Hal Rotholz Takes Down bestbet Spring Series Main Event
Hal Rotholz decided to travel from New York to Jacksonville, Florida, and it turned out to be a fantastic decision on his part. Why? Because it resulted in winning the bestbet Spring Series Main Event for $180,986.
Rotholz is enjoying a purple patch of form. His last seven live tournaments have all finished with him at the final table. An eighth-place finish, a third, two seconds, and three consecutive victories are nothing short of amazing. The $180,986 Rotholz won in Jacksonville is the largest prize of his career.
Some 401 players exchanged $2,500 for the chance to become the Main Event’s champion. Organizers planned to pay the top 51 finishers, but a double elimination on the bubble altered those plans. Aaron Thivyanathan and Filipp Khavin busted on the same hand and shared the $3,962 51st place prize.
Kyle Cartwright Leads Final Table; Rotholz Fifth
$22,876 is the least any of the eight finalists could win, with the top two banking six-figure scores. Dustin Holladay collected that sum when he crashed out at the hands of Brian Arbaugh. Holladay open-shoved 6.5 big blinds with As-Kd, David Jackson re-shoved with Jh-Jd for 1,020,000, and Arbaugh called with Ks-Qc. Arbaugh turned two pair on the Kc-Td-3h-Qh-5s board and busted Holladay.
Seventh-place and $29,280 went to Stephen Strout. He committed his stack with Qc-Tc on an As-Ah-Qs flop only to run into Nick Ferro’s Qd-Js. No help arrived on the turn or river, and Strout was out.
Arbaugh was the next player heading to the cashier’s cage despite that early win. Arbaugh ran an ill-timed double-barrel bluff with Ah-4h against Johnny Landreth on a 7s-Qs-8h-7d board. Landreth looked up the turn shove with Jc-8c, which held and reduced the player count by one.
Landreth only managed to hold onto those chips for a short while because Rotholz doubled through him. Rotholz turned two pair with Kd-9c when the turn improved Landreth’s Ah-Kc.
Jackson crashed out in fifth despite Landreth running on fumes. Jackson min-raised to 120,000, Rotholz three-bet to 370,000, and Landreth four-bet all-in for 1,105,000. Rotholz called with Js-Jd and needed help against Jackson’s Qs-Qc. The 6d-Qd-Td gave Jackson a set, but Ratholz had a diamond flush draw. The 4c was a safe turn card for Jackson, but the 3d river was anything but safe.
Cartwright Takes Lead With Three Remaining
Kyle Cartwright, a WSOP bracelet winner, sent Landreth to the showers in third-place and his stack to the top of the counts. Landreth’s Ks-9s ultimately lost to Cartwright’s dominating As-9d.
Ferro won a few critical pots in quick succession to take the lead. He extended that lead with a cooler hand against the much-fancied Cartwright. Ferro completed the small blind with Ad-Qc before Cartwright raised from the big blind with Ks-Kd. Cartwright instantly called when Ferro jammed all-in. The 6d-Qc-Td gave Ferro some hope, but the 2c turn left him drawing thin. The Qd river gifted Ferro trips and sent Cartwright home in third place, a finish worth $88,761.
Rotholz trailed 2,775,000 to Ferro’s 7,275,000 stack going into heads-up. He immediately doubled, clawed his way ahead, fell behind before soaring into the lead once again.
The final hand took place during the 50,000/100,000/100,000a level. Rotholz opened to 225,000 with Kd-Js and called when Ferro shoved for 1,750,000 with Qc-Jd. The five community cards fell 5s-6d-As-4h-2d to bust Ferro in second-place for $120,658. The champion padded his bankroll with a cool $180,986, almost doubling his lifetime earnings.
bestbet Spring Series Main Event Final Table Results
Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Hal Rotholz | New York, New York | $180,986 |
2 | Jake Ferro | Syracuse, New York | $120,658 |
3 | Kyle Cartwright | Arlington, Tennessee | $88,761 |
4 | Johnny Landreth | Lanett, Alabama | $66,069 |
5 | David Jackson | Jacksonville, Florida | $49,767 |
6 | Brian Arbaugh | Akron, Ohio | $37,941 |
7 | Stephen Strout | St. Augustine, Florida | $29,280 |
8 | Dustin Holladay | Murrells Inlet, South Carolina | $22,876 |