Seminole Hard Rock Poker presents
Lucky Hearts Poker Open at Coconut Creek
$1,650 Six-Max Purple Chip Bounty NLH (Re-entry)
February 6-7, 2014
Entries: 95 Prize Pool: $95,000
Recap
With the Championship Event about to start, it was no surprise that Event 9, the $1,650 Six Max tournament created perhaps the toughest field seen yet at the 2014 Lucky Hearts Poker Open and it would lead to the toughest, hardest fought final table yet with players that had seven figure scores and WSOP bracelets to their name taking part in the action.
It would be the player with the seven figure score that would emerge as the winner. Harrison Gimbel burst onto the poker scene in 2010 when he won $2,200,000 for his 1st place finish at the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure Main Event. Gimbel has been relatively quiet after that point explaining “after Black Friday, I haven’t played as much. It’s harder to play live with everything that goes on.” Harrison has been playing more lately and a deep run at the WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship Event had him off and running in 2014.
Gimbel would edge out Joey Weissman – no slouch at the table himself as he won a WSOP bracelet back in the summer of 2012 and had already made two deep runs here in the past week. Gimbel said it best “it was a tough field period. Every table was good and the final table was filled with accomplished players.” Despite the slightly over $25,000 payday paling in comparison to his previous big score, Harrison would add that the win meant something. “You don’t get to play two or three handed often so of course it means something. It’s fun.”
Others at the final table were Seth Berger who was fresh off a win in Event 6, Victor Figueroa ($330,000+ in earnings), Micah Raskin ($1.9 million), and Farid Jattin ($625,000+ in earnings). A tough final table that was matched by a tough overall field that included such notables as Ronit Chamani, Jesse Cohen, Ryan D’Angelo, Brian Hastings, Chris Hunichen, Byron Kaverman, Michael Laake, Joe McKeehen, Nick Schwarmann, and Marsha Wolak.
The 95 entrants would attempt to make the money on the first day of play, but the floor decided as the clock neared 4 am that the remaining ten would have to return the next day which would mean one unlucky person would play for two days with nothing to show for it. That person would be Ryan D’Angelo whose flush would run into a full house to send him home in 10th place. Jake Schwartz would finish in 9th when he ran into a cooler and Greg Lehn soon followed in 8th place.
Play was slow and deliberate through out most of the 2nd day with players carefully considering each decision. It would take several hours to go from four to three and that would happen when Chad Eveslage was eliminated at the hands of Gimbel when his K-J was no match for Harrison’s K-Q. Three handed looked like it was going to take nearly as long but Victor Figueroa and Joey Weissman would get it all in on a ten high flop with Victor holding Ace-Ten for top pair, top kicker but Weissman having him slightly beat with a pair of Jacks. That would take us to heads up play and the two decided at that point to call it a night. Harrison had Joey slightly covered and was awarded the trophy.
Both Weissman and Gimbel will be returning to the felt in the Championship Event today.
Results
PLACE | NAME | FROM | WINNINGS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | JERMAINE PHANG | POMPANO BEACH, FL | $1,000 |
2 | JASON BARTHOLOMEW | STUART, FL | $800 |
3 | LES KAFKA | HILLSBORO BEACH, FL | $600 |
4 | DOUGLAS DULING | $600 | |
5 | GLEN STARR | HOLLYWOOD, FL | $600 |