$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts | Live Stream
Level 26: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 9 of 633

After nearly a week, the remaining $1,100 buy-in Event 10 players can finally join as one and play down to a champion. We have nine very talented players returning for the Big 4 final table but most of the chips are sitting with two players.

Brian Altman, 2015 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open champion, returns with 2,810,000 for the chip lead and he’s followed by Marc MacDonnell with 2,225,000. Those two combine for 5 million of the 9.5 million chips in play.

Joe Kuether will be the busiest player in the room today. He made this final table last week and followed that up by making the final table in the SHRPO Championship as well. He’ll be hopping around.

SHRP trophy winners Nigel Murray and Jewook Oh are also here and looking to add some more hardware.

Final table levels will last 90 minutes long then will switch back to 60 minutes during heads up play. With most of the chips sitting in two spots, this final table could fly from start to finish.

They’ll get underway with the rest of the Big 4 tournament at the top of the hour.

Seat 1: Phil Rigby – 445,000 (11 bb)
Seat 2: Nicholas Chiappetta – 715,000 (18 bb)
Seat 3: Phong Nguyen – 795,000 (20 bb)
Seat 4: Joe Kuether – 905,000 (23 bb)
Seat 5: Nigel Murray – 350,000 (9 bb)
Seat 6: Jewook Oh – 370,000 (9 bb)
Seat 7: Marc MacDonnell – 2,225,000 (56 bb)
Seat 8: Nick Ahmadi – 885,000 (22 bb)
Seat 9: Brian Altman – 2,810,000 (70 bb)

Chip counts:

1. Brian Altman – 2,810,000 (70 bb)
2. Marc MacDonnell – 2,225,000 (56 bb)
3. Joe Kuether – 905,000 (23 bb)
4. Nick Ahmadi – 885,000 (22 bb)
5. Phong Nguyen – 795,000 (20 bb)
6. Nicholas Chiappetta – 715,000 (18 bb)
7. Phil Rigby – 445,000 (11 bb)
8. Jewook Oh – 370,000 (9 bb)
9. Nigel Murray – 350,000 (9 bb)

Remaining payouts:
1st: $118,157
2nd: $82,834
3rd: $53,349
4th: $38,581
5th: $29,605
6th: $23,782
7th: $19,762
8th: $15,749
9th: $11,818

Those looking to sweat The Big 4 action can join us in Hard Rock Live. To access the venue, please use the VIP entrance just outside the food court in Paradise.

Event 10 had the smallest buy-in of the Big 4 events but the final nine players have combined career earnings over $12 million. Joe Kuether has $5 million of that alone and will be multi-tabling this final table along with the SHRPO Championship.

The final table members have four WSOP Circuit rings (Kuether with three, Brian Altman with one), a WPT title (Altman), and more than a dozen SHRP title (Nigel Murray with the most at ten).

They are set to return at noon to play out the final table in front of the Poker Night in America cameras.

Seat 1: Phil Rigby
Chip Count: 445,000

Hailing from Belize, this is his second Big 4 deep run after he finished 17th in the inaugural Big 4 $2,650 Freeze-out for $15,350. That is the biggest cash in a career with more than $58,000 in tournament earnings.

Seat 2: Nicholas Chiappetta
Chip Count: 715,000

Chiappetta is a Seminole Hard Rock Poker regular and the local grinder is already guaranteed the biggest cash of his career. He has a dozen SHRP cashes including a final table appearance in December during the Fun in the Sun series.

Seat 3: Phong “VIP” Nguyen
Chip Count: 795,000

“VIP” has more than $770,000 in career earnings including an eighth place finish in the 2016 WPT Borgata Poker Open, just missing the televised final table. Phong made a WSOP final table this summer when he finished sixth of 1,413 players in a $1K event for $38,869.

Seat 4: Joe Kuether
Chip Count: 905,000

With nearly $5.6 million in career earnings, Kuether has the biggest numbers at this Big 4 final table. He has three WSOP Circuit rings, a $25K PCA High Roller cash for more than $1 million, and he finished second in the $10,000 Tag Team event this summer at the WSOP. Kuether also made the final table and finished fifth in the 2014 SHRPO Championship.

Seat 5: Nigel Murray
Chip Count: 350,000

Murray is a Seminole Hard Rock Poker regular and has ten SHRP titles to his credit. He earned his tenth earlier this series when he won the $300 Turbo event for $18,570. Murray also finished fifth in the $1,100 Turbo a few days ago and has been on a nice run all series.

Seat 6: Jewook Oh
Chip Count: 370,000

Oh is another former SHRP tournament champ with a $1,000 Turbo title from the 2015 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open”. He earned more than $225,000 this summer when he won a $1,000 event during the Wynn Summer Poker Classic series.

Seat 7: Marc MacDonnell
Chip Count: 2,225,000

MacDonnell has earned more than $1.2 million his career including two WSOP final tables. He cashed in second place in the 2015 WSOP Hyper Turbo event and finished fourth out of 7,761 in this summer’s WSOP Millionaire Maker tournament.

Seat 8: Nick Ahmadi
Chip Count: 885,000

Ahmadi is another local SHRP regular and he picked up more than $20,000 here, his biggest career cash, when he finished third in a 2014 May Deep Stacks event. Ahmadi cashed in four WSOP this summer including the huge-field Millionaire Maker tournament.

Seat 9: Brian Altman
Chip Count: 2,810,000

Altman holds a major SHRP title that also put him in the WPT Championship Club. He won the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship in 2015 for $723,000 of his career $1.88 million earnings. Altman also owns a WSOP Circuit Main Event ring and he won a $1,000 Deep Stack Extravaganza tournament this summer.

Main Event Schedule

11AM: Event 16 – $360 HORSE (Re-Entry)

• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 8
• This is a one-day event set to play out in completion
• Event 16 Structure Sheet

12PM: $5,250 SHRPO Championship

• Final Table Seats and Counts
• Championship Payouts

12PM: $25,500 Big 4 High Roller

• Final Table Seats and Counts
• Big 4 High Roller Payouts

12PM: $2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)

• Final Table Seats and Counts
• Big 4 Freeze-Out Payouts

12PM: $1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

• Final Table Seats and Counts
• Event 10 Payouts

12PM: Event 17 – $10,000 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

• $500,000 guaranteed prize pool
• Players begin with 15,000 in chips
• Levels 1-8 are 30 minutes, Levels 9+ are 40 minutes
• Final table levels 60 minutes, heads-up levels 30 minutes
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 12
• This is a one-day event set to play out in completion
• Event 17 Structure Sheet

12PM: Event 18 – $250 Deep Stack Turbo (Re-Entry)

• $25,000 guaranteed prize pool
• Players begin with 20,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 15
• This is a one-day event set to play out in completion
• Event 18 Structure Sheet

3PM: Event 15 – $2,650 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)

• Day 2 Seats and Chip Counts
• Event 15 Payouts

5PM: Event 14 Day 1B – $150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

• $50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• Day 1 will end after Level 14 or Tournament Director discretion
• Event 14 Structure Sheet

Satellite Schedule

10AM: Event 53 – $1,030 Super Turbo Mega Satellite into Event 17 (1-in-10)

• 1 seat guaranteed into $10,000/$500K GTD Event 17
• Players begin with 8,000 in chips and 10-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 53 Structure Sheet

10AM: Event 54 – $1,030 Super Turbo Mega Satellite into Event 17 (1-in-10)

• 1 seat guaranteed into $10,000/$500K GTD Event 17
• Players begin with 8,000 in chips and 10-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 54 Structure Sheet

$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 26: 20,000/40,000/5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 9 of 633

With 13:25 left in Level 26, Sean Perry’ elimination set the final table for the first of the Big 4 events. This $1,100 re-entry event drew 633 entries by the time registration closed, and now just nine players remain.

Here’s the final table lineup:

Seat 1: Phil Rigby – 445,000 (11 bb)
Seat 2: Nicholas Chiappetta – 715,000 (18 bb)
Seat 3: Phong Nguyen – 795,000 (20 bb)
Seat 4: Joe Kuether – 905,000 (23 bb)
Seat 5: Nigel Murray – 350,000 (9 bb)
Seat 6: Jewook Oh – 370,000 (9 bb)
Seat 7: Marc MacDonnell – 2,225,000 (56 bb)
Seat 8: Nick Ahmadi – 885,000 (22 bb)
Seat 9: Brian Altman – 2,810,000 (70 bb)

Cards went in the air at 11 a.m. yesterday morning, and action didn’t wrap up until after 2 a.m. a day later. The starting field contained most of the usual suspects, including Seminole Hard Rock Poker’s Darryll Fish, Sheddy Siddiqui, Jessica Dawley, Faraz Jaka, Stewart Newman, and Matt Affleck.

Once the bubble burst around dinner time, the action was paced furiously from there until the final 10 players convened around the final table. Ten-handed play lingered for a while before one-time chip leader Sean Perry was eliminated by Brian Altman in a two-hand tumble, ending the night for the nine finalists.

Altman carries the big stack into the finale thanks to the last-minute addition of Perry’s chips. The Massachusetts pro is an accomplished tournament poker player, and a victory in this event would move him over the $2 million in career earnings.

Altman and Marc MacDonnell are well clear of the seven-man pack behind them. The two are the only two with seven-figure stacks at the moment, and they’ll return to action with half the total chips in play between them. MacDonnell also has more than $1 million in tournament earnings in his young career.

The remaining field in chase is fraught with potential peril, though, including the likes of Joe Kuther, Jewook Oh, Phong Nguyen, and Event 2 winner Nigel Murray.

Here’s what they’ll be playing for when they reconvene inside of Hard Rock Live next Tuesday:

1st: $118,157
2nd: $82,834
3rd: $53,349
4th: $38,581
5th: $29,605
6th: $23,782
7th: $19,762
8th: $15,749
9th: $11,818

$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 26: 20,000/40,000/5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 633

Sean Perry just played two consecutive pots against Brian Altman, and they culminated in Perry’s exit in 10th place.

The first hand occurred while the previous double-up was being written, so details are spotty. It looked like Sean Perry check-raised Altman on the flop, then bet 250,000 on the turn. Altman called to leave himself with 685,000 chips, and Perry put him at risk after the river. Altman called off his remainder.

Perry showed for a miss, and Altman revealed to double up in the largest pot of the day.

The following hand, Altman opened to 90,000, and Perry three-bet shoved for his last 305,000. Altman called again to put the former chip leader at risk.

Altman:
Perry:

The flop gave Altman two more outs for the knockout, as another five would now win him the pot. The turn added one more out to the mix, and the river brought one through. The completed the board, giving Altman the win with fives full.

Perry, the long-standing chip leader in this event, was eliminated in 10th place.

That signals the end of Day 1, and the stacks of the final nine are being verified. They’ll return to Hard Rock Live on Tuesday to play it out in one quadrant of the Big 4 stage.

A recap of the day’s action will be posted alongside the end-of-day chip counts shortly.

Sean Perry – Eliminated

$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 26: 20,000/40,000/5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 633

Nicholas Chiappetta moved all in for 320,000 on the button, and Phong Nguyen called in the small blind to put him at risk.

Chiappetta:
Nguyen:

Chiappetta’s ace held strong as the board ran out , and he doubled up.

Nicholas Chiappetta – 730,000 (18 bb)
Phong Nguyen – 835,000 (21 bb)

$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 25: 15,000/30,000/5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 633

On the turn of a board, Sean Perry bet 200,000 into a pot of about 325,000 in heads-up action. Marc MacDonnell was the man on the opposite side of the table, and he called.

The river was the , and Perry moved all in for 560,000 effective. MacDonnell instantly called to put himself at risk.

Perry showed for top pair, but MacDonnell tabled to win the pot and double up with kings up.

Marc MacDonnell – 1,845,000 (62 bb)
Sean Perry – 1,400,000 (47 bb)

$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 25: 15,000/30,000/5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 633

Brian Altman opened to 70,000 in middle position, and Phil Rigby three-bet shoved for 180,000 total. When it came back around to Altman, he quickly called to put Rigby at risk.

Altman:
Rigby:

The flop was a decent start for Rigby, and the on the turn gave him a big lead with trip eights. The river was the , and Rigby doubled up with eights full.

Phil Rigby – 455,000 (15 bb)
Brian Altman – 1,575,000 (53 bb)

$1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 24: 12,000/24,000/4,000 ante
Players Remaining: 11 of 633

With the elimination of Doyle Elliott in 11th place, the final 10 players are now seated around the last table left in play. Here’s the remaining lineup:

Seat 1: Phil Rigby – 320,000 (13 bb)
Seat 2: Nicholas Chiappetta – 575,000 (24 bb)
Seat 3: Phong Nguyen – 1,050,000 (44 bb)
Seat 4: Joe Kuether – 950,000 (40 bb)
Seat 5: Nigel Murray – 511,000 (21 bb)
Seat 6: Sean Perry – 2,200,000 (92 bb)
Seat 7: Jewook Oh – 1,098,000 (46 bb)
Seat 8: Marc MacDonnell – 657,000 (27 bb)
Seat 9: Nick Ahmadi – 950,000 (40 bb)
Seat 10: Brian Altman – 1,215,000 (51 bb)

And here are the remaining prizes on the line:

1st: $118,157
2nd: $82,834
3rd: $53,349
4th: $38,581
5th: $29,605
6th: $23,782
7th: $19,762
8th: $15,749
9th: $11,818
10th: $9,780