August 20 2012, Chad Holloway
New episodes of the World Poker Tour Season X continued on Fox Sports Network Sunday night with the conclusion of the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, a $10,000 tournament that originally took place from April 18 through 23, 2012, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The event saw 290 players take their shots at glory, but at the top of this week’s broadcast, only three remained.
Background Info: In Part I, the early stages of the tournament were highlighted and the first elimination of the final table occurred when Kyle Bowker fell.
In Part II, two more players hit the rail in Sharon Levin and Craig Bergeron. Regarding the former, he looked at just the 
and moved all in for 615,000. While Tommy Vedes contemplated a call, Levin looked at his other card – the 
. He didn’t seem too thrilled, and even attempted to talk Vedes out of calling, to no avail though, as the former WPT champ tossed in a call. The 
flop gave Vedes a set, while the 
turn and 
river sent the 41-year-old local player home in fifth place for $158,688.
Top of the Broadcast: Here’s how things stacked up at the top of the broadcast:
2012 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown Final Table
| 1 | -empty- | N/A |
| 2 | Tommy Vedes | 2,310,000 |
| 3 | -empty- | N/A |
| 4 | -empty- | N/A |
| 5 | John Dolan | 3,900,000 |
| 6 | Joe Serock | 2,490,000 |
Pros in the House: Having three well-known pros as the last players standing was a treat, and knowing one would become the latest WPT champ was icing on the cake.
Tommy Vedes, who final-tabled the same event last year and finished in sixth place, was looking to become only the third player in WPT history to go from short stack at the start of the final table to winning the title. In addition, he was seeking his second WPT title.
By finishing better than fourth place, Joe Serock was guaranteed to take over the top spot in the WPT Player of the Year Race, earning at least 1,700 POY points and moving him ahead of Will “The Thrill” Failla, who had 1,650 points.
Finally, John Dolan was looking for a title to help shake off the sixth-place finish he earned in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event. Each man had something personal to play for, not to mention the $779,520 first-place prize.
Joe Serock
Just One of Those Hands: With the blinds at 25,000/50,000 and a 5,000 ante, Tommy Vedes raised to 110,000 on the button with 
and was called by Joe Serock who was holding 
. The 
flop gave both players a pair, and Serock check-called a bet of 170,000. The 
turn paired the board, both players checked, and the 
river gave Vedes a full house.
Serock led out for 300,000, no doubt thinking he was value betting nines and fives with an ace kicker into an ace-high hand. Obviously it was all for naught because viewers could see that Vedes held a beast of a hand. And sure enough, the latter double-checked his cards and moved all in for 2.025 million, which was certainly an overbet and a bit greedy in the opinion of commentators Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten. Serock probably would have taken a trip to value town, but as it was, he shifted his eyes and wasted little time in releasing his hand.
“That’s one of those hands that you just keep getting involved, you go deeper and deeper, you shouldn’t really be in it, and it backfires,” cohost Van Patten commented after the hand.
Pop the Collar: I’ll admit I’m no fashion expert, a fact recently pointed out by Daniel Negreanu on Twitter:
With that said, the WPT’s Mike Sexton is keen on players dressing up for final tables, and since this is a WPT recap, I felt obligated to do a quick assessment on the attire being worn.
Tommy Vedes: Last week I touched upon Vedes’ extensive collection of sunglasses. He never did get back to me about how many pairs he owns, but he was still donning the same pair of clear-framed Oaklies that I liked so much. Complement that with an all-black getup, including a shiny black jacket with a popped collar, and Vedes looked quite menacing. Grade: A-
Joe Serock: The man called “Floes” has a reputation for being a bit lackadaisical, but it looked like he actually put some tender loving care into his wardrobe selection. Serock’s button-up with pulled up sleeves and cardigan-like gray pullover was actually quite nice and preppy. He definitely shakes the skateboarder rep with his threads. Grade: B+
John Dolan: Oh, dear John, a gray hoodie. That’s it. Neither flattering nor memorable. At least it looked comfortable. Grade: D
Sunbathing Beauties: If you like good-looking women sunbathing in an assortment of bikinis – including red, orange, blue and hot pink – then the brief five-second clip of the Royal Flush Girls doing just that was for you. They were lounging on some chairs in front of a sign that read: “Pool chairs are reserved for hotel guests only.” Hotel clerk, I’d like to make a reservation please.
flop.Dolan didn’t see his opponent’s cards until after the flop, and seemed a bit disappointed the eight he had hit was no good. Both players were on their feet as the dealer burned and turned the 
, giving Dolan top two pair and the lead. Vedes celebrated with poker pro Noah Schwartz on the rail, knowing he was about to play heads-up for the title, and that’s exactly what happened when the 
river sent Serock home in third place for $306,240. Despite not winning the tournament, Serock’s back-to-back third-place finishes instantly became one of the highlights from Season X and put him atop the WPT Player of the Year Leaderboard.
John Dolan
Heads-Up Play: John Dolan took a 6.655 million to 2.045 million chip lead into heads-up play, but with the blinds a 40,000/80,000 and a 10,000 ante, anything could happen. In one of the early hands, the former raised to 180,000 with 
and was called by the 
of the latter.
The 
flop allowed Vedes to hit the 118-to-1 flopped flush, and he coyly checked to Dolan who bet 240,000 with top pair. Vedes check-raised to 530,000, Dolan moved all in, and Vedes snap-called off for 1.645 million. Neither the 
turn nor 
river changed a thing and Vedes doubled to 3.67 million.
A short time later, Vedes doubled again, took over the chip lead with 5.68 million, and was primed to win a second WPT title, joining just 15 others who’ve accomplished the feat.
WPT Championship Cup Moments: This season, the WPT has instituted a new segment called Championship Cup Moments, which takes a look back at memorable tournaments. If you’re a longtime fan of the WPT, like me, these segments will no doubt leave you feeling nostalgic.
In the latest look back, the Season III Foxwoods World Poker Finals was shown. It happened way back in 2004 and iwas definitely old school. According to that tournament’s legend, young Tuan Le was in need of a hotel room at Foxwoods and struck a deal with pro Hasan Habib – he’d give him 50 percent of his winnings, if he had any, in exchange for a place to stay. Le went on to win the $1.5-million prize, and we can only hope he used and abused the room service in that hotel room.
Vedes Captures Number Two: In what would be the last hand, John Dolan looked down at 
and raised to 250,000. Tommy Vedes picked up 
, made it 620,000 to go, and Dolan moved all in for 3.195 million. Vedes snap-called and Dolan’s face dropped. His expression changed to all smiles when the 
flop gave him two pair, but the 
turned it upside down as Vedes made a straight on the turn. The 
river failed to pair Dolan, who was eliminated in second place for $459,360.
Meanwhile, Vedes became just the 16th player to win two WPT titles and only the third to start the final table as the short stack and claim victory. Vedes is a man of few words, a quality I like about him, and that was shown as all he said to Mike Sexton in his winner’s interview was a simple, “Thank you.”
Tune in Next Week: The WPT Jacksonville BestBet Open is set to air on Sunday, Aug. 26, on FSN, so be sure to check your local listings. If by chance you miss it, check back next week for the latest recap of all the action right here on PokerNews.
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*Pictures courtesy of World Poker Tour.
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August 13 2012, Chad Holloway
On Sunday night, Season X of the World Poker Tour continued on Fox Sports Network with Part II of the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, a $10,000 tournament that drew 290 players and created a prize pool of $2,784,000. The event originally took place from April 18 through 23, 2012, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Up to This Point: Last week, the early stages of the tournament were highlighted and the first elimination of the final table occurred. It happened on Hand #46 when Kyle Bowker moved all in for 255,000 with 
. Joe Serock, who needed to finish in fourth place or higher to take over the top spot on the WPT Player of the Year leaderboard, made the call with 
. The board ran out an uneventful 
and Bowker was eliminated in sixth place for $122,496.
Top of the Broadcast: Here’s how things stacked up at the top of the broadcast:
2012 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown Final Table
| 1 | Craig Bergeron | 1,360,000 |
| 2 | Tommy Vedes | 865,000 |
| 3 | Sharon Levin | 920,000 |
| 4 | -empty- | N/A/ |
| 5 | John Dolan | 1,305,000 |
| 6 | Joe Serock | 4,250,000 |
First for Dolan: Everyone remembers John Dolan right? He’s the man who was a member of the 2010 November Nine and finished in sixth place in the $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event for $1,772,959. Since then, Dolan has been grinding the southern circuit and his appearance at the final table marked his first WPT cash.
John Dolan. Picture courtesy fo WPT.com.
“My favorite part about playing poker is just making adjustments to what other people are doing around you,” Dolan said in an interview. “But at the same time, be able to be patient in certain spots. I’d say that’s what separates the best from just people that are good.”
Levin Busted: After winning a decent pot, Tommy Vedes raised to 90,000 with 
only to have Sharon Levin, who looked at just the 
, move all in for 615,000. While Vedes tanked, Levin looked at his other card – the 
. He didn’t seem too thrilled, and even attempted to talk Vedes out of calling, to no avail though as the former WPT champ tossed in a call.
The two were unusually chummy given the situation, but Levin looked like he got hit by a truck when the flop fell 
, giving Vedes a set. The 
turn was no help to the 41-year-old local player, and the 
sent him out the door in fifth place for $158,688. Interestingly, Levin’s elimination ensured that Joe Serock would finish fourth or higher, guaranteeing him 1,700 POY points and moving him ahead of Will “The Thrill” Failla who had 1,650 points.
The Many Sunglasses of Vedes: Whenever Tommy Vedes is around, he is, more often than not, sporting a fancy pair of sunglasses. They tend to be big and dark, but at the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, he opted to go another route by wearing a pair of what appeared to be clear-framed Oakley’s with highly reflective lenses. PokerNews reached out to Vedes on Twitter and asked just how many pairs of sunglasses he owned, but he never responded. We set the over/under at 100.
Five Questions: In the latest installment of Five Questions, last year’s Seminole Hard Rock Showdown champion, Taylor von Kriegenbergh, answered some questions including these:
How has your life changed since then?: “Wow, I mean, over the past year I’ve done some things to just soul search and find out who I really am. I looked back on that tournament, I was actually watching it with one of my friends, she was saying, ‘You’re not smiling like you always do.’ Like, I didn’t get that happy when I won. I was almost sad, in a way, to see myself. I’m not even smiling, I’m just a totally different person.”
In the last year you haven’t played much poker. You took a pretty big break, huh?: “Yeah. I realized that I got the amount of money that I wanted. I decided it was time to step away from the table, and focusing internally, just wanting to change the way I kind of thought about life, the way I treated each day and I just wanted to start experiencing life better.”
Royal Flush Girl Danielle Ruiz. Picture courtesy fo WPT.com.
More Volleyball and Bikinis: In last week’s recap we told you about a volleyball match involving Vince van Patten, Tony Dunst, and the bikini-clad Royal Flush Girls. Much to our delight, an in-depth recap of the game was shown, along with more bikinis! From what we could tell, each team had two Royal Flush Girls, who wore matching purple bikinis on one team, and matching yellow ones on the other. Bouncing and volleying, that was the gist of the segment – and it entertained.
The Nomad: Joe Serock is a bit on an enigma. He’s relaxed and reserved on the circuit, oftentimes retreating into his own little world with a pair of colossal headphones. In an interlude in the action, the WPT got to know the man they called “The Nomad.”
“I’m definitely not a serious guy,” Serock said with lazy grace. “No one would say that.” It was then revealed that Serock had roomed with fellow finalist John Dolan while in London. The latter said it was for six weeks, while the former thought it was a mere couch crashing for just a week or two. “Part of my style is being a vagabond. I just like to take it easy and have fun with life.”
Bergeron Runs into the Ladies: Craig Bergeron, looking dapper in an all-black suit, looked down at 
and opted to move all in for 1,000,000. Unfortunately for him, Tommy Vedes picked up 
and moved all in over the top. The other two players got out of the way and Bergeron, who had been very quiet at the final table, only had a 19 percent chance of winning the hand.
Bergeron was sporting a massive orange watch and put a fist to his chin to await the flop – 
. Bergeron had backdoor straight options, but the 
turn quickly diminished those hopes. The 
river put an end to the 23-yead-old Michigan poker pro’s hopes of a WPT title, and he shook hands with the table before exiting in fourth place for $212,976.
Joe Serock. Picture courtesy fo WPT.com.
“I just kind of sat around with the stack I started with going into the final table. If you’d have asked me four days ago, you know, if I’d be happy with a fourth-place finished, I’d have said yes, but today I expected to win, and I wanted to win, so a little disappointed,” Bergeron said in his post-elimination interview with Matt Savage.
The Raw Deal: There are very few weekly segments as entertaining as Tony Dunst’s The Raw Deal, where the dapper correspondent gives his brutal opinion on whatever tickles his fancy. In the latest edition, Dunst turned his attention to Joe Serock and what makes the man known as “Floes” successful. An active opening range and preflop three-bets were a couple of things Dunst attributed to Serock’s success, but if you ask us, it just seemed like the two had a budding “bromance.”
Tune in Next Week: Part III of the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown is set to air on Sunday, Aug. 19, on FSN, so be sure to check your local listings. If by chance you miss it, check back next week for the latest recap of all the action right here on PokerNews.
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*Pictures courtesy of World Poker Tour.
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