$350 Black Chip Bounty No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 17: 2,000/4,000/500 ante
The Black-Chip Bounty tournament is down to 24 players, and the final 18 will finish in the money. The average chip stack is nearly 120,000 (30 big blinds).
We’ll be keeping an eye on this one and amp up the coverage when they reach the money and get closer to the final table.
$350 Black Chip Bounty No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) End of Level 12: 600/1,200/200
While Event 1 was playing down into the money and beyond, the Black Chip Bounty tournament was moving right along and drew 190 entrants to the field.
That nearly doubled up the $30,000 guarantee and they were grinding away in the The Poker Room in Seminole Paradise. That ends after the current dinner break.
Tournament staff had players bag up their chips for a move back to the ballroom. The 46 remaining players will enjoy their 60-minute timeout and come back to the big room.
$350 Black Chip Bounty No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 1: 25/50
It’s time for the next new tournament on the Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open” as the $350 Black Chip Bounty event is about to get underway.
The tournament features a $30,000 guaranteed prize pool to offer up a nice tournament on a Sunday afternoon surrounded by TVs playing NFL games. Due to the huge returning field for Day 2 of Event 1, this tournament is being played upstairs in The Poker Room at Seminole Paradise.
Players start with 15,000 in their stack and 30-minute levels until we have a new champion. Late registration and re-entries are available until the start of Level 9 around 4:30pm with a dinner break at 6:30. From each buy-in, $200 will go into the regular prize pool and $100 towards a bounty on each player’s head. Knock someone out, get a black casino chip worth $100.
Updates will be sporadic throughout the day with action taking place in the poker room, but we will keep one eye on the progress so we can pick up the action as they get close to the final table.
2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $75,000 Guarantee
August 2 – 3, 2015
Total Entries: 89 Total Prize Pool: $89,000
Aaron Mermelstein, Event 4 Champion
Recap:
A comfortable Sunday afternoon of poker brought out some of the top players for the biggest buy-in tournament to date in the young 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. There will bigger and tougher games in the weeks to come, but the $1,100 buy-in Event 4 was a great end to the first weekend. After two days of action, former WPT Champion Aaron Mermelstein was the last player standing to win the title and over $30,000.
The tournament drew 89 entrants to easily surpass the $75,000 guarantee and they finished Day 1 with 11 players remaining. Since only the final table would get a piece of the $89,000 prize pool, they still had a little work to do when they returned for Day 2.
Mermelstein had the chip lead at the restart and only briefly let it go at different point in day. Jon Brody and Dalton Mills were the two unfortunates to miss out on the money and Stuart Paterson went out soon after the bubble burst.
The pace varied during the final table with long stretches of small ball followed by bursts of eliminations. The long, slow structure fit the buy-in amount well and the average stack stayed high during the entire tournament.
John Dubois briefly took the advantage away from Mermelstein with a hot streak until he ran into three hands to quickly reverse his run and send him out in 5th. Northeast grinders Mermelstein and Daniel Buzgon were comfortable playing big pots against each other but it was Alain Rodriguez who went heads up with Mermelstein for the title.
Rodriguez was looking at a 4-to-1 deficit and Mermelstein’s lead was never in danger. He finished it up when his hand had Rodriguez drawing dead on the turn to lock up the victory.
It was a long tournament but a quick run to the door for Mermelstein following his victory. The latest Seminole Hard Rock Poker champ had a plane to catch, on his way to a nice vacation in Panama before returning here next week.
Event 4 Results:
1st: Aaron Mermelstein (Philadelphia, PA) $31,150 2nd: Alain Rodriguez (Miami, FL) $16,910 3rd: Daniel Buzgon (Marlton, NJ) $10,680 4th: Marc Bronstein (Delray Beach, FL) $8,010 5th: John Dubois (Cutler Bay, FL)$6,230 6th: Manuel Vargas (Guaynabo, PR) $5,340 7th: John Mayers (Fort Lauderdale, FL) $4,450 8th: Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr. (Orlando, FL) $3,560 9th: Stuart Paterson (Boca Raton, FL) $2,670
$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 22: 5,000/10,000/1,000 Ante
Alain Rodriguez fought a valiant battle against Aaron Mermelstein but the former WPT champ’s lead was just too big.
Mermelstein extended the advantage to 9-to-1 when Rodriguez made a move with and Mermelstein called to put him at risk with . Rodriguez had two live cards but most of his hope was dashed on the flop.
Rodriguez was drawing dead on the turn and left him with a runner-up finish for $16,910 while Mermelstein is our latest Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open champion for $31,150.
$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 22: 5,000/10,000/1,000 Ante
Daniel Buzgon and Alain Rodriguez had a lot of work to get done in order to catch Aaron Mermelstein and they traded turns taking a stab.
Buzgon was the first to get a call and was racing with his against Mermelstein’s . The flop kept Mermestein in the lead but Buzgon added a gutshot on the turn.
The river was not what he needed and Buzgon was sent out in 3rd place for $10,680.
$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 21: 4,000/8,000/1,000 Ante
Stop and go action, long stretches of play with little happening and then quick eliminations. It happened earlier and it just happened again.
John Dubois was still processing at the payout desk when Marc Bronstein made (what turned out to be) a poorly timed move. He opened to 20,000 from the button and Aaron Mermelstein three-bet to 65,000 from the big blind.
Bronstein responded with a four-bet shove for just over 200,000 and Mermelstein quickly called with . Bronstein’s move with was in trouble and he never caught up as the board ran out . It was a tough spot but he had to settle for 4th place and $8,010.
$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 21: 4,000/8,000/1,000 Ante
John Dubois’ fall from grace was fast and now complete. After sending doubles to Marc Bronstein and Alain Rodriguez, it was his turn take a shot when he open shoved his short stack with and Rodriguez called in the big blind with .
Dubois was dominated and needed running stay-alive cards after the . The turn left him drawing dead to 5th place for $6,230,
and Mermelstein called to put him at risk with 
. Rodriguez had two live cards but most of his hope was dashed on the 
flop.
turn and left him with a runner-up finish for $16,910 while Mermelstein is our latest Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open champion for $31,150.
against Mermelstein’s 
. The 
flop kept Mermestein in the lead but Buzgon added a gutshot on the 
turn.
was in trouble and he never caught up as the board ran out 
. It was a tough spot but he had to settle for 4th place and $8,010.
and Rodriguez called in the big blind with 
. The 
turn left him drawing dead to 5th place for $6,230,