The Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $10 Million Guarantee Championship Event has been a resounding success, with 2,384 players making sure there was never going to be any egg thrown over the face of the Hard Rock and Seminole Tribe of Florida.
After four days of action we have our final table of six players and there are a few very familiar faces leading the charge for the $1.7m first prize. In fact, irrespective of what happens next, all six finalists are guaranteed $378,000 for their troubles.
Blair Hinkle has managed to squeeze in some poker action whilst feverishly completing his application with the Garden City Group, in a bid to retrieve the seven figures he has stored away in a bank hidden somewhere in the world that has connections with Full Tilt Poker. Hinkle is the only World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet holder left in the field and will start the day with the chip lead.
Breathing down his neck is Justin Bonomo. The 2012 €98,500 Super High Roller champion at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monte Carlo, is the most experienced live tournament pro left in the field, and made his way there after re-entering five times! Bonomo starts in second place.
The Day Four action started with 21-players and it only took four hours to dwindle that number down to the ‘unofficial’ final table of 10. I shudder every time I have to write that ridiculous word.
Multiple bracelet winner Mark Radoja exited in 17th place when his [Ac] [7c] couldn’t hold against the KQ of Hinkle; whilst November Niner JC Tran was going deep in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Alpha8 event, Amir Lehavot was doing likewise to once again show the heater that can be created from a WSOP Main Event final table appearance. Unfortunately, for Lehavot, his deep run would end in 16th place when he ran deuces into pocket kings.
David ‘Doc’ Sands knows what it feels like to secure a seven figure score, but he would exit in 15th place after running KQ into the A9 of Ray Qartomy, and Griffin Benger would see another deep run dissipate just short of the true goods when he exited in 14th after losing a flip AJ v 88.
Final Table Standings
1. Blair Hinkle – 22.8m
2. Justin Bonomo – 18.5m
3. Ray Qartomy – 13.050m
4. Mukul Pahuja – 10.2m
5. Samuel Guilabert – 4.675m
6. Greg Lehn – 2.2m
