$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship Event
Day 1A Complete; Day 2 Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante
195 Players Remaining, 83k avg (69 bb)

Melad Marji (Brigantine, NJ) grabbed the chip lead after the dinner break and maintained the momentum the rest of the night. Marji bagged 298k *(248 bb) and earned a $5,000 bonus as the Day 1B Chip Leader.

“I played great,” said Marji, who has nearly $350,000 in career recorded live tournament earnings, including a win in Atlantic City, NJ. “I won a big all-in pot against Phil Laak that jumped me up to 300k and I maintained it from there.”

Second to Marji was Timothy Banks with 247k which earned him the Flight B $2,500 bonus.

Marji said he also got an early knockout of Cliff Josephy on the first hand Josephy played that gave Marji a healthy stack at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship.

Josephy re-entered and was one of many recognizable names who bagged chips for Day 2.  195 players advanced including Laak’s girlfriend Jennifer Tilly, WPT broadcaster Mike Sexton, Dan Shak, Matt Glantz, Vinny Pahjua and Jason Mercier.

The day began with 542 entries and upped the two flight total to 1,021 entries.

The third and final flight begins 12 pm Saturday.  Meanwhile, players who advanced to Day 2 are off until Sunday.

Day 1A chip leader Justin Young (Las Vegas, NV) is the overall chip leader with 313k, while Marji is in second place.

“I’m glad for the day off,” said Marji who’s a New York native and  said he’s playing poker in Florida for the first time. “We’ll see how it goes Sunday, I’ll take whatever comes.”

A full list of Day 1B chip counts will be posted by 1 pm Saturday.