Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Winter Poker Open
Event 4: $150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed
December 7-11, 2014

Entries: 1,069
Total Prize Pool: $128,280

RECAP

“It feels great!”  said Gabriel Tudorache (Reddick, FL) after winning the $100,000 Guaranteed Event 4, $150 No Limit Hold’em. He claimed $13,720 for the win, along with the $1,650 seat in the Seminole Hard Rock Winter Poker Open Championship and the signature guitar trophy.  “I can’t wait to show my wife!”

Tudorache took a massive chip lead before the dinner break when he turned a better two-pair hand against Nick Tzoumas, who finished 12th.  When the final eight returned from dinner, they played for a short while before deciding to chop it up and call it a night.  The other seven players each took $10,000 and gave Tudorache all the rest.

After seven starting flights over four days there were a total of 1,069 entries in this event for a prize pool of $128,280.  This more than covered the $100,000 guarantee.  The prize pool was distributed among the final 100 players.

Only 125 made it to Day 2 and the bubble burst after only an hour of play.  82-year-old Franklin Walker came into Day 2 as co-chip-leader with Tom Nguyen.  Walker made it to 14th place, earning $1,076. Nguyen went out in 49th place for $393, booking his second cash of this series.  He was part of the 10-way chop that ended Event 1.

The second-oldest player in this event, Max Dertke, held the chip lead when three tables remained.  The 81-year-old made it to the final table, then busted out in 10th place, outlasting Walker by four places.

This is Tudorache’s first tournament win.  He plays poker professionally and usually sticks to cash games, $2/$5 or $5/$10 No Limit Hold’em.  He started Day 2 seventh in chips and at one point had pocket Aces two hands in a row in the big and small blinds — and they held up both times.  Good luck and solid play led him to victory.

“Great food and service,” he said about the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa.  He’s planning to be back on Saturday for Event 5 and of course the Championship event next week for which he earned his seat today.

He’s got two sons, seven and five years old, and they love to hear his poker stories.  “I love them to death” he said about his wife and kids. No one at his house plays the guitar, but it may be time to sign them up for lessons!

FINAL RESULTS