2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 28
$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  251
Prizepool:  $243,470
August 2-3, 2023

Thursday afternoon saw the conclusion of Event 28, the two-day $1,100 Deep Stack NLH. Action resumed with the final nine players, and it took less than two-and-a-half hours before Mike Graffeo defeated Daniel Swartz heads-up for the title, the trophy, and $55,285.

“I’m thankful to get the win,” said Graffeo. “I’ve had a lot of seconds and thirds lately, so the win feels good.”

This is the fourth trophy for Graffeo in major events here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, and he keeps them at a friend’s house.

“Mike Chiappetta has a trophy case,” said Graffeo. “He’s got all my trophies there.”

Graffeo started the final table with a below-average chip stack, but it didn’t take him long to climb the leaderboard.

“I got off to a good start,” said Graffeo. “I flopped a set of eights against Cherish [Andrews] on an ace-high flop, and she put some money in. That got me to like 900,000.” (Click here for details.)

The key moment for Graffeo came with six players left, when he got it all in on the turn against Swartz in the biggest pot of the tournament to that point. (Click here for details.)

“I flopped set over set against [Swartz] in a monster pot,” said Graffeo. “Then I kind of cruised after that. I just picked some spots, and then the last hand was another monster pot — ace-queen vs. kings heads-up. It’s kind of crazy.” (Click here for details.)

As mentioned before, this is the fourth major trophy for Graffeo here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. What keeps him coming back?

“This is an amazing place to play,” said Graffeo. “I feel like it’s my home court, and I love to play here. We just got back from Vegas, and now I’m like, ‘Alright, it’s my home field now.’ I’m going to chase some more trophies.”

Results:

$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 251

Less than 10 minutes after heads-up play started, Mike Graffeo raised from the button to 100,000, Daniel Swartz reraised from the big blind to 350,000, and Graffeo moved all in.

Swartz snap-called all in for about 1,750,000 with , and he needed it to hold to stay alive against Graffeo’s .

The board came , and Graffeo flopped a full house that held up for him to win the pot — along with the title, the trophy, and $55,285. Congratulations to Mike Graffeo!

Daniel Swartz finished as the runner-up, earning $39,100.

Stay tuned for a recap from this event to be posted later today.

1st:  Mike Graffeo  –  $55,285 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  Daniel Swartz  –  $39,100
3rd:  Cherish Andrews  –  $25,000
4th:  Jeff Farnes  –  $15,180
5th:  Min Zhang  –  $11,700
6th:  Yunkyu Song  –  $9,715
7th:  Aaron Massey  –  $8,150
8th:  Mike Jozoff  –  $6,815
9th:  Daniyal Gheba  –  $5,595

$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 251

In the first hand of heads-up play, Daniel Swartz min-raised from the small blind to 80,000, Mike Graffeo reraised from the big blind to 225,000, and Swartz four-bet it to 650,000.

Graffeo folded, and Swartz took the pot.

Daniel Swartz  –  2,260,000  (57 bb)
Mike Graffeo  –  2,760,000  (69 bb)

A couple minutes later, after a flop of , both players checked. The turn card paired the board with the , Swartz bet 150,000, and Graffeo called.

The river card was the , Swartz checked, Graffeo bet 300,000, and Swartz thought for a while before he called. Graffeo showed for a rivered two pair (kings and fives), and Swartz showed one card — the — for a lower two pair. Graffeo won the pot.

Mike Graffeo  –  3,320,000  (83 bb)
Daniel Swartz  –  1,700,000  (43 bb)

Here are the payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $55,285 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $39,100

$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 251

Mike Graffeo raised from the button to 80,000, Cherish Andrews reraised from the small blind to 170,000, and Graffeo called.

The flop came , Andrews bet 100,000, Graffeo moved all in, and Andrews snap-called all in for about 575,000 with .

Graffeo turned over for an open-ended straight draw, and Andrews needed her hand to hold to stay alive.

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Graffeo turned a five-high straight to win the pot and eliminate Andrews in third place.

Cherish Andrews  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($25,000)

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

Mike Graffeo  –  3,025,000  (76 bb)
Daniel Swartz  –  1,975,000  (49 bb)

And here are the payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $55,285 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $39,10

$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 251

Jeff Farnes moved all in from the button for 650,000, and Daniel Swartz called from the big blind with .

Farnes turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket kings held up for Swartz to win the pot and eliminate Farnes in fourth place.

Daniel Swartz  –  2,160,000  (54 bb)
Jeff Farnes  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($15,180)

With three players remaining from a field of 251, the average chip stack is around 1,675,000 (42 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $25,000 each.

$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 251

Daniel Swartz raised under the gun to 80,000, Min Zhang moved all in from the small blind for 130,000, and Swartz called with .

Zhang turned over — . The hand that has come from behind twice in a row to win all-in situations. Zhang needs it to happen again here to stay alive.

Buthe board came , and the best hand held up as Swartz won the pot with his queen to eliminate Zhang in fifth place.

Daniel Swartz  –  1,490,000  (37 bb)
Min Zhang  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($11,700)

With four players remaining from a field of 251, the average chip stack is around 1,255,000 (31 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $15,180 each.

$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 251

Cherish Andrews raised under the gun to 80,000, Jeff Farnes called from the small blind, and Min Zhang moved all in from the big blind for 395,000.

Andrews waited for an exact count and thought for a bit before she folded, and then Farnes tanked for a while before he called all in for 265,000 with . Zhang turned over , and Farnes needed to improve to stay alive.

“I just saw this work,” said Farnes, who just saw Cherish Andrews double thru him with king-nine suited against ace-queen.

The board came , and Zhang paired her queen on the flop, but Farnes paired his king on the turn to win the pot and double up in chips.

After the hand, Farnes said, “Thanks for the inspiration, Cherish.”

Jeff Farnes  –  650,000  (16 bb)
Min Zhang  –  130,000  (3 bb)

With five players remaining from a field of 251, the average chip stack is around 1,005,000 (25 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $11,700 each.

$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 251

Cherish Andrews moved all in from the cutoff for 350,000, and Jeff Farnes called from the big blind with .

Andrews turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Andrews flopped a diamond flush draw and turned a pair of kings to win the pot and double up in chips.

Cherish Andrews  –  760,000  (19 bb)
Jeff Farnes  –  275,000  (7 bb)

With five players remaining from a field of 251, the average chip stack is around 1,005,000 (25 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $11,700 each.

$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 251

The players return from break to begin Level 25, with increased blinds of 20,000-40,000 and a 40,000 ante.

Here are the official chip counts from the break:

Seat 1.  Cherish Andrews  –  410,000  (10 bb)
Seat 2.  Daniel Swartz  –  1,435,000  (36 bb)
Seat 3.  Mike Graffeo  –  2,085,000  (52 bb)
Seat 4.  Jeff Farnes  –  655,000  (16 bb)
Seat 5.  Min Zhang  –  435,000  (11 bb)

And here are the final table payouts:

1st:  $55,285 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $39,100
3rd:  $25,000
4th:  $15,180
5th:  $11,700

6th:  Yunkyu Song  –  $9,715
7th:  Aaron Massey  –  $8,150
8th:  Mike Jozoff  –  $6,815
9th:  Daniyal Gheba  –  $5,595

With five players remaining from a field of 251, the average chip stack is around 1,005,000 (25 big blinds).

$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 251

Min Zhang limped from the cutoff for 30,000, Yunkyu Song moved all in from the small blind for about 325,000, and Daniel Swartz moved all in over the top from the big blind. Zhang quickly folded.

Song turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive against Swartz’s .

The board came — Swartz flopped a set, Song turned two pair, and the river card was a blank. Swartz won the pot with his set of queens to eliminate Song in sixth place.

Daniel Swartz  –  1,520,000  (51 bb)
Yunkyu Song  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($9,715)

With five players remaining from a field of 251, the average chip stack is around 1,005,000 (34 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $11,700 each.