Seminole Hard Rock Poker presents
Lucky Hearts Poker Open at Coconut Creek
$240 Black Chip Bounty No Limit Hold’em
February 4, 2014

Entries: 105
Prize Pool: $10,500

Recap

“I knew I as going to win. Even when I was down to just 7K, I knew.” This bold proclamation from the winner of Event 7 of the 2014 Lucky Hearts Poker Open, Jay Romano, was indeed uttered several times during his impressive comeback. That confidence and some good timing and fortune propelled Romano to victory over some brash, younger opponents including his heads up foe Chris Lewis. “They all like to talk trash but they always end up paying me off. They always think I’m bluffing,” said Romano. The employment discrimination attorney frequents the tournament scene in South Florida and has a $100,000 win in addition to his most recent title here.

Jay would outlast a field of 105 that would play into the early hours of the morning. 12 players would get paid and it would be Crystal Utley who would squeak into the money in 12th place to join her husband John who was busy finishing in 18th place in Event 4. Jamael Rahill would fall victim to Romano’s gambling ways when he was eliminated in 7th place when he got it all in on a board with and would lose when Jay’s would make a flush on the river.

Joe Pusateri would be eliminated in 6th place when he flopped top pair with Ace-Jack but Nicolas Pensa had flopped a set of deuces. Pensa would then lose virtually every all in pot he played after that and would ultimately be eliminated in 5th place when he took pocket 10’s up against the Jacks of Chris Lewis. Jeff Trudeau would finish in 4th when he lost a race against Romano.

Play would continue three handed for some time before Tom Hand would take pocket Kings up against Romano’s pocket 7’s. Some days at the felt, it’s just your day, and such was the case this day with Romano as he would flop a set to send Hand to the rail in 3rd place.

Heads up saw the confident Lewis, who had predicted that he would take out Romano earlier in the evening, up against the aggressive, wildly unpredictable attorney. With the board reading , Romano would move all in and was quickly called by Lewis. Romano jumped out of his chair, turned over the and grabbed the trophy that was now his. Lewis claimed to have had a Jack as he finished in 2nd place.