In fairly rapid succession, Michael Tait was eliminated in 12th place, and Last Woman Standing Josée Thauvette was eliminated in 11th place. Both players received $9,766.
The remaining 10 players combined to a single table, and the next player eliminated will also receive $9,766.
At that point, the final nine players will begin the official final table, guaranteed at least $12,095, and playing for a first prize of $138,952.
Here are the updated chip counts as 10-handed play begins:
Seat 1. Derek Buonano – 14,180,000 (70 bb) Seat 2. Alcides Gomez – 3,300,000 (16 bb) Seat 3. David Diaz – 5,800,000 (29 bb) Seat 4. Daniel Navarrete – 6,800,000 (34 bb) Seat 5. Jeff Yeh – 2,700,000 (13 bb) Seat 6. John Liu – 3,200,000 (16 bb) Seat 7. Kevin Ho – 10,150,000 (50 bb) Seat 8. Zack Goodman – 10,200,000 (51 bb) Seat 9. Steven McKoy – 6,225,000 (31 bb) Seat 10. Jaime Campos – 4,020,000 (20 bb)
Shortly before the first break, Michael Ortiz was eliminated in 13th place (earning $7,630). That put the field just two spots away from combining to a single table.
When the players returned from break, the blinds increased to 100,000-200,000 with a 25,000 ante.
In the first or second hand, Steven McKoy moved all in from the button for 2.9 million, and Jeff Yeh tanked for a bit before he called from the small blind with . McKoy turned over , and he’ll need it to hold to stay alive.
The board comes , and the pocket deuces hold up for McKoy to win the pot and double up in chips.
Steven McKoy – 6,150,000 (30 bb) Jeff Yeh – 3,200,000 (16 bb)
The field in Event 1 ($350 No-Limit Hold’em) is now down to 13 players as chipleader Derek Buonano increases his chip lead.
After a nine-high flop, Mike Chiappetta bet 1 million from the hijack, Buonano moved all in from the button, and both players in the blinds folded. Chiappetta called with A-A for an overpair, but Buonano turned over 9-9 for top set.
The board paired on the turn, and the river was a blank, giving Buonano the pot with a full house, nines full of threes. Chiappetta was the latest player to hit the rail in this event, finishing 14th.
Derek Buonano – 12,800,000 (85 bb) Mike Chiappetta – Out in 14th Place ($7,630)
About 90 minutes into the final day of Event 1 ($350 No-Limit Hold’em), there are 14 players remaining as they approach the final table.
The pressure is only going to increase from there, as ninth place is worth $12,095 and first place is worth $138,952.
With the blinds at 75,000-150,000 and a 20,000 ante, here’s an update on the field, along with the five players who have busted so far today. (The average chip stack is about 4.8 million, worth about 32 big blinds.)
TABLE 1 Seat 1. Seat 2. Daniel Navarrete – 5,300,000 (35 bb) Seat 3. Michael Tait – 2,050,000 (13 bb) Seat 4. Steven McKoy – 3,675,000 (24 bb) Seat 5. Jeff Yeh – 2,400,000 (16 bb) Seat 6. Seat 7. Kevin Ho – 8,750,000 (58 bb) Seat 8. David Diaz – 7,180,000 (47 bb) Seat 9. Alcides Gomez – 1,860,000 (12 bb)
Day 2 of Event 1 ($350 No-Limit Hold’em) came to an end with 19 players remaining — just one player away from the final two tables. They bagged and tagged their chips, and will return to action tomorrow (Monday) to play down to a winner.
That winner will receive a first prize of $138,952.
The remaining 19 players are all guaranteed at least $5,392, and the nine final tablists will be guaranteed at least $12,095.
The field was steadily — and quickly — shrinking all day long. Even the Money Bubble was quick. When the clock was stopped to begin hand-for-hand play, somebody busted during a hand in progress. That technically burst the bubble, and just when all the players were expecting to begin hand-for-hand play, they learned that they were already in the money.
There were a lot of lead changes throughout the day, and nobody seemed to hold onto the chip lead for long.
Tomorrow the blinds will begin at 50,000-100,000 and a 15,000 ante. Here are the official end-of-Day 2 chip counts:
1. Kevin Ho – 7,695,000 (76 bb) 2. Kane Kalas – 6,690,000 (66 bb) 3. Zack Goodman – 6,475,000 (64 bb) 4. Derek Buonano – 5,800,000 (58 bb) 5. David Diaz – 5,775,000 (57 bb) 6. Jaime Campos – 5,460,000 (54 bb) 7. Alcides Gomez – 5,285,000 (52 bb) 8. Steven McKoy – 4,075,000 (40 bb) 9. Michael Ortiz – 3,950,000 (39 bb) 10. Daniel Navarrete – 2,865,000 (28 bb) 11. Josée Thauvette – 2,500,000 (25 bb) 12. Jeff Yeh – 2,340,000 (23 bb) 13. Mike Chiappetta – 1,940,000 (19 bb) 14. Chad Eveslage – 1,750,000 (17 bb) 15. Michael Tait – 1,530,000 (15 bb) 16. Tim Myers – 1,230,000 (12 bb) 17. Mike Beasley – 1,100,000 (11 bb) 18. John Liu – 1,070,000 (10 bb) 19. Harold Lam – 775,000 (7 bb)
Of the final 19 players, we counted six of them as the tournament chipleader at some point today — Kevin Ho, Mike Chiappetta, David Diaz, Michael Ortiz, Derek Buonano, and Jaime Campos. But none of them held the top spot for long.
Near the bottom of the chip counts, there were several players who were keeping their heads just above water, but they survived in that state for a long time — including Michael Tait, Mike Beasley, and John Liu. They are all hoping to catch some momentum tomorrow.
Return to SeminoleHardRockPokerOpen.com tomorrow (Monday) for continuing coverage of Event 1 ($350 No-Limit Hold’em) as they battle for the final table and play down to a winner.
Kevin Ho finished Day 2 with nearly 7.7 million in chips, taking the lead into Day 3.
There are 20 players remaining with 20 minutes left in Day 2 of Event 1 ($350 No-Limit Hold’em). The average chip stack is about 3.4 million, which is worth about 37 big blinds.
Kevin Ho leads the field late with nearly seven million, but there are several players he’ll need to hold off to finish with the end-of-day chip lead.
Here’s a look at the top of the leaderboard late in the last level of the day:
1. Kevin Ho – 6,970,000 (77 bb) 2. Zack Goodman – 5,725,000 (63 bb) 3. Mike Chiappetta – 5,500,000 (61 bb) 4. Derek Buonano – 4,900,000 (54 bb) 5. Kane Kalas – 4,650,000 (51 bb)
One of the more interesting stories since the money bubble has been Mike Beasley, who was cut short in an aces-vs.-queens situation, but has held tough since then.
Beasley has pointed out that when he won the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 Borgata Winter Open, he struggled with fewer than 15 big blinds all the way from 41 players remaining to reach the final three. Beasley says that if he did it once, he can do it again.
Beasley has been on a similar trajectory today, and he’s hoping that this tournament has a similar conclusion for him.
When the field in Event 1 ($350 No-Limit Hold’em) reached the final three tables, there was a redraw for the entire field. With 26 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 2.6 million (about 32 big blinds).
Here’s a look at the top of the leaderboard, along with chip counts from some of the other remaining players, with the blinds at 40,000-80,000 and a 10,000 ante.
1. Mike Chiappetta – 5,380,000 (67 bb) 2. Kane Kalas – 5,250,000 (65 bb) 3. Derek Buonano – 5,070,000 (63 bb) 4. Michael Ortiz – 4,700,000 (58 bb) 5. Steven McCoy – 4,450,000 (55 bb) 6. David Diaz – 4,215,000 (52 bb)
Angelo Miele – 3,900,000 (48 bb) Kevin Ho – 3,750,000 (46 bb) Daniel Navarrete – 2,960,000 (37 bb) Chad Eveslage – 2,300,000 (28 bb) Sonia Marks – 1,600,000 (20 bb) John Liu – 1,400,000 (17 bb) Brian Phillis – 1,360,000 (17 bb) Jaime Campos – 1,150,000 (14 bb) Oscar Ortiz – 1,050,000 (13 bb) Mike Beasley – 815,000 (10 bb) Marlon Ballentine – 800,000 (10 bb) Michael Tait – 610,000 (7 bb)
The remaining players are all guaranteed at least $5,392. The next pay jump is for 18th place, which is worth $6,409.
Action will continue tonight until the end of the next level, which will be around 2:35 am EDT.
The final 35 players return from the last break of the day to begin Level 29, with increased blinds of 35,000-70,000 and a 10,000 ante.
The average chip stack is a little more than 1.9 million, which is worth about 27 big blinds.
Here’s a look at some of the updated chip counts:
David Diaz – 5,230,000 (74 bb) Daniel Navarrete – 4,030,000 (57 bb) Derek Buonano – 4,000,000 (57 bb) Mike Chiappetta – 3,850,000 (55 bb) Steven McKoy – 3,700,000 (52 bb) Kevin Ho – 3,600,000 (51 bb) Chad Eveslage – 3,425,000 (48 bb) Oscar Ortiz – 2,350,000 (33 bb) Brian Phillis – 1,500,000 (21 bb) Marlon Ballentine – 1,200,000 (17 bb) John Liu – 1,200,000 (17 bb) Mike Beasley – 1,100,000 (15 bb) Michael Tait – 1,000,000 (14 bb)
Daniel Navarrete moved into second on the leaderboard after eliminating Pedro Rios. They had gotten it all in preflop with Navarrete’s pocket aces dominating the pocket nines of Rios. The board brought quad fours (Q-4-4-4-4), and Navarette won the pot with one of his aces as the kicker.
Action will continue tonight until the field reaches the final table (very unlikely) or the end of Level 31 (about 2:35 am EDT).
The action is happening so fast that it’s difficult to keep up. In less time than it takes to walk thru the field to identify the chipleaders, two entire tables have been broken.
With 44 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1.54 million. With blinds at 30,000-60,000 and a 10,000 ante, the average stack is worth about 25 big blinds.
Here are some of the updated chip counts, with more to come soon:
Derek Buonano – 4,420,000 (73 bb) Chad Eveslage – 2,850,000 (47 bb) Steven McKoy – 2,800,000 (46 bb) Jeff Yeh – 2,500,000 (41 bb) Alfred Gandia – 2,430,000 (40 bb) Jaime Campos – 2,150,000 (35 bb) Daniel Navarrete – 1,300,000 (21 bb) Pedro Rios – 1,200,000 (20 bb) Mike Beasley – 725,000 (12 bb) Michael Tait – 665,000 (11 bb)
The remaining players are all guaranteed at least $3,866. The next pay jump will be for 36th place, which is worth $4,578. The first prize waiting for the winner is $138,952.
Action will continue tonight until the field is down to the final table (unlikely, even at this pace) or 3:00 am EDT, whichever comes first.
The players returned from their 15-minute break to begin Level 26, with increased blinds of 20,000-40,000 and a 5,000 ante.
With 76 players remaining, the average chip stack is nearly 900,000. Here’s a look at the top 10 on the leaderboard:
1. Michael Ortiz – 2,550,000 (63 bb) 2. Jaime Campos – 2,370,000 (59 bb) 3. Jeff Yeh – 2,300,000 (57 bb) 4. Steven McKoy – 2,215,000 (55 bb) 5. Pedro Rios – 1,950,000 (48 bb) 6. Peter Walsworth – 1,700,000 (42 bb) 7. Brian Reinert – 1,650,000 (41 bb) 8. Oscar Ortiz – 1,600,000 (40 bb) 9. Angelo Miele – 1,485,000 (37 bb) 10. David Diaz – 1,450,000 (36 bb)
Jeff Yeh catapulted up the leaderboard after winning a pot worth 2.3 million against Mike Beasley in a preflop aces-vs.-queens situation. (Beasley’s queens never improved.) Beasley is still in the tournament, but short-stacked with about 440,000 (11 big blinds).
. McKoy turned over 
, and he’ll need it to hold to stay alive.
, and the pocket deuces hold up for McKoy to win the pot and double up in chips.