$300 Seniors Event (Re-Entry)
Structure
Level 4: 100/200 with a 25 ante
Total Entries: 140

The Seniors Event is off for their first break of the day, along with the big opening flight of Event 1, and they are pushing up a nice prize pool. There are 140 in the game and on pace to top the 160 entries from this tournament last year.

Jeff Kessler is among the senior crowd today and looking for his second SHRP title in this unique game. He won the Seniors Event during the 2013 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open back in the days when that series ran in the old poker room.

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 100/200 with a 25 ante
Flight A Entries: 243

Seminole Hard Rock Poker has run a Player of the Year race for a few years and we found our first winner back in action after taking a break.

Angel Vu was the SHRP Player of the Year in 2014 and the first player to earn that title. She picked up two trophies that year with a win during the Tampa Summer Poker Open followed by another in the Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open. Those accounted for two of her three biggest scores with the other coming after a fourth-place finish in this event during the 2014 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.

Vu took some time off from poker to concentrate on her successful business in Daytona. She still gets in the action to keep her skills sharp and final tabled an HPT event this past October.

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 3: 75/150 with a 25 ante
Flight A Entries: 205

Raphael Reis knows a little something about winning these big opening events. The SHR Poker regular earned the biggest score of his career when he won Event 1 of the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open for more than $150,000.

If he wants to repeat that performance, Reis will have to do it on at least two bullets.

He was all in at his starting table for 15,275 in a three-way pot with the board reading . Only one player stuck around and Reis showed top pair/nut flush draw but he was behind his opponent’s flopped two pair .

Reis couldn’t find a club or bigger two pair on the river and he shrugged it off before heading to the re-entry desk.

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 2: 50/100
Flight A Entries: 135

Flight A kicked off precisely at the top of the hour and 30 minutes later we had another 60 players jump in the game. We expect the event center to continue to fill up as we hit the afternoon hours.

Florida poker legend Ari Engel was an early entrant and we are not surprised. He’s running well in 2018 and maximizing his time at the tables.

Engel has earned more than $580,000 since the start of the year including a win during the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open, his ninth WSOP Circuit ring at the Bike, and he followed that up with a $315K win in their Mega Millions Quantum Reload tournament.

Not too shabby for a few months work.

Somehow the best venue for tournament poker @shrpo got better. I’ll say it again if you’re going to play 1 series a year- skip @wsop and come to hardrock for a way better players experience #notanad

— Ari Engel (@AriEngelPoker) April 5, 2018

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1: 25/50
Flight A Entries: 82

Tournament staff performed the daily reading of the rules then kicked off the 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. Cards are in the air for Event 1 along with the Seniors Event on the back tables.

Flight A will play 14 full levels with registration closing at the start of Level 9.

$300 Seniors Event (Re-Entry)
Structure
Level 1: 25/50

It may not be the official first event of the series but the seniors will award the first trophy. While some will be playing the opening flight of Event 1 in one part of the Hard Rock Event Center, our elder statesmen will be battling it out of the other side for the Seniors Event trophy.

The tournament is open to anyone 50 years and older and the $300 buy-in event will attract a nice crowd.

Players will start out with 10,000 stacks and the tournament will run 30-minute levels. Late registration and re-entries are available until the start of Level 9 at 3:30 pm and they have a dinner break schedule after Level 12.

The tournament will play out today and we will crown our first champion before the night is complete.

• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• Event is open to players 50 years of age or older
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 2 Structure Sheet

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1: 25/50

The wait is complete and it’s time to start the 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in the new Hard Rock Event Center. The arena space is being used for the first time for a poker series and it will add to the excitement of a series which includes millions in guaranteed money.

The kick-off event is a $570 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament with six starting flights and a $1,000,000 Guaranteed prize pool. Two flights will run each day between now and Saturday with Flight B running this evening at 6 pm.

Each entrant will sit down to a 20,000 starting stack and levels will run 30 minutes long for all starting flights. Late registration is available until the start of Level 9 at 3:30 pm and unlimited re-entries are available during that time. They will continue grinding down from that point and all players with chips at the end of 14 full levels will bag them up for a return on Sunday for Day 2.

It should be a lot of fun today as players get their first look at the new tournament setup. Opening day will be exciting and we look forward to a great series.

• $1,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 20,000 in chips
• Day 1 levels last 30 minutes; Day 2 levels last 40 minutes
• Late registration available until start of Level 9
• Day 1 will end after Level 14 or Tournament Director discretion
• Event 1 Structure Sheet

Primary Event Schedule

11AM: Event 1 Day 1A – $570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

• $1,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 20,000 in chips
• Day 1 levels last 30 minutes; Day 2 levels last 40 minutes
• Late registration available until start of Level 9
• Day 1 will end after Level 14 or Tournament Director discretion
• Event 1 Structure Sheet

11AM: Event 2 – $300 Seniors Event (Re-Entry)

• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• Event is open to players 50 years of age or older
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 2 Structure Sheet

6PM: Event 1 Day 1B – $570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

• $1,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 20,000 in chips
• Day 1 levels last 30 minutes; Day 2 levels last 40 minutes
• Late registration available until start of Level 9
• Day 1 will end after Level 14 or Tournament Director discretion
• Event 1 Structure Sheet

Secondary and Satellite Schedule

9AM: Event 23 – $80 Turbo Satellite to Event 1 (1-in-10)

• 2 seats guaranteed into $1,000,000 GTD Event 1
• Players begin with 8,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• Satellite will be held in the Poker Room
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 23 Structure Sheet

3PM: Event 24 – $200 Multi Event Satellite (1-in-10)

• 4 packages guaranteed worth $1,670 each
• Package includes any Showdown $570 entry and WPTDeepStacks Day 1A entry
• Players begin with 8,000 in chips and 20-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 24 Structure Sheet

8PM: Event 25 – $140 Turbo Satellite to Event 1 (1-in-5)

• 2 seats guaranteed into $1,000,000 GTD Event 1
• Players begin with 8,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 25 Structure Sheet