$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 9: 400/800/100 Ante
Registration has closed for Flight 1B. The total entries for the flight finished at 369 bringing the total entries in the first two flights to 705.
The room’s chipstacks have tightened up but it looks like Barry Chazen has the slight edge on the group at 106,500 with Tyler Lascana on his heels at 96,300 and Ross Ramlal at 91,900.
Play will continue tonight through Level 14 before we see who will survive and advance to Day 2.
$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 8: 300/600/75 Ante
We’ve hit the second break of the night with registration for Flight 1B closing at the start of Level 9. We’ll have the final entry numbers up shortly after the break.
$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 8: 300/600/75 Ante
After a rebuy, Raymond Ruszkowski was shoved into the deep end onto Table 66 where it’s been some pretty tough sledding. But we think he may have found the answer: The Ruszkowski Terminator 2015.
We’ll have to check if entering a cyborg into the tournament is permissible according to TDA rules but in the meantime Raymond will look to chip up with his new look and advance to Day 2 tonight.
$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 8: 300/600/75 Ante
Halley Lewis had already been dealing with Ross Ramlal on his table but the leader at the first break now has to deal with WSOP bracelet winner David Diaz. Ramlal and Diaz have been going back and forth while Lewis looks to navigate this difficult draw.
$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 7: 250/500/50 Ante
Table 66 has become a graveyard for our players in Flight 1B. After the dealer called out that the table was five-handed, a quick check on the table saw Max Romano now piling up the biggest stack in the room with four open seats left in his wake.
Romano was clearly over the 100,000 chip mark but then found himself giving some of them back to a runner-runner flush of Eyal Al Revah continuing the devastation on the table.
The entry count is now up to 331 as we close in on the end of registration at the start of Level 9.
$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 6: 200/400/50 Ante
Here are some of the chip leaders here in Flight 1B with Halley Lewis putting away 82,200 after the break. Tonight’s flight is now up 321 as push through Level 6.
Halley Lewis – 82,200
Max Romano – 80,000
C. Rodriguez – 79,250
Adi Yaacov – 63,325
B. Rostant – 61,400
Barry Chazen – 60,225
Anthony Perrotta – 59,325
Ivan Saul – 55,100
Max Welcman – 53,375
Marsha Wolak – 52,700
Keity Moyea – 52,425
Michael Newman – 52,150
Richard Camacho – 51,450
Daniel Vanbronkhorst – 50,500
$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 5: 150/300/25 Ante
Cards are back in the air as we hit Level 5 in Flight 1B of our opening event of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. The flight now stands at 293 entries and climbing as action continues this evening.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is home to some of the biggest events in poker and today kicked off the premiere festival of the year. The 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open consists of 27 main tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $150 up to $25,400.
The prize pools will continue to increase; starting with the $350 buy-in Event 1 and its $500,000 Guarantee, going up next week with the $570 buy-in Event 10 playing for at least a $1 million prize pool, but everyone is looking forward to the Big 4 events and Charity Series of Poker tournament during the final weekend.
The Charity Series of Poker is making a return to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on August 14 and this fun tournament allows players to raise money to benefit Habitat for Humanity while having a great time. In addition to the payouts and donations, Seminole Hard Rock Poker is providing more than $25,000 in additional prizes including a seat in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship.
The Big 4 tournaments consist of four events with combined guaranteed prize pools of $7.5 million plus national TV exposure for each those final tables.
The Big 4 kicks off with the Championship Event on August 15 and will feature a $5 million Guarantee, the biggest prize pool of the entire series. The tournament has a $5,250 buy-in and will play with a freeze-out format. Only one entry per player will give every player a chance at the $1 million first place money. The Championship has a four-day structure with one starting day and a deep structure for plenty of action.
If players don’t make it through Day 1 of the Championship, August 16 gives them another big money opportunity with the $2,650 buy-in, $1 million Guarantee Event 22. This tournament is also a freeze-out with no re-entries available and will play out over three days.
August 17 completes the Big 4 tournaments with two big events with huge money on the line and re-entries available this time. Event 23 is a $1,100 buy-in tournament with a $500,000 Guarantee and slow, deep structure.
Running at the same time is our High Roller Event 24 to close out the Big 4. That $25,400 buy-in tournament has a $1 million Guarantee and will draw some of the biggest names in the game. The winner will take home at least $350,000 when the two-day tournament is complete.
Those four tournaments feature $7.5 million in prize pools and the champion of each event will capture the crown in front a national TV audience. All four final tables will play out at the same time on August 18 in the massive Hard Rock Live arena in front of the Poker Night in America cameras, the hottest new poker show on TV. The action will be broadcast on CBS Sports Net with 14-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth calling the action.
Big 4 participants will be playing for a lot of money over those four days but it will not be limited to just the big bankrolled players. Seminole Hard Rock Poker will be running qualifiers into all Big 4 events throughout the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open including 75 Championship seats guaranteed in satellites on August 13 and 14.
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Big 4 Schedule:
August 14: $300 Charity Series of Poker
August 15: $5,250 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship
August 16: $2,650 Event 22 with $1 million Guarantee
August 17: $1,100 Event 23 with $500,000 Guarante
August 17: $25,400 High Roller with $1 million Guarantee
August 18: Big 4 final tables in Hard Rock Live Arena
$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 4: 100/200
As we near the first break of the flight, a few more standouts have been spotted in fray this evening.
Zach “Redlocks” Kessler, a mainstay here at Seminole Hard Rock, is looking to get this series off to a great start. Nancy Birnbaum is also primed to make her run at Sunday’s Day 2. Victor Figueroa, who wanted to make sure we got at least one of him smiling, is also hoping to get another happy picture with him as the Event 1 champion.
Flight 1B is now up to 260 player and climbing with registration open until the start of Level 9.
$350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 3: 75/150
Two more past champions here at Seminole Hard Rock in the mix tonight in Flight 1B.
First is the player who won Event 1 in the Lucky Hearts Poker Open in January, Evan Teitelbaum. Teitelbaum took home over $150,000 in his victory earlier this year and hopes to kick off this year’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in similar fashion.
Allen Bieler is also ready to get things rolling this series. Bieler has two recent titles here at Seminole Hard Rock winning Event 14 in last year’s Rock ‘N Roll Poker Open and Event 7 in this year’s Lucky Hearts Poker Open.
Will one them add this tournament’s trophy to their mantle? We’ll be watching as the tournament rolls on.
