Show Me The Money

All three of the preliminary events are closing in on the money as we pass the witching hour at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. Event 2 ($1,100 no-limit hold’em) has 18 players remaining and nine will make the money, Event 4 ($240 Seven-Card Stud) has 14 players remaining and five will get paid, although they have chosen to halt play until 3 p.m. on Monday; and Event 5 ($240 bounty no-limit hold’em) is right on the money bubble with 28 players remaining.

Event 1: Derek Buonano Leads the Final 44

The action is happening so fast that it’s difficult to keep up. In less time than it takes to walk thru the field to identify the chipleaders, two entire tables have been broken.

With 44 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1.54 million. With blinds at 30,000-60,000 and a 10,000 ante, the average stack is worth about 25 big blinds.

Here are some of the updated chip counts, with more to come soon:

Derek Buonano  –  4,420,000  (73 bb)
Chad Eveslage  –  2,850,000  (47 bb)
Steven McKoy  –  2,800,000  (46 bb)
Jeff Yeh  –  2,500,000  (41 bb)
Alfred Gandia  –  2,430,000  (40 bb)
Jaime Campos  –  2,150,000  (35 bb)
Daniel Navarrete  –  1,300,000  (21 bb)
Pedro Rios  –  1,200,000  (20 bb)
Mike Beasley  –  725,000  (12 bb)
Michael Tait  –  665,000  (11 bb)

The remaining players are all guaranteed at least $3,866. The next pay jump will be for 36th place, which is worth $4,578. The first prize waiting for the winner is $138,952.

Action will continue tonight until the field is down to the final table (unlikely, even at this pace) or 3:00 am EDT, whichever comes first.

Event 1: Michael Ortiz Leads the Final 76

The players returned from their 15-minute break to begin Level 26, with increased blinds of 20,000-40,000 and a 5,000 ante.

With 76 players remaining, the average chip stack is nearly 900,000. Here’s a look at the top 10 on the leaderboard:

1.  Michael Ortiz  –  2,550,000  (63 bb)
2.  Jaime Campos  –  2,370,000  (59 bb)
3.  Jeff Yeh  –  2,300,000  (57 bb)
4.  Steven McKoy  –  2,215,000  (55 bb)
5.  Pedro Rios  –  1,950,000  (48 bb)
6.  Peter Walsworth  –  1,700,000  (42 bb)
7.  Brian Reinert  –  1,650,000  (41 bb)
8.  Oscar Ortiz  –  1,600,000  (40 bb)
9.  Angelo Miele  –  1,485,000  (37 bb)
10.  David Diaz  –  1,450,000  (36 bb)

Jeff Yeh catapulted up the leaderboard after winning a pot worth 2.3 million against Mike Beasley in a preflop aces-vs.-queens situation. (Beasley’s queens never improved.) Beasley is still in the tournament, but short-stacked with about 440,000 (11 big blinds).

Event 3: Results

Here is a look at the final results for Event 3 ($240 turbo no-limit hold’em) at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open.

1: Steven Cardarelli – $4,928
2: Andrew Dykeman – $4,928
3: Regette Duvduvani – $4,927
4: Ian Gillespie – $4,927
5: Robert Aron – $4,927
6: Philip Whitaker – $4,927
7: Jerry Ard – $4,927
8: Scott Anderson – $4,927
9: Nanci Birnbaum – $896
10: David Jackson – $697
11: Sebastian Tejada – $697
12: Jonathan Hilton – $697
13: Michael Palumbo – $598
14: Robert George – $598
15: Stephen Kendrick – $598
16: Mark Bernstein – $523
17: Paul Pantoja – $523
18: Edward Medoff – $523
19: Nathan McNeal – $448
20: Nariman Daruvalla – $448
21: Christian Rodriguez – $448
22: Irving McKenzie – $448

Event 1: Jaime Campos Leads With 83 Players Left

As the next break approaches, there are 83 players remaining in Event 1 ($350 No-Limit Hold’em), with an average chip count around 817,000 (27 big blinds). These players are all guaranteed at least $2,136.

Here’s a look at the chipleaders, along with some of the notables further back, with the blinds at 15,000-30,000 and a 3,000 ante.

1.  Jaime Campos  –  2,550,000  (85 bb)
2.  Steven McKoy  –  2,300,000  (76 bb)
3.  Brian Reinert  –  1,800,000  (60 bb)
4.  Pedro Rios  –  1,800,000  (60 bb)

Daniel Navarrete  –  1,550,000  (51 bb)
Mike Beasley  –  1,400,000  (46 bb)
Marvin Young  –  1,380,000  (46 bb)
John Liu  –  1,300,000  (43 bb)
Zachary Kessler  –  1,100,000  (36 bb)
Brian Phillis  –  1,000,000  (33 bb)
David Diaz  –  805,000  (26 bb)
Angelo Miele  –  800,000  (26 bb)
Michael Tait  –  348,000  (11 bb)
Marsha Wolak  –  330,000  (11 bb)

Jamie Campos took the chip lead after busting a player in a post-flop aces-vs.-queens situation. The flop came JC9S3H, and the player with pocket queens was all in for about 400,000, but Campos dominated him with pocket aces.

The turn was the a blank, and the river was a K, which caused a brief moment of tension as everyone was watching for a queen. Campos won the pot worth about a million in chips to bust his opponent and move into the chip lead with 2.55 million.

Event 1: 99 Players Left

The field continues to shrink quickly after dinner here in Event 1 ($350 No-Limit Hold’em), and they are down to the final 11 tables (99 players). These players are all guaranteed at least $1,933 in prize money.

The average chip stack is about 685,000 (28 big blinds), so this rapid pace should continue for a while with blinds at 12,000-24,000 and a 3,000 ante.