The tournament room is filled to capacity once again as 766 players are back in action here on Day 2. The opening blinds are 1,000-2,000 with a 300 ante, and the levels will be one-hour long until the start of Day 3, when they increase to 90 minutes.
Shuffle up and deal!
Photo: 1996 WSOP Main Event champion Huckleberry Seed was the 2,000th entrant into this event, the number needed to reach the $10 million guarantee. There were 384 more entrants after Seed.
When the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open was first announced with a $10 Million Guaranteed Main Event, the poker world was skeptical there would be 2,000 entries at $5,300 each.
As it turned out, there were 2,384 entries.
With 1,060 entrants on the third and final starting day, the field reached 2,384 players, easily surpassing the 2,000 needed for a $10 million prizepool.
The prizepool is worth $11,920,000, and first prize is $1,745,245. The top 338 players will finish in the money, earning at least $7,500.
There are 768 survivors heading into Day 2, where the blinds will be 1,000-2,000 with a 300 ante. Here’s a look at the top of the leaderboard:
1. Jesse Chinni – 377,500 (188 bb)
2. Gjergj Sinishtaj – 376,000 (188 bb)
3. Benjamin Berg – 331,100 (165 bb)
4. Justin Bonomo – 326,900 (163 bb)
5. Aaron Schaaf – 326,600 (163 bb)
6. Raj Vohra – 322,000 (161 bb)
7. Alan Le – 309,800 (154 bb)
8. Robert Kleinfeld – 293,400 (146 bb)
9. Chino Rheem – 284,800 (142 bb)
10. Jacob Naquin – 276,500 (138 bb)
Click here for a PDF with the complete list of payouts and the official chip counts.
Day 1C comes to an end, and there are about 353 players remaining from the flight of 1,060. Here’s a quick look at the top of the leaderboard.
1. Jesse Chinni – 377,500
2. Benjamin Berg (pictured) – 331,100
3. Justin Bonomo – 326,900
Official chip counts are being compiled as this posts; stay tuned for those later tonight.
Ended day 1 of hardrock 5k with 377k, possibly chip leader. Ran/played pretty good! Back tomorrow for day 2
— Jesse Chinni (@JesseChinni) August 25, 2013
326,900 to end day 5, Wait what? That was DAY ONE?!?!?!
— Justin Bonomo (@JustinBonomo) August 25, 2013
Day 1C will be coming to an end in about half an hour, but the night doesn’t end then. It’s Saturday night, and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has a lot going on tonight, with some free VIP access for players in the tournament. (Last night, rapper Nelly performed at Passion Nightclub, as pictured above.)
If you’d like to attend either of these events, stop by the main desk in the tournament room and ask the staff for a VIP wristband.
Passion Nightclub: Actor Danny Masterson (a.k.a. DJ Mom Jeans)
From 12:30 am until whenever it closes
Gryphon Nightclub: Rocker Tommy Lee
From 1:00 am until whenever it closes
Level 12 comes to an end, and Level 13 begins with increased blinds of 800-1,600 and a 200 ante.
With 450 players remaining from a Day 1C field of 1,060, the average chip stack is about 71,000 (44 big blinds). This will be the last level of the night, and play will end around 12:15 am.
Late in the last level, with blinds at 400-800, Dwyte Pilgrim min-raises from middle position to 1,600, and an aggressive player (in Pilgrim’s estimation) calls from the big blind.
Both players check to the turn on a board of 
, the big blind checks, Pilgrim bets 2,200, and the big blind check-raises to 5,500. Pilgrim calls.
The river is the 
, and the big blind bets 15,000. Pilgrim moves all in for 32,000, and the big blind tanks for a while before he folds, showing a 6 for trip sixes.
Pilgrim gets up and says, “That’s why I’m a living legend!” and he tables 
for a missed straight draw that became an ace-high bluff as he takes the pot.
Dwyte Pilgrim – 63,000 (78 bb)
The players return from their last break of the day to begin Level 12, with increased blinds of 600-1,200 and a 200 ante. With 522 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 61,000.
The field will play two more levels tonight, and action should end around 12:15 am.
Here’s a look at the chipleaders from the break:
T-1. Mike Kopjanski – 245,000 (204 bb)
T-1. Cong Pham – 245,000 (204 bb)
3. Chino Rheem – 239,300 (199 bb)
4. Sean Winter – 234,000 (195 bb)
5. Bobby Wisiak – 215,500 (179 bb)
6. Jimmy Said – 213,000 (177 bb)
7. Florian Bussman – 205,000 (170 bb)
The casino has double-checked and verified the official numbers, and there were 1,060 entrants in today’s Day 1C field as it this event soared past the $10 million guaranteed prizepool.
Total Field Size: 2,384
Total Prizepool: $11,920,000
First Prize: $1,745,245 (plus the trophy pictured above)
# of Players Paid: 338
Here is the complete list of payouts:
1st: $1,745,245
2nd: $1,163,500
3rd: $872,625
4th: $639,925
5th: $494,490
6th: $378,138
7th: $290,875
8th: $232,700
9th: $174,525
10th-12th: $116,350
13th-15th: $90,170
16th-18th: $69,810
19th-27th: $58,175
28th-36th: $46,540
37th-45th: $40,723
46th-54th: $34,905
55th-63rd: $29,088
64th-81st: $23,270
82nd-99th: $17,453
100th-150th: $14,544
151st-200th: $11,635
201st-300th: $8,726
301st-338th: $7,500
The players return from dinner to begin Level 10, with increased blinds of 400-800 and a 100 ante.
The field will play four more one-hour levels tonight, and action should end around 12:15 am.