$570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
End of Level 4: 100/200/25 ante
Flight A Entries: 333
Event 1 players are taking off for their first break of the day as the entrant count continues to climb at a steady pace. It made its nut in the first four levels and will push higher until registration closes at 3:30.
We’ll take this first opportunity to walk among the tables to identify our early leaders.
$570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 100/200/25 ante
Flight A Entries: 300
The opening flight of the opening event of a series is usually one of the smallest fields. Thursday morning, five other flights, and other factors usually keep the size down as it builds towards the weekend. But it’s also a good indicator of how the tournament will play out and 300 entries before the first break in Flight A before is a big start.
We’re also not used to seeing big names get in the game early but we found two-time WSOP bracelet winner/three-time WSOP Circuit champ/2015 WSOP National Champion Loni Harwood grinding in the middle of the room.
The Seminole Hard Rock Poker team member is coming off a summer that saw her run deep in the WSOP Circuit New Orlean Main Event then cash six times in the WSOP itself. Three of those cashes came in The Colossus III, The Giant, and the $1,500 Monster Stack. Three of the biggest fields in poker history.
In recent SHR Poker accomplishments, Harwood picked up the second biggest cash of her career in April when she finished third in the 2017 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $25K High Roller.
$570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 3: 75/150/25 ante
Flight A Entries: 260
One table in the back of the room is going to have a fun time getting through the 1 and 2 seats, they have to deal with Paul Balzano and Neil Blumenfield in their path to collect some chips.
Balzano is a long time regular with four SHRP titles, over $1 million in career earnings, and Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza wins the last two summers. Blumenfield jumped over seven-digits in a hurry when he finished third in the 2015 WSOP Main Event for nearly $3.4 million and the Florida transplant also has several deep WPT and WSOP runs as well.
$570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 2: 50/100
Flight A Entries: 210
The first level has come and gone and more than 200 entries hit the tables before crossing after to noon. A huge turnout so far and it bodes well for cruising past the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Checking out the new configuration in the ballroom, we took a walk among the tables and found a couple old-school SHR Poker regulars sitting together.
Nigel Murray was the runner-up in the 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Player of the Year race after a great run. He finds himself sitting across the table from Ory Hen, the only player who finished that year with more points.
The two are often seen grinding away at our tournaments so it should be no surprise that they are both early entrants today.
$570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1: 25/50
Flight A Entries: 150
After the first reading of the rules and player instructions, Tournament Director Tony Burns gave the official “shuffle up and deal” command to the dealers and the 2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open is underway.
$570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1: 25/50
The 2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open is here and ready to kick off. The dealers are taking their positions, players are registering for their seats, and today we roll out the first of several +$1,000,000 Guaranteed tournaments.
The $570 buy-in Event 1 has a hefty $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool with six starting flights over the next three days. A great way to kick off the big series. The first two sessions run today at 11am and 6pm with the same schedule on Friday and Saturday. All who bag up chips will return on Sunday for Day 2 to play down into the money and onto the Event 1 champ.
Players will sit down to 20,000 start stacks and 30-minute levels throughout the opening flight. Late registration is available until the start of Level 9 at 3:30pm and players have unlimited re-entry options during that time. All flights will run through 14 full levels (or 12% of the field, whichever comes first) with all survivors bagging their chips for Day 2.
The start of any series is exciting but there is always something big about each year’s SHRPO. This is a huge start to a series that will end with The Big 4 set of tournaments with four, simultaneous, live-streamed, recorded-for-tv final tables running at once.
Cards go in the air at the top of the hour and we will be here from the first hand until the very end of the series.
Main Event Schedule
11AM: Event 1 Day 1A – $570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
6PM: Event 1 Day 1B – $570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Secondary and Satellite Schedule
9AM: Event 19 – $80 Turbo Satellite to Event 1 (1-in-10)
3PM: Event 20 – $200 Multi-Event Satellite (1-in-10)
8PM: Event 21 – $140 Turbo Satellite to Event 1 (1-in-5)
2017 Deep Stack Series
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, FL
Event 1
$350 Deep Stack
Entries: 1,029
Prize Pool: $308,700
May 18-22, 2017
(Hollywood, FL) — Ben Lindemulder played two pots that all but won him Event 1 of the 2017 Deep Stack Series at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino late Monday night. The $350 Deep Stack event drew a field of 1,029 entries and saw Lindemulder earn $67,232 along with a $1,650 seat in the $300,000 Deepest Stack event following an outright win.
The first pot Lindemulder left his mark on came early during 10-handed play on Day 3. There was five-way action on a 
board and Fernando Halec open-shoved having his four opponents covered. 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Player of the Year Ory Hen called off the last of his roughly 1,900,000 chips and Lindemulder did the same except for about 2,400,000. Matthew Kuba folded and last to act was Sergio Perez who also called off. The quartet of players tabled their hands, Lindemulder having the best of it with 
. Halec and Hen each owned two pair while Perez was drawing to the nut straight. The turn and river improved no one and Broadway was best for Lindemulder. Halec and Hen hit the rail while Lindemulder raked a pot worth over 10,000,000 — a sizable portion of the 30,000,000 in play with six players then remaining.
From there, Lindemulder remained at the top of the counts before getting overtaken by eventual third-place finisher Jeff Charlton. It was short lived, though, as the duo played a huge pot late in the day.
Lindemulder raised the button and Charlton three-bet. Lindemuler came along for the ride and the pair kept the action on going on the flop and turn. With about 9,000,000 in the middle, Charlton, who had Lindemulder covered at the time, shoved the river. Lindemulder called off 6,600,000 and promptly turned over a full house. He was best as Charlton showed top pair and the hand earned Lindemulder a pot equivalent to 150 big blinds. Charlton went on to finish third a few hands later.
In true dominant fashion, it was kings that earned Lindemulder the title when he bested the ace-three of Martin Markov after about an hour of heads-up play.
The Deep Stack Series opener boasted 30,000-chip starting stacks along with 40-, 60- and 90-minute levels. There was plenty of play for the massive field that turned out over the event’s three starting flights. Joining Lindemulder in the money were Michelle Shaw, Seminole Hard Rock Poker team member Stewart Newman, Michael Newman, Daren Stabinski and Evan Teitelbaum.
Lindemulder, originally from Grand Rapids, MI, is 27 years old and resides in Pompano Beach where he is self-employed. This marks his third tournament cash in Hollywood, first victory and largest career score to date.
The 2017 Deep Stack Series runs daily now through May 29th. There are a total of seven events each awarding a guitar trophy to their champion. Headlining the festivities is the $1,650 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed Deepest Stack event. With 50,000 starting chips and 40-, 60- and 90-minute levels, it too provides no shortage of play.
Event 1 final results:
1st: Ben Lindemulder – $67,232 + $1,650 Seat
2nd: Martin Markov – $40,630
3rd: Jeff Charlton – $24,808
4th: Matthew Kuba – $20,868
5th: Chas Samuel – $17,231
6th: James Hamburger – $14,048
7th: Fernando Halac – $11,320
8th: Sergio Perez – $8,744
9th: Ory Hen – $6,167
10th: Edward McNamara – $4,197
11th: Gregory Roy – $3,637
12th: Nick Chiapetta – $3,637
13th: Steven Cardarelli – $2,576
14th: Howard Mash – $2,576
15th: Jacob Snider – $2,576
16th: Vladimir Kovalchuk – $1,667
17th: Jeffrey Antley – $1,667
18th: Camilo Manrique Huizi – $1,667
19th: Paul Balzano – $1,364
20th: Martin Culotta – $1,364
21st: Michael Wojcieszek – $1,364
22nd: Thomas Gari – $1,364
23rd: Eriberuto Uehara – $1,364
24th: Ido Ashkenazi – $1,364
25th: Derek Alley – $1,364
26th: Angelo Miele – $1,364
27th: Yao Zhao – $1,364
28th: Kemhall Grant – $1,182
29th: Barton Taylor – $1,182
30th: Ariel Rosello Quintana – $1,182
31st: Earl Carroll – $1,182
32nd: Christopher Boyle – $1,182
33rd: Scott Zakheim – $1,182
34th: Reinaldo Troconis Trutschel – $1,182
35th: Brian Breen – $1,182
36th: Steven Bennett – $1,182
37th: Jonathan Brody – $1,061
38th: Dennis Rodriguez – $1,061
39th: Raminder Singh – $1,061
40th: Jonathan Jiminez – $1,061
41st: Umberto Ferrauto- $1,061
42nd: Joseph Marzilli – $1,061
43rd: David Nowling – $1,061
44th: Robert Womack – $1,061
45th: Georgia Felger – $1,061
46th: Francis Margaglione – $940
47th: Alisa Yuanglamyai – $940
48th: Daren Stabinski – $940
49th: Evan Teitelbaum – $940
50th: Alberto Niebla – $940
51st: Michael Tait – $940
52nd: Jacquelyn Scott – $940
53rd: Craig Bagon – $940
54th: Anthony Ruberto – $940
55th: Bret McCown – $849
56th: Alejandro Rosazles Saez – $849
57th: Artem Maksimov – $849
58th: Andrew Thompson – $849
59th: Robyn Marshman – $849
60th: Haim Toorgeman – $849
61st: Gui Van – $849
62nd: Homero Molina – $849
63rd: Kevin Curran – $849
64th: Changfei Cui – $758
65th: Robert Hodson – $758
66th: Jeffrey Dodson – $758
67th: Marcin Plewinski – $758
68th: Coskun Yalcin – $758
69th: Cesar Fuentes – $758
70th: Fariborz Zojaji – $758
71st: Bret Hood – $758
72nd: Michael Newman – $758
73rd: Michael Lopez – $697
74th: Christopher Acosta – $697
75th: Theo Prystal – $697
76th: Dimitry Agrachov – $697
77th: Matthew Smith – $697
78th: Matthew Zarcadoolas – $697
79th: Frank Sinopoli – $697
80th: Stewart Newman – $697
81st: Scott Menard – $697
82nd: Bradley Hinson – $637
83rd: Peter Jacobson – $637
84th: Michelle Shah – $637
85th: Jonathan Gold – $637
86th: Kenneth Bruno – $637
87th: David Ward – $637
88th: Nagui Yassa – $637
89th: Domenico Albano – $637
90th: Jeffrey Cohen – $637
91st: Jason Young – $606
92nd: Victor Nassif – $606
93rd: Carlo Rodriguez – $606
94th: Amir Baron – $606
95th: Darryle Price – $606
96th: John Depersio – $606
97th: Christopher Brown – $606
98th: Veselin Katrandzhiev – $606
99th: Thomas Coates – $606
100th: Christen Landry – $606
Event 1: $350 Deep Stack ($150,000 Gtd, $1,650 Seat Added)
Level 32: 100,000/200,000/25,000
Players Remaining: 1/1,029
Martin Markov limped the button and Ben Lindemulder made it 600,000 from the big blind. Markov shoved for about 2,750,000 and Lindemulder snapped.
Lindemulder: 
Markov: 
Runout: 
The kings held and Markov was eliminated in second place earning $40,630. For the win, Lindemulder earned $67,232 along with a $1,650 seat in the $300,000 guaranteed Deepest Stack.
A full report on the tournament will be posted shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look at the final table results:
1st: Ben Lindemulder – $67,232 + $1,650 Seat
2nd: Martin Markov – $40,630
3rd: Jeff Charlton – $24,808
4th: Matthew Kuba – $20,868
5th: Chas Samuel – $17,231
6th: James Hamburger – $14,048
7th: Fernando Halac – $11,320
8th: Sergio Perez – $8,744
9th: Ory Hen – $6,167
10th: Edward McNamara – $4,197
Event 1: $350 Deep Stack ($150,000 Gtd, $1,650 Seat Added)
Level 32: 100,000/200,000/25,000
Players Remaining: 2/1,029
Martin Markov got 2,675,000 holding 
on a 
board. He was behind Ben Lindemulder who held 
for top pair.
Turn and River: 
Markov improved to an unlikely pair and lived to fight another day.
Martin Markov – 6,300,000
Ben Lindemulder – 24,570,000