Only five days after hitting at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa, the widely successful Seminole Casinos Mega Bad Beat Poker Jackpot returned to South Florida for lucky card players at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood.
The $161,423 hit came on Sunday evening Nov. 7, at 6:55 p.m. when Michael H. won $80,710 with his straight flush to the 9, beaten by a straight flush to the Jack held by Jose C. who took home $48,427. The remaining six players won $5,381 each.
The Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood has now had $565,354 in Seminole Casinos Mega Bad Beat Poker Jackpots. It hit there on Feb. 27 for $297,352 and on Aug. 5 for $106,579.
The Seminole Casinos approach to larger, more frequent bad beat jackpots has now paid players $4,909,286 in 23 jackpots since it began in December 2009.
A poker bad beat occurs when an apparently unbeatable hand loses to a better hand. Fifty percent of the Seminole Mega Bad Beat prize pool is awarded to the qualifying losing hand; 30 percent to the qualifying winning; and 20 percent divided among the remaining players.
Here’s how all of the winnings have broken down:
SEMINOLE CASINOS’ MEGA BAD BEAT POKER JACKPOT HITS, AS OF Nov. 8, 2010.
- Jan. 3: Roderick J. won $182,705 with a 10-high straight flush in clubs, beaten by Harvey L.’s king-high straight flush in clubs at Seminole Casino Hollywood. He took home $109,622. The remaining seven players at the table each won $10,440.
- Jan. 5: Wesley P. won $73,680 with his four kings beaten by a heart royal flush held by Keith E. at Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa. Keith E. won $44,208. The seven remaining players each won $4,211.
- Feb. 9: Jonathan Hernandez took home a cool $183,264 with his four 10s, beaten by Terry Alan Baglama’s royal flush, also at Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa. Baglama won $109,959. The seven remaining players each won $10,473.
- Feb. 27: Michelle Knight of Plantation, Fla. was the big winner of $148,675 when her four jacks were beaten with a straight flush by Jenny Sokol of Margate, Fla., who took home $89,205 for her cards dealt at Seminole Hard Rock, Hollywood. The remaining seven players at the table won $8,496 each.
- Mar. 21: Gregory H. of Tampa was the big winner of $142,905 at Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa when his quad jacks were beaten by a diamond straight flush by Pankeo L. of St. Petersburg, Fla. She took home $85,743. The remaining eight players won $ 7,146 each.
- Mar. 30: Evan Rosoff of Boca Raton, Fla. won $90,196 at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek when his jack-high straight flush was barely beaten with a king-high straight flush by Itzkhak F., also from Boca Raton, who took home $54,117. The remaining eight players at the table won $4,510 each.
- April 9: Adewale A. of Pembroke Pines won $86,727 at Seminole Casino Hollywood with a losing hand consisting of four 10s. The winning hand held by 19-year-old Kyle C. of Cooper City was a straight heart flush, 7 to jack, netting him $52,038. The remaining eight players at the table won $4,337 each.
- April 26: Jean Z. of Fort Lauderdale won the Mega Bad Beat Jackpot of $104,264 at Seminole Casino Hollywood with a losing hand of four jacks. The winning hand held by Guillermo N.S. of Hollywood was a straight flush 8-queen high, netting him $62,558. The remaining seven players divided a $41,706 pot for $5,958 each.
- May 1: Christopher Chitwood from Cape Coral, Fla. hit the jackpot of $62,460 at Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa when his queen-high straight flush was beaten by a diamond royal flush held by Lynda Wallace of Tampa. She took home $37,476. The seven remaining players at the table each won $3,570.
- May 8: Richard K. won $74,854 at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek when his straight flush to the 5 was beaten by a straight flush to 7 held by Howard E. He took home $44,918. The eight remaining players at the table each won $3,742.
- May: 20: Thomas C. of Davie, Fla. won $83,561 at Seminole Casino Hollywood when his club straight flush ace to 5 was beaten by a club straight flush 3 to 7 held by Simona K. of Hollywood, Fla., who took home $50,136. The eight remaining players at the table each won $4,178.
- June 24: Stanley Moody won $173,746 at Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa when his nine-high spade straight flush was beaten by a jack-high spade straight flush held by David B, who took home $104,248. The eight remaining players at the table each won $8,688.
- July 3: Terri B. won $95,393 at Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa when her hand of four jacks was beaten by four kings held by James C., who took home $57,237. The eight remaining players at the table each won $4,770.
- July 5: Joseph DiSalvo, Jr. of Tampa won $55,330 at Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa with the improbable losing hand of a four 10’s. Michelle Murray of Tampa beat that hand with a straight flush to the king of clubs for $33,198. The eight remaining players took home $2,767 each.
- July 22: Yudhisthira M. won $107,650 at Seminole Casino Hollywood when his four 10s was beaten by diamond straight flush 8 to queen, held by Martavius H., who took home $64,590. The eight remaining players at the table each won $5,383.
- Aug. 4: Pauline Medoff won $91,814 at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek when her four queens were beaten by Robert P.’s straight flush to the queen. Robert took home $55,089. The remaining four players each took home approximately $9,181.
- Aug. 5: Johnny E. won $53,288 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood when his straight flush 8-high lost to a straight flush queen high held by Alexandra Y., who collected $31,973. The six remaining players received $3,553 each.
- Aug. 6: Stephen P. won $50,000 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa when his club straight flush jack high was beaten by a club straight flush king high for $30,000 by Ashley Q. The seven remaining players at the table each took home $2,858.
- Aug. 17: Angel C. won $82,389 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa with four of a kind aces that lost to a straight flush to the five held by Jeremy S., who won $49,434. The eight remaining players won $4,120 each.
- Sept. 19: Paul Trianosky won $163,608 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa when his four kings were beaten by a 6-high heart straight flush held by Michael Gisondi, who took home $98,165. The remaining six players won $10,908 each.
- Oct. 3: Richard B. won $118,934 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa with a diamond straight flush queen high over Buck J. who took home $71,361 with a Diamond Royal Flush. The remaining four players won approximately $11,894 each.
- Nov. 2: Neil Brundage won $149,453 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa when his hand of four 10s was beaten by a spade straight flush held by Daniel Mosey, who took home $89,672. The remaining eight players won approximately $7,473 each.
- Nov. 7: Michael Halikias won $80,710 with his straight flush to the 9, beaten by a straight flush to the Jack held by Jose Miguel Chirino Carvajal, who took home $48,427. The remaining six players won $5,381 each.
“We’ll see if it stays in South Florida at one of our three casinos this time, hits in Brighton or Immokalee, or goes back to Tampa again. Who knows? We’ve said all along, the Seminole Casinos Mega Bad Beat Poker Jackpot can hit anywhere at any time,” said Jeffrey Hook, senior vice president of marketing, Seminole Gaming.
The Seminole Mega Bad Beat Jackpot was launched on Dec. 1, funded by a $1 contribution from each pot of $10 or greater at the poker rooms in six Seminole casinos: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa, Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, Seminole Casino Immokalee, Seminole Casino Brighton, and Seminole Casino, Hollywood.
Once it is won, the jackpot immediately resets at $100,000; something done only at Seminole casinos in Florida. Seminole Casino, Immokalee has its own unique payout system, whereby each live poker player in their casino at the time of a Seminole Mega Bad Beat hit receives $100, no matter where it hits.
The Seminole Mega Bad Beat Jackpot rules are straightforward: Only the top two hands at the showdown are eligible and both hands must be the best possible combination of five cards. The minimum losing hand is four 10s. At least four players must be dealt for the table to qualify. Multi-table tournaments are excluded. Single table tournaments are eligible until fewer than four players remain. Players must play their hands independently. Management reserves the right to declare a jackpot null and void due to any irregularities and/or collusion, and its decisions are final.
About Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino invites you to PLAYHARD! Play, stay, dine, and shop at South Florida’s ultimate entertainment destination. Eighty-nine tables offer Blackjack, Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker and Let it Ride on a nearly three-acre casino floor. Play one of the more than 2,500 Vegas-style slots including the Native-American Casino linked Multi-Area Progressive Jackpots and Mega Jackpots. Separate high-limit rooms for table games and slots, in addition to a non-smoking room are available for guests to enjoy. Loyal Player’s Club members may enjoy an exclusive VIP Plum Lounge and VIP Chef’s Table show kitchen. Convene in The Poker Room at Seminole Paradise for Texas Hold ‘em, limit Texas Hold ’em, Seven Card Stud and two dollar and four dollar limit Omaha Hi Lo games. Located inside the casino is Hard Rock Cafe -Hollywood, part of Hard Rock’s 130 globally recognized rock ‘n roll themed restaurants. The Green Lodging Certified by the State of Florida, AAA, Four Diamond rated resort showcases 500 luxurious guest rooms, 18 restaurants and lounges, 40,000-square-feet of meeting room space, a European-style spa, auto salon, 25 boutique shops, 12 nightclubs, Paradise Live, and Hard Rock Live, a 5,500- seat concert arena. Located on State Road 7 (U.S. 441) in Hollywood, Florida. Take I-95, exit Stirling Rd. and travel west to 1 Seminole Way. For more information, call (954) 327-ROCK, 1 800-937-0010 or visit us online at www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com