Marius Gierse Wins LHPO Championship for $605K; John Holley Claims Two Titles

From January 12-24, the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood in South Florida played host to the 2023 Lucky Hearts Poker Open (LHPO). Through its 43 events, the 2023 LHPO catered to a combined 16,320 entrants and awarded $14,776,880 in prize money. That made it the biggest LHPO in history based on the number of entries!

Among those to win titles were Matt Bretzfield, who won the $600 Mixed PLO title and became the first player to ever win an SHRP trophy in four consecutive series; Alessio Isaia, who won two tournaments in back-to-back days (he nearly won a third but finished runner-up in another tournament to Valerie Novak); and Yuval Bronshtein winning what was his eighth career SHRP title.

While the series was a remarkable success, it was a little bittersweet as shortly after Director of Poker Marketing for Seminole Hard Rock Tony Burns was leaving after a more than seven-year run offering some of the best poker in the country.

Championship Ends in Four-Way Deal

From January 20-24, the $3,500 LHPO Championship took place. The tournament blew away its $2 million guarantee as 1,692 entries created a $5,414,400 prize pool. One player in the field was Marius Gierse, who hadn’t played a tournament since the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) before finishing fifth in the $25,500 LHPO High Roller for $110,500.

He then turned around and shipped the LHPO Championship for $605,000 after a four-way deal at the final table.

“It’s been a long four days, but it feels pretty damn good,” Gierse told LHPO officials. “It was quite the ride.”

Gierse got off to a hot start at the final table when his pocket queens held against the Big Slick of Jerry Wong.

“I had a big flip against Jerry Wong at the start,” said Gierse. “That hand was the most important, otherwise I would have been out in ninth.”

Gierse, primarily an online player, added: “I really don’t enjoy live poker as much, mostly because people are too serious and take a lot of time, but that isn’t the case here at all. People play super-fast, and people are talking, and not taking themselves too seriously. It’s super nice. So, I’m very, very happy to play here and I will for sure to come back.”

2023 LHPO Championship Final Table Results

_{*Denotes four-handed deal.}

Others to cash the tournament were Cero Zuccarello (11th – $67,680), Wasim Assaf (12th – $67,680), Frank Funaro (15th – $43,780), Joe McKeehen (25th – $24,570), Chris Tryba (30th – $24,570), Landon Tice (39th – $20,690), and Nadya Magnus (48th – $17,605).

John Holley Claims Two Titles

Alessio Isaia wasn’t the only player to win two titles in the series as John Holley also accomplished the feat. First, he topped a 78-entry field to win Event #15: $600 Deep Stack Turbo NLH for $13,760 and what was his seventh Seminole trophy.

A week later, he was back at it besting a 193-entry field to win Event #37: $600 Seniors 50+ NLH for $25,715 and his eighth title. That tied him in second place along with Yuval Bronshtein and Michael Newman, who all trail Raminder Singh’s nine titles.

John Holley’s SHRP Titles

Check out our profile on Seminole Hard Rock Crusher Michael Newman here!

2023 LHPO Winners

_{*Images courtesy of Seminole Hard Rock.}

Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.