Kenneth Po Wins Event 13 of the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Outright for $12,285

2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 13
$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry)
Entries:  133
Prize Pool:  $44,555
April 17, 2023

2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Event 13 Champion Kenneth Po

Event 13 of the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was a $400 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry). A field of 133 entries was the second largest for a H.O.R.S.E. event in SHRP history, and it produced a prize pool of $44,555.

Emerging victorious was Kenneth Po, taking it down for $12,285.

“It was a really fun final table,” said Po afterward. “Complete with (sixth-place finisher) Long Nguyen’s two ‘best hand to behind to chop’ in limit hold’em as a micro stack,” which brought boisterous laughter that was heard throughout the ballroom.

During a round of hold’em, Nguyen was first all in pocket kings against David Shmuel’s jack-nine. Shmuel turned a straight, but the river gave both the same straight to chop the pot. Shortly thereafter, Nguyen was all in with ace-jack against Shmuel’s jack-seven. Shmuel paired his seven on the turn, but again the river gave each the same straight that chopped the pot.

Po is a regular participant in mixed-game events during the SHRP major series’. This marked his 18th cash in a mixed-game tournament here, including six final tables made. His best results had been a pair of third-place finishes, but he was finally able to snag that elusive victory for his first SHRP major series trophy.

“I’m thankful to God, poker friends, tournament directors/staff, and dealers for all the support and encouragement,” said Po. “It’s a really great tournament schedule and venue, and I’m happy to participate.”

PlaceFirst NameLast NamePrize Amount
1KennethPo$12,185
2DavidShmuel$7,700
3NickMarsico$4,725
4AnthonyAskey$2,895
5AubreyGilbert$2,205
6LongNguyen$1,875
7NatanWager Vainer$1,625
8ScottEpstein$1,400
9DavidMay$1,400
10LarryJames$1,200
11PhilHui$1,200
12VolodymyrKondratenko$1,200
13WilliamHanawalt$1,015
14ChadRoedersheimer$1,015
15JonathanBreneman$1,015
16AriEngel$900
17JustinBrown$900

Event 13: Kenneth Po Wins! ($12,285); David Shmuel Eliminated in 2nd Place ($7,700)

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  25,000/50,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  1 of 133

Stud Hi-Lo

David Shmuel was all in on sixth street with (in descending order) AsKsQdQc9c3s for a pair of queens, and pulled a blank on seventh street to finish with just queens.

Kenneth Po was freerolling with Ad2s / 4s6h9d8h, having half the pot locked up with a low. He turned over his seventh street card quickly and revealed the Ac, giving him a pair of aces to scoop the pot and win Event 13 outright for $12,285.

David Shmuel finished runner-up for $7,700.

A recap of the event will be posted later tonight.

Event 13: Nick Marsico – 3rd Place ($4,725)

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  25,000/50,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  2 of 133

Stud

Nick Marsico:  XxXx / 2hJd
Kenneth Po:  XxXx / 7dJh

Nick Marsico was the bring-in, Kenneth Po completed to 25,000, Marsico raised to 50,000, and Po called.

Po checked on fourth street, Marsico bet his remaining 15,000, and Po called.

Nick Marsico:  10s2d / 2hJd
Kenneth Po:  Js6s / 7dJh

Po had made a pair of jacks on fourth street to take the lead, and further improved with a QdAdAc runout to aces and jacks. Marisco went 4s7s before sweating his seventh street, which he announced was black and a no-sider, but ultimately flipped over the 3s to bust in third place.

Kenneth Po  –  1,306,000  (26 BB)
David Shmuel  –  290,000  (6 BB)
Nick Marsico  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($4,725)

1st: $12,285 + Showdown trophy
2nd: $7,700

Event 13: Final Three in the H.O.R.S.E.

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  25,000/50,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  3 of 133

Kenneth Po  –  791,000  (16 BB)
David Shmuel  –  425,000  (9 BB)
Nick Marsico  –  380,000  (8 BB)

1st: $12,285 + Showdown trophy
2nd: $7,700
3rd: $4,725

4th:  Anthony Askey  –  $2,895
5th:  Aubrey Gilbert  –  $2,205
6th:  Long Nguyen  –  $1,875
7th:  Natan Wager Vainer  –  $1,625
8th:  Scott Epstein  –  $1,400
9th:  David May  –  $1,400
10th:  Larry James  –  $1,200
11th:  Phil Hui  –  $1,200
12th:  Volodymyr Kondratenko  –  $1,200
13th:  William Hanawalt  –  $1,015
14th:  Chad Roedersheimer  –  $1,015
15th:  Jonathan Breneman  –  $1,015
16th:  Ari Engel  –  $900
17th:  Justin Brown  –  $900

Event 8: Prize Pool and Payouts with $12,285

2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 7
$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry)
Entries:  133
Prize Pool:  $44,555
April 17, 2023

Registration closed for the $400 H.O.R.S.E. event with 133 entries making it the second-biggest field in our history for this tournament.

2021 Showdown – 153 entries
2023 Showdown – 133 entries
2021 RRPO – 115 entries
2023 LHPO – 109 entries
2021 LHPO – 102 entries

They created a prize pool worth $44,555 and the last 17 spots will be paid. A min-cash is worth $900 and the Event 8 champ will earn $12,285 plus the Showdown trophy.

1st: $12,285 + Showdown trophy
2nd: $7,700
3rd: $4,725
4th: $2,895
5th: $2,205
6th: $1,875
7th: $1,625
8th-9th: $1,400
10th-12th: $1,200
13th-15th: $1,015
16th-17th: $900

Event 13: Good Start

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure
Level 1:  150/300 Limits
Entries:  57

Cary Rosenthal

The $400 H.O.R.S.E. is off to a great start with more than 50 entries in the first level and we have a nice stream of new players joining. This tournament always draws well and it looks like another good one.

Cary Rosenthal, Caleb Piderit, and Yuval Bronshtein are among the early participants. Piderit is a bit of a statistical outlier in the field, skewing the average age, and he finished fourth in this tournament during the Lucky Hearts Poker Open.

Caleb Piderit

Event 13: Mixed Game Masters

$400 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure
Level 1:  150/300 Limits

H.O.R.S.E. tournaments are always popular among our non-hold’em fans and we have two on the schedule this series. The first gets underway at 11 am with a $400 buy-in and many fun, talented players.

Players start with 12K stacks and all levels last 30 minutes. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are open until the start of Level 9 at 3:30 pm. They’ll take a 45-minute dinner break at 5 pm and return to find our first H.O.R.S.E. champ of the series.

  • Players begin with 12,000 in chips
  • Levels last 30 minutes
  • Late registration until start of Level 9 (3:30pm)
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 13 Structure Sheet

Showdown Day 5 Schedule

Primary Event Schedule

11AM: Event 12 Day 1A – $200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

  • $150,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 15,000 in chips
  • Levels last 30 minutes
  • Late registration until start of Level 7 (2:30pm)
  • Day 1 will end when field reaches 10%
  • Event 12 Structure Sheet

11AM: Event 13 – $400 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry)

  • Players begin with 12,000 in chips
  • Levels last 30 minutes
  • Late registration until start of Level 9 (3:30pm)
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 13 Structure Sheet

12PM: Event 9 Day 1B – $400 Deep Stack Pot-Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)

  • $100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 20,000 in chips
  • Day 1 levels last 30 minutes; Day 2 levels last 40 minutes
  • Levels 27+ last 60 minutes
  • Late registration until start of Level 9 (4:30pm)
  • Day 1 will end when field reaches 12.5%
  • Event 9 Structure Sheet

1PM: Event 1 Day 3 – $400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

2PM: Event 8 Day 2 – $1,100 Deep Stack Eight-Handed NLH (Re-Entry)

3PM: Event 12 Day 1B – $200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

  • $150,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 15,000 in chips
  • Levels last 30 minutes
  • Late registration until start of Level 7 (6:30pm)
  • Day 1 will end when field reaches 10%
  • Event 12 Structure Sheet

5PM: Event 9 Day 1C – $400 Deep Stack Pot-Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)

  • $100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 20,000 in chips
  • Day 1 levels last 30 minutes; Day 2 levels last 40 minutes
  • Levels 27+ last 60 minutes
  • Late registration until start of Level 9 (9:30pm)
  • Day 1 will end when field reaches 12.5%
  • Event 9 Structure Sheet

7PM: Event 12 Day 1C – $200 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

  • $150,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 15,000 in chips
  • Levels last 30 minutes
  • Late registration until start of Level 7 (10:30pm)
  • Day 1 will end when field reaches 10%
  • Event 12 Structure Sheet

Secondary and Satellite Schedule

8PM: $400 Championship Turbo Satellite (1-in-10)

  • Two seats guaranteed into $3,000,000 GTD WPT Showdown Championship
  • Players begin with 10,000 in chips
  • Levels last 15 minutes
  • Late registration until start of Level 9 (10:15pm)
  • Structure Sheet

2023 Poker Showdown Schedule
Please note: We recommend parking in either Winner’s Way or Seminole Way garage for the most convenient access to the Grand Ballroom