$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 4: 100/200/25 Ante

The tournament is about 15 minutes into Level 4 and there are currently 433 entrants showing on the tournament clock.

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 4: 10/200/25 Ante

A player in early position opened to 450 and Natasha Barbour made the call in middle position. The player on the button called as well and Jason Mercier took a break from his OFC game to look at his cards.

“How much is it?” he asked. Finding out the amount, he grabbed some chips and put out a raise to 2,250. That was enough to get the remaining three players to fold and to send the pot to Mercier, who hails from the area.

Mercier has had some success already here this week having taken down one of the preliminary events.

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 3: 75/150/25 Ante

Making the WSOP Main Event final table is kind of a big deal, setting up one player for the top prize in poker. They switched the final table to November for the 2008 series and there are a few players in today’s field who were part of various November Nine classes.

John Dolan is a regular around these parts and he made the final table in 2010. He also has the 2014 Coco Poker Open Championship to his credit at the Seminole Coconut Creek. Amir Lehavot finished third in 2013 and is back in the ballroom for another shot to add a WPT championship along with his previous WSOP bracelet.

Also November Niners, but remembered for their finish, WSOP Main Event champs Jonathan Duhamel and Ryan Riess are back in action today looking to add to their already impressive list of accomplishments.

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 3: 75/150/25 Ante

There are plenty of players straggling in. Among them is Amanda Musumeci who is excited about joining the action as evidenced by her most recent tweet:

Good table to start here @shrpo… playin $3500 Main Event 5 milli Guar!!! Pretty exciting atmosphere…. come check us out 😀

— Amanda Musumeci (@TheReaLMander) April 16, 2015

Musumeci joins the likes of Keven Stammen, Matt Salbsberg, Bryn Kenney, local Nigel Murray, John Dolan, Chris Moorman, and Ryan Riess at the felt. Riess is fresh off a victory in the $2,200 Six-Max and will be looking to ride that momentum with a deep run here.

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 3: 75/150/25 Ante

The early numbers are in and two-time WPT Champion Darren Elias leads all others. He ran his 30,000 starting stack up to 86,000 at the first break with Christian Rodriguez and regionally-located pro Brian Hastings not far behind.

Notable counts:

Darren Elias – 86,000 (573 bb)
Christian Rodriguez – 82,050 (547 bb)
Brian Hastings – 75,250 (502 bb)
Brent Hart – 71,950 (480 bb)
Devon Shalmi – 69,675 (465 bb)
Craig Palmacci – 69,626 (464 bb)
Seth Berger – 65,000 (433 bb)
Peter Kaemmerlen – 64,725 (432 bb)
James Salmon III – 63,600 (424 bb)
Darryll Fish – 60,225 (402 bb)
Tyler Reiman – 56,100 (374 bb)
Mukul Pahuja – 43,400 (289 bb)
Chris Moorman – 42,100 (281 bb)
Zach Kessler – 41,200 (275 bb)
Matt Brady – 40,100 (267 bb)
Anthony Zinno – 39,800 (265 bb)
Tim Burt – 39,500 (263 bb)
Barry Hutter – 39,275 (262 bb)
Justin Zaki – 38,850 (259 bb)
Allen Kessler – 36,775 (245 bb)
Matt Affleck – 34,725 (232 bb)
Jonathan Duhamel – 33,750 (225 bb)
Andy Frankenberger – 33,400 (223 bb)
David Tuthill – 32,175 (215 bb)
Robert Campbell – 28,725 (192 bb)
Taylor Paur – 28,525 (190 bb)
Chris Bolek – 27,675 (185 bb)
Jason Mercier – 27,200 (181 bb)
Isaac Baron – 26,975 (180 bb)
Aaron Massey – 26,425 (176 bb)
Will Failla – 25,275 (169 bb)
Amir Lehavot – 24,200 (161 bb)
Loni Harwood – 23,950 (160 bb)
Kristy Arnett – 23,575 (157 bb)
Tony Ruberto – 23,525 (157 bb)
Ryan Van Sanford – 21,500 (143 bb)
Tim West – 20,250 (135 bb)

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 2: 75/150

“How much you got?”

Those were the words out of Paul Volpe’s mouth as he eyed his opponent’s stack with the board showing . His opponent muttered an amount and Volpe made a bet of 3,500. There was one other player in the pot, between the two, and he made the call. Volpe’s other opponent joined in the fun.

The river was the and Volpe’s two opponents checked to him. He casually tossed out a T5,000 chip leading to a quick fold from the player to his left. The other player thought it over for a minute and decided to look up the well-known pro.

Volpe turned over for trip kings and his opponent mucked his hand. This is Volpe’s second bullet after he was eliminated on his first bullet when his full house, queens full of aces, ran into a bigger full house, aces full of queens. This bullet is off to a much better start for him.

The players are now on a break. We’ll have some chip counts soon.

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 2: 75/150

Lucky Table 13 has three players who have gone on nice runs over the last few years and looking to add to their résumé. Mukul Pahuja is the reigning WPT Player of the Year with five WPT final tables in the last two years along with a WSOP Circuit ring.

He’s joined by Loni Harwood who grabbed everyone’s attention when she cashed six times during the 2013 World Series of Poker including three final tables and a bracelet to cap them off. She followed that up with four more cashes this past summer.

Kristy Arnett is newest to the crowd but quickly hit everyone’s radar when she transitioned from on-air poker reporting to professional player. She is a “WPT Player to Watch” and that is what everyone is doing now.

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 2: 75/150

More royalty continue to enter Day 1A of the Championship including more major champions.

Vanessa Selbst is making her first appearance this series and 2001 WSOP Main Event Champion Carlos Mortensen was spotted taking a seat. Marvin Rettenmaier, Jared Jaffee, Taylor Paur, Andy Hwang Zo Karim, and Isaac Baron are just a few more top pros in the field so far.

Got an early double in the @shrpo main event today. Got a fun table full of entertainment too! #RunGood

— Chance Kornuth (@ChancesCards) April 16, 2015

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 2: 75/150

They leveled up in the Championship as they crossed the 350 entrant mark. Jonathan Duhamel, Darryl Fish, Paul Volpe, and WPT Player of the Year leader Anthony Zinno are a few of the new faces in the ballroom.

Table 37 has an interesting mix with Zach Kessler playing the meat in a Jacob Bazeley/Tim West sandwich with Steven McKoy joining along at the other side of the table.

Cool start to the day, third hand in got a full double with AA vs QQ #skillgame #SHRPO

— Darryll Fish (@DarryllFish) April 16, 2015