HPO Grantville Regional Championship
Day 2 Completed
2014 Hollywood Poker Open Grantville Regional Event
HPO Grantville Regional Championship
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2014 Hollywood Poker Open Grantville Regional Event
Buy-in
$1,629
Prize Pool
$59,873
Entries
37
Level
18
Blinds
2,000 / 4,000
Ante
500
Level 18
: 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
The 2014 Hollywood Poker Open Grantville Regional Championship $1,800 buy-in Main Event at Penn National Race Course concluded on Sunday after the final nine players of a 37-player field returned to play down to a winner. It took a little more than five levels of play, but eventually Bradley Yazici emerged victorious to capture the $22,752 first-place prize and a seat into the $2,500 HPO Championship in Vegas this June.
Action resumed in Level 13 (700/1,400/100), and it didn’t take long for fireworks. In one of the first hands of the day, Jason Thomas, who began the day second in chips, opened for 3,200 only to have Yazici, the chip leader, three-bet to 7,500. Action folded back to Thomas, and he pushed back with a four-bet to 16,000. Not to be outdone, Yazici five-bet to 35,000, Thomas six-bet to 60,000, and Yazici seven-bet shoved, which Thomas called.
Yazici: 
Thomas: 
The table and railbirds erupted in disbelief at the cooler hand. Little did they know it'd get worse. The 
flop wasn't anything special, but the 
turn was for Yazici. He spiked his two outer and Thomas was visibly shaken by the sudden turn of events. The 
river failed to change a thing, and Thomas just stared as the dealer verified the stacks. Yazici held 168,800, which was barely more than Thomas' 163,400. The cooler sent Thomas to the rail empty handed in ninth place, while Yazici stacked nearly half the chips in play.
Not long after, Kenneth "Hockey" Hock was ousted in eighth place in another big-pocket pair battle, and then Chi Do fell in seventh after being crippled in a similar hand.
The money bubble lasted for nearly two hours, but it eventually burst when the last woman in the tournament fell. Vicki Russel had been quite the character here in the HPO Regional Championship Grantville. As she explained, she was married for 25 years before recently becoming a divorcé. After raising five children, Russel now devotes her time to her businesses and to playing here at the casino, which is just 15 minutes from her house.
Russel’s last hand happened on a flop of 
when Yazici bet 6,500 from the under-the-gun position and Russel moved all in for roughly 27,000. Yazici snap-called with the 
, which was well out in front of Russel's 
.
"I guess I need another queen," Russel said in reference to a hand earlier on the bubble where she caught a queen on the river to stay alive. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't do it a second time as the 
blanked on the turn followed by the on the river. "Gave it all I had," she said before taking her leave.
From there, Fritz Neunkirchner, who began the day as the short stack, snuck into the money by finishing in fifth place for $5,389, and then Mark Summers followed him out the door in fourth.
Peter Kaemmerlen managed to double through Yazici to take a big chip lead, but a few hours later the double was reversed thanks to a lucky river card. After a break, Kaemmerlen returned to be decimated by yet another river card, and then fell a couple hands later in third place for $10,178.
That left Yazici and John Kostelac to battle heads up with the former holding a considerable chip lead; however, it turned out to be a lengthy affair. Yazici’s aggression and chip advantage ultimately proved too much to overcome, and Kostelac fell in second place. Click here to view the final hand.
Congratulations to Bradley Yazici, the 2014 Hollywood Poker Open Grantville Regional Champion!
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradley Yazici | $22,752 |
| 2 | John Kostelac | $14,968 |
| 3 | Peter Kaemmerlen | $10,178 |
| 4 | Mike Summers | $6,586 |
| 5 | Fritz Neunkirchner | $5,389 |
In addition, 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event seventh-place finisher Lee Childs topped the leaderboard at Grantville Regional Championship, which earned him a seat in the season-ending HPO Championship.
Congrats to @leechilds for winning a seat to our Championship Event via the #PNRCHPO Leaderboard. He's headed to Vegas. Nice work all week.Follow @hwpokeropen
The next Hollywood Poker Open Regional Tournament will take place in St. Louis, MO from March 7-16. Don't miss your chance to go head-to-head with some of the region's best players to win a seat into the $500,000 guaranteed HPO Championship Event. We’ll see you then!
Level 18
: 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
The heads-up match turned out to be a lengthy affair, but Bradley Yazici has finally clinched victory.
In the final hand, John Kostelac opened for 12,000 on the button and then called when Yazici three-bet to 31,000. The 
flop saw Yazici lead out for 32,000, Kostelac call, and the appear on the turn. Yazici slowed down with a check, and Kostelac fell into the trap by moving all in. Yazici snap-called and showed the 
for quads, which had Kostelac's 
drawing dead.
The meaningless 
was put out on the river to make it official, and Kostelac hit the rail in second place for $14,968.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
740,000
135,000
|
135,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 18
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 500
Level 17
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
Bradley Yazici opened for 7,000 and then called when John Kostelac three-bet to 18,000. Yazici then called a bet of 25,000 on the 
flop, which prompted Kostelac to check the 
turn. Yazici took the opportunity to bet 35,000, and it did the trick as Kostelac released his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
605,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
|
135,000
-25,000
|
-25,000 |
Level 17
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
Lots of small hands as of late. For example, in the last one John Kostelac opened for 7,500 and then called when Bradley Yazici three-bet to 20,000. Yazici then led out for 22,000 on the 
flop. Kostelac folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
580,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
160,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
Level 17
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
Bradley Yazici and John Kostelac haven't played any big pots since the latter doubled, but the former has set to work whittling away by claiming small pots. These tend to consist of a preflop raise and then a bet on either the flop or turn wins the pot.
Kostelac has won a bunch of these pots, but Yazici has won more and those chips are starting to add up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
560,000
85,000
|
85,000 |
|
|
180,000
-85,000
|
-85,000 |
Level 17
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
A preflop raising war saw John Kostelac get his stack of 132,000 all in against Bradley Yazici.
Yazici: 
Kostelac: 
Kostelac got it in good, but Yazici picked up a little help on the 
flop. The 
turn actually gave Kostelac a set, but Yazici was still drawing live to a jack. Fortunately for Kostelac, it didn't come as the 
blanked on the river instead. Ship the double to Kostelac.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
475,000
-155,000
|
-155,000 |
|
|
265,000
133,000
|
133,000 |
Level 17
: 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
In the first hand back from break, John Kostelac opened for 7,000 from the button and then called off when Peter Kaemmerlen moved all from the big blind.
Kaemmerlen: 
Kostelac: 
The 
flop was dry, and so was the turn. "That's not good," Kostelac said seemingly prepared to make his exit. That's when the dealer delivered salvation and put out the on the river. It was another devastating river cards for Kaemmerlen, and he was left with just 10,000 after the hand.
He managed to double through Kostelac on the very next hand after catching a river card of his own, but on the third hand back he fell to Bradley Yazici. It happened when Kaemmerlen moved all in from the button for 21,500 and Yazici called from the big blind.
Kaemmerlen: 
Yazici: 
The board ran out a clean and Kaemmerlen was bounced in third place.
"You had some bad luck today," Kostelac chimed. It's true, but Kaemmerlen looked at it realistically.
"It happens," he said before heading to the payout desk to collect $10,178 for his third-place finish.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
231,000
116,000
|
116,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 17
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 500