$570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Prizepool
End of Level 14: 1,200/2,400 with a 400 ante
Players Remaining: 609 of 3,173
The starting flights are in the books for the series’ opening event. This $570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) event drew a huge total field of 3,173 entries across its six starting flights, creating a prizepool well in excess of $1.5 million.
Day/Time | Flight | Entries | Advanced |
Thursday at 11am | A | 441 | 88 |
Thursday at 6pm | B | 296 | 59 |
Friday at 11am | C | 458 | 89 |
Friday at 6pm | D | 509 | 96 |
Saturday at 11am | E | 735 | 129 |
Saturday at 6pm | F | 734 | 148 |
Total | 3,173 | 609 |
The chip leader came from the Day 1F flight, though the name at the top ended up being a bit of a surprise. Down the stretch, it looked like a three-horse race between James Smart, Rodney Banks, and Gediminas Kiuberis for the overnight honors, but Paul Kelly stormed into the lead right at the tape. Kelly finished with 442,500 chips, nearly 100,000 clear of his nearest challenger, Smart.
Here’s the top of the leaderboard after Day 1:
1: Paul Kelly – 442,500
T2: Prashray Rai – 353,000
T2: James Smart – 353,000
4: Fernando Halac – 348,000
T5: Jon Borenstein – 338,000
T5: Rodney Banks – 338,000
7: Gediminas Kiuberis – 328,500
8: Sheldon Gross – 326,000
9: Bruce Jorgensen – 303,000
10: Otto Palacios – 299,500
The Seminole Hard Rock Poker team will be well represented on Day 2, as well. Michael Laake only needed one entry to amass a stack of 239,00 chips, good for a spot just outside the overnight top 20. Matt Affleck isn’t far behind with 213,000, followed by Sheddy Siddiqui (120,000), Loni Harwood (82,000), Darryll Fish (63,000), Stewart Newman (43,000), and Jessica Dawley (21,000).
They and the rest of the 609 survivors will return to action Sunday with the goal of playing all the way down to a winner. A top prize of $272,508 is waiting up top, along with the first trophy of this year’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.
Blinds will be 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante when play resumes, putting the average stack around 35 big blinds. Only 300 of the remaining players will finish in the money, so bursting the bubble will be the first item on the day’s to-do list.
Day 2 begins at 1:00 p.m.