2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 33
$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  227
Prizepool:  $454,000
August 3-4, 2023

On Friday afternoon, Mike Vanier outlasted a field of 227 entries to win the $2,200 Deep Stack event, earning $105,570 and his first major poker trophy.

“This is my first win other than a small local tournament,” said Vanier, “so it really feels good to get the monkey off my back.”

Vanier has been on a pretty great run for the past year or so, and it seemed like only a matter of time before he won a big event.

“I finally got over the hump last summer,” said Vanier, “and it seems like I’ve been making it to the final couple of tables in almost every tournament I’ve played, so it’s going good right now.”

Since last summer, Vanier has earned more than $1.4 million in live tournaments, with three top-three finishes in major events — WPT Venetian Las Vegas (2nd for $595,000), WPT Choctaw (3rd for $192,000), and the Aria Poker Classic (2nd for $392,704).

“Sometimes I just didn’t have a chance short-handed, and sometimes I just played awful,” said Vanier. “So I’ve been working on my short-handed game, and I got there this time.”

As for this event, with a lot of top pros showing up for the $5,300 SHRPO Championship that started today, a lot of them entered this event, which started yesterday.

“I was pretty shocked how tough the field was from beginning to end,” said Vanier.

Vanier started the final table third in chips, but got knocked down by a bad beat early when he had Luke Brereton all in preflop with pocket nines against Vanier’s pocket kings.

“I got kings in versus nines,” said Vanier, “but he flopped a nine on me.”

Vanier bounced back when he shoved into the of chipleader Ky Nguyen in the big blind.

“He flopped a flush draw, but I rivered a nine to win the pot and that pretty much gave me the chip lead again,” said Vanier. “Then I just applied pressure after that.”

Vanier scored the next knockout by eliminating Justin Zaki in seventh place to increase his lead, and he never looked back on his way to victory.

With his first trophy secured and the monkey off his back, you can expect to see Vanier take a seat in the SHRPO Championship.

“I don’t know if I’ll buy in today,” said Vanier. “I might just go relax, and then buy in as many times as needed to hopefully bag tomorrow.”

Results:

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 227

Heads-up play had only been underway for a minute or two when Stanley Lee raised from the button to 530,000, and Mike Vanier called and, thinking Lee was all in, briefly turned over his . But Lee still had 30K left in his stack.

The flop came , and Vanier moved all in. Lee said he didn’t like his situation, but he called all in for 30,000 with for jack high. Vanier officially flipped over his , and Lee needed to catch a jack or a runner-runner straight to stay alive.

The turn card was the , giving Lee an open-ended straight draw, but the river card was the . Vanier won the pot — and the title, the trophy, and $105,570) with king high.

Stanley Lee finished as the runner-up, earning $72,225.

Stay tuned for a recap from this event to be posted later this afternoon.

1st:  Mike Vanier  –  $105,570 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  Stanley Lee  –  $72,225
3rd:  Giuseppe Calio  –  $46,500
4th:  Raj Vohra  –  $29,300
5th:  Ky Nguyen  –  $21,900
6th:  Luke Brereton  –  $18,400
7th:  Justin Zaki  –  $15,700
8th:  Nick Palma  –  $13,200
9th:  Mitch Garshofsky  –  $10,700

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 227

Giuseppe Calio got it all in from the big blind for about 940,000 with , and needed to improve to stay alive against the of Mike Vanier in the small blind.

The board came , and the aces held up for Vanier to win the pot and eliminate Calio in third place.

Giuseppe Calio  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($46,500)

Here are the approximate chip counts for the start of heads-up play:

Mike Vanier  –  3,850,000  (64 bb)
Stanley Lee  –  685,000  (11 bb)

And here are the payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $105,570 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd:  $72,225

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 227

Mike Vanier moved all in from the small blind, and Giuseppe Calio used two of his Time Chips to tank for more than a minute before he called all in for 560,000 with .

Vanier turned over , and Calio needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came — Calio paired his ace on the flop, Vanier turned a heart flush draw, and the river card was a blank. Calio won the pot with his pair of aces to double up in chips.

Giuseppe Calio  –  1,180,000  (20 bb)
Mike Vanier  –  2,680,000  (45 bb)

With three players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 1,515,000 (25 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $46,500 each.

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 227

Raj Vohra raised under the gun to 150,000, Mike Vanier moved all in from the big blind, and Vohra called all in for about 750,000 with .

Vanier turned over , and Vohra needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket tens held up for Vanier to win the pot and eliminate Vohra in fourth place.

Mike Vanier  –  3,340,000  (56 bb)
Raj Vohra  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($29,300)

With three players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 1,515,000 (25 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $46,500 each.

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 227

Stanley Lee got it all in from the big blind for 310,000 with , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive against the of Mike Vanier in the cutoff.

The board came , and Lee won the pot with two pair, tens and fours, to double up in chips.

Stanley Lee  –  710,000  (12 bb)
Mike Vanier  –  2,480,000  (41 bb)

With four players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 1,135,000 (19 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $29,300 each.

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 227

Mike Vanier raised or moved all in from the button, and Ky Nguyen called or shoved from the big blind for about 575,000 with .

Vanier turned over , and Nguyen needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came — Vanier flopped trip sevens, Nguyen paired his ace on the turn, and the river card was a blank. Vanier won the pot with his trip sevens to eliminate Nguyen in fifth place.

Mike Vanier  –  2,430,000  (41 bb)
Ky Nguyen  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($21,900)

With four players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 1,135,000 (19 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $29,300 each.

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 227

Stanley Lee moved all in from the small blind for 155,000, and Mike Vanier called from the big blind with . Lee turned over , and was actually ahead, needing it to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Vanier flopped an open-ended straight draw, but improved no further. Lee won the pot to double up in chips.

Stanley Lee  –  370,000  (6 bb)
Mike Vanier  –  1,655,000  (28 bb)

With five players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 910,000 (15 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $21,900 each.

$2,200 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 227

Giuseppe Calio was all in from the small blind for 430,000 with , and needed to improve to stay alive against the of Stanley Lee in the big blind.

The board came , and Calio won the pot with a flopped pair of jacks to double up in chips.

Giuseppe Calio  –  920,000  (15 bb)
Stanley Lee  –  155,000  (3 bb)

With five players remaining from a field of 227, the average chip stack is around 910,000 (15 big blinds), and the remaining players are guaranteed at least $21,900 each.