2019 Fun in the Sun Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida Event 2 $150 Big Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $20,000 Guaranteed Entries: 200 Prize Pool: $24,000 December 27, 2019
2019 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida Event 2 $400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry) Entries: 86 Prize Pool: $29,240 November 20, 2019
Gloria LoRusso is an experienced high-low player from New Jersey who played in her first tournament here at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood — Event #2, $400 Limit Omaha 8 — and she won it.
LoRusso is from Brigantine, New Jersey, and she regularly plays in Atlantic City. But while she’s visiting family in South Florida, she also wanted to take advantage of the various high-low tournaments on the RRPO schedule.
“What I love most, I came down to visit my son. And I came here to play the tournaments because they’re so varied and they have high-low games, which, for me, is everything.”
The first two cashes of LoRusso’s career were in ladies no-limit hold’em events, but since then, all but one of her cashes have come in high-low events. “I really enjoy high-low,” said LoRusso. “I’m not a no-limit player, so this is very exciting.” She plans to return tomorrow to enter Event #3, $400 H.O.R.S.E.
The final 11 players finished in the money, and when the final nine combined to the final table, LoRusso was fourth in chips. “I learned a lot from the other players,” said LoRusso. “How to handle the button, how to handle the big stack, how to be patient.”
After the elimination of Hal Klein in third place, LoRusso and Marc Rabuse found themselves nearly even in chips, with LoRusso holding a slight lead. They agreed to an equal chop of the remaining prizepool ($7,566 each), and since she was chipleader, LoRusso won the trophy and the title.
“It’s been quite a while since I won a trophy,” said LoRusso. “It’s wonderful.”
Final Results:
1st: Gloria LoRusso – $7,566 + RRPO Trophy 2nd: Marc Rabuse – $7,566 3rd: Hal Klein – $3,545 4th: Antony Vidmer – $2,398 5th: Bryce Fox – $1,828 6th: Buddy Frezza – $1,462 7th: Joanne Granteed – $1,213 8th: Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr. – $1,023 9th: Michael P. Lee – $943 10th: John Creed – $877 11th: Robert Leff – $819
After a short discussion, LoRusso and Rabuse agreed to split the remaining prizepool evenly, and as chipleader, LoRusso would win the RRPO trophy and the title.
1st: Gloria LoRusso – $7,566 + RRPO Trophy 2nd: Marc Rabuse – $7,566 3rd: Hal Klein – $3,545 4th: Antony Vidmer – $2,398 5th: Bryce Fox – $1,828 6th: Buddy Frezza – $1,462 7th: Joanne Granteed – $1,213 8th: Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr. – $1,023 9th: Michael P. Lee – $943 10th: John Creed – $877 11th: Robert Leff – $819
After a flop of , Hal Klein bet 20,000 from the small blind, and Marc Rabuse called from the big blind.
The turn card was the , Klein bet 40,000, Rabuse raised, and Klein called all in.
Marc Rabuse: (trip kings, open-ended straight draw, low draw) Hal Klein: (flush draw, gutshot straight draw, low draw)
The river card was the , and Klein missed all of his draws. Rabuse scooped the pot with a six-high straight and a 6-5 low to eliminate Klein in third place.
Marc Rabuse – 505,000 (25 bb) Hal Klein – Eliminated in 3rd Place ($3,545)
With the final board showing on the river, Buddy Frezza got it all in from the small blind for about 25,000 against Hal Klein in the cutoff, and they turned over their cards.
Hal Klein: (aces full of tens) Buddy Frezza: (ace-high straight)
Frezza had the lead on the turn with his straight, but the ace on the river gave Klein a full house to scoop the pot with no possible lows, eliminating Frezza in sixth place.
Hal Klein – 240,000 (20 bb) Buddy Frezza – Eliminated in 6th Place ($1,462)
Joanne Granteed was short-stacked and all in preflop from the button, with a side pot roughly equal to the main pot between Bryce Fox in the small blind and Buddy Frezza in the big blind.
The flop came , Fox checked, Frezza bet, and Fox folded. Frezza took the main pot, and he and Granteed turned over their cards.
Buddy Frezza: (nines full of sevens) Joanne Granteed: (nines full of sixes)
Granteed was dominated and facing elimination. The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Frezza won the pot with his higher full house to eliminate Granteed in seventh place.
Buddy Frezza – 110,000 (11 bb) Joanne Granteed – Eliminated in 7th Place ($1,213)
Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr. moved all in from the hijack for 14,000, Bryce Fox called from the button, Buddy Frezza called from the small blind, and Marc Rabuse called from the big blind.
The flop came , Frezza bet 10,000, and Rabuse and Fox both folded.
The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Frezza scooped the pot with a nine-high straight and an 8-7 low to eliminate Trudeau in eighth place.
Buddy Frezza – 183,000 (18 bb) Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr. – Eliminated in 8th Place ($1,023)