The “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship Main Event, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino between November 13 and December 3, has just ended. It was poker pro Chris Bolek who emerged victorious and won a total of $480,200 of the entire $2-million prize pool.
A total of 601 players had paid the $3,500 fee, so as to be able to enter the tournament.
It is important to note that this year has been quite successful for the Florida-based poker pro. Back in November, Bolek finished second at the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble in Jacksonville. What is more, he finished first at a $560 No Limit Hold’em event, held in September, as well as at a WSOP Circuit event, which took place at West Palm Beach in early February.
Several of the biggest stars in contemporary poker took part in the “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship. Some of them were Vanessa Selbst, Carlos Mortensen, and Jason Mercier.
The tournament featured two starting flights and 224 pros advanced from them. Eventually, only 63 of all 601 players got paid.
Only six players were seated at the final table, which was streamed live on the Internet.
It was Faraz Jaka who left first. At the beginning, he was the second-shortest stack. The player was eliminated by Sean Winter in Level 27 and received the sum of $91,000 for his sixth position.
Steven McKoy was the next to be sent home. He was eliminated in Level 28, not much longer after Jaka left the table. He failed to defeat Andy Andrejevic and was given $110,000 of the entire prize pool.
In Level 29, it became clear that the fourth position will be taken by Jeff Chang, for his cards just could not stand a chance against Winter’s. With Chang’s elimination, Andrejevic, Winter, and Bolek were the last three remaining on the final table.
Andrejevic, who was a chip leader at some point, was eliminated by the soon-to-be-champion in Level 30. He took a total of $170,000 for his third place.
At the beginning of the heads-up play, Bolek was holding just a little bit more chips than his opponent Winter. But in Level 31, Winter lagged behind 15-2 in chips. Eventually, he was holding [Ah][5c]. Bolek’s [10s][10d]
and the board showing [Qc][10h][6d][3s]
sent Winter to second place. The Florida-based player was awarded $270,000 of the entire prize pool.
Minutes after he emerged victorious, Bolek shared with interviewers that he visits the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino quite often. He also said that the tables at the venue are excellent and are in no way inferior to these around the country.
