$5,000 Eight-Handed NLH (Re-Entry) $200,000 Guaranteed | Payouts Level 17:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante Players Remaining:  12 of 78 3n1x5w

Faraz Jaka raised from the cutoff to 11,000, Hiro Harada moved all in from the small blind for 75,000, and Mark Guariglia moved all in over the top from the big blind for nearly 150K, and Jaka folded.

Harada turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive against Guariglia’s .

The board came , and Guariglia won the pot with his king to eliminate Harada in 13th place.

It was an unfortunate stretch for Harada, who had been chipleader with 13 players left, only to bust in 13th place.

Mark Guariglia  –  245,000  (49 bb)
Hiro Harada  –  Eliminated

Daniel Monosson moved all in from the hijack for 41,000, and Faraz Jaka called from the small blind with .

Monosson turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Monosson paired his queen on the flop to win the pot and double up in chips.

Daniel Monosson  –  92,000  (18 bb)
Faraz Jaka  –  167,000  (33 bb)

A short while later, Level 17 began with increased blinds of 3K-6K with a 6K ante. Here are their updated chip counts:

TABLE 1
Seat 1.  Jonathan Bussieres  –  130,000  (22 bb)
Seat 2.  Ray Qartomy  –  255,000  (43 bb)
Seat 3.  Gregory Back  –  135,000  (23 bb)
Seat 4.  
Seat 5.  Joe McKeehen  –  80,000  (13 bb)
Seat 6.  Gregory Baird  –  80,000  (13 bb)
Seat 7.  Paul Domb  –  105,000  (18 bb)
Seat 8.  

TABLE 2
Seat 1.  Jim Collopy  –  85,000  (14 bb)
Seat 2.  
Seat 3.  
Seat 4.  Mark Guariglia  –  230,000  (38 bb)
Seat 5.  Daniel Monosson  –  67,000  (11 bb)
Seat 6.  James Calderaro  –  115,000  (19 bb)
Seat 7.  Craig Varnell  –  97,000  (16 bb)
Seat 8.  Faraz Jaka  –  215,000  (36 bb)

With 12 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 130,000 (22 big blinds). The final 10 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $11,355 each.

$5,000 Eight-Handed NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 16:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining:  13 of 78

With the blinds still at 2K-4K (with a 4K ante), Craig Varnell was all the way down to 12,500 in chips (3 big blinds) when he got it all in with against the of Jim Collopy in the big blind.

The board came , and since neither player had a diamond, Varnell won the pot with a pair of kings.

Craig Varnell  –  31,000  (8 bb)
Jim Collopy  –  60,000  (15 bb)

A hand or two later, Varnell got it all in from the hijack for 31,000 with , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive against the of Mark Guariglia in the big blind.

The board came , and the pocket kings held up for Varnell to win the pot and double up in chips.

Craig Varnell  –  68,000  (17 bb)
Mark Guariglia  –  72,000  (18 bb)

A short while later, Level 15 came to an end, and the players took a 15-minute break. These were their official chip counts from the break:

TABLE 1
Seat 1.  Jonathan Bussieres  –  192,000  (38 bb)
Seat 2.  Ray Qartomy  –  162,000  (32 bb)
Seat 3.  Gregory Back  –  96,000  (19 bb)
Seat 4.  
Seat 5.  Joe McKeehen  –  97,000  (19 bb)
Seat 6.  Gregory Baird  –  51,000  (10 bb)
Seat 7.  Paul Domb  –  150,000  (30 bb)
Seat 8.  James Calderaro  –  122,000  (24 bb)

TABLE 2
Seat 1.  Jim Collopy  –  62,000  (12 bb)
Seat 2.  
Seat 3.  Hiro Harada  –  234,000  (47 bb)
Seat 4.  Mark Guariglia  –  85,000  (17 bb)
Seat 5.  Daniel Monosson  –  78,000  (16 bb)
Seat 6.  
Seat 7.  Craig Varnell  –  58,000  (12 bb)
Seat 8.  Faraz Jaka  –  166,000  (33 bb)

With 13 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 120,000 (24 big blinds). The final 10 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $11,355 each.

2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 25
$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  41
Prize Pool:  $1,012,700
January 20-21, 2020

The $25,500 High Roller returned to the LHPO schedule this year and the tournament bested its $1,000,000 guarantee with 41 entries. WPT Champions Club member Jonathan Jaffe conquered the tough field and walked away with the trophy along with $340,285 after a heads-up deal.

“I misfired my first bullet running kings into aces,” Jaffe said of his High Roller run. “But the second one went great and I ran really well.”

The tournament drew some of the best players around and it featured a talented final table. But with seven getting paid, they had a long process to get into the money. After two and a half hours with eight players, former SHRPO $10K Champ Alexander Turyansky dropped in eighth place to put the rest of the field in the money and end Day 1.

Jared Jaffee was short to start the final table but came into Day 2 with the chip lead. Kevin Rabinchow, Byron Kaverman, and 2019 Poker Showdown Championship final table member Maria Ho were all eliminated in the first four hands and Ping Liu followed in fourth place.

It was a long three-handed battle between Jaffe, Jaffee, and Arkadiy Tsinis. Jaffee’s lead as Jaffe took command and he was sent out in third place to begin the heads-up match for the High Roller title.

Jaffe had a big lead and the two decided to chop up the remaining prize money after playing a few hands. Tsinis earned $257,207 for a runner-up finish and Jaffe added a LHPO High Roller title to his WPT win.

“It’s definitely not as exciting as the WPT win,” Jaffe said. “But it’s always fun to get a win especially one this big.”

Jaffe was ed in his winner’s photo but former WPT LHPO Champion Brian Altman who returns on Wednesday to play his live-streamed final table and Jaffe plans to be on the rail for that one.

High Roller results:

1st: Jonathan Jaffe – $340,285 *
2nd: Arkadiy Tsinis – $257,207 *
3rd:  Jared Jaffee – $146,842
4th:  Ping Liu – $101,270
5th:  Maria Ho – $70,889
6th:  Byron Kaverman – $55,699
7th:  Kevin Rabinchow – $40,508
* – denotes results of a heads-up deal

$5,000 Eight-Handed NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 14:  2,000/3,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Remaining:  17 of 78

The field is quickly shrinking down as they get closer to the money and the final table. With 17 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 92,000 (31 big blinds), and the final 10 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $11,355 each.

Darryll Fish was knocked out in 18th place, and as soon as they lose one more, they will redraw for seats at the final two tables.

The chipleader appears to be Gregory Back with about 220,000 (73 big blinds). Here are some updated chip stacks:

Gregory Back  –  220,000  (73 bb)
Joe McKeehen  –  195,000  (65 bb)
Faraz Jaka  –  110,000  (37 bb)
Craig Varnell  –  110,000  (37 bb)
James Calderaro  –  104,000  (35 bb)
Jason Wandling  –  90,000  (30 bb)
Byron Kaverman  –  85,000  (28 bb)
Hiro Harada  –  80,000  (27 bb)
Stanley Lee  –  65,000  (22 bb)
Jonathan Bussieres  –  45,000  (15 bb)
Jim Collopy  –  40,000  (13 bb)
Ray Qartomy  –  35,000  (12 bb)

$5,000 Eight-Handed NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 13:  1,500/2,500 with a 2,500 ante
Players Remaining:  26 of 78

Registration has closed for the $5,000 Eight-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event, and with 78 entries, the total prizepool is worth $370,500.

The final 10 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $11,355 each, and the winner will earn $113,535.

2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 28
$5,000 Eight-Handed NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  78
Prize Pool:  $370,500
January 21, 2020

1st:  $113,535
2nd:  $75,695
3rd:  $50,460
4th:  $35,065
5th:  $25,450
6th:  $19,325
7th:  $15,385
8th:  $12,875
9th-10th:  $11,355

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1:  100/100

The last flight of the last multi-flight tournament on the LHPO schedule is ready to get underway in Seminole Ballroom. Event 27 has a $150 buy-in with a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool and two starting flights.

Flight A drew 282 entries and 53 advanced to Day 2 and Flight B players will try to do the same.

Entrants will start with 15,000 starting stacks and play 30-minute levels. Late registration is available until the start of Level 9 at 9:30 pm and they will play through Level 14. Those with chips at that point will bag up and return for Day 2 tomorrow at 5 pm.

• $50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 15,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• Day 1 will end after Level 14 or Tournament Director discretion
• Event 27 Structure Sheet

Chip counts from Flight A

$3,500 WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 28:  50,000/75,000 with a 75,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6  of 843

The stage is set for tomorrow’s Live Streamed WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship.

Of the 843 entrants only six remain with WPT Champions Club member Brian Altman leading the way. Altman won this very same tournament in February 2015 and would make history by becoming the first player to win two WPT titles in the same event. There are also player of the year implications for Altman as he has the potential to extend his points lead.

Altman with 10,400,000 has a slight lead on John Dollinger (10,275,000) who came into the day as chip leader. They both face stiff competition for the $482,636 first place prize. Everyone is currently guaranteed a pay day of $98,686.

Of the twelve players that started the day many stories fell by the wayside, WPT Champions Club member James Calderaro had a chance to win his second title but was eliminated in 9th place when he couldn’t complete his flush draw against Altman’s two-pair.

Chanracy Khun, however, is still in the hunt for his second title. He will be coming into the final day as the second shortest stack, with Peter Walsworth rounding out the final six.

WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Final Table

Seat 1: John Dollinger – 10,275,000 (137 bb)

Seat 2: Chanracy Khun – 3,150,000 (42 bb)

Seat 3: Brian Altman – 10,400,000 (139 bb)

Seat 4: Nadeem Hirani – 5,000,000 (67 bb)

Seat 5: Nadya Magnus – 4,000,000 (53 bb)

Seat 6: Peter Walsworth – 900,000 (12 bb)

The button is on Peter Walsworth and there is 52:43 remaining in Level 28 (50,000-75,000 and a 75,000-big blind ante).

Here’s a look at what’s at stake:

1st:  $482,636*
2nd:  $311,751
3rd:  $230,086
4th:  $171,642
5th:  $129,438
6th:  $98,686
7th:  $76,078

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 18:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante

The heads-up match between a WPT Champion (Jonathan Jaffe) and WSOP bracelet winner (Arkadiy Tsinis) played out for a few hands before the two decided to look at numbers for dividing up the remaining prize pool.

It was a quick negotiation and the numbers were adjusted based on the counts at the time.

Jonathan Jaffe – 3,035,000 (101 bb)
Arkadiy Tsinis – 1,065,000 (36 bb)

1st: Jonathan Jaffe – $340,285
2nd: Arkadiy Tsinis – $257,207

Jaffe picks up the High Roller title along with a very nice payday.

3rd:  Jared Jaffee – $146,842
4th:  Ping Liu – $101,270
5th:  Maria Ho – $70,889
6th:  Byron Kaverman – $55,699
7th:  Kevin Rabinchow – $40,508

$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 18:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 41

Jared Jaffee dropped chips after the break and made a move to double. He shoved for 360,000 from the button, Jonathan Jaffe folded his small blind but Arkadiy Tsinis quickly called in the big.

Tsinis:
Jaffee:

It was a race, Jaffee could not pair on the flop but he picked up a ton of outs with the open-ended straight draw/flush draw. Tsinis made a set on the turn and Jaffee missed all 13 of his outs on the river to exit in third place.

Arkadiy Tsinis – 1,115,000 (37 bb)
Jared Jaffee – Eliminated in 3rd Place ($146,842)

$3,500 WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 28:  50,000/75,000 with a 75,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6  of 843

Brian Altman opened to 175,000 and Scott Drobes shoved for 1,900,000 from the button.

Drobes tabled and needed to improve against Altman’s .

The board ran out and Altman’s queens held to eliminate Drobes in seventh place.

Brian Altman – 10,400,000
Scott Drobes – Eliminated in 7th Place ($76,078)