Ryan Riess Wins 2018 SHRPO $10k Single-Day Event For $236K

The 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker (SHRPO) $10,000 Single-Day Event took place in Hollywood, Florida, and attracted 91 players to create a prize pool worth $373,600 in excess of its initial $500,000 guarantee. Amongst its contenders was the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Ryan Riess, who eventually manged to top the small but tough field to walk away with a first place prize of $236,838.

The 28 year-old pro has now won a total of three tournament titles at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, including in 2015 the $2,200 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Six Max event for $63,891, and in 2017 the $10,000 Seminole Hard Rock Finale for $716,088. Having now secured a trilogy of titles at the venue, Riess commented:

“I love the bigger buy-ins, the $10Ks and $25Ks are my favorite to play. This casino is just awesome, I can’t say enough good things about it. Tony Burns and all the staff do a great job. I love it here and try not to miss it.”

While Reiss mainly used to compete in lower buy-in events, he has since been focusing his attention on high-roller tournaments, explaining that he likes the standard of play better, while the close knit circuit makes it easier to “really build friendships” and get to know players from outside of the game, especially wealthy businessmen.

2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open

The 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open took place from August 2-14, and featured 26 events with a combined guaranteed prize pool of $11 million. Most of that, however, was concentrated in the so-called ‘Big 4,’ a group of four tournaments offering a combined $6.5 million in guarantees, and ending simultaneously on the last day of the series.

Jake Schindler subsequently won the $25,500 High Roller for $800,758; while Brandon Eisen took down its $5,250 Championship event for $771,444; Alex Foxen successfully defended his title at the $2,650 No Limit Hold’em event for $208,452; and Marc MacDonnell triumphed at the $1,100 No Limit Hold’em event for $119,465.

SHRPO $10k Single-Day Event

The SHRPO $10k Single-Day Event may not have been one of the ‘Big 4’ events, but it still played out and reached its conclusion on the last day of the series. The tournament offered 12 money places, with James Calderaro finishing in 12th place ($21,857), Stanley Lee in 11th ($23,587), and Jerry Robinson in 10th ($25,334) after which the final table of nine was set.

The finalists included such accomplished pros as Stephen Chidwick (7th), Shannon Shorr (6th), and Benjamin Yu (4th). In the end, however, Ryan Riess would reach the heads-up stage alongside Ray Qartomy, although Riess was awarded the title by his opponent after agreeing a $236,838 to $206,297 prize pool split respectively based upon their chip counts at the time.

“There was a long while where I was the shortest and Ray had all the chips,” explained Riess. “Four handed I busted a couple guys and then I had all the chips. We chopped and I’m very happy.”

Final Table Results:

1: Ryan Riess $236,838*
2: Ray Qartomy $206,297*
3: Jay Kovoor $104,832
4: Ben Yu $67,704
5: Shannon Shorr $52,416
6: Jun Ji $41,496
7: Barry Hutter $34,944
8: Almedin Imsirovic $30,576
9: Stephen Chidwick $27,719

Career Earnings of $12.2M

Ryan Riess, a Michigan native, recorded his first live tournament cash in 2012, a runner-up finish at the $1,675 WSOP Circuit Hammond Main Event for $239,063. The following year, Riess entered the $10k WSOP Main Event alongside 6,352 other players, eventually managing to win his one and only gold bracelet for $8,361,570.

In total, that WSOP victory currently accounts for all but $3,851,038 of his $12,212,608 in career winnings, placing him at number 2 on Michigan’s ‘All Time Money List’, behind fellow Main Event winner Joe Cada on $13,541,927. Riess also has a WPT title to his credit, and has expressed his desire to secure an EPT title in order to join a select group of eight players currently holding Triple Crowns.

While Reiss said that he found the game frustrating for a while, his latest win seems to have created a new sense of excitement, with the pro saying that he is now looking forward to the “next chapter” in his poker career.”