2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 18
$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  41
Prize Pool:  $1,988,500
August 8-9, 2019

Two years ago, Jason Mercier’s wife Natasha was seven months pregnant when he entered the $25K High Roller at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, and Mercier won that event — his last tournament victory before he pulled back from the tournament circuit to focus on fatherhood.

Yesterday, Jason Mercier’s wife Natasha was seven months pregnant when he entered the $50K Super High Roller, and today Mercier steamrolled the final table with an overwhelming chip stack to win $715,860.

“We’ve been talking about that the whole time,” said Mercier after his victory. “Even before the event, Natasha said, ‘I’m seven months pregnant. This is exactly when you won the $25K two years ago, so you have to win the $50K.'” Mercier added, “It’s kind of weird that it actually happened this way. I wish she could always be seven months pregnant, but I don’t think she wants that.”

With 41 entries, this was the biggest $50K Super High Roller in the history of Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, creating a total prizepool of $1,988,500 that nearly doubled the $1 million guarantee.

Mercier entered the seven-handed final table with nearly a 5-to-1 chip lead over everyone else, and none of the other players ever acquired enough chips to pose much of a threat.

The key hand for Mercier came last night to burst the Money Bubble. Mercier raised, and Dan Shak — who was second in chips at the time — reraised. Mercier called and the flop came . Shak shoved with , and Mercier thought for a bit before calling with . The best hand held up for Mercier to eliminate Shak and end Day 1 with a monstrous chip lead.

Today’s final table was a quick one, finished in a little more than 90 minutes, with the other six players effectively battling for second place. Franklin Fok knocked out Tom Boivin in third place to get heads-up against Mercier, though Fok was still down nearly 7-to-1 in chips. In the ninth hand of heads-up play, Fok got it all in with , but never improved against Mercier’s .

“I won a ton of hands that I probably shouldn’t have, just because of stack sizes,” said Mercier. “I had over half the chips in play when we were seven handed, so I was playing a ton of hands and just taking advantage of spots. But I also got dealt really good hands, and was able to call all ins when I was in the big blind, and those hands won.”

Mercier has won more than $19.5 million in live tournaments over his career, but this was actually his first cash in nearly a year as he’s been spending most of his time with his wife Natasha and two-year-old son, Marco. “I didn’t realize it until I got in the money,” said Mercier. “I hadn’t cashed in a year, so this was a really nice one to win.”

Final Results:

1st:  Jason Mercier  –  $715,860
2nd:  Franklin Fok  –  $457,355
3rd:  Tom Boivin  –  $288,330
4th:  Giuseppe Iadisernia  –  $198,850
5th:  Manig Loeser  –  $139,195
6th:  Sam Sweilem  –  $109,370
7th:  Albert Daher  –  $79,540

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 41

HAND #82  –  Franklin Fok limped for 25,000, Jason Mercier moved all in, and Fok called all in for 515,000.

Jason Mercier:  
Franklin Fok:  

The board came , and Mercier won the pot — and the SHRPO Super High Roller — with a pair of fives.

Franklin Fok finished as the runner-up, earning $457,355.

Jason Mercier wins the $50,000 SHRPO High Roller, earning $715,860, a SHRPO trophy, and a custom-framed winner’s photo courtesy of IMPDI.

Congratulations, Jason Mercier!

1st:  Jason Mercier  –  $715,860
2nd:  Franklin Fok  –  $457,355
3rd:  Tom Boivin  –  $288,330
4th:  Giuseppe Iadisernia  –  $198,850
5th:  Manig Loeser  –  $139,195
6th:  Sam Sweilem  –  $109,370
7th:  Albert Daher  –  $79,540

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 41

Heads-up play begins with Jason Mercier holding a nearly 7-to-1 chip lead over Franklin Fok:

Jason Mercier  –  4,480,000  (179 bb)
Franklin Fok  –  645,000  (26 bb)

Reminder:  In heads-up play, the button has the small blind and acts first before the flop.

HAND #74  –  Franklin Fok limped for 25,000, and Jason Mercier checked his option in the big blind. Both players checked to the river on a board of , Mercier bet 40,000, and Fok folded. Mercier took the pot.

HAND #75  –  Jason Mercier limped for 25,000, and Franklin Fok checked his option in the big blind. The flop came , Fok checked, Mercier bet 25,000, and Fok folded. Mercier took the pot.

HAND #76  –  Franklin Fok folded, giving Jason Mercier a walk.

HAND #77  –  Jason Mercier raised to 50,000, and Franklin Fok folded.

Jason Mercier  –  4,620,000  (185 bb)
Franklin Fok  –  505,000  (20 bb)

HAND #78  –  Franklin Fok folded, giving Jason Mercier a walk.

HAND #79  –  Jason Mercier raised to 50,000, and Franklin Fok called. The flop came , Fok checked, Mercier bet 40,000, and Fok called. The turn card was the , and both players checked. The river card was the , and they checked again.

Fok showed to win the pot, and Mercier mucked.

Jason Mercier  –  4,545,000  (182 bb)
Franklin Fok  –  580,000  (23 bb)

HAND #80  –  Franklin Fok folded, giving Jason Mercier a walk.

HAND #81  –  Jason Mercier raised from the button to 515,000, and Franklin Fok folded.

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 41

HAND #68  –  Franklin Fok completed the small blind to 25,000, Jason Mercier raised from the big blind to 80,000, and Fok folded. Mercier took the pot.

HAND #69  –  Jason Mercier moved all in from the small blind, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #70  –  Jason Mercier raised from the button to 500,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #71  –  Franklin Fok completed the small blind to 25,000, and Jason Mercier checked his option in the big blind. Both players checked to the turn on a board of , Fok checked, Mercier bet 25,000, and Fok called. The river card was the , and both players checked.

Fok turned over for a pair of jacks, and Mercier showed one card — the — before he mucked. Fok won the pot.

HAND #72  –  Jason Mercier raised from the small blind to about 350,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #73  –  Tom Boivin moved all in from the small blind for 170,000, and Franklin Fok called from the big blind with .

Boivin turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Fok won the pot with his king to eliminate Boivin in third place.

Tom Boivin  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($288,330)

And here are the official chip counts for the start of heads-up play:

Jason Mercier  –  4,480,000  (179 bb)
Franklin Fok  –  645,000  (26 bb)

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 41

HAND #61  –  Jason Mercier raised from the button to 50,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #62  –  Franklin Fok completed the small blind to 25,000, Jason Mercier raised from the big blind to 85,000, and Fok folded. Mercier took the pot.

HAND #63  –  Jason Mercier completed the small blind to 25,000, and Tom Boivin checked his option in the big blind. Both players checked to the turn on a board of , Mercier bet 35,000, and Boivin called. The river card was the , and both players checked. Mercier showed to win the pot with a pair of fives, and Boivin mucked.

HAND #64  –  Jason Mercier raised from the button to 50,000, and Franklin Fok called from the big blind. The flop came , Fok checked, Mercier bet 45,000, and Fok folded. Mercier took the pot.

HAND #65  –  Franklin Fok completed the small blind to 25,000, and Jason Mercier checked his option in the big blind. The flop came , Fok checked, Mercier bet 25,000, and Fok folded. Mercier took the pot.

HAND #66  –  Franklin Fok limped from the button for 25,000, Jason Mercier completed the small blind, and Tom Boivin checked his option in the big blind. All three players checked to the turn on a board of , and Mercier bet 25,000. Boivin called, and Fok folded.

The river card was the , Mercier bet 150,000, and Boivin folded. Mercier took the pot.

Tom Boivin  –  125,000  (5 bb)

HAND #67  –  Jason Mercier raised from the button to 500,000, and Tom Boivin called all in from the small blind for 125,000 with .

Mercier turned over , and Boivin needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Boivin won the pot with his ace to double up in chips.

Tom Boivin  –  300,000  (12 bb)
Jason Mercier  –  4,400,000  (176 bb)

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 41

HAND #58  –  Tom Boivin moved all in from the small blind for 135,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #59  –  Franklin Fok completed the small blind to 25,000, and Jason Mercier checked his option in the big blind. Both players checked to the turn on a board of , Fok bet 25,000, and Mercier called. The river card was the , Fok checked, Mercier bet 55,000, and Fok folded. Mercier took the pot.

HAND #60  –  Jason Mercier moved all in from the small blind, and Tom Boivin called all in from the big blind for 145,000 with .

Mercier turned over , and Boivin needed his pocket sevens to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Boivin flopped a set, turned a full house, and rivered quads to win the pot and double up in chips.

Tom Boivin  –  315,000  (13 bb)
Jason Mercier  –  4,040,000  (162 bb)

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 41

HAND #55  –  Jason Mercier raised UTG/cutoff to 500,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #56  –  Giuseppe Iadisernia moved all in from the small blind for 220,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #57  –  Franklin Fok limped UTG/cutoff for 25,000, Giuseppe Iadisernia moved all in from the button for 270,000, and Fok called with .

Iadisernia turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came — Iadisernia paired his nine on the flop, but Fok paired his queen on the river to win the pot and eliminate Iadisernia in fourth place.

Franklin Fok  –  810,000  (32 bb)
Giuseppe Iadisernia  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($198,850)

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 41

HAND #52  –  Franklin Fok moved all in from the button for 230,000, and Jason Mercier called from the big blind.

Jason Mercier:  
Franklin Fok:  

The board came , and both players made ace-high straights to chop the pot.

HAND #53  –  Jason Mercier raised from the small blind to about 300,000, taking the blinds and ante.

$50,000 Super High Roller (Single Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 41

HAND #41  –  Jason Mercier moved all in from the small blind, and Tom Boivin folded the big blind. Mercier took the blinds and ante.

HAND #42  –  Jason Mercier raised from the button to 500,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #43  –  Jason Mercier raised UTG/cutoff to 40,000, and Giuseppe Iadisernia called from the big blind. The flop came , Iadisernia checked, Mercier bet 35,000, and Iadisernia folded. Mercier took the pot.

HAND #44  –  Everyone folded to Jason Mercier, giving him a walk in the big blind.

HAND #45  –  Giuseppe Iadisernia limped from the button for 20,000, Jason Mercier completed the small blind, and Tom Boivin checked his option in the big blind. The flop came , and Mercier bet 20,000. Boivin folded, Iadisernia raised to 80,000, and Mercier called.

The turn card was the , and both players checked. The river card was the , and they checked again.

Mercier showed for two pair, kings and queens, and Iadisernia mucked. Mercier won the pot to reach 3.9 million in chips, giving him 76.1% of all the chips in play.

Jason Mercier  –  3,900,000  (195 bb)

HAND #46  –  Jason Mercier raised from the button to 375,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #47  –  Tom Boivin raised from the button to 185,000 (with just 25,000 behind), taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #48  –  Everyone folded to Jason Mercier, giving him a walk in the big blind.

Seat 1.  Giuseppe Iadisernia  –  600,000  (30 bb)
Seat 2.  Jason Mercier  –  3,990,000  (200 bb)
Seat 3.  Tom Boivin  –  260,000  (13 bb)
Seat 4.  Franklin Fok  –  275,000  (14 bb)

HAND #49  –  Giuseppe Iadisernia limped from the button for 20,000, Jason Mercier completed the small blind, and Tom Boivin checked his option in the big blind. The flop came , and Mercier bet 25,000. Boivin and Iadisernia both called.

The turn card was the , and it checked to Iadisernia, who bet 30,000. Mercier called, and Boivin folded. The river card was the , and both players checked.

Iadisernia showed for a four-high flush, but Mercier turned over to win the pot with an eight-high flush.

HAND #50  –  Jason Mercier raised from the button to about 300,000, taking the blinds and ante.

HAND #51  –  Tom Boivin raised from the button to 165,000 (with just 20,000 behind), taking the blinds and ante.

That was the last hand of Level 16.