From January 12-24, the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood in South Florida played host to the 2023 Lucky Hearts Poker Open (LHPO). Through its 43 events, the 2023 LHPO catered to a combined 16,320 entrants and awarded $14,776,880 in prize money. That made it the biggest LHPO in history based on the number of entries!
Among those to win titles were Matt Bretzfield, who won the $600 Mixed PLO title and became the first player to ever win an SHRP trophy in four consecutive series; Alessio Isaia, who won two tournaments in back-to-back days (he nearly won a third but finished runner-up in another tournament to Valerie Novak); and Yuval Bronshtein winning what was his eighth career SHRP title.
While the series was a remarkable success, it was a little bittersweet as shortly after Director of Poker Marketing for Seminole Hard Rock Tony Burns was leaving after a more than seven-year run offering some of the best poker in the country.
Championship Ends in Four-Way Deal
From January 20-24, the $3,500 LHPO Championship took place. The tournament blew away its $2 million guarantee as 1,692 entries created a $5,414,400 prize pool. One player in the field was Marius Gierse, who hadn’t played a tournament since the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) before finishing fifth in the $25,500 LHPO High Roller for $110,500.
He then turned around and shipped the LHPO Championship for $605,000 after a four-way deal at the final table.
“It’s been a long four days, but it feels pretty damn good,” Gierse told LHPO officials. “It was quite the ride.”
Gierse got off to a hot start at the final table when his pocket queens held against the Big Slick of Jerry Wong.
“I had a big flip against Jerry Wong at the start,” said Gierse. “That hand was the most important, otherwise I would have been out in ninth.”
Gierse, primarily an online player, added: “I really don’t enjoy live poker as much, mostly because people are too serious and take a lot of time, but that isn’t the case here at all. People play super-fast, and people are talking, and not taking themselves too seriously. It’s super nice. So, I’m very, very happy to play here and I will for sure to come back.”
2023 LHPO Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marius Gierse | $605,000* |
| 2 | Brian Scott | $555,078* |
| 3 | Jacob Powers | $500,000* |
| 4 | Peter Mugar | $498,177* |
| 5 | Martin Carnero | $238,635 |
| 6 | Taylor Wilson | $181,950 |
| 7 | Daniel Clifford | $140,055 |
| 8 | Leonard Hermann | $108,850 |
| 9 | Jerry Wong | $85,410 |
Others to cash the tournament were Cero Zuccarello (11th - $67,680), Wasim Assaf (12th - $67,680), Frank Funaro (15th - $43,780), Joe McKeehen (25th - $24,570), Chris Tryba (30th - $24,570), Landon Tice (39th - $20,690), and Nadya Magnus (48th - $17,605).
John Holley Claims Two Titles
Alessio Isaia wasn’t the only player to win two titles in the series as John Holley also accomplished the feat. First, he topped a 78-entry field to win Event #15: $600 Deep Stack Turbo NLH for $13,760 and what was his seventh Seminole trophy.
A week later, he was back at it besting a 193-entry field to win Event #37: $600 Seniors 50+ NLH for $25,715 and his eighth title. That tied him in second place along with Yuval Bronshtein and Michael Newman, who all trail Raminder Singh’s nine titles.
John Holley's SHRP Titles
| Series | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 SHRPO | $240 PLO8 | $5,919 |
| 2013 SHRPO | $240 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em | $9,207 |
| 2015 RRPO | $350 Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em | $5,304 |
| 2018 SHRPO | $300 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em | $6,924 |
| 2022 RRPO | $400 Omaha 8/Stud 8 | $8,950 |
| 2022 RRPO | $600 Pot-Limit Omaha | $30,191 |
| 2023 LHPO | $600 Turbo No-Limit Hold’em | $13,760 |
| 2023 LHPO | $600 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em | $25,715 |
2023 LHPO Winners
| Date | Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 12-16 | Event #1: $600 Deep Stack NLH | 4,535 | $2,358,200 | Scott Woodring | $190,939 |
| 12-Jan | Event #2: $400 HORSE | 109 | $36,515 | Mark Hurst | $7,640 |
| 12-Jan | Event #3: $150 Big Stack NLH | 320 | $37,760 | Joseph Burns | $4,845 |
| 13-Jan | Event #4: $400 DeepStack Turbo NLH | 34 | $11,560 | Javier Gomez Marquez | $4,740 |
| 13-Jan | Event #5: $400 Limit Omaha 8 | 129 | $43,215 | David Shmuel | $12,025 |
| 13-Jan | Event #6: $400 Black Chip NLH | 183 | $18,300 | Gilles Dalco | $9,170 |
| 14-Jan | Event #7: $1,100 Deep Stack 5-Card PLO | 132 | $128,040 | Taylor Lipson | $32,615 |
| 15-Jan | Event #8: $400 Deep Stack NLH | 515 | $172,525 | Jeremy Becker | $33,615 |
| January 15-16 | Event #9: $1,100 Deep Stack NLH | 254 | $246,380 | Alessio Isaia | $55,835 |
| January 15-16 | Event #10: $600 Mixed PLO | 134 | $70,350 | Matt Bretzfield | $14,963 |
| 15-Jan | Event #11: $200 Quad Stack Double Green Chip Bounty | 248 | $27,330 | Darin Kaplan | $4,336 |
| January 16-18 | Event #12: $200 Big Stack NLH | 2,325 | $372,000 | Dejan Petkovic | $42,962 |
| 16-Jan | Event #13: $600 Big O | 101 | $53,025 | Yuval Bronshtein | $13,405 |
| 16-Jan | Event #14: $400 Black Chip Bounty PLO | 206 | $48,410 | Michael McKuin | $11,175 |
| January 16-18 | Event #15: $600 Deep Stack Turbo NLH | 78 | $41,340 | John Holley | $13,760 |
| 17-Jan | Event #16: $400 Seniors 50+ NLH | 238 | $79,730 | Amir Baron | $18,435 |
| 17-Jan | Event #17: $600 NLH 6-Max | 235 | $123,375 | Alessio Isaia | $20,592 |
| January 17-18 | Event #18: $1,100 6-Max PLO 8 | 94 | $91,180 | Zhen Cai | $27,880 |
| January 17-18 | Event #19: $2,200 Deep Stack NLH | 257 | $514,000 | Aaron Flores | $97,935 |
| January 18-19 | Event #20: $10,000 High Roller PLO | 22 | $209,000 | Dylan Smith | $91,960 |
| January 18-20 | Event #21: $600 Deep Stack PLO | 465 | $241,800 | William Kopp | $47,595 |
| January 17-18 | Event #22: $200 Quad Stack Double Green Chip Bounty NLH | 323 | $35,530 | Pierre Xavier-Laurent | $4,608 |
| 18-Jan | Event #23: $1,100 Deep Stack Turbo NLH | 126 | $126,000 | Sam Panzica | $28,082 |
| January 18-19 | Event #24: $1,100 Deep Stack NLH | 332 | $322,040 | Ryan Hogan | $66,790 |
| January 19-20 | Evet #25: $25,500 High Roller NLH | 74 | $1,827,800 | Aram Oganyan | $480,175 |
| 19-Jan | Event #26: $150 Big Stack NLH | 175 | $20,650 | David Oshry | $5,205 |
| 19-Jan | Event #27: $1,100 Deep Stack Turbo NLH | 92 | $92,000 | Jorge Cuesta | $28,360 |
| January 20-24 | Event #28: $3,500 LHPO Championship | 1,692 | $5,414,400 | Marius Gierse | $605,000 |
| 20-Jan | Event #29: $600 HORSE | 70 | $36,750 | Steven Idels | $11,131 |
| 20-Jan | Event #30: $400 Black Chip Bounty Turbo NLH | 164 | $16,400 | James Weidenborner | $10,025 |
| 21-Jan | Event #31: $400 Deep Stack Big O | 116 | $38,860 | Sue Sanders | $11,130 |
| 21-Jan | Event #32: $600 Deep Stack Turbo NLH | 81 | $42,930 | Robert French | $14,045 |
| 22-Jan | Event #33: $400 Black Chip Bounty NLH | 384 | $90,240 | Stephen Thomas | $12,382 |
| January 22-23 | Event #34: $1,700 Purple Chip Bounty NLH | 201 | $201,000 | Andrew Esposito | $49,380 |
| January 22-23 | Event #35: $1,100 Mixed PLO | 87 | $84,390 | Renny Barrett | $23,670 |
| January 22-24 | Event #36: $400 Deep Stack NLH | 917 | $302,610 | Valerie Novak | $52,030 |
| 23-Jan | Event #37: $600 Seniors 50+ NLH | 193 | $101,325 | John Holley | $25,715 |
| 23-Jan | Event #38: $5,000 PLO | 30 | $142,500 | Benjamin Juhasz | $64,125 |
| 23-Jan | Event #39: $600 Deep Stack Turbo NLH | 72 | $38,160 | Brandon Duvdivani | $13,360 |
| 24-Jan | Event #40: $400 Omaha 8/Stud 8 | 75 | $25,125 | David Bach | $8,460 |
| 24-Jan | Event #41: $5,000 Deep Stack NLH | 89 | $422,750 | Brock Wilson | $129,350 |
| 24-Jan | Event #42: $1,100 Six-Max PLO | 135 | $130,950 | Eddy Nedialkov | $35,955 |
| 24-Jan | Event #43: $300 Quad Stack Black Chip Bounty NLH | 278 | $43,290 | Jonathan Qunjian | $7,562 |
