2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
$350 Buy-In Big Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed
April 20th, 2015
Total Entries: 125
Total Prize Pool: $37,500
Wing Ng
Recap:
A poker reporter turned player and a former Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood event champion couldn’t stand in the way of Wing Ng’s championship quest as he claimed the Event 15 title in decisive fashion.
The final table saw Kristy Arnett, who recently came out from the behind the camera to play poker full-time, reach this final table. Also there was Jordan Chizick who won Event 20 at least year’s Poker Showdown and was looking for a repeat performance. Unfortunately, Arnett took a tough beat early on and was eliminated in 9th. After the eliminations of Matthew Irish in 8th and Robert Bastoire in 7th, Robert Tannenbaum took another rough exit as Mark Alcivar cracked his kings with eights hitting a set on the turn and ousting him in 6th place.
After Thomas Sheets was knocked out in 5th, the four players took some time out to see if they could make a deal and end the tournament. But after Mohammed Jaafar couldn’t agree on the money, play continued on.
At first, it was looking like the classic story of the player not taking the deal falling out. Jordan Chizick and Jaafar locked up in a wild hand with Chizick holding 
vs Jaafar’s 
. Chizick flopped two pair but two hearts were on the board and Jaafar turned the nut flush. But Chizick hit a full house on the river and doubled up.
But Chizick was eliminated shortly afterward in 4th place by Wing Ng putting Ng in the chip lead leaving Jaafar and Alcivar hoping to chase him down. After Ng continued to build his stack, Jaafar and Alcivar ended up in the decisive hand of the tournament as on a 
flop the chips ended up in the middle. Alcivar flipped over 
for top pair and a flush draw and Jaafar showed 
for a lower flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. The card that Jaafar needed showed up as the turn brough the 
giving him the straight. The 
came off on the river and eliminated Alcivar leaving Ng and Jaafar heads-up for the title.
At that point with Ng holding a significant chip advantage, the two made a deal giving Ng his first career championship.
Ng gave his final thoughts about the win. “It’s awesome. It’s my first trophy – so exciting! I was just patient and played in position. It means a lot to me. I hope I can win more trophies in the future in big tournaments. This hotel is really good, the food is good, everything is good!”
Congratulations to our Event 15 Champion – Wing Ng!
Results:
1st – Wing Ng (Chino Hills, CA) – $10,999
2nd – Mohammed Jaafar (Miami, FL) – $9,000
3rd – Mark Alcivar (Pembroke Pines, FL) – $4,688
4th – Jordan Chizik (Sunrise, FL) – $3,188
5th – Thomas Sheets (Norfolk, VA) – $2,531
6th – Robert Tannenbaum (Delray, FL) – $1,969
7th – Robert Bastoire (Cecilia, KY) – $1,594
8th – Matthew Irish (Farmington, ME) – $1,219
9th – Kristy Arnett (Las Vegas, NV) – $844