Trung Pham Wins RRPO Opener ($123,364); Another Win for Raminder Singh
The early days of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO) down at Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida were dominated by Chris Moneymaker, but on Monday, poker’s version of the “Magnificent Seven” took center stage.
The 2018 RRPO Event #1: $360 DeepStack NLH (Re-Entry) drew a massive 4,558 entries – one of the largest fields in Florida history – over eight starting flights and ended when the final seven players agreed to an ICM chop. As the chip leader at the time, Trung Pham was deemed the winner and received $123,364 for his efforts.
Originally, just the top two were slated to receive six-figure scores with $218,794 up top and $142,216 set aside for the runner-up. Instead, the deal gave five players six-figure scores and the other two more than fifth-place money.
Because of the deal, the last player eliminated from the tournament was James Lloyd, who fell in Level 38 (400K/800K/800K). It happened when Pavlos Kasselouris jammed his short stack holding the K♥Q♣ and Lloyd, who had less, called off with the A♠K♣. Lloyd was a big favorite but was straightened out when the board came J♦10♠8♥9♠2♣. Lloyd had to settle for eighth place and $25,927 in prize money.
Others to cash the tournament were Matt Bretzfield (17th - $6,085), Richard Saunders (23rd - $4,786), Marlon Ramos (36th - $3,726), and Mark Manesh (45th - $3,350).
2018 RRPO $360 DeepStack Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trung Pham | $123,364* |
| 2 | Devond Marshall | $109,854* |
| 3 | Kharlin Sued | $106,611* |
| 4 | Carlos Loving | $102,888* |
| 5 | David Laufer | $101,146* |
| 6 | Pavlos Kasselouris | $72,443* |
| 7 | Lorell Pascual | $68,787* |
| 8 | James Lloyd | $25,927 |
| 9 | David Maslowski | $15,725 |
| 10 | Rick Boyle | $10,563 |
*Denotes seven-way deal
Raminder Singh Continues South Florida Success
In other RRPO news, Event #7: $1,100 NLH wrapped up on Monday. That tournament drew 170 entries and when the dust settled, it was a familiar face taking down the title in Raminder Singh.
He may not be a household name, but Singh is a big deal in the South Florida poker community. In the last six weeks alone, Singh has won three smaller tournaments, not including his RRPO victory.
Singh: “I call myself a true amateur in the 'Slum Donkey Poker Community.'"
“Those are all amateur trophies, I call it,” said Singh. “I call myself a true amateur in the Slum Donkey Poker Community. I’m one of the decent amateurs. I’ll describe it like that, but I enjoy poker in my free time.”
For Singh, who has more than $825K in live tournament earnings, all of his success is attributed to his daughter.
“My daughter, Sonya, she’s into ice skating and she wins a lot of trophies too,” Singh told RRPO officials. “She wins some in ice skating and I win some in poker. This is to inspire her. When I take a new trophy home, she is quite inspired to win more in ice skating and do well. That is a great inspiration as a dad.”
Others to cash the tournament but fall short of the final table were Vitor Coelho (12th - $3,694), 888poker Ambassador Chris Moorman (18th - $2,597), and Scott Wright (22nd - $1,608).
2018 RRPO $1,100 NLH Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raminder Singh | $37,706* |
| 2 | Travis Jackson | $34,311* |
| 3 | Lucas Braga | $16,910 |
| 4 | Sherrie Williams | $10,290 |
| 5 | David Jackson | $7,940 |
| 6 | Edward McNamara | $6,580 |
| 7 | Ann Coffen | $5,689 |
| 8 | Jason Budish | $4,978 |
| 9 | Derek Bowers | $4,434 |
| 10 | Gavin O’Rourke | $3,694 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
Images courtesy of RRPO and IMPDI
PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
