Kuether Claims 1C Bonus, Durkee Second

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship Event
Day 1C Complete; Day 2 Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante
~300 Players Remaining, 77k avg (65 bb)

Joe Kuether
Joe Kuether

Joe Kuether (Elm Grove, WI) used some run good late in the night to claim the Flight C chip lead at 296k and the $5,000 bonus.   Kuether said a flopped straight that dodged a flush draw in a 180k chip pot was his big hand of the night.

“I was aware of it,” said Kuether of the bonus, “but I didn’t really go for it. Not knowing where you stand exactly, you don’t want to blow chips.”

Kuether finished 11k ahead of Will Durkee (Miami, FL) who doubled his stack after the dinner break and lead the way until he finished with 285k and the $2,500 runner-up bonus.

The third of three starting flights brought out 774 entries and helped set the WPT record for one event with 1,795 total entries.  By the end of Day 1C ~300 players remained.

Those who made it to Day 2 included Phil Laak, who bagged a top 10 stack, Allen Kessler, Mukul Pahuja, Michael Mizrachi and Darryll Fish, to name a few.

The field also featured former NFL all-pro tight end Bubba Franks, who was eliminated after the dinner break.

Day 2 continues noon Sunday with ~670 players vying for a piece of the $5 million prize pool and the first place prize of more than $1 million.

The overall chip leader is Day 1A big stack Justin Young (Las Vegas, NV) with 313k (261 bb), followed by 1B leader Melad Marji (298k) and Keuther who’s third overall.

Day 1C Chip Leaders

Joe Kuether 296k
Will Durkee 285k
Nick Schwarmann 275k
Gary Sewell 266k
Siva Ganta 218k

Day 2 chip counts and table draw will be posted after 10 am