Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino To Host “Charity Series of Poker”

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino To Host “Charity Series of Poker” Tournament Benefiting Habitat For Humanity International and Habitat for Humanity of Broward

Tournament Added To the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Schedule on Wednesday, August 27, 2014

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (August 18, 2014) –A Charity Series of Poker (“CSOP”) tournament benefitting Habitat For Humanity International and Habitat for Humanity of Broward has been added to the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. Presented by Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the tournament will take place on Wednesday, August 27 at 6 p.m.

The Big Stack Turbo No Limit Hold’em event will feature a $300 buy-in, half of which will be donated to the two charities – Habitat For Humanity International and Habitat For Humanity of Broward – and the remaining placed in the tournament prize pool.  To increase excitement and participation, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood is adding over $15,000 to the prize pool, including a $5,300 entry into the $10 Million Guaranteed Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship event.

“The CSOP is excited to be joining forces with Seminole Hard Rock Poker in one of the best tournament venues in the world,” stated Matt Stout, professional poker player and founder of CSOP.  “Players in the $10M Guaranteed SHRPO Championship will also have the opportunity to give back to the community and the world by helping us provide affordable housing for those deserving and in need.”

The Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open runs August 14 – September 3, 2014. The Championship features a signature $10 million guaranteed prize pool, with 30,000 in tournament chips and three starting flights on Thursday, August 28, Friday, August 29 and Saturday, August 30.  Players may play any or all starting flights. Re-entry will be allowed for nine levels.  The $10 million guarantee will make two new millionaires out of the first and second place winners.

Onsite registration is open until Wednesday, August 27 at 8:00 p.m. Full schedule can be found at www.SHRPO.com

Celebrities Danny Masterson and Shannon Elizabeth Make the Money

You never know who you will encounter while walking through the crowded tables of one of the largest poker tournaments in the country. Many faces blend easily together but a few stand out. At the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $10 million guarantee championship event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida the biggest names in poker took their seats but scattered among the massive field were a few names who are well known outside the poker room.

Actress Shannon Elizabeth, actor and DJ Danny Masterson and musician Nelly were among the notable faces in the tournament. While celebrity appearances are not uncommon in poker tournaments that fact that all three made it to Day 2 and two of them made the money is unusual and impressive at the same time. Nelly was eliminated before the money bubble but Elizabeth and Masterson have secured cashes worth no less than $8,726 in a tournament that played host to some of the most accomplished and winningest players in poker.

Actress Shannon Elizabeth stops to chat with poker pro Phil Ivey on Day 1C of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $10 Million Guaranteed Main Event.
Actress Shannon Elizabeth stops to chat with poker pro Phil Ivey on Day 1C of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $10 Million Guaranteed Main Event.

Elizabeth has over $224,000 in poker tournament winnings, the bulk coming from her Final Four finish in the 64-player $25,000 NBC Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em Championship in 2007 for $125,000. In that tournament Elizabeth outlasted progressional players including Elizabeth also finished runner up to Phil Gordon for $79,776 in the 2010 World Series of Poker $5,000 Ante Up for Africa Charity tournament.

No matter where he finishes, Masterson will pick up his first major recorded tournament cash in this tournament.

Both Masterson and Elizabeth are seated along side some of the biggest names in poker and have already outlasted major tournament players including nine-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Ivey, 1998 WSOP Main Event champion Scotty Nguyen, eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel, 2001 WSOP main event champion and all-time World Poker Tour top money winner Carlos Mortensen, two-time WSOP bracelet winner and two-time WPT champion Erik Lindgren and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Michael Mizrachi to name a few.

Continue to follow the live updates to see how deep Elizabeth and Masterson make it in the tournament.

A Few Familiar Faces in the Field

It is no secret that when given the option professional poker players will choose the later start time for a tournament day that has two starting flights. Today is another case in point. After there were dozens of familiar faces on Day 1A, which started at 7 p.m. on Thursday, the notables are far and few between on Day 1B, which started at 11 a.m. this (poker) morning. Here is a look at who did make the early wake-up call at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open.

Noah Schwartz – The poker professional has won $3.5 million in live events and another half million online. He won his first major title last year on the World Poker Tour and he had a strong summer in Las Vegas where he finished runner up in a $1,500 pot-limit Omaha event and he took 52nd place in a field of 6,352 players in the $10,000 Main Event.

Ylon Schwartz – Ylon made his claim to fame in the poker world when he took fourth place at the 2008 World Series of Poker main event as a member of the November Nine. He took home $3.7 million for that score and he has traveled the tournament trail consistently since that time, pushing his all-time earnings past $4.6 million.

Alex Bolotin – Alex is a professional poker player from Brooklyn, New York who has close to $2 million in career tournament earnings. He has appeared at many final tables on the major tours and he won the Ante Up for Africa charity tournament at the World Series of Poker in 2009.

Matthew Burnitz – Burnitz found success on the World Poker Tour during Season XI. He cashed at the Borgata in Atlantic City twice. He took second place at the Borgata Poker Open, which was good for $488,850 and followed that up with a 46th place finish at the Borgata Winter Poker Open to add another $10,287.