2025 Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 40
$10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
Entries:  16
Prize Pool:  $152,000
March 31 – April 1, 2025

The 2025 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $10,000 Heads-Up Event drew 16 very tough players. Two-time Hollywood High Roller champ Jonathan Jaffe worked his way through four matches to take the title along with $100,000.

Jaffe defeated Guiseppe Iadisernia in the first round, heads-up ace Kevin Rabichow in the second, and Josh Heinzl in the semi-finals to book his seat in the final match against Harvey Castro.

It was a back-and-forth battle, with Jaffe coming out on top for $100,000 while Castro earned $52,000 for his runner-up finish.

Congrats Jonathan!

1st: Jonathan Jaffe – $100,000 + Showdown Trophy
2nd: Harvey Castro – $52,000

First round:

Kevin Rabichow vs Faraz Jaka
Giuseppe Iadisernia vs Jonathan Jaffe
Josh Heinzl vs David Forbes
Natasha Mercier vs Landon Tice
Elijah Berg vs Hertsel Levy Sakhai
Harvey Castro vs Scott Baumstein
David Chen vs Travis Greenwalt
Nick Yunis vs Brandon Kessous

Second round:

Kevin Rabichow vs Jonathan Jaffe
Josh Heinzl vs Landon Tice
Hertsel Levy Sakhai vs Harvey Castro
David Chen vs Nick Yunis

Semi-Final round:

Jonathan Jaffe vs Josh Heinzl
Harvey Castro vs Nick Yunis

$10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
Structure
Level 37:  1,500/3,000
Players Remaining:  1 of 16

Jonathan Jaffe completed the small blind to 3,000, Harvey Castro raised from the big blind to 12,000, and Jaffe called.

The flop came , Castro checked, Jaffe bet 6,000, and Castro check-raised to 20,000. Jaffe thought for a while before he called.

The turn card was the , Castro bet 14,000, and Jaffe thought for a while before he called.

The river card double-paired the board with the , and Castro moved all in for 47,400. Jaffe went into the tank.

After a while, Jaffe said, “Well, you’ve sufficiently confused me.”

Jaffe thought a little bit more before he called, and Castro showed for a ten-high bluff to play the board. Jaffe turned over to win the pot — and the heads-up title — with the two pair on the board and his ace kicker.

Congratulations to Jonathan Jaffe!

1st:  Jonathan Jaffe  –  $100,000
2nd:  Harvey Castro  –  $52,000

$10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
Structure
Level 35:  1,000/2,000
Players Remaining:  2 of 16

Harvey Castro opened to 5,000 from his button and Jonathan Jaffe called. The flop was , Jaffe checked, Castro bet 5,000 and Jaffe called.

The turn was , Jaffe checked, Castro bet 16,000 and Jaffe called.

The river was , Jaffe bet 12,000 and Castro folded after a short think.

Harvey Castro – 218,000 (109 bb)
Jonathan Jaffe – 102,000 (51 bb)

$10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
Structure
Level 34:  800/1,600
Players Remaining:  2 of 16

Jonathan Jaffe just doubled up on a board of . There was about 45K in the pot when Jaffe got it all in for 75,100 with against Harvey Castro’s .

Jaffe won the pot with a full house, fives full of eights, to double up in chips.

Jonathan Jaffe  –  120,000  (75 bb)
Harvey Castro  –  200,000  (125 bb)

Here are the payouts at stake:

1st:  $100,000
2nd:  $52,000

$10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
Structure
Level 33:  600/1,200
Players Remaining:  2 of 16

Harvey Castro limped his button and Jonathan Jaffe bet 6,000. Castro limp-raised to 18,000 and Jaffe called.

The flop was , Jaffe checked, Castro bet 8,000 and Jaffe called.

The turn was , Jaffe checked, Castro bet 45,000 and Jaffe called after two minutes to think it through.

The river was , both players checked, and Jaffe flipped up for a pair of sixes but Castro showed to take the pot and lead.

Harvey Castro – 225,000 (188 bb)
Jonathan Jaffe – 95,000 (79 bb)

$10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
Structure
Level 33:  600/1,200
Players Remaining:  2 of 16

The first two 20-minute levels of play saw Harvey Castro take the lead in a series of smaller pots until the blinds went up.

With 9,000 in the pot and the board reading , Jaffe checked, Castro bet 6,000 from the button, and Jaffe checked-raised to 20,600. After several minutes thought, Castro called, Jaffe showed for a nine-high straight and Castro mucked.

The hand put them back into a virtual tie at their 160K starting stacks.

$10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
Structure
Players Remaining:  2 of 16

The $10,000 Heads-Up reached the final match last night and today we have Jonathan Jaffe and Harvey Castro returning at noon to play for the title along with $100,000.

They’ll each start with 160K stack with blinds at 400/800 and 20-minute levels.

1st:  $100,000
2nd:  $52,000

Here were the matches and results throughout the day.

First round:

Kevin Rabichow vs Faraz Jaka
Giuseppe Iadisernia vs Jonathan Jaffe
Josh Heinzl vs David Forbes
Natasha Mercier vs Landon Tice
Elijah Berg vs Hertsel Levy Sakhai
Harvey Castro vs Scott Baumstein
David Chen vs Travis Greenwalt
Nick Yunis vs Brandon Kessous

Second round:

Kevin Rabichow vs Jonathan Jaffe
Josh Heinzl vs Landon Tice
Hertsel Levy Sakhai vs Harvey Castro
David Chen vs Nick Yunis

Semi-Final round:

Jonathan Jaffe vs Josh Heinzl
Harvey Castro vs Nick Yunis

Primary Event Schedule

11AM: Event 36 Day 1C – $1,100 Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

• $500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 30,000 in chips
• Levels 1-8 last 30 minutes; Levels 9-26 last 40 minutes
• Levels 27+ last 60 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (3:30pm)
• Day 1 will end when field reaches 12.5%
• Event 36 Structure Sheet

11AM: Event 44 – $600 Deep Stack Six-Max NLH (Re-Entry)

• $50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 20,000 in chips
• Levels last 30 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (3:30pm)
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 44 Structure Sheet

12PM: Event 39 – $1,100 10-Game Mix (Re-Entry)

• Event 39 Day 2 Seats and Chips
• Event 39 Payouts

12PM: Event 40 – $10,000 Heads-Up NLH

• Event 40 Day 2 Matches and Payouts

12PM: Event 45 – $1,100 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)

• Players begin with 30,000 in chips
• Levels last 40 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 10 (7:30pm)
• Day 1 will end after Level 15
• Event 45 Structure Sheet

1PM: Event 46 – $10,000 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

• Players begin with 100,000 in chips
• Levels last 40 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 7 (5:30pm)
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 46 Structure Sheet

2PM: Event 47 – $400 Six-Max 5-Card PLO (Re-Entry)

• Players begin with 20,000 in chips
• Levels last 30 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (6:30pm)
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 47 Structure Sheet

4PM: Event 48 – $400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

• Players begin with 20,000 in chips
• Levels 1-6 last 20 minutes; Levels 7+ last 30 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 11 (8:30pm)
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 48 Structure Sheet

7PM: Event 36 Day Turbo Flight – $1,100 Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

• $500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 30,000 in chips
• Day 1 levels last 20 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (10:10pm)
• Day 1 will end when field reaches 12.5%
• Event 36 Structure Sheet

Secondary and Satellite Schedule

11AM: $1,050 Turbo Satellite (Re-Entry)

• One seat guaranteed into any Showdown $10K event
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips
• Levels last 15 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (1:15pm)
• Structure Sheet

2PM: $250 Event 49 Turbo Satellite (1-in-10)

• Two seats guaranteed into $2,200 Showdown Event 49
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips
• Levels last 15 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (4:15pm)
• Structure Sheet

7PM: $550 Event 51 Turbo PLO Satellite (1-in-10)

• Players begin with 10,000 in chips
• Levels last 15 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 9 (9:15pm)
• Structure Sheet

$10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
Structure
Players Remaining:  2 of 16

The heads-up tournament is down to two players, as Harvey Castro defeated Nick Yunis after a long battle to set the finals. Castro will face Jonathan Jaffe on Tuesday at Noon.

1st:  $100,000
2nd:  $52,000

Here were the matches and results throughout the day.

First round:

Kevin Rabichow vs Faraz Jaka
Giuseppe Iadisernia vs Jonathan Jaffe
Josh Heinzl vs David Forbes
Natasha Mercier vs Landon Tice
Elijah Berg vs Hertsel Levy Sakhai
Harvey Castro vs Scott Baumstein
David Chen vs Travis Greenwalt
Nick Yunis vs Brandon Kessous

Second round:

Kevin Rabichow vs Jonathan Jaffe
Josh Heinzl vs Landon Tice
Hertsel Levy Sakhai vs Harvey Castro
David Chen vs Nick Yunis

Semi-Final round:

Jonathan Jaffe vs Josh Heinzl
Harvey Castro vs Nick Yunis

$10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em
Structure
Players Remaining:  3

Two-time Hollywood High Roller champ defeated Josh Heinzl, our $600 T.O.R.S.E. champ to advance to the final round against either Harvey Castro or Nick Yunis. He locked up at least $52,000 for making the last match and awaits his last opponent.

Semi-Final round:

Jonathan Jaffe vs Josh Heinzl
Harvey Castro vs Nick Yunis

Second round:

Kevin Rabichow vs Jonathan Jaffe
Josh Heinzl vs Landon Tice
Hertsel Levy Sakhai vs Harvey Castro
David Chen vs Nick Yunis

First round:

Kevin Rabichow vs Faraz Jaka
Giuseppe Iadisernia vs Jonathan Jaffe
Josh Heinzl vs David Forbes
Natasha Mercier vs Landon Tice
Elijah Berg vs Hertsel Levy Sakhai
Harvey Castro vs Scott Baumstein
David Chen vs Travis Greenwalt
Nick Yunis vs Brandon Kessous