$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 13:  1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 ante
Flight A Players Remaining:  126 of 367

The players return from break to begin Level 13, with increased blinds of 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 ante. With 126 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 87,000 (44 big blinds).

A scan of the field during the break turned up four players with at least 300K in chips, creating an unofficial leaderboard with David Farber still in the lead:

1.  David Farber  –  332,000  (166 bb)
2.  Tony Zharnitsky  –  316,000  (158 bb)
3.  Paul Grigsby  –  312,000  (156 bb)
4.  Jerry Wong  –  305,000  (153 bb)

Tony Zharnitsky had a great run in the last level before the break to crack the leaderboard. At one point, he got it all in on the turn with on a board of , but his opponent snap-called with for two pair. Zharnitsky was getting up to leave when the dealer put out a on the river to keep him alive and give him the double-up.

Roughly an orbit later, the player who had the ace-six in that hand raised to 4,000, Zharnitsky reraised to 17,500, and another player moved all in for a bit less than 100K. The original raiser and Zharnitsky both got it all in for a little bit more, and all three players turned over their cards:

Tony Zharnitsky:  
Original Raiser:  
Short Stack:  

The pocket kings held up for Zharnitsky to scoop the entire pot, eliminating both players and catapulting up over 300K to reach the leaderboard.

Tony Zharnitsky  –  316,000  (158 bb)

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 12:  800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante
Flight A Players Remaining:  155 of 367

The player in the cutoff raised to 4,500, Jacquelyn Scott moved all in from the small blind for about 114,000, and her opponent quickly called with . Scott turned over , and needed her hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Scott’s flopped set of aces beat her opponent’s rivered set of kings to give her the double-up.

Jacquelyn Scott  –  232,000  (145 bb)

At Table 51, after a flop of , Shalom Elharar bet 10,000 from the small blind, and Brett Bader moved all in from the cutoff for 59,400. Elharar tanked for a long time before he folded, and Bader took the pot.

Brett Bader  –  80,000  (50 bb)
Shalom Elharar  –  246,000  (154 bb)

With about 155 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 71,000 (44 big blinds). The field is about to take their last 15-minute break of the day, with Day 1A scheduled to end around 10:45 pm.

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 11:  600/1,200 with a 1,200 ante
Flight A Players Remaining:  175 of 367

David Farber has taken the chip lead with 370,000 here in Level 11, easily surpassing former chipleader Shalom Elharar, who has about 225,000.

At the same table, after a flop of with a little more than 30K in the pot, Tom Gity got it all in from the small blind for 28,400 with . Gity needed his eights to hold to stay alive against the of Ryan Van Sanford in the big blind.

The turn card paired the board with the , the river card was the , and Gity won the pot with two pair, jacks and eights, to double up in chips.

Tom Gity  –  90,000  (75 bb)
Ryan Van Sanford  –  32,000  (27 bb)

Two hands later, there was a preflop all-in cooler situation between a middle-position player with and Kevin Buldo, who had him covered with in the hijack.

The board came , and Buldo flopped a set of kings to win the pot and eliminate his opponent from Day 1A.

Kevin Buldo  –  155,000  (129 bb)

With about 175 players remaining from a Day 1A field of 367, the average chip stack is about 62,900 (52 big blinds). Action is scheduled to continue tonight until the end of Level 15, around 10:50 pm.

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10:  500/1,000 with a 1,000 ante
Flight A Entries:  367

The field returns from dinner to begin Level 10, and registration has now closed. There were 367 entries here on Day 1A, which is pretty much in line with the 369 entries Day 1A got when this same event opened the Lucky Hearts Poker Open two years ago.

Action will continue today until the end of Level 15, around 10:45 pm.

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 9: 400/800 with a 800 ante
Flight A Entries: 355

Level 9 came to an end and tournament staff sent the WPTDeepStacks Flight A players on their one-hour dinner break. Plenty of time to refresh, relax, and regroup before the push for a Day 2 bag.

Registration will close when they return and we’ll know our number heading into the weekend.

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 8: 300/600 with a 600 ante
Flight A Entries: 336

Players continued to enter the WPTDeepStacks event and they are very close to hitting the 2018 numbers we had the last time we opened a series with this tournament. With registration available until 6:30 pm, there’s a chance to top it.

Among those entries, Shalom Elharar is having the best day so far. He is up to 242,000 after eight levels to easily sit as the leader. He knows how to run deep in these big field tournaments as well. Elharar came one spot short of winning the 2019 SHRPO Championship when he finished second to Sean Winter and collected a very nice $487,695 for his run.

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 7: 300/500 with a 500 ante
Flight A Entries: 316

The second break is complete and the WPTDeepStacks Flight A field crossed over 300 before they walked away. We now have 316 entries with a lot of time remaining to join up.

Former SHRP Deep Stacks series champ Almog Biton is the new leader with 126,000 followed by Paul Smith with 104,000. Other big stacks include Benjamin Short (97,500), Hector Pacheco (92,000), Greg Spinder (92,000), and Anes Kovacevic (91,500).

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 6: 200/400 with a 400 ante
Flight A Entries: 294

More than a few familiar faces are back in the Seminole Ballroom, helping us start the new year on a big note.

Nancy Thomas and Al Gomez shared a happy moment sitting next to each other, both with success in our events. Other recent arrivals include two-time WPT Champion Sam Panzica and SHRP favorite Sheddy Siddiqui.

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 5: 200/300 with a 300 ante
Flight A Entries: 272

The WPTDeepStacks field continues to grow this afternoon and the entry count is nearing 300 for a great start to the series. With late registration available until 6:30 pm and two more flights to go, the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool should easily be matched.

Women in Poker Hall of Famer Kathy Liebert is in today’s field and one of the most accomplished in action. Liebert, with legitimate credentials to be in the full Poker Hall of Fame, has more than $6 million in career earnings that include an open WSOP bracelet ($1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout) and six WPT final tables with two runner-ups and three third-place finishes.

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 100/200 with a 200 ante
Flight A Entries: 249

WPTDeepStacks players returned from their break with more than 250 entries so far with late registration available until 6:30 pm.

SHRP regular Greg Barba was the break time leader with 75,000 with Jonathan Shapiro (74,000), Hector Pacheco (72,000), and David Katz (71,400) not far behind.