Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship 
Level 11: 600/1,200 with a 200 ante
Players Remaining: 488 of 1,222
Average Stack: 75,000 (63 big blinds)

Day 2 of the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown is ready to go with 488 players returning of the huge 1,222 starting field.

Only 153 of them will get a piece of the $3,910,400 prize pool so they have some work to do. The field should hit the money bubble later this evening and we’ll see the pace slow as it approaches.

Steven Hensley held the chip lead at the end of Day 1 and his 398,500 has a clear lead on second place Long Tran with 295,900 at the restart.

Four WSOP Main Event winners made it through to Day 2 with the current champ restarting with a top 25 stack. Ryan Riess, Greg Merson, and Jamie Gold all bagged up chips last night but 2015 WSOP Main Event champ Joe McKeehen put 176,300 chips away for today.

Michael Laake leads the pack among Seminole Hard Rock Poker team members with newest members Loni Harwood and Chance Kornuth making it as well. We have November Niners, WPT Champions Club members, and local regulars all in contention this afternoon.

The average stack (and median stack for those statistically inclined) is deep to give Championship players plenty of room to make moves. It will be a while before they even sniff the money bubble and they’ll have to play solid to get there.

Cards will fly at noon and they are scheduled to play ten more hour-long levels before the survivors return tomorrow to play down to the final table six.

Top ten returning players:

Steven Hensley – 398,500 (332 bb)
Long Tran – 295,900 (247 bb)
David Farber – 290,000 (242 bb)
Jonathan Jaffe – 265,000 (221 bb)
Sam Panzica – 241,800 (202 bb)
Michael Kraischko – 224,700 (187 bb)
Seville Hale – 221,700 (185 bb)
Jason Bral – 217,100 (181 bb)
Craig Darnell – 214,500 (179 bb)
Ryan Tepen – 210,600 (176 bb)