my hometown,” said Kalgstein afterward.

*denotes six-way deal

$200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$150,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 1,775

The players returned from break and agreed to an ICM deal. Here were their chip counts:

1.  Rick Kalgstein  –  6,075,000  (30 bb)
2.  Jimmy Tomblin  –  5,400,000  (27 bb)
3.  Erick Ortiz  –  4,425,000  (22 bb)
4.  Haopeng Yang  –  3,600,000  (18 bb)
5.  Curtis Daye  – 3,575,000  (18 bb)
6.  Truyen Nguyen  –  3,550,000  (18 bb)

Here were the resulting payouts:

1.  Rick Kalgstein  –  $26,117
2.  Jimmy Tomblin  –  $24,894
3.  Erick Ortiz  –  $22,925
4.  Haopeng Yang  –  $21,034
5.  Curtis Daye  –  $20,973
6.  Truyen Nguyen  –  $20,912

As the chip leader, Rick Kalgstein was the official Event 12 winner for $26,117.

A recap of the event will be posted later tonight.

$200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$150,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 1,775

Seat 1:  Jimmy Tomblin  –  5,400,000  (27 bb)
Seat 2:  Haopeng Yang  –  3,600,000  (18 bb)
Seat 3:  Truyen Nguyen  –  3,550,000  (18 bb)
Seat 4:  Erick Ortiz  –  4,425,000  (22 bb)
Seat 5:  Rick Kalgstein  –  6,075,000  (30 bb)
Seat 6:  Curtis Daye  – 3,575,000  (18 bb)

1st:  $46,235 + Showdown Trophy
2nd:  $31,250
3rd:  $21,575
4th:  $16,015
5th:  $12,055
6th:  $9,725

$200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$150,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 1,775

Erick Ortiz opened to 350,000 from the cutoff, Micah Trexler three-bet all in for 800,000 from the button, Rick Kalgstein four-bet to about 1,800,000 from the small blind, and Ortiz folded.

Trexler: 
Kalgstein: 

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

Rick Kalgstein  –   5,800,000  (39 bb)
Micah Trexler  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($8,000)

With six players remaining, the average stack is about 4,450,000 (30 bb). The remaining players are guaranteed $9,725.

$200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$150,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 1,775

Daniel Quesada raised all in for 525,000 from early position and Truyen Nguyen called in the big blind with , racing with Quesada’s .

The board came , giving Nguyen a set of nines to eliminate Quesada in eighth place.

Truyen Nguyen  – 3,000,000  (20 bb)
Daniel Quesada  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($6,300)

With seven players remaining, the average stack is about 3,800,000 (25 bb). The remaining players are guaranteed $8,000.

$200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$150,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 1,775

Robert Schmal raised all in for about 1,250,000 from middle position and Curtis Daye isolated the action with a shove from the next seat over.

Schmal: 
Daye: 

The board ran out , no help to Schmal, ending his tournament in ninth place.

Curtis Daye  –  4,400,000  (29 bb)
Robert Schmal  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($4,705)

With eight players remaining, the average stack is about 3,325,000  (22 bb). The remaining players are guaranteed $6,300.

$200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$150,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 30:  75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 1,775

Seat 1:  Jimmy Tomblin  –  6,200,000  (50 bb)
Seat 2:  Haopeng Yang  –  5,400,000   (43 bb)
Seat 3:  Truyen Nguyen  –  2,800,000  (22 bb)
Seat 4:  Erick Ortiz  –  2,100,000  (15 bb)
Seat 5:  Daniel Quesada  –  650,000  (5 bb)
Seat 6:  Micah Trexler  –  900,000  (7 bb)
Seat 7:  Rick Kalgstein  –  4,400,000  (35 bb)
Seat 8:  Robert Schmal  –  1,525,000  (12 bb)
Seat 9:  Curtis Daye  –  2,750,000  (22 bb)

1st:  $46,235 + Showdown Trophy
2nd:  $31,250
3rd:  $21,575
4th:  $16,015
5th:  $12,055
6th:  $9,725
7th:  $8,000
8th:  $6,300
9th:  $4,705

Recent Eliminations
10th:  Avi Frier  –  $4,705
11th:  Richard Saunders  –  $3,555
12th:  David Inselberg  –  $3,555
13th:  Kevin Blewitt  –  $2,750
14th:  Robert Kessler  –  $2,750
15th:  Athanasios Polychronopoulos  –  $2,750
16th:  Michael Decesare  –  $2,210
17th:  Albert Prendergast  –  $2,210
18th:  Vencent White  –  $2,210
19th:  Robert Stam  –  $1,800
20th:  Michael Tarafa  –  $1,800
21st:  Tomer Akerman  –  $1,800
22nd:  Nader Bahhur  –  $1,485
23rd:  Frank Martin  –  $1,485

$200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$150,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  23 of 1,775

Table 7
Seat 1:
Seat 2:  Athanasios Polychronopoulos  –  700,000  (12 bb)
Seat 3:
Seat 4:  Kevin Blewitt  –  775,000  (13 bb)
Seat 5:  Frank Martin  –  600,000  (10 bb)
Seat 6:  Tomer Akerman  –  490,000  (8 bb)
Seat 7:  Truyen Nguyen  –  1,700,000  (28 bb)
Seat 8:  Daniel Quesada  –  820,000  (14 bb)
Seat 9:  Vencent White  –  720,000  (12 bb)

Table 8
Seat 1:  Erick Ortiz  –  610,000  (10 bb)
Seat 2:  Haopeng Yang  –  1,910,000  (32 bb)
Seat 3:  Richard Saunders  –  1,550,000  (26 bb)
Seat 4:  Robert Schmal  –  775,000  (13 bb)
Seat 5:
Seat 6:  Michael Tarafa  –  650,000  (11 bb)
Seat 7:  Nader Bahhur  –  665,000  (11 bb)
Seat 8:  Rick Kalgstein  –  1,710,000  (29 bb)
Seat 9:  Avi Frier  –  1,160,000  (19 bb)

Table 16
Seat 1:
Seat 2:  Robert Stam  –  880,000  (15 bb)
Seat 3:  David Inselberg  –  960,000  (16 bb)
Seat 4:  Michael Decesare  –  820,000  (14 bb)
Seat 5:  Jimmy Tomblin  –  4,000,000  (67 bb)
Seat 6:  Robert Kessler  –  1,680,000  (28 bb)
Seat 7:  Albert Prendergast  –  550,000  (9 bb)
Seat 8:  Micah Trexler  –  1,440,000  (24 bb)
Seat 9:  Curtis Daye  –  1,750,000  (29 bb)

1st:  $46,235 + Showdown Trophy
2nd:  $31,250
3rd:  $21,575
4th:  $16,015
5th:  $12,055
6th:  $9,725
7th:  $8,000
8th:  $6,300
9th-10th:  $4,705
11th-12th:  $3,555
13th-15th:  $2,750
16th-18th:  $2,210
19th-21st:  $1,800
22nd-23rd:  $1,485

Recent Eliminations
24th:  Louis Leo IV  –  $1,485
25th:  Joseph Linville  –  $1,260
26th:  Gregory Pessine  –  $1,260
27th:  Mikhail Chykiliov  –  $1,260

$200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$150,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  27 of 1,775

28th:  Salvatore Pipitone  –  $1,080
29th:  Frederic Bunchan  –  $1,080
30th:  Jose Rodriguez  –  $1,080
31st:  Clinton Fromal  –  $1,080
32nd:  Marcel Jimenez  –  $1,080
33rd:  Trung Le  –  $1,080
34th:  Adilzhan Ibrayev  –  $1,080
35th:  Tuan Phan  –  $1,080
36th:  Andre Bryan  –  $1,080

37th:  Steve Zhang  –  $920
38th:  Paul Hassett  –  $920
39th:  Carlos Torres Vazquez  –  $920
40th:  Jordan Miller  –  $920
41st:  Braxton Lake  –  $920
42nd:  Jorge Rivera  –  $920
43rd:  Trever Phelps  –  $920
44th:  Min Zhang  –  $920
45th:  Christopher Audrain  –  $920

46th:  Soma Gubacsi  –  $800
47th:  Lawrence Strenk  –  $800
48th:  Shawn Farmer  –  $800
49th:  Jairo Velasquez  –  $800
50th:  Perrin Rodrigue  –  $800
51st:  David Laufer  –  $800
52nd:  Philip Toister  –  $800
53rd:  Frederick Diser  –  $800
54th:  Stephanie Sullivan  –  $800

55th:  Praise Ogwo  –  $700
56th:  Michael Stratos  –  $700
57th:  Matthew Swinick  –  $700
58th:  Peter Shapiro  –  $700
59th:  Jarrod Parr  –  $700
60th:  Nicholas Quatse  –  $700
61st:  Christopher Moffitt-Gabis  –  $700
62nd:  Noah Flaum  –  $700
63rd:  Kevin Fitzpatrick  –  $700

64th:  Ira Horowitz  –  $640
65th:  Betty Davis  –  $640
66th:  Danielle Bastarache  –  $640
67th:  James Anderson  –  $640
68th:  Oniel McCalla  –  $640
69th:  Pavel Smejkal  –  $640
70th:  Lucca Cecilio Salgueiro  –  $640
71st:  Randall Wagnon  –  $640
72nd:  Steven Bennett  –  $640

73rd:  Franklin Guevara  –  $605
74th:  Omer Rotman  –  $605
75th:  Nir Sharon  –  $605
76th:  Jakub Neubauer  –  $605
77th:  Timothy Little  –  $605
78th:  Randal Fernandez  –  $605
79th:  James Nadolski  –  $605
80th:  Jeffrey Silverstein  –  $605
81st:  George Rovero  –  $605

82nd:  Joshua Hanson  –  $570
83rd:  Shannon McCloud  –  $570
84th:  Philip Consolo  –  $570
85th:  Carlos Fonseca Rojas  –  $570
86th:  Robert Goldberg  –  $570
87th:  Solange Zambrano  –  $570
88th:  Michael Tweedlie  –  $570
89th:  Patrick Biancone  –  $570
90th:  Vlad-Alexandru Leonte  –  $570

$200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$150,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  44 of 1,775

The players have returned from break to begin Level 23, with increased blinds of 15,000-25,000 with a 25,000 ante.

A scan of the field during the break turned up six players with at least 900K in chips, creating an unofficial leaderboard:

1.  Haopeng Yang  –  1,525,000  (61 bb)
2.  Dustin Truyen  –  1,155,000  (46 bb)
3.  Micah Trexler  –  1,085,000  (43 bb)
4.  David Inselberg  –  1,060,000  (42 bb)
5.  Robert Kessler  –  970,000  (39 bb)
6.  Curtis Daye  –  915,000  (37 bb)

With 44 players remaining from a field of 1,775, the average chip stack is around 605,000 (24 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $920 each.