Before cards went in the air, we stopped by Table 23 to say hi to Kevin Ballard. The Washington state resident didn’t expect to be here until a few days ago when he received notice that he won the Seminole Hard Rock Poker “Win a Seat” drawing.
So Ballard hopped on a plane, flew across the entire country, and now grinding away in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship.
@shrpo@WPT Thank you for this amazing opportunity! See you on Friday.
So far this series, 18 tournaments have come and gone during the first weeks of the 2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown and number 19 is a big one. The WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship is set to kick off at noon and we expect a massive crowd for the $2 Million Guarantee tournament.
The $3,500 buy-in Championship has a single starting day with re-entries available until the start of Level 9 at 10:15pm with a 90-minute dinner break scheduled at 6:30pm. The big prize pool and prestige of the national tour will draw an impressive group of pro grind alongside our local regulars.
The structure is slow and deep, as expected with a big Championship. Players start with 30,000 stacks and levels will last 60 minutes for the first two days. Day 1 will come to an end after Level 10 and survivors will return tomorrow at noon for Day 2.
Cards fly at noon and we’ll be here from start to finish.
$2,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Players begin with 30,000 in chips
Day 1 and Day 2 levels will last 60 minutes
Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
Day 1 will end after Level 10 or Tournament Director discretion
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood Property Update
Preparations are underway for the development of an iconic hotel tower and resort:
Parking – Poker players are encouraged to park in Winner’s Way Garage to access both the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown tournament space and The Poker Room
The Poker Room – Players may access the poker room by entering through the main lobby or via the exterior entrance on the opposite end of Winner’s Way Garage.
Inside hotel – Services and amenities inside the hotel will remain open along with regularly scheduled events and entertainment.
The preliminary events are falling to the wayside and we’re ready to roll out the 2017 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship tomorrow at noon. This is the last World Poker Tour stop for their Season XV with two last chances to qualify for the WPT Tournament of Champions; tomorrow’s Championship and the $10,000 WPT Finale starting on Sunday.
The $3,500 Championship features a $2 Million guaranteed prize pool with a single starting day and late registration/unlimited re-entries for more than ten hours. Last year, the Showdown Championship drew 1,222 entries to nearly double the $2 million guarantee and Justin Young (pictured above) put his name on the WPT Champions Cup.
This year we expect another huge crowd in the ballroom with many top pros making the trip to South Florida to play alongside our local regulars and dozens of satellite winners.
The Championship kicks off at noon tomorrow and we’re excited to being the World Poker Tour portion of the schedule.
12PM: Day 1 – $3,500 WPT Showdown Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Players begin with 30,000 in chips
Day 1 and Day 2 levels will last 60 minutes
Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
Day 1 will end after Level 10 or Tournament Director discretion
2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood Event #19: $1,650 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em Total Entries: 64 Total Prizepool: $96,000
Ari Engel
Ari Engel is the champion of Event 19 at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. Engel emerged victorious from the 64-player bracket, winning the trophy and the top prize of $28,800 in a three-way deal.
The champ is a 32-year-old professional poker player who makes his home in Toronto, Ontario. His list of tournament results is an impressive one, littered with cashes all over the world and a total of more than $3.5 million in earnings. This victory is the third of his career in the heads-up format.
Engel’s path to victory included a first-round win against Raul Doutreleau, which set the stage for a Round of 32 match against WPT Champion Amir Babakhani. He handled Babakhani with relative ease, moving on to what would be a difficult encounter with November Niner Jerry Wong. Wong won the first match in the best-of-three, but Engel rattled off the next two to punch his ticket into the quarterfinals.
The final eight players returned today for Day 2, and Engel was matched up against John Dollinger for a spot in the semis. For the second consecutive round, Engel dropped the first match, so he needed to win two in a row once again. And he did so, thanks to a pair of tough spots for Dollinger. The second matche ended when both players flopped a straight, with Engel’s Broadway having the best of it. On the last hand of the third match, Engel flopped two pair with king-jack, and Dollinger put his tournament life on the line with an overpair of aces. The turn and river were both blank, and Engel was through to the final four.
His semifinal opponent was another WPT Champion — a two-time winner, in fact. Jonathan Little is an avid student and teacher of the game, and it took three tough matches for Engel to advance through him. As it turned out, it would be the last match for Engel in this event.
While the other semifinal match was still in progress, Engel dropped by the table and offered to split the money with whichever of the two won that match. Alex Foxen and Aaron Mermelstein both agreed, and they ended up chopping up their own match, as well.
Engel was already posing for photos with his new trophy as the other match finished up, adding yet another piece of hardware to his mantel.
Results 1st: Ari Engel – $28,800 + trophy 2nd: Alex Foxen – $19,200 3rd: Aaron Mermelstein – $19,200 4th: Jonathan Little – $9,600 5th: George Lusby – $4,800 6th: Corey Dodd – $4,800 7th: Timothy Tenpas – $4,800 8th: John Dollinger – $4,800
Early in this heads-up match, finalist Ari Engel dropped by the table to offer Alex Foxen and Aaron Mermelstein a deal. He proposed that they forgo the best-of-three final, regardless of who his opponent would be, and chop the first- and second-place money evenly. Both potential opponents agreed to the deal, and Engel was declared the winner. All that was left was to decide with whom he’d be chopping.
In the Mermelstein/Foxen semifinal, Mermelstein had recovered from the early chip disadvantage to take a lead of his own, and he was eventually able to win the second game outright.
With the score tied at one game apiece, the two men decided to chop up their own shares of the remaining prize money and call it a night. Foxen officially gets credit for a runner-up finish, though he and Mermelstein each received the same payout.
Here’s the official results from the deal: 1st: Ari Engel – $28,800 + trophy 2nd: Alex Foxen – $19,200 3rd: Aaron Mermelstein – $19,200
A recap of Engel’s victory will be published shortly.
On the turn of a board, Aaron Mermelstein checked, Alex Foxen bet 875, and Mermelstein check-raised to 2,300. Foxen called.
The river was the , and Mermelstein checked. Foxen bet 4,350, exactly half of what his opponent had left. Mermelstein spent a couple minutes in the tank, then surrendered his cards into the muck. Foxen won the pot, opening up a lead of nearly 2:1 in this second game.
Alex Foxen raised from the button, and Aaron Mermelstein three-bet shoved for just over 5,000 in the big blind. Foxen called to put him at risk, and the news for Mermelstein was not good.
Foxen: Mermelstein:
The board ran out , and Foxen won the pot and the first game with his pair of nines.
The chips were quickly reset, and the second game in this best-of-three has begun with no break.
board, Aaron Mermelstein checked, Alex Foxen bet 875, and Mermelstein check-raised to 2,300. Foxen called.
, and Mermelstein checked. Foxen bet 4,350, exactly half of what his opponent had left. Mermelstein spent a couple minutes in the tank, then surrendered his cards into the muck. Foxen won the pot, opening up a lead of nearly 2:1 in this second game.
, and Foxen won the pot and the first game with his pair of nines.
, and Mermelstein doubled up with a pair of kings.