Rock ‘N’ Roll All Night: Sounds at Seminole Hard Rock Part I

By Sean Chaffin

With a casino full of guitars, paintings of icons like Mick Jagger, and other rock ‘n roll memorabilia, the WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open has a fitting name. Many poker players are known to hit the play button for some tunes while they play – from punk to rock to classical sounds.

Get the Led Out

Ryan Hughes’ listening habits fit perfectly here at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open. Crank up the Rolling Stones, the Doors, the Eagles, Van Halen, the Who, Queen, AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top – the list could go on and on. And many of those artists are featured right here at the Seminole Hard Rock.

“I listen to classic rock about 85 percent of the time,” he says. “I just hit random shuffle.”

Hughes has plenty of poker chops, with two WSOP bracelets and almost $2.5 million in winnings. His favorite band when he’s looking to turn up the volume? Led Zeppelin. Good times? Bad times? It’s a music selection that will never leave him dazed and confused.

Phish, not a Fish

As he tried to work his chip stack up on Friday afternoon, Marc Wolfe grooved to the sounds of the American “jam band” Phish. The band was founded in Burlington, Vermont, and is one of Wolfe’s favorites. The band performs some holiday shows each year, and Wolfe was grooving to the Halloween show from Madison Square Garden.

A local player from Miami, Wolfe says the band gets him in the mood to play well. When not listening to Phish, some other jam bands are usually streaming on his phone.

“Hippie stuff going through my head makes me play better,” he says.

Phish is now on tour with big a western U.S. swing during December. Unfortunately for Wolfe, a South Florida stop isn’t on the horizon.

Playing the Punk

For Alex Peirce, his poker music selections depend a lot on his mood and how he needs to play at the time. When he’s on a rush and really playing well, he’ll tune in to some electronica and punk rock.

“That brings out the best in me,” he says.

Sometimes, Peirce even mixes in some pop. When things are going poorly and he needs to relax, he turns to some music many might not expect from a poker player.

“I like Spanish guitar, flamenco,” he says. “It calms me down.”

Playing with Positivity

Femi Fashakin likes a low-key vibe when he’s playing, especially after taking a bad beat or two. Before the first break in the day, the British duo Lighthouse Family was his musical selection of choice. The group was popular in the 1990s and 2000s, and offer a light and melodic vibe. Fashakin says slower music helps keep him relaxed.

“I like songs with a positive vibe,” he says. “When I have a bad hand, I just want something that helps put that behind me.”

Fashakin has almost $43,000 in live tournament winnings, but is still hoping for that big breakthrough performance in a major event. He’s hoping that comes here at the Hard Rock.

Sounds of Summer

When it comes to some seasonal selections, Rob Cicchelli prefers the sounds of summer. A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, he prefers some hip hop or Top-100 to help him stay focused and not get bored.

“Just something that reminds me of summer and playing at the World Series of Poker,” he says.

For Cicchelli, that was a nice summer. He scored three cashes in some of the smaller buy-in events including finishing third in the $365 PLO Giant for $54,718. His career winnings are now more than $121,000 and that includes four cashes in August at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. He’s hoping hip-hop propels him to an even bigger score at the RRPO Main Event.

European Fever

Insert earbuds and push play. A wave of pulses and synthetic rhythms flow through those tiny speakers, and Nikolai Fal is ready for action. He’s not at a rave or a European dance club, Fal is seated at the WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open on Day 1a and hoping to run his chip stack up for a Day 2 appearance.

“It just makes me play better,” he says of his music of choice.

A Russian who now calls Fort Lauderdale home, he chills out at the tables with some techno and electronica – sometimes fast songs and sometimes more subtle and slow. It may not exactly be the rock and roll one might expect at the Hard Rock, but it works for him.

Fal is just one of many players hoping those tunes continue to play for another four days – right to the final table.

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