$300 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry) Level 15: 2,000/4,000
David White was getting short and found a good hand to get back in the game. He opened for a pot-sized bet with Kevin Spires and John Brennan coming along to the flop.
After Brennan checked, White put in his last 9,500 and Spires moved-all over the top. Brennan seemed unhappy with the move and asked the floor staff how they handled it if two players went out on the same hand on the bubble.
“Most chips to start the hand,” as “Country”s reply.
Brennan folded before White showed ahead of Spires’ .
The turn and river blanked to give White more than a double.
$300 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry) Level 15: 2,000/4,000
After blasting down from 10 players to the money bubble, the seven remaining players slowed down to buck the usual post-dinner madness and went the entire first level back with only one all-in called.
That ended with Ken Bruno and David White chopping a pot with Aces for an anticlimactic hand.
Blinds are up but might be in for the long haul but the average stack is now holding just over 20 big blinds.
$300 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry) Level 13: Blinds 1,200/2,400
There was no slowing down the final table even with the money bubble approaching.
It was three-handed to the flop with Marc Kropf (Miami, FL) already all-in when Bruce Freedman (Plantation, FL) also moved all-in. Ken Bruno (Lake Worth, FL) had them both covered and called to put them both at risk.
Bruno: Freedman: Kropf:
“I thought I had the nuts,” Freedman stated incorrectly.
The turn/river finished to send the entire pot to Bruno, knock two players out, and put the tournament on the money bubble.
The remaining six players are off on a quick, 30-minute dinner break before returning to find a champion.
They reached the final ten players, then drew for seats and moved to the final table. Soon after play resumed, Zack Milchman (Del Ray, FL) got his short-stack in against Ken Bruno and was busted, bringing them down to nine players. Only the final six will get paid, so there’s still a ways to go.
Here are the final 9 with rough chip counts:
Seat Player (Hometown) Chips
Bruce Freedman (Plantation, FL) 24k
Don Todd (Davie, FL) 35k
Matthew Lombardi (Long Island, NY) 180k
Joey Prosper (Miami, FL) 58k
John Brennan (Parrish, FL) 152k
David White (Boca Raton, FL) 40k
Ken Bruno (Lake Worth, FL) 64k
Marc Kropf (Miami, FL) 35k
Kevin Spires (W Palm Beach, FL) 88k
Average stack is ~73k.
They’ll finish level 13, then take a dinner break.
Registration has closed for this event. There were (unofficially) a total of 44 entries for a total prize pool of $11,220.
Kevin Love
Another familiar face in this crowd is Kevin Love. Kevin has two previous final tables here playing the High/Low version of Omaha. He finished 3rd in the 2014 SHRPO PLO/8 event and 7th in the 2013 SHRPO PLO/8 event.
Today they’re playing he HIGH only version of PLO, so they won’t be splitting pots with the low hands.
The Omaha field is growing slowly. They’re up to 22 entries and counting.
Robert Campbell
Among the players opting for Omaha over No Limit Hold’em today is Robert Campbell. Robert won the Pot Limit Omaha H/L event here during the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open back in August, taking the top prize in a five-way chop.
Robert also won the PLO H/L event at Coconut Creek in September and here in March during the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. He also has a Limit Omaha H/L title from the Orleans in May. It appears that Robert fares better in the High/Low versions of Omaha, so we’ll see how he handles today’s High-only game.
The second trophy event of this series is underway in the back of the Seminole Hard Rock Ballroom. For those who like to play with four cards instead of two, this game is for you!
Pot Limit Omaha players began with 15,000 chips and all levels are 30 minutes long.
Late registration and re-entry are available until the start of level 9 (about 4:30pm).
This is a one-day event, so they’ll play until a winner is determined. The eventual winner will receive a Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ’N’ Roll” Poker Open trophy and a custom framed professional photograph provided by IMPDI.
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Event 2: $250 Omaha 8B August 14-15, 2014
Entries: 76 Prize Pool: $15,960
1st Place
RECAP The first Main Event to crown a champion at the 2014 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open is the $250 Omaha 8OB tournament that concluded on Friday, August 15. Fast play at the final table ensured that a winner was crowned in the afternoon. It was Wayne Brown (pictured above) who topped the final table of nine players to win $3,512, a beautiful Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open trophy and a custom framed photograph provided by IMPDI with event information plaque and commemorative pin. Brown worked in retail for 23 years before retiring to run his own business managing vending machines for the past 11 years. Brown plays poker on the side, but that could change if he racks up a few more tournament wins.
Brown also topped a total field of 76 players that entered the tournament, but his toughest test came at the end, where pros like “Miami” John Cernuto were among his final opponents. Brown came into the final table as the second shortest stack left in play and he was the shortest of the four players remaining when he got dangerously low in chips.
Brown took a shot when action folded to him in the small blind. He raised and it was met by a third bet from Avi Levy. Brown capped it pre-flop with just one big bet behind. Brown was all-in after the flop and tabled , but he was in trouble against Levi’s . The turn was no help but they both hit a low on the . Brown survived but only picked up a quarter of the pot. Surviving this pot started Brown’s comeback and by the time the final table was down to three players he held the chip lead.
That was when his final opponents, Cernuto and John Binns were ready to make a chop. They chopped the prize money three ways but Brown took home the win, the trophy, and the Player of the Year points. He also enjoyed the wild ride from beginning to end. “I wanted to make sure that even if I went out in ninth place I was having the best time. I had a blast doing that (playing against the pros). I even told the massage therapist when she started off massaging me for ten minutes and I started on the win streak there, that she could do ten more minutes so she could watch me make these pros, ‘Squirm like a worm [Laughs].”
Brown had fun with the comeback and he was careful to switch up his playing style and take a different approach than he had at previous final tables. “My past history in tournaments is that when I was low stacked I would play scared. But this time I was more relaxed, more aggressive. I had nothing to lose and that was pretty much my mentality all day,” said Brown.
Now that he has some POY points to his name, the 50-year-old Brown plans on playing some more events here at SHRPO. “I’m playing Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday this weekend, and then the same thing next weekend. And then I will see where I’m at for the third weekend with the main event,” said Brown about his SHRPO plans.
Brown is from Babson Park, which is nearby in Central Florida, so he can make the three-hour drive easily. Brown said he usually plays at the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa Bay, but he may have found another tournament home here in South Florida.
FINAL RESULTS 1. DAVID BROWN (BABSON PARK, FL): $3,512 2. JOHN BINNS (CAPE CORAL, FL): $3,511 3. JOHN CERNUTO (LAS VEGAS, NV): $3,511 4. ABRAHAM LEVY (CORAL SPRINGS, FL): $1,436 5. BRENT KEENE (BONITA SPRINGS, FL): $1,117 6. GEORGES BOYADJIAN (TAMARAC, FL): $958 7. ARNOLD COHEN (WEST PALM BCH, FL): $798 8. MICHAEL WANG (LIVINGSTON, NJ): $638 9. GENE HOCHMAN (COCONUT CREEK, FL): $479
We have a winner in Event 2 at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open and it is Wayne Brown (pictured above). Brown agreed to a three-way chop with John Binns (Second place – $3,511) and “Miami” John Cernuto (Third place – $3,511) to bring the $250 Omaha 8OB event to a close.
Brown wins the tournament and for his outstanding performance will receive $3,512, a beautiful Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open trophy and a custom framed photograph provided by IMPDI with event information plaque and commemorative pin.
Stay tuned for a recap of the tournament, winner photos, and a quick interview with the first Main Event champion at SHRPO 2014, Wayne Brown.
flop.
ahead of Spires’ 
.
to give White more than a double.
flop with Marc Kropf (Miami, FL) already all-in when Bruce Freedman (Plantation, FL) also moved all-in. Ken Bruno (Lake Worth, FL) had them both covered and called to put them both at risk.
. The 
. Brown survived but only picked up a quarter of the pot. Surviving this pot started Brown’s comeback and by the time the final table was down to three players he held the chip lead.
