The 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event is off and running, breaking the post-World Series of Poker doldrums and kicking tournament poker back into action for the second half of the year. Although the tournament failed to meet its guarantee, a quality field still turned out for Day 1, ensuring an entertaining tournament for the next week.
With that $5 million guaranteed prize pool up for grabs, players did come out of the woodwork for the single-entry, $5250 buy-in tournament. Keeping the registration open until after the dinner break, the tournament clock tally rolled upwards throughout the day, but it would come up just short of the minimum needed to make the guarantee. After the final tallies were totaled, 847 players had taken a seat at the tournament and the Seminole Indians of Florida, the hosts at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL, picked up the tab for the $756,000 overlay that existed.
This is the third year that the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event has come up a bit short to the guarantee but, for their part, the Seminoles have been gracious in meeting the guarantees. In 2014, the $10 million guaranteed tournament came up a whopping $2.5 million short and, in 2015, it was slightly more than $500,000 for the overlay. While they might not like having the overlay, the Seminoles have proven that they will put on a great tournament, which is why the players keep coming back (with hope, the Seminoles will continue to put on the same sterling show).
And what a player field it is for the 2016 version of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event! When the bell sounded on Saturday for the start of action, more than 600 players were already in their seats. Erik Seidel, Asher Conniff, Mike Leah, Nenad Medic, Cate Hall and the newly engaged duo of Jason Mercier and Natasha Barbour were all on the felt at the start of the day, but two of the notable names had tough stories to tell of their journey to Southeast Florida.
Adam Geyer and Ari Engel went to battle early during the SHRPO Main Event in a hand where neither of the competitors would back down. On a Q-9-8-J-9 board with three spades, Geyer would check his option to Engel, who fired a half-pot bet of 2150. Geyer quickly check-raised that action to 9000 and Engle, wasting no time himself, pushed in for his remaining stack. After a count (in which Geyer found he would be at risk for elimination if he were wrong) and a thought, Geyer made the call and saw Engel turn up Q-J for top two pair. With a sigh of relief, Geyer tabled his A-10 off suit, good for the straight on a very wet board. Left with only 575 in chips, Engel fought back for some time with less than adequate ammunition, but he would eventually be eliminated because of this tough beat.
The other tough break came for pro Chance Kornuth. After only two hours of play, Kornuth found himself all-in in a three-way with Josh Gibson and another player after an A♥ J♠ 4♠ flop. Kornuth had the best hand pre-flop, but he was run down after the flop hit the baize:
Gibson: A-4
Kornuth: A-Q
Third Player: A♠ 8♠
Gibson had turned his measly Ace-rag into two pair on the flop, but the third player would trump that in hitting a 7♠ on the turn to make the nut straight and eliminate any chance Kornuth would have at the hand. With Gibson looking for any Ace or four to make a boat, he would miraculously find another four, the 4♦, on the river, completing the double knockout and leaving two men with their heads spinning.
Gibson would use that hand to catapult him into the Top Ten by the end of the night, with notable pro Joe Serock taking down the top slot by the end of Day 1.
1. Joe Serock, 341,200
2. Gil Haim, 290,000
3. Emil Soffer, 270,800
4. Alexis Sterner, 264,700
5. Lexy Gavin, 264,500
6. Josh Gibson, 263,500
7. Theo Lawson, 247,500
8. Jaime Lewin, 213,600
9. Gabriel Caballeno, 209,600
10. Randy Bogen, 209,500
Other names such as Medic (13th place, 194,700 in chips), David Peters (15th, 184,200) and Shaun Deeb (25th, 174,000) are also firmly established in the Top 25 of the 279 players remaining.
Of those 279 runners still with tread on the tires, 150 will earn at least a min-cash of $7500 from the prize pool, but the top prize of $1 million is what everyone has their eyes on. The money bubble is expected to burst sometime on Sunday night as the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event looks to put another person in their pantheon of champions alongside former winners Grant Hinkle, Dan Colman and Omar Zazay.
