$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 7: 250/500 with a 75 Ante Flight 1D Entries: 283 Players Remaining: 117
Registration closed for Flight D and the fourth run drew 283 entrants. There are 117 of them still around with a chance to bag later tonight and we expect it to drop into the 30s before then.
That entrant count gets us very close to hitting the $150,000 guaranteed prize pool and we only need 285 over the next two flights to get there.
$250 H.O.R.S.E. (Re-Entry) Level 5: 400/800 Limits Total Entries: 38
Three-time WSOP winner Robert Mizrachi playing some mix games
The Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown schedule has a series of main events and secondary events. Over 100 total tournaments for players over the run over three weeks and today’s big secondary event is a $250 H.O.R.S.E. that is pulling in some nice names.
There are WSOP bracelet winners, WSOP Circuit champs, SHR Poker regulars, and other random big names even though there’s no guaranteed prize pool or shiny trophy. Spread between the five tables we found Robert Mizrachi (three-time WSOP winner), Phil Hui (one WSOP bracelet, four WSOP-C rings), and John Holley (four WSOP-C wins).
Throw in local regulars Luis Santoni, Brent Philbin, and legendary poker report Mickey Doft and you have a nice little mixed game field.
Below we have a few chip counts from the secondary fun event.
Gary Flur – 20,475 John Holley – 19,875 Robert Mizrachi – 17,800 Scott Sharp – 17,675 Harry Eisenberg – 16,075 Mickey Doft – 13,875 Wendy Freedman – 13,600 Phil Hui – 12,350 Brent Philbin – 11,275
$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 6: 200/400 with a 50 Ante Flight 1D Entries: 270
Johanssy Joseph (Mansfield, CT)
Flight D is midway through Level 6 which only leaves 15 minutes for players to enter. But have no fear, Flight E is set to kick off at 3pm for the next chance.
Johannsy Joseph is cruising along and trying to add a Florida-based title to his credit. He’s taken home trophies from Massachusetts and New Jersey tournaments but still looking for a shiny Seminole Hard Rock Poker trophy. Joseph came close to earning one last night but fell short at the $350 Black Chip Bounty final table.
$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 5: 150/300 with a 50 Ante Flight 1D Entries: 246
Robert Valentine (Jupiter, FL)
Players continue to mash the virtual re-entry button often and we’re getting close to this becoming the biggest flight of the event so far. Yesterday’s 3pm run drew 257 entrants and we should click over that before registration closes at 2:15pm.
Robert Valentine is the early leader in Flight C after he ran his 10,000 starting stack up to a very nice 66,500 in two hours. That is no guarantee of success but it’s a very nice start.
Top stacks and notable names:
Robert Valentine – 66,500 (222 bb) Will O’Connor – 65,025 (217 bb) Andrew Touchette – 43,100 (144 bb) Ryan Anderson – 35,550 (119 bb) Thomas Dujmovich – 32,950 (110 bb) Julien Durity – 26,125 (87 bb) Steven Bennett – 25,475 (85 bb) Michael Newman – 16,150 (54 bb) Paul Balzano – 15,825 (53 bb) James Salmon – 13,525 (45 bb) Abbey Daniels – 11,000 (37 bb) Timothy Kegel – 10,875 (36 bb) Nigel Murray – 7,125 (24 bb) David Jackson – 6,000 (20 bb) Eli Levy – 5,950 (20 bb)
$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 4: 100/200 with a 25 Ante Flight 1D Entries: 230
Players in Flight D are taking their first break of the day with 230 entrants so far. They play two more levels when they return before registration closes.
We’ll return with the first round of big stacks and notable names.
$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 4: 100/200 with a 25 Ante Flight 1D Entries: 200
James Salmon (Plantation, FL)
Flight D hit 200 players in less than 90 minutes and they still have a little time to fire into the game before they close registration at the start of Level 7.
James Salmon is one of those getting some $150 tournament action, less than 24 hours after he earned nearly $100,000 for his runner-up finish in Event 1. He came within one bad river card of getting back-to-back titles in Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown opening events. Salmon won Event 1 during last year’s series against Marcus Stein (who finished fourth himself last night).
$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 3: 75/150 with a 25 Ante Flight 1D Entries: 175
Abbey Daniels (Coral Springs, FL)5
We had a nice pace of players getting into Event 5 yesterday and today seems even better. Flight A drew 171 entrants and the early session today has already topped that number and we should see more than 200 before the first break.
Most top players can’t be bothered to get in the game too early, we have a nice group in the room this afternoon including 2011 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship final member Abbey Daniels.
These big multi-flight tournaments usually spread the love over three days but Event 5 is running three a day to keep things moving. We’ll have a steady line at the registration desk with the next flight starting when the previous one closes the doors.
The first of the day is underway in the ballroom and looking to add to the 682 entrants who joined in yesterday’s action. The $150 buy-in gets them 10,000 in tournament chips with 30-minute levels all day long. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 7. If a player bust out after that point, Flight E will be ready to go on the other side of the ballroom.
Play will conclude at the end of Level 14 and those still with chips will move on to Day 2 tomorrow to join the 71 who already advanced from yesterday.
Cards are in the air and we’ll be keeping an eye on all three flights throughout the day.