$2,650 Deep Stack PLO (Re-Entry) Level 7: 600/1,200 Players Remaining: 18 of 51
Event 27 of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open, Monday’s 6pm $2,650 Deep Stack Pot Limit Omaha tournament, drew 51 entries generating a prize pool of $123,675. The final six players earn at least $8,657 with the tournament’s champion pocketing $42,050.
Currently 18 players remain. Day 1 is scheduled to wrap following Level 12 (at roughly 2:45am). Assuming the event doesn’t finish ahead of schedule, complete end-of-night chip counts will be posted at that time.
The clock strikes 6pm and Day 1 of the $2,650 Deep Stack Pot Limit Omaha event is underway. Players start with 20,000 chips and levels are set to be 40 minutes in duration. Day 1 concludes around 2:45am and the complete chip counts will be prior to the tournament’s restart Tuesday.
Details:
6PM: Event 27 Day 1 – $2,650 Deep Stack PLO (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Players begin with 20,000 in chips and 40-minute levels
Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
Day 1 will end after Level 12 or Tournament Director discretion
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood $25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Total Entries: 94 Prizepool: $2,350,000
David Malka
David Malka is the champion of the $25,000 High Roller event, outlasting a field of 94 entries to win the $658,000 top prize. Malka also collected the glass trophy for this event, one of the last pieces of hardware to be awarded during this series.
This event began on Tuesday evening with just a few tables in play, but the field ballooned to nearly 100 entries by the time registration closed. Among the elite field were a couple WSOP Main Event Champions — Joe Hachem and Joe McKeehen — along with former WPT Players of the Year Darren Elias, Faraz Jaka, and Mukul Pauja. None of them were able to finish in the money, however.
The same can be said for defending champion of this event, Jason Mercier. The Florida pro was eliminated by Malka on the direct money bubble, shoving his short stack with into Malka’s . Mercier flopped a flush draw on the , but that’s as close as he’d get to salvation. The turn and river bricked off, and Mercier’s elimination left the final 13 players in the money.
That knockout signaled the end of a long Day 1 around 5:00 a.m., and the survivors returned to play for the title on Wednesday, beginning at 4:00 p.m. Local high-stakes player Brian Benderoff was the chip leader when Day 2 began, and he rode his big stack to a seventh-place finish, good for more than $80,000.
When the final six players broke for dinner, Nick Petrangelo was the chip leader. Things went sour for him in the levels after the break, though, and he was eliminated on a cooler in fourth place, holding an overpair and a straight draw against Malka’s flopped straight. The turn and river failed to keep Petrangelo afloat, and his knockout gave Malka more than 60% of the chips in play with three remaining.
The champ continued his late domination of the final table, whittling Tim West down to less than 10 big blinds before Sylvain Loosli eliminated him in third place. Despite his opponent scoring the penultimate knockout, Malka still entered the heads-up duel with a 4:1 chip lead over the 2013 WSOP November Niner.
The battle lasted about a half hour before a coin flip decided the match. On the final hand, Malka shoved with ace-ten, and Loosli called all in with pocket sixes. The first four cards kept the Frenchman in the lead, and he was one card from drawing nearly even in the match. The river was the , though, giving Malka the pot, the knockout, and the title.
Malka is a 28-year-old pro from Los Angeles. Although he’s been playing poker since he was 19, he’s only recently started to dabble in tournaments, citing the desire to travel and the thrill of tournament poker as his motivations. Things seem to be going well so far. This most recent victory is the largest of his young career, and it brings his total earnings to just over $1 million.
Here are the full results:
1st: David Malka – $658,000 2nd: Sylvain Loosli – 481,750 3rd: Tim West – $298,450 4th: Nick Petrangelo – $206,800 5th: Nick Yunis – $133,950 6th: Yevgeniy Timoshenko – $101,050 7th: Brian Benderoff – $82,250 8th: Steffen Sontheimer – $70,500 9th: Lazaro Hernandez – $68,150 10th: Jake Schindler – $65,800 11th: John Dolan – $63,450 12th: Dan Shak – $61,100 13th: Fedor Holz – $58,750
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 23: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante Players Remaining: 1 of 94
David Malka
David Malka opened to 135,000 on the button, and Sylvain Loosli three-bet to 345,000 in the big blind. Malka moved all in with the covering stack, and Loosli called all in for just over 2,000,000, putting himself at risk. It was a race:
Malka: Loosli:
The board ran out , and the ace on the river gave Malka the pot and the title. Loosli was eliminated as the runner-up.
Sylvain Loosli
Malka posed for winner’s photos with his shiny new trophy, and he was handed a payout ticket for $658,000, by far the largest score of his tournament career. A recap of his victory will be published shortly.
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 23: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante Players Remaining: 3 of 94
David Malka raised to 135,000 on the button and Sylvain Loosli three-bet to 345,000 out of the big blind. Malka took a few moments in the tank and then put in a four-bet to 655,000 and Loosli tossed his hand into the muck.
A few hands later, Sylvain Loosli raised to 150,000 out of the small blind and David Malka defended his big blind. The flop was and Loosli bet 125,000. Malka raised to 315,000 and Loosli folded.
Malka dragged the pot and extended his already massive chip lead, crossing over the 7 million chip mark.
David Malka – 7,200,000 Sylvanil Loosli – 1,275,000
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 23: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante Players Remaining: 3 of 94
Nick Petrangelo
On a flop of , Nick Petrangelo checked from the small blind and David Malka bet 235,000 from the big blind. Sylvain Loosli called on the button and Petrangelo went into the tank for a minute.
Petrangelo eventually moved all in for about 2,000,000 and Malka hesitates for a few moments before moving all in for about 3,500,000. Loosli quickly folded and the cards were tabled.
Malka showed , good for the nut straight and had Petrangelo drawing to runners with his . The turn was the , giving Petrangelo some outs, but the river was the and Petrangelo hit the rail in fourth place.
Petrangelo took home $206,800 for his finish and Malka takes a massive chip lead into three-handed play.
David Malka – 5,750,000 (95 bb) Nick Petrangelo – Eliminated
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 22: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 4 of 94
On the last hand of the level, Sylvain Loosli completed from the small blind, and Nick Petrangelo checked his option in the big.
The flop came , and Loosli check-called a bet of 80,000. He check-called another 175,000 after the turn, and the river was the . Loosli checked again, and Petrangelo checked behind.
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 22: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 4 of 94
Nick Yunis
Nick Yunis moved all in for 435,000 under the gun, and David Malka re-shoved from the small blind. Tim West folded his big blind, and Yunis was heads up for his tournament life.
Yunis: Malka:
The board ran out , and Malka’s kicker played to earn him the pot. Yunis was eliminated in fifth place.
into Malka’s 
. Mercier flopped a flush draw on the 
, but that’s as close as he’d get to salvation. The turn and river bricked off, and Mercier’s elimination left the final 13 players in the money.
, though, giving Malka the pot, the knockout, and the title.
, and West was drawing dead on the turn. Loosli won the pot with the nut flush, sending West to the rain in third place.
and Loosli bet 125,000. Malka raised to 315,000 and Loosli folded.
, Nick Petrangelo checked from the small blind and David Malka bet 235,000 from the big blind. Sylvain Loosli called on the button and Petrangelo went into the tank for a minute.
, good for the nut straight and had Petrangelo drawing to runners with his 
. The turn was the 
, giving Petrangelo some outs, but the river was the 
, and Loosli check-called a bet of 80,000. He check-called another 175,000 after the 
, winning the pot with kings full.
