Fort Lauderdale man wins half a million bucks at poker open

Darryll Fish, a part-time Fort Lauderdale resident and popular player on the poker circuit, won the main event of the Lucky Hearts Poker Open on Jan. 24 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood.

Fish, 31, took home the top prize of $511,604 in the event, which drew 911 entries and carried an entry fee of $3,500.

“I don’t play for the title but it doesn’t mean I don’t want one and it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it,” said Fish. “It’s been a lot of years playing the WPT so it feels really good.”

He previously finished runner-up in the 2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship for $453,185; 33rd in the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event for $6,034; third in last November’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship for $168,920.

In all, he’s earned $1,139,743 in Seminole Hard Rock championships dating back to April 2017.

The 24-tournament LHPO kicked off on Thursday, Jan. 11, with the $1,100 WPTDeepStacks Series Opener. The event drew 1,366 entries, highlighting a final prize pool of more than $1.3 million.

The next major event is the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown on April 5-18, headlined by a WPT Championship with a $3 million guarantee. Go to SHRPO.com.

Free Concerts

A series of 13 free Friday night concerts, ranging from jazz to pop to salsa to opera, begins this week at Hialeah Park.

The French Horn Collective, a group whose offerings are described as “an eclectic variety of gypsy jazz and swing,” begins the series. All shows start at 9:30 p.m. at Hialeah Park’s outdoor Fountain Terrace. DJ Asho opens each week at 8 p.m.

Frank Fiore, Hialeah Park’s VP of Entertainment & Marketing, said the series is designed to attract a variety of music fans.

“What we strived to do in this series was to include as close to ‘something for everyone’ as we could,” he said.

Here’s the full lineup:

▪ Friday: The French Horn Collective.

▪ Feb. 9: Mr. Haka and the Cuban Hipsters.

▪ Feb.16: Apache Dragon, a Cooper City cover band that plays classic rock, funk and blues.

▪ Feb. 23: Norbeto & Marisela Orchestra, traditional Cuban folk music.

▪ March 2, 3 and 4: The Habana Boys, a Cuban group ranging from pop to opera.

▪ March 9: Itawe, the front man for popular Latin reggae act Locos Por Juana.

▪ March 16: Electric Piquete, Latin funk and fusion band from Hialeah.

▪ March 23: Yusa, a Cuban singer and songwriter whose specialty is a fusion of jazz and trova.

▪ March 30: Ailyn Dallera, winner of last fall’s “Sing Like Gloria” contest at the Adrienne Arsht Center.

▪ April 6: Los Herederos, percussion-heavy Cuban group featuring two members of the groups PALO!

▪ April 13: Ricky Valido, Hialeah country singer.

▪ April 20: Jose Fajardo Jr., son of Cuban orchestra Fajardo y Sus Estrellas and "Flute King" Jose Fajardo.

▪ April 27: Yoli Mayor, Miami-based singer who was a semifinalist on “America's Got Talent.”

Mixing poker, lottery

A South Florida company has created an enterprise that combines poker and the lottery for residents of Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and other island nations.

Atlantic West Management Group, Inc., an 18-year-old software development company, explains the details at placeyourchipscaribbean.com.

When a player enters the site, the player has a choice of one of the 10 countries. The first part is a 6½ day per week “Sit N Go” poker tournament where the players effectively can increase their entries into the second part. There’s a Pick-6 drawing. Cost is $29.95 per year, which includes 50 tickets weekly. Those can be used directly for Pick-6 tickets or wagered at the poker tournaments for more lottery tickets.

Coming up

▪ Resorts World Bimini has two big events this weekend: the annual Bimini Wahoo Mayhem fishing tournament and a Sunday super bowl party, with players from the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers. The day includes drink specials, DJ sets and raffle prizes. Go to rwbimini.com.

▪ The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has a TJ Maxx/Marshalls Gift Card Giveaway from 3-9 p.m. Thursday. Those who earn six comp dollars playing slots from midnight to 8 p.m. Thursday receive a $15 gift card valid at TJ Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods. From 3-6 p.m. Sunday is the $80,000 Power Winners Football Edition: 25 patrons receive $250 to play on the slots, with awards every 15 minutes. (That makes for a total of 325 winners.) Players can win only one time and must wager $20 within each drawing time.

▪ Maleni & Chicklet, a New York City couple known for countless Instagram videos, perform at 9 p.m. Friday at Magic City Casino. The interactive show includes activities and humorous advice, in an audience-participation setting. Tickets start at $20 via MagicCityCasino.com.

▪ Blood, Sweat & Tears, now featuring Bo Bice, performs at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Casino @ Dania Beach. Bice was runner-up to Carrie Underwood on the 2005 edition of “American Idol.” The nine-piece band, which recently celebrated 50 years since its founding, is known for “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” “Spinning Wheel,” “And When I Die,” “Hi De Ho” and “Lucretia MacEvil.” Tickets start at $35. casinodaniabeach.com.

This story was originally published January 29, 2018 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Fort Lauderdale man wins half a million bucks at poker open."