Czech Republic’s Pavel Plesuv Wins Championship for $504,820

At the conclusion of the Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO), it’s Pavel Plesuv of Prague, Czech Republic who walks away with $504,820 after winning first place in the $3,500 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship. Plesuv bested 898 total entries in the series finale, taking home the trophy and a $15,000 WPT Tournament of Champions entry in what marked the largest Championship tournament in RRPO history.

“The tournament was great,” Plesuv said. “I really liked the structure. The field was big and it had great organization. The property is great, too.”

Plesuv hails from Maldova but now resides in Prague. He has been a professional poker player for 10 years and this score marks his third-largest career cash. Previously, he claimed three other tournament titles and finished runner-up at WPT Prague in 2015.

“I was heads-up in WPT Prague three years ago with a big chip lead,” Plesuv said. “I lost. So I’m really excited to come back and win.”

Championship Final Table Results:

1st: Pavel Plesuv (Prague, Czech Republic) $504,820

2nd: James Gilbert (Philadelphia, Pa.) $326,565

3rd: Jeremy Joseph (Buffalo, N.Y.) $240,945

4th: Marius Gierse (Vienna, Austria) $179,710

5th: Christopher Kennedy (Harrisburg, Pa.) $135,505

6th: Ravi Raghavan (Northbrook, Ill.) $103,310

The 19-tournament RRPO kicked off on Wednesday, Nov. 14 with a $360 buy-in Ultimate Re-Entry. The series opener drew 4,558 entries easily surpassing the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.

In addition to Plesuv, other signature event winners include:

• Trung Pham (Temple, Texas.), winning the $360 Deep Stack NLH Series Opener for $123,364
• Dragos Iosub (Dublin, Ireland), winning the $570 Deep Stack NLH for $82,000
• David Peters (Las Vegas, Nev.), winning the $5,000 Eight-Handed NLH for $143,159
• Peter Mancini (London, Ontario), winning the $1,650 Deep Stack Purple Chip Bounty NLH for $31,093

Poker action will return to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. in the new year with the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Lucky Hearts Poker Open (LHPO) on Jan. 10 – Jan. 22, 2019, headlined by the Ultimate Re-Entry series opener with a $500,000 Guarantee and the WPTDeepStacks Championship boasting a $1 Million Guarantee.

Future tournament information and poker hotel rates are available at SHRPO.com.

About Seminole Hard Rock Poker

Seminole Hard Rock Poker encompasses four major poker series held annually at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. In August 2013, the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (SHRPO) was introduced to poker players around the world and featured a $10 million guarantee championship, the largest guarantee in history. In addition to the SHRPO, Seminole Hard Rock Poker series’ includes the Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open (January), Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown (April) and Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll” Poker Open (November). All four series fall under the SHRPO umbrella with tournament news, live updates and championship live streaming. Visit www.SHRPO.com. Join the conversation at #SHRPO, and tag us @SHRPO. 

About Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood is the flagship casino resort of Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.  It is a world-renowned entertainment, gaming and hospitality destination that features a AAA Four Diamond-rated luxury hotel; expansive gaming offerings including first-in-class slots, high-stakes table games and South Florida’s premier poker room; spa and fitness center; award-winning dining and nightlife; and the popular Hard Rock Event Center which hosts A-list entertainers, comedy and sporting events. A $1.5 billion expansion slated to open in fall 2019 will bring 638 luxury guestrooms to a first-ever, iconic, guitar-shaped hotel and 168 upscale guest accommodations in an adjacent hotel tower overlooking a lush, “Bora Bora” style, private cabana environment; a 41,000 square-foot Rock Spa®; a 13.5 acre recreational water-focused experience for sunbathing, swimming, kayaking, sailing and paddle boarding; 30 distinctive  restaurants, bars and lounges; an expanded gaming floor featuring 3,000 slots, 193 table games and a 46-table poker room; 120,000 square feet of premier meeting and convention space; and 21,000 square feet of new retail space.  The highly anticipated 6,500 seat Hard Rock Live theater-style concert venue will feature headline performances and live broadcast capabilities.  The resort is located on 87 acres of the Hollywood Seminole Reservation along State Road 7, (U.S. Highway 441). The resort is 10 minutes from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and 30 minutes from downtown Miami and Miami International Airport. For more information, visit us online at casino.hardrock.com/hollywood, call 800-937-0010 or follow us: Facebook: SeminoleHardRockHollywood, Twitter: @HardRockHolly, Instagram: @HardRockHolly.