$1,100 Big 4 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  40,000/80,000 with an 80,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 515

Scott Dehm raised all in for 805,000 from under the gun, and Rajasekar Govindan called in the big blind with , racing with Dehm’s .

The board ran out , giving Govindan a pair of aces to eliminate Dehm in fourth place.

Rajasekar Govindan  –  5,525,000  (69 bb)
James Carroll  –  2,500,000  (31 bb)
David Laufer  –  2,275,000  (28 bb)
Scott Dehm  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($31,445)

1st:  $100,000 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $68,100
3rd:  $44,815

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is around 3,425,000 (43 big blinds).

$1,100 Big 4 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  40,000/80,000 with an 80,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 515

Darren Rabinowitz  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($24,150)

Here are approximate chip counts for the final four players:

Seat 1.  James Carroll  –  4,300,000  (54 bb)
Seat 2.  David Laufer  –  1,580,000  (20 bb)
Seat 3.  Rajasekar Govindan  –  2,135,000  (27 bb)
Seat 4.  Scott Dehm  –  2,280,000  (29 bb)

Here are the remaining payouts:

1st:  $100,000 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $68,100
3rd:  $44,815
4th:  $31,445

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is around 2,575,000 (32 big blinds).

$2,700 Big 4 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 28:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 411

The final two players return from break to begin Level 28, with increased blinds of 30,000-60,000 with a 60,000 ante. Here are the official chip counts from the break:

Dan Sepiol  –  5,635,000  (94 bb)
Chance Kornuth  –  4,640,000  (77 bb)

And here are the final table payouts:

1st:  $204,735 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $142,335

3rd:  Michael Wang  –  $92,790
4th:  Nitis Udornpim  –  $62,000
5th:  Leonard August  –  $47,680
6th:  Bin Weng  –  $39,525
7th:  Michael Rocco  –  $33,180
8th:  Hamed Zia  –  $26,885
9th:  Brian Altman  –  $20,600

$1,100 Big 4 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  40,000/80,000 with an 80,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 515

David Laufer had a raise just over 300,000 out on the table from the cutoff, and Scott Dehm reraised all in for 1.2 million on the big blind. Laufer called to cover so the two players tabled their cards.

Dehm:
Laufer:

Board:

Dehm doubled up to 2.6 million, and Laufer was at 1.86 million after the hand,

Scott Dehm – 2,600,000 (30 bb)
David Laufer – 1,860,000 (23 bb)

$2,700 Big 4 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 411

Dan Sepiol raised to 100,000 from the button, Chance Kornuth three-bet to 400,000 from the big blind, Sepiol four-bet all in for 2,550,000, and Kornuth called with , leading Sepiol’s ,

The board ran out , giving Sepiol aces and sevens to double into the lead.

Dan Sepiol  –  5,200,000  (104 bb)
Chance Kornuth  –  5,075,000  (102 bb)

1st:  $204,735 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $142,335

$2,700 Big 4 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 411

Chance Kornuth raised from the button to 100,000, Michael Wang reraised from the small blind to 400,000, and Kornuth reraised to 750,000.

Wang thought for a while before he five-bet all in for about 2,550,000, and Kornuth quickly called with .

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

The board came , and the pocket jacks held up for Kornuth to win the pot and eliminate Michael Wang in third place.

Michael Wang  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($92,790)

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

Chance Kornuth  –  7,725,000  (155 bb)
Dan Sepiol  –  2,550,000  (51 bb)

And here are the payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $204,735 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $142,335

$2,700 Big 4 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 411

Michael Wang raised from the button to 110,000, Dan Sepiol called from the small blind, and Chance Kornuth called from the big blind.

The flop came , and it checked to Wang, who bet 130,000. Sepiol called, and Kornuth folded.

The turn card was the , Sepiol checked, Wang bet 280,000, and Sepiol thought for a while before he called.

The river card was the , and both players checked. Sepiol showed to win the pot with an ace-high flush, and Wang mucked.

Seat 1.  Chance Kornuth  –  6,075,000  (122 bb)
Seat 2.  Michael Wang  –  1,860,000  (37 bb)
Seat 3.  Dan Sepiol  –  2,325,000  (47 bb)

With three players remaining from a field of 411, the average chip stack is around 3,425,000 (69 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $92,790 each.

2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 47
$25,500 Big 4 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  86
Prize Pool:  $2,124,200
August 7-8, 2023

Aaron Mermelstein topped the field in the 2023 SHRPO high roller tournament to claim his second title in this event at Seminole Hard Rock. His first victory came back in 2019, and he now holds a total of three SHRPO trophies.

“It feels great, it always good to beat the $25k, and it’s special because I’ve won it before and it’s all the best players out here. It feels amazing, so I’m glad I could close it out,” said Mermelstein just after the win.

When he was asked about what keeps bringing him back to the SHRPO lineup events throughout the year he had this to say. “I love the venue, I mean the Hard Rock is one of the best places to play. It’s a clean environment, the hotel is amazing, the tournaments are really good, and I run good here so that adds to it.”

The final table played down quickly, but the heads-up match between Mermelstein and Marcos Exterkotter took a while to play out with both players holding a lot of chips to work with. “It was a little unusual, because the structure was so deep. There was hour-and-a-half levels for heads up, which is a little different than I’m normally used to, but it was fun. The final table went really fast so it was nice to be able to get a lot of hands in heads up. I love playing heads up so it was actually a lot of fun. He was a really nice guy, and I think he played really well. It was cool to get some hands in and play with deepstacks heads up,” said Mermelstein about the final match.

Mermelstein was going to celebrate the win after play ended, but it sounds like he will be on to the next one soon after that. “I’ll have a couple of drinks, and I might still fire the $10k later,” said Mermelstein with a laugh at the end of the interview.

$1,100 Big 4 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 31:  40,000/80,000 with an 80,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 515

Scott Dehm limped in for 80,000 from under the gun, Rajasekar Govindan did the same in the small blind, and Darren Rabinowitz raised to 270,000 (leaving 5,000 behind) in the big blind. Both opponents called.

They checked to the turn of a board where Govindan bet 150,000. Rabinowitz called all in for 5,000, and Dehm folded.

Govindan: 
Rabinowitz: 

The river was the , locking up the triple for Rabinowitz. Shorly thereafter, Rabinowitz doubled up and is up to about 1,900,000.

Darren Rabinowitz  –  1,900,000  (24 bb)
Scott Dehm  –  1,700,000  (21 bb)
Rajasekar Govindan  –  1,200,000  (15 bb)

Recent Eliminations
6th:  Kevin Payton  –  $20,100

$2,700 Big 4 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 411

Chance Kornuth raised to 100,000 from the button, Nitis Udornpim three-bet to 400,000 from the big blind, and Kornuth called.

They checked to the turn of a board where Udornpim bet 450,000. Kornuth called.

The turn was the , Udornpim checked, and Kornuth went all in for effectively 1,550,000.

Udornpim thought for nearly four minutes before he called all in.

Kornuth tabled for jacks full of tens, besting Udornpim’s to eliminate Udornpim in fourth place.

Chance Kornuth  –  5,550,000  (111 bb)
Nitis Udornpim  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($62,000)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is around 3,425,000 (68 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $92,790 each.