The Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open takes place from this Thursday as poker action comes to The Sunshine State from Jan 9 – 21. With some of the world’s best poker players taking on the 54 events that comprise one of poker’s best festivals in January, poker legends such as mixed game master Allen ‘Chainsaw’ Kessler, the newly-crowned GPI Players of the Year Cherish Andrews and David Coleman, as well as experienced tournament crusher Tyler Phillips are all taking part.
A Festival for All
Ahead of the festivities, we spoke to one of PokerStake’s most consistent winners, Allen Kessler. Affectionately known as ‘Chainsaw’ by his poker fraternity, Allen can’t wait to take on the SHRPO and explained exactly why ‘Lucky Hearts’ is such a staple for live players, particularly in the United States.
“For me, it’s the wide array of mixed events along with a mixed player of the series trophy,” says Allen, who made the final table of the opening event of the festival. “For No Limit players there are massive field low buy-in events with huge guarantees [and] there are satellites every day into the bigger No Limit events.”
Allen freely admits that due to his love of mixed games he goes ‘out of my way to support venues’ that offer mixed games. He can see the value not only in the mixed games at SHRPO but across the entire schedule.
“The premiere events are the Main Event with usually a $3,500 or $5,000 buy-in and a $3m guarantee, and for the high rollers a $25k with a $1m guarantee. There’s literally something for everyone there. I love when venues like the Borgata or SHRPO offer a mixed event every day.”
Allen is selling to multiple events on the schedule, and you can find all of his action here on his PokerStake player page.
GPI Stars Selling to the SHRPO Too
With so many great names to choose from, why not kick off your year of staking other players by starting with the two official best male and female players in the game? Last year, David Coleman topped the GPI charts after narrowly defeating his friend and rival Jesse Lonis on the home straight.
To kick off 2025, Coleman is playing in Event #48, the $25,500-entry High Roller in No Limit Hold’em where, to say the least, his edge is often big against other less experienced players. Coleman is selling 15% of his action in three bullets to the event, at a markup of between1.08 and 1.13, and is unmissable value given how successful he was in 2024.
Another player who will grab the attention of poker fans is David’s fellow GPI winner, Cherish Andrews. Selling at a markup of 1.10 to Event #32, the $10,000 buy-in Deep Stack NLHE Event, Andrews only has less than 2% of the 10% she put up for sell on offer. She’s only selling to one bullet of the Event #48 High Roller, but that’s on sale at 1.02 – with 30% of her action on sale in that one.
Other Big Names Selling SHRPO Action
With other players filling up the PokerStake roster, there’s a different player for any fan. Judy Bielan is selling at no markup to Event #35, the LHPO No Limit Hold’em Championship, with both a first and second bullet on sale ‘at spot’. Ky Nguyen is selling to that event too, but at a markup of 1.10m with three bullets on sale on the site. Also playing the High Roller and Deep Stack events, Nguyen is an out-and-out winner and would be a fun sweat for anyone looking to make a profit in those big-ticket events.
Tyler Phillips, who told us only the other day exactly how focused he is on tournaments in 2025, could be set for his first major win of 2025, selling to a variety of mixed games and NLHE events at a markup of between 1.00 and 1.20. The biggest value event of those Tyler is playing is the $10,000-entry Deep Stack – at no markup, he represents a great player to back with your money this month.
Buying action to the SHRPO via any one of a number of talented professionals couldn’t be easier for the at-home poker fan. Simply register on PokerStake and head here to the official staking page for the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Lucky Hearts series. With a flood of events coming, watching the action will be even more fun if you have a piece of it.
