Omar Zazay, Jason Mercier, Fabrizio Gonzalez and David Eldridge were the last men standing after the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open, and Poker Night in America, live streamed four major final tables, simultaneously.
A quartet of smiling faces brought the 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open to a climactic closure on Tuesday. The tournament organizers, in conjunction with Poker Night in America, took the unprecedented step of simultaneously live streaming four major final tables, and Omar Zazay, Jason Mercier, Fabrizio Gonzalez and David Eldridge walked away with the titles.
The biggest one of the lot went the way of Omar Zazay, who was victorious in the $5m Guaranteed $5,250 buy-in event. 907 players entered, producing an overlay of $601,050, and Zazay defeated local dealer Brian Phillis in heads-up action to capture the $1m first prize. Dan Colman made another impressive run, finishing third, a year after winning the title and $1.4m first prize.
“I was focused on winning and I kept my eyes on the prize,” Zazay told sideline reporter Tatjana Pasalic after his win.
Final Table Results
1st. Omar Zazay – $1,000,000
2nd. Brian Phillis – $575,000
3rd. Dan Colman – $310,000
4th. Larry Mocchia – $220,000
5th. Randy Pfeifer – $180,000
6th. Joey Couden – $150,000
7th. Vladislav Mezheritsky – $125,000
8th. Paul Volpe – $100,000
9th. Rick Alvarado – $75,000
Jason Mercier Wins the SHRPO High Roller
There is a reason Jason Mercier is the #1 ranked live tournament player on the Global Poker Index (GPI).
He wins poker tournaments.
His third live victory of the year came in the $25,400 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller. The tournament attracted 83 entrants, created a $2,075,000 prize pool, and only the players fortunate enough to reach the final table received any reward. Mercier defeated Ian O’Hara in heads-up action to take the $652,800 first prize, and that takes his lifetime earnings to $15,879,774.
Mercier’s victory was even sweeter as his family was in attendance to see him pick up the huge first prize.
“For as many tournaments as I have won, I’ve never actually had my family here.” Mercier told SHRPO officials after his win.
Final Table Results
1st. Jason Mercier – $652,800
2nd. Ian O’Hara – $391,700
3rd. Sean Winter – $245,500
4th. Ankush Mandavia – $186,200
5th. Barry Hutter – $141,900
6th. David Sands – $116,600
7th. Sarin Ashwin – $93,400
8th. Phil Laak – $74,400
9th. David Peters – $57,500
Fabrizio Gonzalez Wins the $1m Guaranteed No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout
The third title of four was handed to Fabrizio Gonzalez. The Uruguayan defeated Danny Fuhs to capture the first prize of $236,400. It is the largest live score of his career thus far. In July, he finished fifth in the $10,400 Bellagio Cup XI for $156,204, and in 2012 he picked up $191,646 for a 45th place finish in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. His $1.1m in live tournament earnings means he is the winningest player in Uruguayan poker history.
Final Table Results
1st. Fabrizio Gonzalez – $236,400
2nd. Danny Fuhs – $141,800
3rd. Darryl Ronconi – $84,800
4th. Xuan Liu – $70,900
5th. Seth Davies – $59,100
6th. Chris Hunichen – $47,300
7th. Jon Borenstein – $35,500
8th. David Diaz – $29,500
9th. Casey Yontz
David Eldridge Wins the $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry
The final member of the Big Four was David Eldridge, who picked up $146,100 after victory in the $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry event.
794 entrants created a total prize pool of $794,000, and Eldridge managed to hold on to his Day 2 chip leader position from start to finish. It’s his biggest win by a wide margin; his previous best coming at the 2015 WSOP when he finished fourth in a $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event for $55,960.
Final Table Results
1st. David Eldridge – $146,100
2nd. Rubin Ybarra – $84,700
3rd. Gavin O’Rourke – $51,100
4th. Dan Ishaki – $43,800
5th. Anthony Nardi – $36,500
6th. Evan Panesis – $29,200
7th. Viet Vo – $21,900
8th. Jamie Lewin – $18,300
9th. Mohammed Siddiqui – $14,050
