It took four gruelling days against 654 opponents, but Dejuante Alexander was able to score the Hollywood Poker Open Season 4 Championship Event title and $297,644 after a hard-fought battle.
The final day saw the 21 remaining players quickly narrowed to a final table of nine. Nine became eight when Michael Aron’s small pair was bettered by Aaron Mermelstein.
At the start of the final table, Calvin Anderson was in the chip lead. But Alexander took over after Aron’s elimination, draining Anderson’s stack. Anderson wound up going home next, earning $36,926 for eighth place.
Brady Bullard eliminated Bryan Piccioli in seventh and Julian Parmann went down in sixth after a clash with Mermelstein. A big hand against Michael Tureniec then gave Mermelstein the chip lead.
After the dinner break, Mermelstein finished off Tureniec in fifth. Thomas Muehloecker was unable to come back from his short stack, going home in fourth place at the hand of Alexander. Mermelstein cracked Bullard in third and went into head’s-up play against Alexander with the lead.
The pair traded the chip lead back and forth before they struck a deal while Alexander was ahead. Mermelstein secured $240,000 and the two-time World Poker Tour title holder went away in second. Alexander became the Hollywood Poker Open’s fourth champion.
Final table results:
- Dejuante Alexander – $297,644
- Aaron Mermelstein – $240,000
- Brady Bullard – $134,557
- Thomas Muehloecker – $93,496
- Michael Tureniec – $67,943
- Julian Parmann – $52,730
- Bryan Piccioli – $44,311
- Calvin Anderson – $36,926
- Michael Aron – $29,541
The win almost doubled Alexander’s previous career earnings of $299,904.
Photo credit: Hollywood Poker Open
