The Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open (LHPO) returns to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, now through Feb. 11, 2015, held in the resort’s ballrooms. The series will feature 21 main events along with several secondary events and qualifiers. The exciting live poker action culminates with the Seminole Hard Rock WPT Lucky Hearts $3 Million Guaranteed Championship beginning Feb. 5-11, with a $3,500 buy-in and three starting flights. The live streamed Championship final table will be held at the resort’s Paradise Live theater in Seminole Paradise.
The annual series kicks-off on Jan. 22 at 11a.m. ET with a four-day $570 buy-in deep-stack no-limit hold'em event featuring a $1 million guaranteed prize pool with six starting flights.
Super Bowl weekend will bring even more action with the WPTDeepStacks (WPTDS), which will kick off its 2015 tour at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. WPTDS is a one-of-a-kind partnership between the world’s most established poker tour, WPT®, and the world’s fastest growing poker tour, DSPT. The $1,100 buy-in, $300,000 Guarantee WPTDeepStacks-Hollywood will start Jan. 29 at 12 p.m. ET in the resort’s ballrooms.
Other highlight tournaments include a $350 buy-in deep-stack no-limit hold'em, $250,000 guarantee with five starting flights, from Jan. 25-28 and a two-day $150 buy-in no-limit hold’em $150,000 guarantee with eight starting flights from Jan. 28-31.
Satellite events for the Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood Jan. 22-Feb. 7, 2015.
Registration for all LHPO events will be open Dec. 15, 2015. To participate, players must obtain a free “Wild Card” at the Player’s Club or in The Poker Room at Seminole Paradise, located on State Road 7 (U.S. 441) in Hollywood, Florida. Take I-95, exit Stirling Rd. and travel west to 1 Seminole Way.
For more information and schedule visit www.SHRPO.com.
Doug Polk raised to 55,000 on the button, and Phil Ivey called from the big blind before the dealer fanned out the flop. Ivey checked, and Polk checked behind.
The turn was the to pair the board, and Ivey led with a bet of 75,000. Polk made the call, and the dealer completed the board with the . Ivey bet 200,000, but Polk had other things in mind and raised things up to 580,000. Ivey went deep into the tank, thinking for several long minutes.
It looked as if his decision to call or fold changed every 15 seconds in his head, and at one point he was slamming the amount of chips to make the call up and down on the felt behind his cards, unsure of what to do. After he did that, he checked back at his hole cards, then fired in the call.
"I'm bluffing," said Polk, turning over the for ace high. Ivey tabled the for two pair, tens and deuces, and he won the pot.
Ivey moved to a commanding position with over 58% of the chips in play.
From under the gun, Erik Seidel moved all in for what looked to be between 250,000 and 300,000. Play folded around to Doug Polk in the big blind, and he quickly made the call after having woke up to the . Seidel had the .
No help came for Seidel on the , and he was eliminated in fifth place for a payday worth AU$551,000.
Two days ago Richard Yong topped a field of 70 entrants to win the AU$100,000 Challenge for AU$1,870,000. His good friend, Phil Ivey, joined him for the winner's photo, but now the defending champ has sent the businessman to the rail.
It happened when Ivey opened for 55,000 and Yong moved all in from the big blind for 307,000. Ivey dropped in a call and the cards were tabled.
Yong:
Ivey:
Yong was ahead, but Ivey was drawing to two live cards. The flop kept Yong in the lead, but then the dealer burned and turned the to pair Ivey. Yong needed an ace on the river to survive, but it wasn't meant to be as the bricked.
Yong leaves empty handed in sixth place while the remaining five players are guaranteed at least AU$551,000.
Doug Polk raised to 55,000 from under the gun, Phil Ivey called on the button, and then Isaac Haxton reraised all in from the big blind for what looked to be between 700,000 and 800,000. After Polk folded, Ivey went deep into the tank. He counted out the chips to make the call, but couldn't quite seem to get up the courage to push them into the middle. Eventually, though, Ivey did call, and this is when he saw the bad news.
Haxton tabled the , and the cowboys had Ivey's in bad shape.
The flop gave Ivey the lead with a pair of aces, and Haxton was left needing to come from behind. The turn was the , and that meant Haxton was drawing dead going to the river. The completed the board to finish Ivey with a full house and send Haxton out the door in seventh place.
With that, Ivey moved back into the chip lead with what should be around 2.7 million in chips. Remember, he's won this event twice in the four previous years it's been held, first in 2012 and then again in 2014. Last year, Ivey defeated Haxton heads up to earn the title.
Could this one be Ivey's third LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge title?
Mike "Timex" McDonald open-shoved under the gun for roughly 350,000 and Phil Ivey called from the hijack. The rest of the players folded and the cards were turned on their back.
Ivey:
McDonald:
"I'm freerolling," Ivey said after the flop gave him a running spade draw. Indeed he was, that is until the peeled off on the turn and ensured the chop. The was put out on the river to make it official and the players took back their chips.
Play folded to Scott Seiver in the small blind, and he moved all in against Isaac Haxton's big blind. Haxton called, and it was his against the for Seiver.
The flop put Seiver in the lead, and the turn kept him there. Needing an ace on the river to win the hand or a six to chop the pot, Haxton found the and was able to double up.
A few players have moved all in in recent hands only to swipe the blinds and antes, but we recently got to see a flop in a hand involving Phil Ivey and Scott Seiver. The former limped from the small blind, the latter checked his option, and the two took a flop of , which they both checked.
After the dealer burned and turned the , Ivey check-called a bet of 33,000 and then led out for 80,000 on the river. It did the trick as Seiver wasted little time in folding his hand.