Mike Vanier Breaks Through to Win His First Trophy and $105,570

2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 33
$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  227
Prizepool:  $454,000
August 3-4, 2023

Event 33 Champion Mike Vanier
Event 33 Champion Mike Vanier

On Friday afternoon, Mike Vanier outlasted a field of 227 entries to win the $2,200 Deep Stack event, earning $105,570 and his first major poker trophy.

“This is my first win other than a small local tournament,” said Vanier, “so it really feels good to get the monkey off my back.”

Vanier has been on a pretty great run for the past year or so, and it seemed like only a matter of time before he won a big event.

“I finally got over the hump last summer,” said Vanier, “and it seems like I’ve been making it to the final couple of tables in almost every tournament I’ve played, so it’s going good right now.”

Since last summer, Vanier has earned more than $1.4 million in live tournaments, with three top-three finishes in major events — WPT Venetian Las Vegas (2nd for $595,000), WPT Choctaw (3rd for $192,000), and the Aria Poker Classic (2nd for $392,704).

“Sometimes I just didn’t have a chance short-handed, and sometimes I just played awful,” said Vanier. “So I’ve been working on my short-handed game, and I got there this time.”

As for this event, with a lot of top pros showing up for the $5,300 SHRPO Championship that started today, a lot of them entered this event, which started yesterday.

“I was pretty shocked how tough the field was from beginning to end,” said Vanier.

Vanier started the final table third in chips, but got knocked down by a bad beat early when he had Luke Brereton all in preflop with pocket nines against Vanier’s pocket kings.

“I got kings in versus nines,” said Vanier, “but he flopped a nine on me.”

Vanier bounced back when he shoved Ks9d into the Ac10c of chipleader Ky Nguyen in the big blind.

“He flopped a flush draw, but I rivered a nine to win the pot and that pretty much gave me the chip lead again,” said Vanier. “Then I just applied pressure after that.”

Vanier scored the next knockout by eliminating Justin Zaki in seventh place to increase his lead, and he never looked back on his way to victory.

With his first trophy secured and the monkey off his back, you can expect to see Vanier take a seat in the SHRPO Championship.

“I don’t know if I’ll buy in today,” said Vanier. “I might just go relax, and then buy in as many times as needed to hopefully bag tomorrow.”


Results:

PlaceFirst NameLast NamePrize Amount
1MikeVanier$105,570
2StanleyLee$72,225
3GiuseppeCalio$46,500
4RajVohra$29,300
5KyNguyen$21,900
6LukeBrereton$18,400
7JustinZaki$15,700
8NickPalma$13,200
9MitchGarshofsky$10,700
10MikeJozoff$10,700
11Phong TurboNguyen$9,345
12ChristianHarder$9,345
13ArturRudziankov$8,025
14AnthonyBertuccio$8,025
15ZhenCai$8,025
16RyanBrown$6,705
17DarrenElias$6,705
18ChrisO'Hara$6,705
19ShannonShorr$5,500
20MikeChiappetta$5,500
21JasonWandling$5,500
22FrankLagodich$4,400
23AaronStefansky$4,400
24JakeBazeley$4,400
25JorgeGalarza$3,575
26DanielLazrus$3,575
27JosephSpanne$3,575
28DNR$3,250
29MitchellHalverson$3,250

Event 33: Mike Vanier Wins! ($105,570); Stanley Lee Finishes as Runner-Up ($72,225)

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 227

Mike Vanier
Mike Vanier

Heads-up play had only been underway for a minute or two when Stanley Lee raised from the button to 530,000, and Mike Vanier called and, thinking Lee was all in, briefly turned over his Kh9h. But Lee still had 30K left in his stack.

The flop came As10c5c, and Vanier moved all in. Lee said he didn’t like his situation, but he called all in for 30,000 with Jh9d for jack high. Vanier officially flipped over his Kh9h, and Lee needed to catch a jack or a runner-runner straight to stay alive.

The turn card was the Qc, giving Lee an open-ended straight draw, but the river card was the 6c. Vanier won the pot — and the title, the trophy, and $105,570) with king high.

Stanley Lee finished as the runner-up, earning $72,225.

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

1st:  Mike Vanier  –  $105,570 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  Stanley Lee  –  $72,225
3rd:  Giuseppe Calio  –  $46,500
4th:  Raj Vohra  –  $29,300
5th:  Ky Nguyen  –  $21,900
6th:  Luke Brereton  –  $18,400
7th:  Justin Zaki  –  $15,700
8th:  Nick Palma  –  $13,200
9th:  Mitch Garshofsky  –  $10,700

Stanley Lee
Stanley Lee

Event 33: Giuseppe Calio – 3rd Place ($46,500)

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 227

Giuseppe Calio
Giuseppe Calio

Giuseppe Calio got it all in from the big blind for about 940,000 with 4h4d, and needed to improve to stay alive against the AhAc of Mike Vanier in the small blind.

The board came KhJs5d7h9s, and the aces held up for Vanier to win the pot and eliminate Calio in third place.

Giuseppe Calio  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($46,500)

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

Mike Vanier  –  3,850,000  (64 bb)
Stanley Lee  –  685,000  (11 bb)

And here are the payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $105,570 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $72,225

Event 33: Giuseppe Calio Doubles Thru Mike Vanier

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 227

Giuseppe Calio
Giuseppe Calio

Mike Vanier moved all in from the small blind, and Giuseppe Calio used two of his Time Chips to tank for more than a minute before he called all in for 560,000 with Ac4d.

Vanier turned over 3h2h, and Calio needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came As10h8s7h6c — Calio paired his ace on the flop, Vanier turned a heart flush draw, and the river card was a blank. Calio won the pot with his pair of aces to double up in chips.

Giuseppe Calio  –  1,180,000  (20 bb)
Mike Vanier  –  2,680,000  (45 bb)

With three players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 1,515,000 (25 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $46,500 each.

Event 33: Raj Vohra – 4th Place ($29,300)

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 227

Raj Vohra raised under the gun to 150,000, Mike Vanier moved all in from the big blind, and Vohra called all in for about 750,000 with Ad10h.

Vanier turned over 10d10c, and Vohra needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came Js6s5hJhQc, and the pocket tens held up for Vanier to win the pot and eliminate Vohra in fourth place.

Mike Vanier  –  3,340,000  (56 bb)
Raj Vohra  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($29,300)

With three players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 1,515,000 (25 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $46,500 each.

Event 33: Stanley Lee Doubles Thru Mike Vanier

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 227

Stanley Lee
Stanley Lee

Stanley Lee got it all in from the big blind for 310,000 with As10s, and needed his hand to hold to stay alive against the Jd2h of Mike Vanier in the cutoff.

The board came 7h4h4s10h3s, and Lee won the pot with two pair, tens and fours, to double up in chips.

Stanley Lee  –  710,000  (12 bb)
Mike Vanier  –  2,480,000  (41 bb)

With four players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 1,135,000 (19 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $29,300 each.

Event 33: Ky Nguyen – 5th Place ($21,900)

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 227

Ky Nguyen
Ky Nguyen

Mike Vanier raised or moved all in from the button, and Ky Nguyen called or shoved from the big blind for about 575,000 with AhJc.

Vanier turned over 7c3c, and Nguyen needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came 7h7dKsAd9d — Vanier flopped trip sevens, Nguyen paired his ace on the turn, and the river card was a blank. Vanier won the pot with his trip sevens to eliminate Nguyen in fifth place.

Mike Vanier  –  2,430,000  (41 bb)
Ky Nguyen  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($21,900)

With four players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 1,135,000 (19 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $29,300 each.

Event 33: Stanley Lee Doubles Thru Mike Vanier

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 227

Stanley Lee
Stanley Lee

Stanley Lee moved all in from the small blind for 155,000, and Mike Vanier called from the big blind with 9d3h. Lee turned over 10h2c, and was actually ahead, needing it to hold to stay alive.

The board came 6c5s4hQd4d, and Vanier flopped an open-ended straight draw, but improved no further. Lee won the pot to double up in chips.

Stanley Lee  –  370,000  (6 bb)
Mike Vanier  –  1,655,000  (28 bb)

With five players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 910,000 (15 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $21,900 each.

Event 33: Giuseppe Calio Doubles Thru Stanley Lee

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 227

Giuseppe Calio
Giuseppe Calio

Giuseppe Calio was all in from the small blind for 430,000 with Jd10s, and needed to improve to stay alive against the Ad2d of Stanley Lee in the big blind.

The board came KhQhJc7c2s, and Calio won the pot with a flopped pair of jacks to double up in chips.

Giuseppe Calio  –  920,000  (15 bb)
Stanley Lee  –  155,000  (3 bb)

With five players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 910,000 (15 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $21,900 each.

Event 33: Luke Brereton – 6th Place ($18,400)

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 227

Luke Brereton
Luke Brereton

Raj Vohra raised from the cutoff to 110,000, and Luke Brereton called all in from the big blind for 105,000 with As3s.

Vohra turned over Ah9h, and Brereton needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came QhQdJc10s8s, and while the first four high cards provide kicker protection, Vohra rivered a queen-high straight to win the pot and eliminate Brereton in sixth place.

Raj Vohra  –  1,100,000  (22 bb)
Luke Brereton  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($18,400)

With five players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 910,000 (18 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $21,900 each.