2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 16
$400 Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Entries:  159
Prize Pool:  $53,265
April 19, 2023

There were 159 entries for the $400 Seniors event on Wednesday, and after more than 13 hours of play, the final four players agreed to a deal to end the tournament with chipleader Paul Balzano winning the title, the trophy, and $9,826.

“It feels great,” said Balzano. “I’m happy to win the trophy, because in the $1,100 the other day, I played heads-up for close to three hours, and it was a tough loss.”

“These guys were all great,” said Balzano about the final table. “Everybody’s the same age, you’ve got a lot in common, and there are lots of things to talk about.”

Balzano splits his time between South Florida and Las Vegas, and when he’s down here, he can often be found at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

“When I’m down here, this is a great place to play,” said Balzano. “This is Hard Rock Hollywood. They run amazing tournaments.”

Results:

* The final four players agreed to an ICM deal to adjust the payouts.

$400 Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 159

After the elimination of Wehner Rodriguez in fifth place, the final four players came to an agreement to split the remaining payouts according to ICM and end the tournament.

These were the official chip counts:

1.  Paul Balzano  –  1,265,000  (51 bb)
2.  Darin Utley  –  770,000  (31 bb)
3.  Peter Muehlbek  –  670,000  (27 bb)
4.  Gary Herstein  –  475,000  (19 bb)

As chipleader, Paul Balzano was declared the winner, receiving the title and the trophy. Here are their adjusted payouts:

1st:  Paul Balzano  –  $9,826 + Showdown trophy
2nd:  Darin Utley  –  $8,092
3rd:  Peter Muehlbek  –  $7,634
4th:  Gary Herstein  –  $6,593

Stay tuned for a recap from this event later tonight.

$400 Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 159

Wehner Rodriguez got it all in from the small blind for roughly 300,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Paul Balzano in the big blind.

The board came , and the pocket eights held up for Balzano to win the pot and eliminate Rodriguez in fifth place.

Paul Balzano  –  1,265,000  (51 bb)
Wehner Rodriguez  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($2,570)

With four players remaining from a field of 159, the average chip stack is around 795,000 (32 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $3,430 each.

$400 Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 159

Charlie Wells got it all in under the gun for roughly 265,000 with , and he needed it to hold to stay alive against the of Paul Balzano in the cutoff.

The board came , and Balzano paired his jack on the turn to win the pot and eliminate Wells in sixth place.

Paul Balzano  –  1,050,000  (42 bb)
Charlie Wells  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($2,130)

With five players remaining from a field of 159, the average chip stack is around 635,000 (25 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $2,570 each.

$400 Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 159

Darin Utley raised from the cutoff to 40,000, Charlie Wells moved all in from the small blind for 165,000, and Utley thought for a while before he called with .

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

The board came , and the pocket nines held up for Wells to win the pot with a full house, fours full of nines, to double up in chips.

Charlie Wells  –  370,000  (19 bb)
Darin Utley  –  605,000  (30 bb)

With six players remaining from a field of 159, the average chip stack is around 530,000 (27 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $2,130 each.

$400 Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 159

Robert Transue got it all in with , but he failed to improve against the of Peter Muehlbek. Muehlbek won the pot to eliminate Transue in seventh place.

Peter Muehlbek  –  640,000  (32 bb)
Robert Transue  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($1,850)

With six players remaining from a field of 159, the average chip stack is around 530,000 (27 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $2,130 each.

$400 Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 159

Steve Cardarelli got it all in preflop for 95,000 with , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive against the of Peter Muehlbek.

Cardarelli stayed in the lead after the flop of , but the on the turn gave Peter Muehlbek a set of deuces to win the pot. Cardarelli was eliminated in eighth place.

Peter Muehlbek  –  550,000  (37 bb)
Steve Cardarelli  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($1,625)

With seven players remaining from a field of 159, the average chip stack is around 455,000 (30 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $1,850 each.

$400 Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 159

With the final board showing and more than 300K already in the pot, Peter Muehlbek checked from the hijack, Darin Utley moved all in from the cutoff for 170,000, and Muehlbek tanked for a while before he called with for a pair of queens.

But Utley turned over to win the pot with a six-high straight and double up in chips.

Darin Utley  –  710,000  (47 bb)
Peter Muehlbek  –  425,000  (28 bb)

With eight players remaining from a field of 159, the average chip stack is around 400,000 (27 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $1,625 each.

$400 Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 159

Peter Muehlbek raised from middle position to 30,000, Jamal Sawaqdeh moved all in from the button for 100,000, and Wehner Rodriguez moved all in over the top from the big blind for 140,000. Muehlbek tanked for a while before he folded.

Sawaqdeh turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive against Rodriguez’s .

The board came , and the pocket nines held up for Rodriguez to win the pot and eliminate Sawaqdeh in ninth place.

Wehner Rodriguez  –  295,000  (20 bb)
Jamal Sawaqdeh  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($1,430)

With eight players remaining from a field of 159, the average chip stack is around 400,000 (27 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $1,625 each.

$400 Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 159

After a flop of , Jamal Sawaqdeh got it all in from the big blind for 18,000 with , and needed it to hold to stay alive against the (ace high) of Paul Balzano in the hijack.

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Sawaqdeh won the pot with his pocket threes to double up in chips.

Jamal Sawaqdeh  –  106,000  (9 bb)
Paul Balzano  –  782,000  (65 bb)

With nine players remaining from a field of 159, the average chip stack is around 353,000 (29 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $1,430 each.