2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 17
$1,100 Deep Stack Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Entries:  117
Prizepool:  $113,490
July 31 – August 1, 2023

On Tuesday afternoon, 17 players returned to action in the Seniors event, and it reached heads-up play so quickly that the average chip stack for the final two players was 118 big blinds. It took less than half an hour for the final table to drop from seven players to the final two.

But then things slowed down considerably, and there was a two-and-a-half-hour heads-up battle between Steven Bennett and Mark Edward Kerness, with Bennett coming out on top to win the title, the trophy, and $33,010.

“It feels great,” said Bennett. “It’s been a long time.”

This is the third trophy for Bennett in major events here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

“Winning the trophy feels like I’m doing something right,” said Bennett. “I know I’m playing at least well enough that if I run well I can win.”

When asked about his thoughts on Seniors events, Bennett said, “There’s always some really good players in them. But there are some spots where some players just play the exact same way all the time, so you can kind of figure out how they’re playing. So in thin spots, you know what to do more.”

Bennett particularly praised this specific Seniors event, as he was a big fan of the two-day format and the longer blind levels that kicked in on Day 2.

“Honestly, this was the best Seniors event,” said Bennett. “They usually have a couple of Seniors events, but I really like this one. I like the structure. You don’t have to play 14 hours on the first day, you only play eight. I hope they don’t change anything, because I think it will only get bigger.”

Will we see Bennett in the Championship event this weekend?

“I’ll probably fire a satellite,” said Bennett. “I told myself that if I won this, I’d direct buy, but we’ll see.”

Results:

$1,100 Deep Stack Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  8,000/16,000 with a 16,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 117

Mark Edward Kerness raised from the button to 66,000, Steven Bennett moved all in from the big blind, and Kerness called all in for about 425,000 with .

Bennett turned over , and Kerness needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Kerness flopped a gutshot straight draw and turned a double-gutter, but didn’t get there. Bennett won the pot — and the title and the trophy — with two pair, aces and eights.

Mark Edward Kerness finished as the runner-up, earning $20,700.

Steven Bennett won the $1,100 Deep Stack Seniors event, earning $33,010 and his third major Seminole Hard Rock trophy.

Stay tuned for a recap from this event.

1st:  Steven Bennett  –  $33,010 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  Mark Edward Kerness  –  $20,700
3rd:  Julio Delgado  –  $12,370
4th:  Thomas Kornechuk  –  $8,000
5th:  Alan Schein  –  $6,015
6th:  Shelly Griffith  –  $5,000
7th:  John Holley  –  $4,315
8th:  Giuseppe Iadisernia  –  $3,800
9th:  Jack Rolnitzky  –  $3,350
10th:  Charles Alexander  –  $3,350
11th:  Norberto Korn  –  $2,950
12th:  David Guiffreda  –  $2,950
13th:  Robert Transue  –  $2,560
14th:  Edgar Nuqui  –  $2,560
15th:  Emerson Ward  –  $2,560

$1,100 Deep Stack Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  8,000/16,000 with a 16,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 117

Steven Bennett limped from the button for 16,000, and Mark Edward Kerness checked his option in the big blind.

The flop came , Kerness bet 55,000, and Bennett called.

The turn card was the , Kerness bet 110,000, and Bennett called.

The river card was the , Kerness checked, Bennett bet 350,000, and Kerness tanked for a while before he called. Bennett turned over to win the pot with a five-high straight, and Kerness mucked.

Steven Bennett  –  1,900,000  (119 bb)
Mark Edward Kerness  –  440,000  (28 bb)

Here are the payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $33,010 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $20,700

$1,100 Deep Stack Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  8,000/16,000 with a 16,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 117

Level 20 came to an end, and the players took a 15-minute break before the blinds increase to 8,000-16,000 with a 16,000 ante.

Here are the official chip counts from the break:

Steven Bennett  –  1,496,000  (94 bb)
Mark Edward Kerness  –  845,000  (53 bb)

And here are the final table payouts:

1st:  $33,010 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $20,700

3rd:  Julio Delgado  –  $12,370
4th:  Thomas Kornechuk  –  $8,000
5th:  Alan Schein  –  $6,015
6th:  Shelly Griffith  –  $5,000
7th:  John Holley  –  $4,315
8th:  Giuseppe Iadisernia  –  $3,800
9th:  Jack Rolnitzky  –  $3,350

$1,100 Deep Stack Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 117

Mark Edward Kerness raised from the button to 32,000, Steven Bennett reraised from the big blind to 105,000, and Kerness called.

The flop came , Bennett bet 75,000, and Kerness called.

The turn card was the , Bennett bet 225,000, and Kerness tanked for a while before he folded. Bennett took the pot.

Steven Bennett  –  1,100,000  (92 bb)
Mark Edward Kerness  –  1,250,000  (104 bb)

A short while later, after a flop of , Bennett checked, Kerness bet 45,000, and Bennett called.

The turn card paired the board with the , Bennett checked, Kerness bet 100,000, and Bennett check-raised to 300,000. Kerness thought for a while before he folded, and Bennett took the pot — and the chip lead.

Steven Bennett  –  1,235,000  (103 bb)
Mark Edward Kerness  –  1,100,000  (92 bb)

A few hands later, with the board showing on the turn, Kerness bet 75,000, and Bennett called.

The river card was the , Kerness checked, Bennett bet 100,000, and Kerness called. Bennett said “Two pair,” and showed . Kerness mucked, and Bennett won the pot to increase his lead.

Steven Bennett  –  1,400,000  (117 bb)
Mark Edward Kerness  –  950,000  (79 bb)

Here are the payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $33,010 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $20,700

$1,100 Deep Stack Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 117

With both players sitting on massive chip stacks, heads-up play has been pretty slow so far.

Mark Edward Kerness limped from the button for 12,000, and Steven Bennett checked his option in the big blind.

The flop came , Bennett bet 35,000, and Kerness called.

The turn card paired the board with the , and both players checked.

The river card was the , Bennett checked, Kerness bet 100,000, and Bennett thought for a moment or two before he called. Kerness showed to win the pot with trip fours, and Bennett mucked.

Mark Edward Kerness  –  1,500,000  (125 bb)
Steven Bennett  –  840,000  (70 bb)

Here are the payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $33,010 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $20,700

$1,100 Deep Stack Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 117

With the board showing on the turn, Julio Delgado checked from the big blind, Mark Edward Kerness bet 125,000 from the button, and Delgado called.

The river card paired the board with the , Delgado moved all in for about 290,000, and Kerness quickly called.

Delgado showed for a bluff, and Kerness turned over for a flopped flush draw that caught running kings to win the pot with trip kings. Delgado was eliminated in third place.

Julio Delgado  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($12,370)

Here are the approximate chip counts for the start of heads-up play:

Mark Edward Kerness  –  1,425,000  (143 bb)
Steven Bennett  –  925,000  (93 bb)

As you can see, they are both very deep, so this could end quickly with a cooler, or go on for several more hours.

Here are the final table payouts:

1st:  $33,010 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $20,700

3rd:  Julio Delgado  –  $12,370
4th:  Thomas Kornechuk  –  $8,000
5th:  Alan Schein  –  $6,015
6th:  Shelly Griffith  –  $5,000
7th:  John Holley  –  $4,315
8th:  Giuseppe Iadisernia  –  $3,800
9th:  Jack Rolnitzky  –  $3,350

$1,100 Deep Stack Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 117

After putting 10,000 in for the big blind ante, Thomas Kornechuk was forced all in from the big blind for 1,000. Julio Delgado raised from the cutoff, and the other players folded. Delgado took the side pot.

Kornechuk turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Delgado.

The board came , and Kornechuk turned a diamond flush to win the pot and add two 1K chips to his stack.

Thomas Kornechuk  –  13,000  (1 bb)
Julio Delgado  –  555,000  (56 bb)

The next hand, Kornechuk was all in from the small blind for 13,000 with , but he was dominated by the of Mark Edward Kerness on the button, needing to improve to survive.

The board came , and Kerness won the pot with his ace to eliminate Kornechuk in fourth place.

Mark Edward Kerness  –  875,000  (88 bb)
Thomas Kornechuk  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($8,000)

With three players remaining from a field of 117, the average chip stack is around 780,000 (78 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $12,370 each.

$1,100 Deep Stack Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 117

With the final board showing on the river, Alan Schein got it all in from the big blind for about 160,000 with for two pair, aces and tens.

But Steven Bennett turned over in the cutoff to win the pot with a higher two pair, aces and kings, eliminating Schein in fifth place.

Steven Bennett  –  820,000  (82 bb)
Alan Schein  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($6,015)

With four players remaining from a field of 117, the average chip stack is around 585,000 (59 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $8,000 each.

$1,100 Deep Stack Seniors 50+ (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 117

Thomas Kornechuk raised from the cutoff to 35,000, Steven Bennett reraised from the button to 105,000, and Kornechuk tanked for a long time before he called.

The flop came , Kornechuk moved all in for 212,000, and Bennett called all in for 201,000 with .

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

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and the aces held up for Bennett to win the pot and double up in chips. Kornechuk was knocked down to a single big blind.

Steven Bennett  –  637,000  (64 bb)
Thomas Kornechuk  –  11,000  (1 bb)

With five players remaining from a field of 117, the average chip stack is around 468,000 (47 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $6,015 each.