$580 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Returning to Level 31: 60,000/120,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 1,612

Six starting flights and a long Day 2 were not enough to determine a champion for the opening tournament on the Seminole Hard Rock WSOP Circuit series schedule.

Day 2 began with 218 players returning and 171 of them made the money early in the afternoon. They quickly worked their way down to 40 players remaining at the dinner break and they wasted no time mixing it up when they returned.

The stacks were deep, the structure was slow, and the big money up top slowed down that pace at the final table. At the end of Level 30, tournament staff paused the clock and the three remaining players bagged up their chips for a bonus Day 3.

Gil Aboodi was the chip leader through much of the late stages of Day 2 and will return with nearly half of the chips in play. Scott Sander and Niovel Chirino Alvarez will try to take them away from him tomorrow afternoon when they play down the WSOP Circuit ring winner.

Seat 1: Gil Aboodi – 9,420,000 (79 bb)
Seat 2: Scott Sanders – 4,060,000 (34 bb)
Seat 3: Niovel Chirino Alvarez – 5,860,000 (49 bb)

Chip counts:
Gil Aboodi – 9,420,000 (79 bb)
Niovel Chirino Alvarez – 5,860,000 (49 bb)
Scott Sanders – 4,060,000 (34 bb)

Remaining payouts:
1st: $135,022
2nd: $83,751
3rd: $62,255

$580 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 31: 50,000/100,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 1,612

Scott Sanders opened to 200,000 from the button and Nagui Yassa moved all in from the big blind for 950,000. Sanders took no time to call and our former chip leader was in bad shape.

Yassa:
Sanders:

Another top hand at the final table and there was never a sweat as the board ran to send Yassa out in fourth place.

Scott Sanders – 3,100,000 (31 bb)
Nagui Yassa – Eliminated in 4th place ($46,974)

$580 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 31: 50,000/100,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 1,612

The blinds are up and Gil Aboodi is back in charge, holding 10,300,000 of the 19,200,000 chip in play four-handed

Seat 2: Nagui Yassa – 1,400,000 (14 bb)
Seat 4: Gil Aboodi – 10,300,000 (103 bb)
Seat 6: Scott Sanders – 2,300,000 (23 bb)
Seat 7: Niovel Chirino Alvarez – 5,200,000 (52 bb)

$580 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 30: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 1,612

Gil Aboodi opened by tossing 105,000 in the middle and the dealer informed him that it was not a valid raise, it was a forced call. John Magnetta shoved for 875,000 next to act and it folded around to Aboodi. He quickly called with another monster to put Magnetta deep in it.

Aboodi:
Magnetta:

Magnetta needed some kind of miracle to double up but he was sent out after the board ran qd] while Aboodi increased his lead.

Gil Aboodi – 9,800,000 (123 bb)
John Magnetta – Eliminated in 5th place ($35,843)

$580 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 30: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 1,612

We caught the action with the board already spread and reading in a heads up hand between the two big stacks, Gil Aboodi and Jordan Meltzer. The pot was in the low seven-digit territory when Meltzer moved all in for his last 2,825,000.

Aboodi didn’t think too long before he said call for the massive pot.

Aboodi tabled for aces up, Meltzer showed for the busted flush draw, and we had a shocking exit for Meltzer.

Gil Aboodi – 9,600,000 (120 bb)
Jordan Meltzer – Eliminated in 6th place ($27,565)

$580 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 30: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 1,612

The blinds took another step north and the chips have moved a bit over the last 40-minute level. Jordan Meltzer made the biggest improvement while Gil Aboodi dropped a bit from his high point.

Seat 1: — Empty —
Seat 2: Nagui Yassa – 1,400,000 (18 bb)
Seat 3: — Empty —
Seat 4: Gil Aboodi – 6,050,000 (76 bb)
Seat 5: John Magnetta – 1,100,000 (14 bb)
Seat 6: Scott Sanders – 3,500,000 (44 bb)
Seat 7: Niovel Chirino Alvarez – 3,700,000 (46 bb)
Seat 8: Jordan Meltzer – 3,600,000 (45 bb)
Seat 9: — Empty —

$580 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 29: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 1,612

Gil Aboodi limped from the cutoff, Niovel Chirino Alvarez called in the small blind, and Jordan Meltzer checked his option to the flop.

Chirino Alvarez and Meltzer checked, Aboodi bet 135,000 and both players called. The turn was and the blinds checked again. Aboodi bet 250,000 to get two more calls before the river.

Meltzer checked and Aboodi said he misread his hand before he checked as well. Aboodi’s top pair was outkicked by to give Meltzer the big pot.

Jordan Meltzer – 3,600,000 (60 bb)
Gil Aboodi – 6,050,000 (101 bb)

$580 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 29: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 1,612

Jordan Meltzer opened to 150,000 and Ruslan Dykshteyn moved all in for 375,000 next to act. Gil Aboodi stayed active and called in the small blind. Meltzer followed suit to see the flop and the two live players checked.

Each checked again after the turn and Aboodi checked the river. Meltzer bet 140,000 and Aboodi flashed before folding.

Meltzer:
Dykshteyn:

Dykshteyn, the 2016 SHRPO Big 4 $1,100 Champ, was ahead until the river but the jack sent him out in seventh place.

Jordan Meltzer – 2,400,000 (40 bb)
Ruslan Dykshteyn – Eliminated in 7th place ($21,585)

$580 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 29: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 7 of 1,612

Jordan Meltzer opened to160,000 from early position and Vytautas Semaska raised to 400,000 from the button. Gil Aboodi called from the small blind and Meltzer released his hand. The flop came and Aboodi slid out two barrels of 25K chips for a 1,000,000 bet.

After a minute think, Semaska announced all in for ~2,200,000 and Aboodi quickly called.

Aboodi:
Semaska:

Aboodi set-mined his fours to crush the kings and Semaska was sent out after the turn and river in a huge pot.

Gil Aboodi – 8,600,000 (143 bb)
Vytautas Semaska – Eliminated in 8th place ($17,031)

$580 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 29: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 8 of 1,612

The eight remaining players are taking a 15-minute break and will return with Gil Aboodi still leading the way followed by Scott Sanders and Ruslan Dykshteyn on the short stack.

Seat 1: — Empty —
Seat 2: Nagui Yassa – 1,560,000 (26 bb)
Seat 3: Vytautas Semaska – 3,100,000 (52 bb)
Seat 4: Gil Aboodi – 4,900,000 (82 bb)
Seat 5: John Magnetta – 1,400,000 (23 bb)
Seat 6: Scott Sanders – 3,900,000 (65 bb)
Seat 7: Niovel Chirino Alvarez – 2,500,000 (42 bb)
Seat 8: Jordan Meltzer – 1,300,000 (22 bb)
Seat 9: Ruslan Dykshteyn – 545,000 (9 bb)