Chris Bolek Wins Seminole Hard Rock $2 Million Guaranteed Championship for $480,200
The Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship $2 Million Guaranteed Main Event with a buy-in of $3,500 attracted 601 total entries, and after six days of play, Chris Bolek emerged as the last man standing to capture the $480,200 first-place prize. It was sweet redemption for Bolek, who had finished runner-up to Ryan Van Sanford in the World Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville Bounty Scramble in early November.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Bolek | $480,200 |
| 2 | Sean Winter | $270,000 |
| 3 | Andy Andrejevic | $170,000 |
| 4 | Jeff Chang | $138,000 |
| 5 | Steven McKoy | $110,000 |
| 6 | Faraz Jaka | $91,000 |
The tournament, which attracted some of the biggest names in poker including Vanessa Selbst, Jason Mercier, and Carlos Mortensen, saw 224 players advance from two starting flights, but only 63 of them were slated to get paid. By the time Day 5 rolled around, just six players remained and battled it out on the live-streamed final table.
According to the event's live coverage, the first elimination of the final table came in Level 27 (25,000/50,000/5,000) when Faraz Jaka, who began the day as the second-shortest stack, got his chips all in preflop and was racing against Sean Winter.
Winter had the J♦J♣ against Jaka's A♦K♦.
Jaka was the one that needed to improve, and while he didn’t hit the 10♠9♦7♦ flop directly, he did pick up a flush draw to go with his overs. Unfortunately for him, he bricked on both the 9♥ turn and 3♣ river to exit in sixth place for $91,000.
Not long after, in Level 28 (30,000/60,000/10,000), Steven McKoy got his last 300,000 or all in preflop holding the A♠3♠ and was up against the 8♣6♥ of Andy Andrejevic. McKoy got it in good, but he failed to hold as the board ran out 7♦5♦2♦9♥4♣ to give Andrejevic a winning straight. McKoy was ousted in fifth place and took home $110,000 for his performance.
In Level 29 (40,000/80,000/10,000), Jeff Chang got his stack of 1.185 million all in preflop with the A♣8♥ and had kicker issues against the A♥Q♦ of Winter. The board ran out a clean K♦10♦2♠5♦6♣, and that was all she wrote for Chang, who received $138,000 for his fourth-place finish.
Andrejevic was the next to go in Level 30 (50,000/100,000/15,000) after he lost two big hands and then fell in a third. On the final one, he raised to 200,000 from the button only to have Bolek three-bet to 675,000. Andrejevic responded by moving all in for 2.95 million, and Bolek snap-called with the 10♣10♥. Andrejevic had the 7♦7♥.
Andrejevic held a pocket pair, but it was dominated by Bolek’s tens. The A♠J♠6♣10♦Xx board failed to help Andrejevic, and he had to settle for third place and $170,000.
Bolek began heads-up play with a slight chip lead over Winter, but everything went his way over the next hour. In Level 31 (60,000/120,000/20,000), Winter had fallen behind 15-2 in chips and got his stack all in holding the A♥5♣. Once again Bolek woke up with 10♠10♦, and he spiked a set on the Q♣10♥6♦ flop. The 3♠ turn left Winter drawing dead, and he had to settle for second place and a $270,000 consolation prize.
Congratulations to Chris Bolek, who is also a PPC Aruba Pro, on winning the Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship $2 Million Guaranteed Main Event for $480,200.
“This is my home,” Bolek told SHRPO officials after his win. “I’m a South Florida player, and I come here a lot. Their structures are great, competitive with anything else in the country.”
*Hands and lead photo courtesy of SHRPO.
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