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Hollywood, Fla.– Patrick Mahoney from Winona, Minn. walked away with $564,227 after winning first place in the $3,500 buy-in Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘n’ Roll” Poker Open (RRPO) $2 million guaranteed Championship held Nov. 25 – 30, 2016 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
In addition to his cash prize, Mahoney earned a $5,250 seat in the August 2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship. Offering two starting flights, the Championship produced a total of 760 entries, with a total prize pool of $2,432,000.
The 14-tournament series, held in the resort ballrooms, surpassed every major guarantee. Opening day kicked off Wednesday, Nov. 16 with a $360 buy-in Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $1 million guaranteed, the first event in Florida poker history to offer a seven-figure guarantee at this price point. The event drew 5,018 entries, resulting in a prize pool of $1,505,400 and a new record for the largest playing field in Florida’s history.
The series also featured a $50,000 buy-in High Roller structured as a one-day Turbo. The high-stakes tournament drew 21 entries and a prize pool of $1,043,700.
Another first for Seminole Hard Rock Poker was a series of tournaments live streamed by Poker Night in America. Complete with commentary and hole cards, the live streaming comprised of featured tables during the early stages of play and final table coverage during the late stages of play.
The RRPO Championship field brought poker pros, local regulars and world champions. Included in the mix were former WSOP Main Event Champions Ryan Riess and Joe McKeehen, three-time WSOP bracelet winner Brian Hastings, reigning World Champion Qui Nguyen and Jason Mercier.
The six finalists were Patrick Mahoney, Matt Humphrey, Upeshka De Silva, Billy Pilossoph, Mark Dube and Bill Jennings.
Humphrey came in the lead, closely followed by De Silva. Jennings was the shortest stack to start the final table and doubled up, but it wasn’t enough to propel him higher. He went out in sixth place and Dube soon followed in fifth. Pilossoph eventually went out in fourth place.
De Silva retook his big lead. Mahoney pulled even, then jumped ahead after a quick series of hands. De Silva’s game ended when he moved all-in with top pair against Mahoney’s rivered flush.
Mahoney began heads-up play with a 2-to-1 lead over Humphrey and the match did not last long. Just a few hands into the duel, Humphrey was dealt ace-king of clubs and Mahoney was dealt pocket jacks. All of the chips went into the middle preflop and a board full of blanks ended the tournament with Mahoney as the champion.
Humphrey is a 32-year-old professional full-time poker player. “It’s kind of hard to differentiate when the transition actually happened,” Humphrey said of his profession. This result is his largest on record so far, bringing his total career tournament earnings to more than $1.3 million.
Complete results from all RRPO primary events are available at www.SHRPO.com
Results:
1st: Patrick Mahoney – $564,227 2nd: Matt Humphrey – $328,320 3rd: Upeshka De Silva – $200,640 4th: Billy Pilossoph – $165,376 5th: Mark Dube – $133,760 6th: Bill Jennings – $109,440 7th: Matthew Zarcadoolas – $87,552 8th: John Spadavecchia – $66,880 9th: Ari Engel – $46,208
The 14-tournament, 15-day Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘n’ Roll” Poker Open $2 million took place from Wednesday, Nov. 16 – Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016.
