$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
Level 11: 600/1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Remaining: 425 of 1,207

Jason Mercier began his Day 2 with a subpar stack but Florida poker legend is fully capable of running it up.

He picked up a few chips against 2012 WSOP Main Event runner-up Jesse Sylvia in back-to-back hands. With the board reading , Mercier raised all-in for his last 32,500 to get a fold from Sylvia.

One hand later, Sylvia opened again and Mercier didn’t wait long this time. He three-bet shoved from the button and found another fold from Sylvia to move over 80,000 in early action.

Mercier was relocated soon afterward, straight to the seat he occupied for the duration yesterday. Joe McKeehen was there at the start of the day but he is among the early exits along with neighbor Tim West.

Jason Mercier – 81,400 (68 bb)
Jesse Sylvia – 77,000 (64 bb)

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
Level 11: 600/1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Remaining: 450 of 1,207

While there are few true soft spots in a field of this quality, there are more than a fair share of tough table draws.

Seminole Hard Rock Tampa poker ambassador Wally Maddah finds himself surrounded by millions in career earnings among his tablemates Erik Seidel, Scott Seiver, Stewart Newman, and David Levi.

Table 33 features Kevin Eyster, Mark Herm, Kane Kalas, and 2013 WSOP Main Event champ Ryan Riess along with Seminole Hard Rock Poker team member Jared Jaffee.

And back in the corner at Table 8 we have seats 2 through 5 occupied by 2016 WSOP Main Event champ Joe McKeehen, Tim West, Jake Bazeley, Barry Hutter, and Pratyush Buddiga with former SHRP champ Michael LaRocca at the other end.

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
Level 11: 600/1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Remaining: 476 of 1,207

Day 2 kicked off right on time and we are underway with 476 players aiming for 151 spots in the money later this evening.

We’re still waiting on chip leader Alejandro Duque to take his seat but Kelly Minkin is ready to wield her second place stack.

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
Level 11: 600/1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Remaining: 476 of 1,207

Ten levels are complete in the 2017 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship and we are about to kick off Day 2 for another ten. The first big WPT event on the schedule drew an impressive field with 1,207 entries creating a prize pool over $3.8 million, well clear of the $2 Million Guarantee.

Alejandro Duque held the chip lead at dinner break and finished the day still atop the counts. He’s followed closely by 2017 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Heart Poker Open Championship runner-up Dantonio Brown with 2015 LHPO Championship third-place finisher Kelly Minkin sitting in third position at the restart.

Michael Laake, Darryll Fish, Matt Affleck, Sheddy Siddiqui, Jared Jaffee, Matt Stout, Stewart Newman and Chance Kornuth also advanced for the Seminole Hard Rock Poker team members along with Wally Maddah and Natasha Mercier representing the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa poker team.

The first order of business for the 476 returning players is to get down into the money with 151 getting paid. That should happen later this evening as the players work their way through ten more levels on Day 2.

They’ll retake their new seats and restart the Championship at noon and play ten 60-minute levels today.

Top ten returning stacks:

1. Alejandro Duque – 320,600 (267 bb)
2. Dantonio Brown – 317,600 (265 bb)
3. Kelly Minkin – 280,700 (234 bb)
4. Lance Howard – 256,500 (214 bb)
5. David Wolff – 240,300 (200 bb)
6. Daniel Mijac – 224,100 (187 bb)
7. Pedro LeQue – 223,000 (186 bb)
8. Agop Rustemoglu – 221,500 (185 bb)
9. James Kirvin – 207,500 (173 bb)
10. Frank Passantino – 204,000 (170 bb)

Day 2 Counts | Day 2 Seats | Championship Payouts

Main Event Schedule

12PM: Day 2 – $3,500 WPT Showdown Championship (Re-Entry)

• Championship Day 2 Chip Counts
• Championship Day 2 Table/Seat Assignments
• Championship Payouts

12PM: Event 20 – $300 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

• $25,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration available until start of Level 9
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 20 Structure Sheet

5PM: Event 21 – $570 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

• Players begin with 12,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration available until start of Level 9
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 21 Structure Sheet

Secondary and Satellite Schedule

9AM: Event 86 – $130 WPT Finale Turbo Step Satellite (1-in-10)

• 2 seats guaranteed into $1,050 WPT Finale Satellite
• Players begin with 8,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• Satellite will be held in The Poker Room
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 86 Structure Sheet

3PM: Event 87 – $1,050 WPT Finale Satellite (1-in-10)

• 15 seats guaranteed into $2 Million GTD WPT Finale
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 87 Structure Sheet

6PM: Event 88 – $1,050 WPT Finale Satellite (1-in-10)

• 2 seats guaranteed into $2 Million GTD WPT Finale
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 88 Structure Sheet

8PM: Event 89 – $550 WPT Finale Turbo Satellite (1-in-20)

• 2 seats guaranteed into $2 Million GTD WPT Finale
• Players begin with 8,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 89 Structure Sheet

10:30PM: Event 90 – $1,030 WPT Finale Super Turbo Satellite (1-in-10)

• 1 seat guaranteed into $2 Million GTD WPT Finale
• Players begin with 6,000 in chips and 10-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 90 Structure Sheet

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Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood Property Update

Preparations are underway for the development of an iconic hotel tower and resort:

• Parking – Poker players are encouraged to park in Winner’s Way Garage to access both the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown tournament space and The Poker Room

• The Poker Room – Players may access the poker room by entering through the main lobby or via the exterior entrance on the opposite end of Winner’s Way Garage.

• Inside hotel – Services and amenities inside the hotel will remain open along with regularly scheduled events and entertainment.

For additional construction updates, please visit TheNewHardRock.com

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
End of Level 10: 500/1,000 with a 100 ante
Players Remaining: 467 of 1,207

Friday marked the start of the $3,500 WPT Showdown Championship, one of the flagship events for this annual series at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. It attracted a predictably large field. There were 1,207 entries by the time registration closed, generating a prizepool in excess of $3.8 million — nearly twice the $2 million that was guaranteed.

Florida grinder Alejandro Duque leads after Day 1, one of two players who turned their 30,000 starting chips into more than 10 times that amount over the course of the day. Duque finished with 320,600 to edge Dantonio Brown and his stack of 317,600 for the overnight lead. Kelly Minkin rounds out the top three with 280,700 chips.

A total of 467 players survived the day, including a handful of the SHRP Team. A couple handfuls, in fact. Michael Laake and Darryll Fish both finished with six-figure stacks, backed up by eight teammates behind them:

Michael Laake – 138,600
Darryll Fish – 105,500
Wally Maddah – 71,800
Matt Affleck – 60,700
Sheddy Siddiqui – 59,100
Jared Jaffee – 58,100
Matt Stout – 49,600
Natasha Mercier – 42,700
Chance Kornuth – 32,900
Stewart Newman – 21,900

Loni Harwood, Jessica Dawley, Mukul Pahuja, and Faraz Jaka all played, as well, but failed to survive the day.

A great crowd of traveling pros are in town for the climax of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, so it’s no surprise to find dozens of WSOP bracelet winners, WPT Champions, and Hard Rock Poker winners in the remaining field.

Justin Young ticks a couple of those boxes. Last year, Young won this very event to pad his bankroll and add his name to the WPT Champions Cup, and he’s still alive in defense of his title this time around. He’ll return for Day 2 with barely more than a starting stack but still plenty of chips with which to maneuver.

The World Poker Tour’s Mike Sexton (46,900) and Tony Dunst (26,400) have been known to tick a few boxes themselves, and they both advanced through Day 1, too.

Jonathan Little (182,200), Jean Gaspard (181,500), Ankush Mandavia (167,600), Matt Waxman (155,800), Daniel Strelitz (152,000), and Cord Garcia (149,700) will all return near the top of the counts after particularly productive days.

There are too many others to list, but a complete leaderboard and the Day 2 seat draw can be found in the posts below.

The remaining field returns to action at 12 p.m. with 10 more levels on the schedule. The final 151 players will earn shares of the prizepool, so the bursting of the bubble will be the foremost item on the day’s agenda.

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
Returning to Level 11: 600/1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Remaining: 476 of 1,207

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
Returning to Level 11: 600/1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Remaining: 476 of 1,207

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
Level 10: 500/1,000 with a 100 ante
Players Remaining: 476 of 1,207

From a starting field of 1,207 entries, just 476 players have advanced through Day 1 of this $3,500 WPT Showdown Championship event.

Alejandro Duque did the most work today, ending atop the leaderboard with 320,600 chips.

Duque finished just ahead of Dantonio Brown (317,600) for the overnight chip lead, and the two of them are the only players above the 300,000-chip mark.

Kelly Minkin ended the day in third place with 280,700 chips.

A complete list of chip counts and the Day 2 seat draw can be found in the posts above this one.

Day 2 begins at 12 p.m.

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
Level 10: 500/1,000 with a 100 ante
Players Remaining: 504 of 1,207

The clock was paused with 10 minutes left in Level 10, a card was drawn, and it was a five. Each table will play that many more hands before the survivors bag up their chips for the night, set to return to action tomorrow at noon.