22-Year-Old Wins $261K Ahead of WPT Rock 'N' Roll Poker Open Championship
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The World Poker Tour (WPT) is back at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida for the 2024 WPT Seminole Rock ‘n’ Roll Open festival that got underway on Nov. 20 and runs through Dec. 4.
The festival includes a $3,500 buy-in Championship Event with a $3 million guarantee from Nov. 29-Dec. 4, during which PokerNews will be on-site producing content.
The festival has already named more than a dozen winners across events that have already generated over $3.5 million in prize money. While some picked up their first trophies, many longtime grinders added to their collections of guitar pick trophies, including Matt Bretzfield, who won his tenth title, and Phil Hui, who won his ninth.
$400 Monster Stack Prize Pool Crosses $2 Million
The series kicked off with Event #1: $400 Deep Stack NLH, which drew a massive field of 6,480 for a prize pool of $2.1 million. New York's Eric Yanovsky defeated Omar Morillo to win $261,920, a career-best for the young grinder.
“It feels pretty surreal,” Yanovsky told Seminole reporters. “I’m 22, but poker has been tough. I’ve had my ups and downs, but this is the high point, and I hope it keeps going up from here.”
Other players who went deep in the opening event include Jessica Cai (5th - $75,000), best known for her early chip lead in the 2021 WSOP Main Event, and 16-time Circuit ring winner Maurice Hawkins.
Later in the series, Phil Hui topped a field of 55 players in Event #5: $600 Eight-Game Mix to win $9,000, a fitting number as he also won his ninth trophy. Not long after, Matt Bretzfield shipped Event #13: $400 Deep Stack to win $27,010 and his tenth title.
Others to claim guitar pick trophies include Jaroslaw Osinski (Event #2: $600 Seniors NLH - $19,360), Grant Wang (Event #6: $1,100 Five-Card PLO - $24,602), Ryan Hoenig (Event #17: $600 Triple Stud - $9,270) and Vu Dang (Event #18: $600 Big O - $16,150).
Previous Winner
The previous RRPO Championship drew 1,447 entries for a prize pool of $4.6 million as Hungary's Istvan Briski won $647,300 and a spot on the Mike Sexton Cup after a heads-up deal with Rayan Chamas, who earned $600,000.
WPT Seminole RRPO Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Istvan Briski | Hungary | $647,300* |
| 2 | Rayan Chamas | Lebanon | $600,000* |
| 3 | Sandy Sanchez | United States | $366,500 |
| 4 | Fred Goldberg | United States | $274,000 |
| 5 | Matt Bond | United States | $206,900 |
| 6 | Darryll Fish | United States | $157,800 |
*Denotes heads-up deal.
There have big other big highlights at Seminole Hard Rock. Earlier this year, Josh Reichard defeated Landon Tice and Jesse Lonis to win the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship for $839,300.
In January, South Florida crusher Raminder Singh took down the $3,500 LHPO No-Limit Hold'em Championship for $486,353 and another trophy for his mantle. Singh appeared on the Life Outside Poker podcast earlier this year and discussed his LHPO win and many victories at Seminole Hard Rock.
A full list of winners so far at the WPT Seminole Rock ‘n’ Roll Open is available in the table below.
2024 WPT Seminole Rock ‘n’ Roll Open Winners So Far
| EVENT | ENTRANTS | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | PRIZE (IN USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 Deep Stack NLH | 6,480 | $2,138,400 | Eric Yanovsky | $261,920 |
| Event #2: $600 Seniors NLH | 174 | $90,480 | Jaroslaw Osinski | $19,360 |
| Event #3: $600 Deep Stack Big O | 122 | $63,440 | Amarjit Lail | $16,080 |
| Event #4: $300 Quad Stack Double Green Chip Bounty | 153 | $30,600 | David Oshry | $6,915 |
| Event #5: $600 Eight-Game Mix | 55 | $28,600 | Phil Hui | $9,000 |
| Event #6: $1,100 Five-Card PLO | 103 | $99,910 | Grant Wang | $24,602 |
| Event #7: $200 Big Stack NLH | 299 | $47,840 | Yang Lu | $10,508 |
| Event #8: $400 Turbo PLO | 117 | $39,780 | Ryan Ricci | $11,735 |
| Event #9: $600 Limit Omaha 8 | 69 | $35,880 | Robert Poolos | $12,560 |
| Event #10: $600 Double Black Chip Bounty NLH | 191 | $61,120 | Shawn Dees | $13,221 |
| Event #11: $600 Black Chip Bounty Five-Card PLO | 128 | $53,760 | Ethan Bennett | $13,000 |
| Event #12: $600 PLO 8 | 97 | $50,440 | Long Nguyen | $15,375 |
| Event #13: $400 Deep Stack | 686 | $226,380 | Matt Bretzfield | $27,010 |
| Event #14: $600 Six-Max PLO | 139 | $72,280 | Elliot Kampen | $19,595 |
| Event #15: $1,100 Triple Stack NLH | 425 | $412,250 | TBD | TBD |
| Event #16: $400 Turbo NLH | 114 | $38,760 | Rajesekar Govindan | $11,435 |
| Event #17: $600 Triple Stud | 48 | $24,960 | Ryan Hoenig | $9,270 |
| Event #18: $600 Big O | 102 | $50,040 | Vu Dang | $16,150 |
| Event #19: $200 Big Stack NLH | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Event #20: $400 Black Chip Bounty Turbo NLH | 120 | $28,800 | David Yue | $8,485 |
*Photos courtesy Seminole Hard Rock
