Michael Newman Bests 4,508-Entry Field to Win LHPO Ultimate Re-Entry for $181,025
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The 2019 Lucky Hearts Poker Open (LHPO) is in full swing at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood with the $1,100 buy-in WPTDeepStacks Hollywood Main Event playing out this weekend.
Over the past week, the festival has crowned several champs, but no one has won more than Michael Newman (pictured above), who came out on top of a massive 4,508 entries in Event #1: $360 Ultimate Re-Entry for $181,025. He was just one of three players to walk away with six figures after the final three struck a deal. Willie Wiggins and Scott Robbins finished second and third for $176,120 and $130,235 respectively.
Additionally, the tournament offered a $2,500 bonus each time a player bagged in addition to their first bag. All told $177,500 in prize money was awarded via this route.
Sean Shah, Donald Maloney, and Stephen Ibrahim all bagged four times, meaning they won an additional $7,500. Others to bag bonuses were Nancy Birnbaum ($2,500), Brian Hastings ($2,500), and Jose Reyes ($2,500), just to name a few.
LHPO Event #1 Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Newman | Nanuet, New York | $181,025* |
| 2 | Willie Wiggins | Pembroke Pines, Florida | $176,120* |
| 3 | Scott Robbins | Schenecady, New York | $130,235* |
| 4 | Jeffrey Colpitts | New York, New York | $63,359 |
| 5 | Richard Carr | Sanford, Florida | $45,895 |
| 6 | Michael Duek | Miami, Florida | $34,929 |
| 7 | Angel Bracho | Miami, Florida | $26,806 |
| 8 | Devond Marshall | Miami, Florida | $19,495 |
| 9 | Jason Young | Suffern, New York | $13,809 |
| 10 | Perry Shiao | Pembroke Pines, Florida | $8,935 |
*Denotes three-way deal
Others to cash the tournament were Phillip Hui (12th - $8,935), John Holley (28th - $2,843), Scott Baumstein (30th - $2,843), Todd Breyfogle (66th - $1,400), Chris Conrad (100th - $1,300), Ben Zamani (111th - $1,300), and Tony Utnage (176th - $1,100).
LHPO Event #1 Final Table Action
According to updates from the event, Perry Shiao was the first final table casualty after his ace-queen failed to hold against the king-ten suited of Angel Bracho all in preflop. Jason Young then followed him out the door after shoving his short stack from the small blind with the old seven-deuce and running into Michael Duek’s Big Slick in the big.
After Devond Marshall bowed out in eighth place, Bracho took his leave when his ace-queen had a kicker problem against Richard Carr’s ace-king on an ace-high flop. Duek then ran pocket tens into Newman’s aces to fall in sixth place, and Carr crashed in fifth when his flopped to pair fell to Wiggins’ flopped Broadway straight.
One hand later, in what would be the final elimination of the tournament, Jeff Colpitts jammed holding the A♠Q♦ in the hijack only to have Newman wake up with the A♦K♥ in the big blind. The call was made, the board ran out K♦J♣3♦J♠9♦, and Colpitts had to settle for fourth place and $63,359 in prize money.
At that point, the final three players agreed to an ICM chop, and as the chip leader, Newman was deemed the champ.
LHPO Side Event Winners
While the opening event award the big money, several interesting storylines emerged in the side events including back-to-back wins by Adam Walter. First, he topped a field of 78 entries to win Event #2: $360 Limit O8 for $7,908, and then navigated a 59-entry field in Event #3: $360 H.O.R.S.E. to win an additional $5,790 and his second title in as many days.
“I’m a pretty good limit player, and I’ve just been lucky and getting good cards,” he told LHPO officials after the win.
More recently in Event #13: $360 PLO Six-Max, Gabriel Ramos topped a 58-entry field to win a $5,590 top prize. It wasn’t a huge score, but it did mark his third Omaha trophy in the last year and his fifth cash of the series. He previously finished 10th in Event #10: $360 Pot Limit Omaha, 18th in Event #8: $150 Big Stack NLH), 10th in Event #4: $360 PLO 8, and fourth in Event #2: $360 Omaha 8.
LHPO Winners Thus Far
| Event | Winner | Entries | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $360 Ultimate Re-Entry | Michael Newman | 4,508 | $181,025 |
| Event #2: $360 Limit O8 | Adam Walter | 78 | $7,908 |
| Event #3: $360 H.O.R.S.E. | Adam Walter | 59 | $5,790 |
| Event #4: $360 PLO8 | Andrew Woodmancy | 86 | $8,320 |
| Event #5: $250 Ladies NLH | Elanit Hasas | 76 | $5,394 |
| Event #6: $360 Seniors | Hany Ayoub | 113 | $10,000 |
| Event #7: $360 NLH | Reece Lightner | 270 | $18,286 |
| Event #8: $150 Big Stack NLH | Ernesto Gomez Galvez | 508 | $7,697 + $2,500 seat |
| Event #9: $570 Six-Max NLH | David Prociak | 338 | $33,035 |
| Event #10: $360 PLO 8-Max | Hyndi Khomutetsky | 103 | $8,655 |
| Event #12: $570 Limit Omaha 8 | Phil Hui | 33 | $6,765 |
| Event #13: $360 PLO Six-Max | Gabriel Ramos | 58 | $5,590 |
Images courtesy of SHRPO
