$250 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Roberto Marin agrees to an even five-way chop and then wins himself a trophy.

Marin, David Shephard, David Jackson, Giovanni Quintero and Julian Alvarado play for 15 minutes after reaching a deal and agree when the level ends the chip leader will be delcared the winner. After final hand Marin edges David Shephard heads up by just 30k.

All five players take home $3,340, but it’s Marin who takes the title in the Lucky Hearts Poker Open.

“I had many (good) hands, but no big hands,” says Marin, who is building on his 2013 success which included a $67,000 score in a four way deal at the Hollywood Deepstack Championships (May).

Marin, who works in real estate,  is looking forward to playing more events in the series and is undecided on if he’ll play the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship Event (Feb. 7- 11).

$250 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

David Shephard is part of a five-way chop and finishes runner-up to Roberto Marin, who gets the trophy for having the most chips after reaching the deal.

Shephard, Marin, David Jackson, Giovanni Quintero and Julian Alvarado all earn $3,340.

Shephard is a computer programmer who says, “it feels good, I’ve been running bad lately.”  Shephard adds that he lost half his stack early, but was able to grind it back to reach the final table.

$250 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

David Jackson officially finishes in third place, but is part of a five-way chop that earns him $3,340.

Jackson is a plumbing contractor who is escaping Chicago’s winter here at the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. “I have a ticket to go back Wednesday,” he says, “but we’ll see how it goes maybe I’ll stay to play the main (Championship Event).

This is Jackson’s second career recorded live cash.

$250 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Giovanni Quintero signs for fourth place, but is one of the final five players who share in an even 5-way chop.

Quintero, Roberto Marin, David Shephard, David Jackson and Julian Alvarado each earn $3,340.

Quintero is a math teacher who says he was, “running good and picked the right spots to bluff.”

His bankroll infusion will nearly cover the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship $3,500 buy-in, but Quintero’s debating if he wants to take a crack at the $1 Million Guaranteed prize pool.

$250 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

One of the Stax Poker Lounge good guys, Julian Alvarado is part of a five-way deal that sees him earn $3,340.

Alvarado, along with Roberto Mari, David Shephard, David Jackson and Giovanni Quintero, agree to split the remaining $16,700 in the prize pool evenly.

“I wasn’t going to play,” says the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek  regular, “but I won my buy-in playing cash and jumped in at the last minute.”

This is Alvarado’s third Seminole Hard Rock cash and largest to date, after earning paydays at both Coconut Creek & Hard Rock Hollywood. When he’s not playing poker, Alvarado is a tennis director at a local resort.

$250 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

$250 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Name-Chip Count

Giovanni Quintero (Hialeah) 125k
David Jackson (Chicago, IL)  98k
Roberto Marin (Aventura)  92k
David Shephard (Palm Beach Gardens)  92k
Julian Alvarado (Deerfield Beach)  66k
Piotr Wielopolski (Riviera Beach) 30k

$250 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Blinds 60K/120K Ante 20K

A short stacked Elliott Zaydman moved all in under the gun for his last 300K and all three of the other players called. The flop came and everyone folded after Jason Bartholomew moved all in. “I need runner runner diamonds,” said Elliott as he turned over . Jason had for flopped trips. The turn gave Zaydman some hope as it was the but the river was the and Elliott is our 4th place finisher. It’s not all bad news for him, however, as he takes home a nice $21,246 pay day.

$560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Blinds 60K/120K Ante 20K

Peter Vitantonio opened from the cutoff to 250K and Ronnie Bardah moved all in from the small blind for approximately 600K more. Peter made the call and tabled . Bardah was in the lead with but that would change quickly on the flop. The turn and river came and a disappointed Bardah is our 5th place finisher.