Seminole Hard Rock 2021 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Setting New Records

Summary

• The 2021 RRPO successful so far with key events setting new records
• Michael Laufer won the opening event, while Loni Hui took down Event #10.
• WPT RRPO Championship close to crowing a winner

The Seminole Hard Rock 2021 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open is down to its final events, with the main highlight of the festival, the World Poker Tour (WPT) RRPO Championship set to crown a winner this week at the Seminole Hard Rock, Hollywood.

The $3,500 buy-in tournament kicked off on November 26 and attracted 1,566 entrants to generate $5,011,200 in total prize pool, more than double its original guarantee of $2 million. This makes the 2021 edition the biggest ever in the tournament’s history.

2021 RRPO Opening Event Sets New Record

The opening event set a new record for the biggest field size in Seminole Hard Rock history after drawing 6,196 entries, also the largest in the state of Florida.

Event #1: $400 Deep Stack NLH featured a $1 million guarantee but ended up awarding $2,044,680 in total prize money. It was won by Michael Laufer following a six-way deal. The New Jersey native walked away with $160,734 in top prize.

The other five players involved in the deal also took home six figures: Aleks Petrovic (2nd, $155,302); Amed de la Torre (3rd, $147,218); Isai Coello (4th, $139,973); Mali Cagatay (5th, 138,561); and Aaron Valencia (6th, $131,729).

Completing the final table were Steven Miller (7th, $47,027), Courtney Rowe (8th, $33,737) and Victor Carrera (9th, $22,491).

Loni Hui Takes Down Event #10: $600 Deep Stack NLH

Another notable side event on the 2021 RRPO schedule is Event #10: $600 Deep Stack NLH which ran from November 22-24. A total of 972 entries signed up for the tournament over four starting flights, and when the dust settled, it was Loni Hui (formerly Loni Harwood) who bagged the lion’s share of the $505,400 prize pool.

Hui, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner and one of the world’s most successful female poker pros, won the $85,355 top prize after defeating Neil Zonenashvili heads-up. Zonenashvili earned $60,210 for finishing second.

The other players who made it to the final table were Ricardo Eyzaguirre (3rd, $39,500); Abhishek Panda (4th, $29,140); Rogrigo Sardi (5th, $22,085); Orlando Maldonado (6th, $17,595); Stewart Yancik (7th, $14,600); Dimitry Agrachov (8th, $11,605); and James Patterson (9th, $8,675).