Event #25: $10,000 One-Day Event
$500,000 Guarantee | Structure
Level 6: 300/500/500
Entries: 66
Paul Domb opened for 1,300 from early position and Kristen Bicknell defended her big blind to see a 
flop.
Bicknell checked and Domb continued for 1,900. Bicknell paused for a few beats before waking up with a check-raise to 4,800 and that did the trick as Domb released his hand.
Kristen Bicknell – 33,000 (83 bb)
Paul Domb – 35,000 (88 bb)
Event #25: $10,000 One-Day Event
$500,000 Guarantee | Structure
Level 5: 200/400/400
Entries: 58
Stephen Chidwick opened for 1,000 under the gun and Cliff Josephy called from middle position. The player in the hijack came along before Sam Soverel three-bet jammed for 13,500 from the small blind.
Chidwick folded, Josephy moved all in over the top, and the hijack got out of the way.
Josephy: 
Soverel: 
It was a flip and Soverel was just looking to hold to stay alive. That’s exactly what he did as the board ran out a safe 
.
Sam Soverel – 30,000 (75 bb)
Cliff Josephy – 14,000 (35 bb)
Event #25: $10,000 One-Day Event
$500,000 Guarantee | Structure
Level 5: 200/400/400
Entries: 58
Gui Socarras opened for 1,000 and the player to his direct left moved all in for 3,900. Action folded back to Socarras and he called.
Socarras: 
Opponent: 
Socarras had the better pocket pair and flopped his opponent dead when the 
gave him quads. Just to rub salt in the wound, the dealer burned and turned the 
to give the other player losing quad jacks.
The meaningless 
was run out on the river and Socarras was pushed the pot.
Gui Socarras – 50,000 (125 bb)
Event #25: $10,000 One-Day Event
$500,000 Guarantee | Structure
Level 5: 200/400/400
Entries: 58
A throng of new players jumped into action after the first break of the day. They include:
Jeff Gross – 20,000
Bryn Kenney – 20,000
Chris “Big Huni” Hunichen – 20,000
Joey Weissman – 20,000
Tim Reilly – 20,000
Joe McKeehen – 20,000
Dan Shak – 20,000
Darryll Fish – 20,000
Paul Volpe – 20,000
Patrick Eskandar – 20,000
Kelly Minkin – 20,000
Event #25: $10,000 One-Day Event
$500,000 Guarantee | Structure
Level 4: 200/300/300
Entries: 47
Dylan Linde raised to 700 from early position and picked up callers in the cutoff and big blind. When the flop fell 
, the big blind checked and Linde continued for 900. Both his opponents folded.
Not the most exciting hand but indicative of most hands we see in the early stages of a tournament.
Dylan Linde – 17,000 (57 bb)
Event #25: $10,000 One-Day Event
$500,000 Guarantee | Structure
Level 4: 200/300/300
Entries: 47
Alan Schein raised to 800 from early position and both Aaron Mermelstein and Sam Soverel, who were on the button and in the big blind respectively, called to see a 
flop.
All three players checked and then Soverel checked for the second time on the 
turn. Schein bet 1,100, Mermelstein called, and Soverel thought for a bit before check-raising to 5,400.
Schein released but Mermelstein wasn’t so easy to shake. He called and the 
completed the board on the river.
Soverel slowed down with a check and Mermelstein bet 11,000, which left him just 200 back. Soverel shook his head and folded his cards.
Aaron Mermelstein – 27,500 (92 bb)
Sam Soverel – 13,000 (43 bb)
Event #25: $10,000 One-Day Event
$500,000 Guarantee | Structure
Level 3: 100/200/200
Kyle Keranen opened the action for 500 in the hijack and Paul Domb called on the button. Jerry Robinson then called from the small blind, the player in the big came along, and four players went to a 
flop.
Two checks saw Keranen continue for 2,000 and only Robinson called to see the turn, which both players checked.
Action repeated itself on the 
river and Robinson rolled over the 
for top two pair. It was good as Keranen mucked.
Jerry Robinson – 25,000 (125 bb)
Kyle Keranen – 28,000 (140 bb)
Event #25: $10,000 One-Day Event
$500,000 Guarantee | Structure
Level 3: 100/200/200
Right now five tables are in action here in the $10K with 40 players registered on the clock. Here’s a look at some early stacks:
Cliff Josephy – 30,000
Sam Soverel – 22,000
Dylan Linde – 21,500
Michael Tureniec – 21,500
Matt Glantz – 21,000
Stephen Chidwick – 20,000
Mike Leah – 20,000
Shannon Shorr – 20,000
Stanley Lee – 20,000
Ankush Mandavia – 19,500
Alan Schein – 18,400
Ryan Riess – 17,500
Kristen Bicknell – 12,000
Jonathan Little – 10,700
The 2018 SHRPO $1,100 Big 4 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry), which began with 640 runners, is down the final table of eight. Among them are a World Series of Poker bracelet winner, WPTDeepStacks Champion, an Irish superstar making back-to-back final tables in this event, and someone who has made a SHRPO Big 4 final table three years running!
They are set to return at 1p.m. local time to play out the final table in front of the Poker Night in America cameras. Action will resume in Level 27 (30,000/60,000/60,000) with 26:08 left on the clock.\
Seat 1: Joey Couden
Chip Count: 3,045,000
Joey Couden of Columbus, Ohio begins the final table as the chip leader. The 31-year-old poker pro and father of three (Kenzie, Austin and Sophie) is currently having the best year of his career with $614,216 in tournament earnings.
That includes a career-high $251,523 for finishing fourth in April’s $3,500 WPT Showdown Championship here at SHRPO, and $244,370 for taking down the 2018 World Series of Poker Event #53: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better, which also came with his first bracelet.
Seat 2: James Salmon
Chip Count: 1,260,000
James Salmon, a 32-year-old married poker pro, may have home field advantage at the final table. He hails from Miami and is a familiar face at the Hard Rock. He has just shy of $700K in tournament earnings including a career-high $91,097 for finishing runner-up in the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Event #1: $350 Deepstack. He also won two titles at the venue in 2014 and 2015 for $35,411 and $31,074 respectively.
In 2017, Salmon made a deep run in the World Series of Poker Main Event finishing in 142nd place for $53,247.
Seat 3: Marc MacDonnell
Chip Count: 1,145,000
Marc MacDonnell, 31, is no stranger to this event’s final table. Last year, he finished third out of a field of 633 entries for $53,349. MacDonnell, who currently ranks sixth on Ireland’s all-time money list with more than $1.8 million in earnings, has also made noise at the World Series of Poker in recent years.
At the 2015 WSOP, he finished runner-up to John Reading in Event #6: $1,000 NLH Hyper Turbo for $155,876, and at the 2017 WSOP placed fourth in the Millionaire Maker for $420,805. Earlier this year, he finished fourth in the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic for $319,310.
Seat 4: Paul Balzano
Chip Count: 1,970,000
Based out of Sunrise, Florida, 53-year-old Paul Balzano (married with one daughter) has more than $1.4 million in lifetime earnings including a career-best $180,583 for winning the 2014 Wynn Poker Classic.
This marks his third SHRPO Big 4 final table in a row. In 2016, he finished seventh in the $5,250 Championship event for $125,000 and last year took fourth in the $2,650 NLH for $61,500.
If he can close out this final table he’ll not only capture the coveted SHRPO trophy but also notch the biggest score of his career.
Seat 5: Adam Zeltser
Chip Count: 640,000
Adam Zeltser, 33, enters the final table as the extreme short stack. He lists making this final table as his best poker accomplishment, which it must be given he has no documented cashes on HendonMob. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, Zeltser will look to spin it up early.
Seat 6: Michael Graffeo
Chip Count: 1,585,000
Born in Brooklyn, New York but now residing in Boca Raton, Florida, 43-year-old Michael Graffeo has $627,764 in tournament earnings. His best score came at this very venue back in January 2017 when he topped a massive field of 1,509 entries to win the 2017 Lucky Hearts Poker Open $1,100 WPTDeepStacks for $290,687.
Other highlights on his poker résumé include $88,481 for finishing third in a 2007 WSOP $2,000 NLH event and $58,200 for finishing runner-up in the 2009 Festa al Lago.
Seat 7: Maria Ho
Chip Count: 1,365,000
Maria Ho, 35, was slated to emcee and announce the Big 4 action, and while she might try to juggle some duties, she’s going to have to come on with her player cap on. That’s because the professional poker player, who this summer was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, is in contention for a SHRPO title.
A true ambassador of the game, Ho is an accomplished player with more than $2.8 million in earnings and has made a name for herself as a go-to commentator. She also appeared on a season of CBS’ The Amazing Race alongside Tiffany Michelle.
Seat 8: Dennis Rodriguez
Chip Count: 1,975,000
Dennis Rodriguez, 39, was born in Queens, New York but now resides in Sunrise, Florida. He has $158,859 in lifetime earnings a career-best $46,996 for finishing fourth in April’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Event #8: $1,100 WPTDeepStacks Immokalee.
He also took fifth in the 2011 DeepStack $350 NLH Event for $21,000 and fourth in the 2014 WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Coconut Creek $350 DeepStack for $12,750.
1,100 Big 4 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 27: 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining: 8 of 640
The 2018 SHRPO $1,100 Big 4 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) surpassed its $500K GTD by drawing 640 runners, which created a $640K prize pool and surpassed last year’s field by seven players.
By the end of the night, which concluded with a double knockout, just eight players remained in contention for the $119,465 first-place prize. They will return at 1 p.m. local time on Tuesday to play down to a winner on The Big 4 television set. Action will resume in Level 27 (30,000/60,000/60,000) with 26:08 left on the clock.
Joey Couden leads the remaining eight players. Meanwhile, Ireland’s Marc MacDonnell, who has made the final table for the second year in a row, is looking to improve upon last year’s third-place finish, which was good for $53,349.
Among the top 80 players to get paid on Monday were Nick Pupillo (9tth – $11,949), Marvin Rettenmaier (17th – $6,560), Brian Hastings (42nd – $2,771), Brittany Barnes (49th – $2,451), and defending champ Brian Altman (80th – $1,824).
Here are the official chip counts followed by the remaining prize pool:
Seat 1. Joey Couden – 3,045,000 (51 bb)
Seat 2. James Salmon – 1,260,000 (21 bb)
Seat 3. Marc MacDonnell – 1,145,000 (19 bb)
Seat 4. Paul Balzano – 1,970,000 (33 bb)
Seat 5. Adam Zeltser – 460,000 (8 bb)
Seat 6. Michael Graffeo – 1,585,000 (26 bb)
Seat 7. Maria Ho – 1,365,000 (23 bb)
Seat 8. Dennis Rodriguez – 1,975,000 (33 bb)
1st: $119,465 + Trophy
2nd: $83,750
3rd: $53,939
4th: $39,008
5th: $29,933
6th: $24,045
7th: $19,981
8th: $15,923