Jason Young wins Lucky Hearts Poker Open

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Florida concluded its 2019 Lucky Hearts Poker Open (LHPO) Tuesday evening. Besting 1,634 entries in the WPTDeepStacks Main Event, Jason Young, 37, of Delray Beach, Florida, took home the top prize of $260,205 plus a $3,000 WPTDeepStacks Championship Package. The $1,100 finale boasted a final prize pool of more than $1.5 million, easily exceeding the $1 million guarantee.

“It’s been a long journey to get back here,” said Young. “There’s been a lot of stuff that’s gone on in my life over the last five to six years, and I didn’t think I’d ever be back in a position like this.”

Young has career earnings exceeding $1 million, the majority of which came via his four tournament wins. In addition to Tuesday’s WPTDeepStacks LHPO Main Event win, Young’s poker resume is highlighted by a World Series of Poker gold bracelet victory in Las Vegas in 2008. That event was a $1,500 buy-in shootout and earned Young $335,565.

“This was fun. It was like a picnic,” said Young of his play Tuesday. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a spot like this, and I wasn’t going to get rattled by anything – not today.”

Championship Final Table Results:
1st: Jason Young (Delray Beach, Fla.) $260,205 + $3,000 WPTDeepStacks Championship Package
2nd: Leif Force (Tallahassee, Fla.) $183,540
3rd: Paul James Hizer (London) $119,820
4th: Kevin Chan (Coconut Creek, Fla.) $89,000
5th: David Inselberg (Boca Raton, Fla.) $66,760
6th: Pedro Aldave (Argentina) $53,785
7th: Quinn Bruno (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) $43,930
8th: Eddy Sabat (Lancaster, Calif.) $34,125
9th: Stephen Ibrahim (Fort Myers, Fla.) $26,025

The 25-tournament LHPO kicked off on Thursday, 10 January with the $360 Ultimate Re-Entry No Limit Hold’em. With 4,508 entries, the event more than doubled the $500,000 guarantee, creating a total prize pool of more than $1.3 million. Michael Newman of Nanuet, N.Y. won the opener turning his $360 entry into $181,025.