2017 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 14
$1,100 No Limit Hold’em Turbo
Entries: 60
Prize Pool: $60,000
November 27, 2017
Glenn Shapiro came back to his hometown of Miami on a short business trip and is leaving with a Hard Rock trophy.
On Monday night, the 47-year-old insurance broker won the lion’s share of a four-way chop in the $1,100 no limit hold’em turbo event. He earned $12,748 and defeated a 60-entry field to take home his first-ever live tournament win.
“It’s awesome,” said Shaprio of his win. “I had a last-minute trip for business and I just thought I would play in a quick turbo. I didn’t expect this to happen.”
Shapiro grew up in Miami, but moved around a little bit after college and currently resides in Atlanta. The turbo structure of the event allowed him to take a shot since he has to head back to Atlanta on Tuesday.
“I couldn’t do a two-day event,” said Shaprio. “I needed a one-day and I seem to do very well in turbos.”
Shapiro’s key hand of the tournament when he won with jack-five against ace-king. According to Shapiro, suckouts and bad beats were a common theme of the final table.
“I would tell you that 80% of the time, the underdog won the hand,” said Shapiro. “Every time I had big pairs, I didn’t want to be called because I thought I was going to lose. I knew I was ahead, but I was guaranteed to lose, though. I got sucked out four times and still made the final table.”
With three kids, a full-time job and no casino within a few hours of his home, it’s tough for him to stay sharp with his game. Shapir plays casually and tries to stay sharp by traveling a little bit and playing ‘some of the smaller tournaments.’
He clearly excelled on the felt on Monday, but he’s also excelled in the bowling alley. Shapiro bowled at the collegiate level and then spent some time on the PBA tour for some time after college.
In order to achieve the quality of life he desired, he opted to get a more traditional job. He got off of the tour and got into the insurance business.
“I had moderate success,” said Shapiro about his time on the PBA tour. “You can make more money playing poker. There’s not a big purse, so it’s hard. Sponsorships get you around, so you don’t have to pay for a lot of expenses, but shy of that, it’s hard to actually make any money.”
Shaprio survived a final table that featured plenty of tough players from the area. Evan Teitelbaum took second place in the chop, Jeffrey Hakim was third and Marcus Stein was eliminated in sixth place for $3,300.
Results:
1st: Glenn Shaprio – $12,748
2nd: Evan Teitelbaum – $12,282
3rd: Jeffrey Hakim – $11,805
4th: Alexandre Caperonis – $10,805
5th: David Bradshaw – $4,200
6th: Marcus Stein – $3,300
7th: Guy Smith – $2,700
8th: Jeffrey Soffer – $2,160
- Download: Final Results (PDF)