2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 1
$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  2,784
Prize Pool:  $1,447,680
January 9-13, 2025

On Monday afternoon, after five days of play, Event #1 of the Lucky Hearts Poker Open came to an end when Fabian Foster won the title, the trophy, and $141,365 in a three-way deal.

“It feels pretty good. I’ve made this final table quite a few times, but I’ve never won it,” said Foster. “I’m always in the running, but this one feels special because it’s my first win.”

That’s no exaggeration, as this is the fifth time that Foster has finished in the top four in the opening event of a big series between Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood and Seminole Hard Rock Tampa:

LHPO Event #1 (Hollywood)  –  Jan 2025
1st Place:  $141,365

WSOPC Event #1 (Tampa)  –  Feb 2020
2nd Place:  $102,705

LHPO Event #1 (Hollywood)  –  Jan 2021
3rd Place:  $143,366

RRPO Event #1 (Hollywood)  –  Nov 2022
4th Place:  $152,669

Showdown Event #1 (Hollywood)  –  April 2023
4th Place:  $78,700

There were six starting flights for this event over the first three days of the series, attracting a total field of 2,784 entries to generate a prizepool worth $1,447,680, easily beating the $1 million guarantee.

There were 349 players who survived to Day 2, where play began with the field in the money. That was a 12 1/2-hour day that dwindled the field down to the final 15.

When Day 3 began, Foster was the short stack with only 10 big blinds. He won a key race situation with ace-king by spiking an ace on the river, and worked his way to the final table, where he started fifth in chips.

“I started the final table in the middle,” said Foster. “Then I just got a rush of hands, and people were just giving me chips when I had the nuts, so the poker gods were smiling on me today.”

Smiling the poker gods were, because Foster scored the first four knockouts at the final table.

Steven Richardson shoved ace-queen into Foster’s ace-king. Richardson never improved, and was eliminated in eighth place.

About 15 minutes later, Kelly Black shoved after a flop of , and Foster quickly called with for top pair, top kicker. Black turned over , and two cards later, he was out in seventh.

Less than five minutes after that, Foster saw a flop of against Danilo Alvarenga. Foster checked, Alvarenga shoved, and Foster snap-called with for the nuts — a queen-high straight. Alvarenga had for middle pair, and never caught up. Alvarenga finished sixth.

Less than 15 minutes later, Joe Shammas shoved 18 big blinds with , and Foster called with . Shammas turned a straight draw, but improved no further, and Foster sent him to the rail in fifth place.

The final elimination of the day came when Christopher Corneroli shoved his short stack with into Bryan Rosen’s . Rosen’s hand held up to knock out Corneroli in fourth place.

At that point, the final three players agreed to a deal to end the tournament, and Foster had a lead of 5 bb over Rosen. As chipleader, Foster was awarded the title, the trophy, and the most money — $141,365.

There was only a $1,000 difference between first and second, but first also comes with the trophy, which meant a lot to Foster.

“It’s meaningful because I have two trophies at home, and I have three daughters,” said Foster. “So this is going to be for my youngest daughter. She’ll be ecstatic when I hand this to her.”

Foster is a regular for the big tournament series here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, and he loves playing here.

“This place is perfect,” said Foster. “The staff is perfect, the tournaments are well run, and the structure is great. Everything about this property is great. The guarantees are great, and there is always a lot of players. It’s a great environment and a great atmosphere.”

Results:

* Indicates the results of a three-way deal.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool.  $1,447,680  |  Payouts  |  Results
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 2,784

After the elimination of Christopher Corneroli in fourth place, the final three players began discussing an ICM deal to end the tournament. These were the official chip counts:

Fabian Foster  –  25,175,000  (168 bb)
Bryan Rosen  –  24,450,000  (163 bb)
Ryan Hogan  –  6,050,000  (40 bb)

After about 20 minutes of discussion, they agreed to end the tournament with the following payouts:

1st:  Fabian Foster  –  $141,365* + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  Bryan Rosen  –  $140,365*
3rd:  Ryan Hogan  –  $116,750*

As chipleader, Fabian Foster is awarded the title and the trophy. Stay tuned for a recap of this event.

* Indicates the results of a three-way deal.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool.  $1,447,680  |  Payouts  |  Results
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 2,784

Christopher Corneroli moved all in from the button for about 2,450,000, and Bryan Rosen called from the big blind with .

Corneroli turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Rosen won the pot with a pair of kings to eliminate Corneroli in fourth place.

Bryan Rosen  –  24,450,000  (163 bb)
Christopher Corneroli  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($68,000)

With three players remaining from a field of 2,784, the average chip stack is around 18,550,000 (124 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $91,000 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool.  $1,447,680  |  Payouts  |  Results
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 2,784

With the board showing on the turn and roughly 1.6 million already int he pot, Bryan Rosen checked from the small blind, Ryan Hogan bet 1,000,000 from the button, and Rosen called.

The river card was the , Rosen checked, Hogan bet 2,000,000, and Rosen tanked for a long time before he called. Hogan showed , but Rosen turned over to win the pot with a pair of jacks.

“I screwed up my sizing on the river,” said Hogan. “I knew it as soon as I bet it.”

Bryan Rosen  –  21,400,000  (143 bb)
Ryan Hogan  –  6,100,000  (41 bb)

With four players remaining from a field of 2,784, the average chip stack is around 13,925,000 (93 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $68,000 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool.  $1,447,680  |  Payouts  |  Results
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 2,784

Joe Shammas open-shipped for 2,700,000 from the button, Bryan Rosen folded his small blind and Fabian Foster called from the big to put Shammas at risk.

Foster:
Shammas:

They were racing and Shammas needed to improve to double up. The board ran out and Shammas was eliminated in fifth place.

Fabian Foster – 23,500,000 (157 bb)
Joe Shammas – Eliminated in 5th Place ($52,000)

With four players remaining from a field of 2,784, the average chip stack is around 13,920,000 (93 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $52,000 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool.  $1,447,680  |  Payouts  |  Results
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 2,784

Danilo Alvarenga raised from the hijack to 375,000, and Fabian Foster called from the small blind.

The flop came , Foster checked, Alvarenga moved all in for roughly five million, and Foster snap-called with for a flopped queen-high straight.

Alvarenga turned over for a pair of nines, and he needed to catch something runner-runner to stay alive.

The turn card was the , giving Alvarenga outs to a chop, but the river card was the . Foster won the pot with his straight to eliminate Alvarenga in sixth place.

Fabian Foster  –  19,900,000  (133 bb)
Danilo Alvarenga  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($39,500)

With five players remaining from a field of 2,784, the average chip stack is around 11,125,000 (74 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $52,000 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool.  $1,447,680  |  Payouts  |  Results
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 2,784

Danilo Alvarenga raised from the hijack to 375,000, Kelly Black called from the small blind, and Fabian Foster reraised from the big blind to 1,500,000. Alvarenga folded, and Black called.

The flop came , Black moved all in for about 5,600,000, and Foster quickly called with a similar stack and turned over for a pair of jacks. Black turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Foster won the pot with two pair, jacks and nines. Their stacks were counted down, and Foster had 5,850,000 to Black’s 5,625,000. Black was eliminated in seventh place.

Fabian Foster  –  15,000,000  (100 bb)
Kelly Black  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($30,500)

With six players remaining from a field of 2,784, the average chip stack is around 9,275,000 (62 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $39,500 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool.  $1,447,680  |  Payouts  |  Results
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 2,784

Fabian Foster raised from middle position to 325,000, Ryan Hogan reraised from the hijack to 900,000, and Steven Richardson moved all in from the big blind for 1,575,000. Foster moved all in over the top, and Hogan folded.

Richardson turned over , but he needed to improve to stay alive against Foster’s .

The board came , and Foster won the pot with a pair of kings to eliminate Richardson in eighth place.

Fabian Foster  –  6,400,000  (43 bb)
Steven Richardson  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($23,600)

With seven players remaining from a field of 2,784, the average chip stack is around 7,950,000 (53 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $30,500 each.

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool.  $1,447,680  |  Payouts  |  Results
Level 31:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 2,784

There were only about seven minutes left in Level 30, and when the level comes to an end, the players take a 10-minute break. Here are the official chip counts:

Seat 1.  Fabian Foster  –  4,650,000  (31 bb)
Seat 2.  Christopher Corneroli  –  3,125,000  (21 bb)
Seat 3.  Ryan Hogan  –  12,800,000  (85 bb)
Seat 4.  Danilo Alvarenga  –  6,850,000  (46 bb)
Seat 5.  Joe Shammas  –  2,525,000  (17 bb)
Seat 6.  Steven Richardson  –  1,725,000  (12 bb)
Seat 7.  Bryan Rosen  –  16,525,000  (110 bb)
Seat 8.  Kelly Black  –  7,475,000  (50 bb)

And here are the final table payouts:

1st:  $184,480 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  $123,000
3rd:  $91,000
4th:  $68,000
5th:  $52,000
6th:  $39,500
7th:  $30,500
8th:  $23,600

With eight players remaining from a field of 2,784, the average chip stack is around 6,950,000 (46 big blinds).

$600 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool.  $1,447,680  |  Payouts  |  Results
Level 30:  75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 2,784

After the nearly simultaneous eliminations of Shon Perez in 10th place and Scott Epstein in ninth place, the final eight players redraw for random seats at the final table. Here is the lineup:

Seat 1.  Fabian Foster  –  4,150,000  (33 bb)
Seat 2.  Christopher Corneroli  –  3,125,000  (25 bb)
Seat 3.  Ryan Hogan  –  12,850,000  (103 bb)
Seat 4.  Danilo Alvarenga  –  7,400,000  (59 bb)
Seat 5.  Joe Shammas  –  1,500,000  (12 bb)
Seat 6.  Steven Richardson  –  2,000,000  (16 bb)
Seat 7.  Bryan Rosen  –  16,200,000  (130 bb)
Seat 8.  Kelly Black  –  8,600,000  (69 bb)

And here are the final table payouts:

1st:  $184,480 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  $123,000
3rd:  $91,000
4th:  $68,000
5th:  $52,000
6th:  $39,500
7th:  $30,500
8th:  $23,600

And here are the players who have busted so far today, along with their payouts:

9th:  Scott Epstein  –  $18,500
10th:  Shon Perez  –  $18,500

11th:  Charlemagne Benjamin  –  $15,400
12th:  Mark Gruber  –  $15,400

13th:  Michael Rein  –  $12,900
14th:  Jack Nathan  –  $12,900
15th:  Jack Ozyman  –  $12,900

With eight players remaining from a field of 2,784, the average chip stack is around 6,950,000 (56 big blinds).