$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 6: 200/400/50 Ante

Another player stacking up the chips early is Hiren Patel.  Patel had just eliminated another player off his table as arrived.  His table has been clearing out fast and Patel has reaped the benefits pushing his stack to around 95,000.

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 6: 200/400/50 Ante

The blinds inched up once again as the field moves into Level 4 with 471 entrants so far. Players have this hour-long level plus the 90-minute dinner break to get in the game.

Found a double aipf KK>77. Now 29k and climbing at 150/300 @shrpo.

— Redlocks (@zachtax) April 16, 2015

2nd break of Day 1A main @shrpo $41k. Using the frog today, but repping the turtle. Steady as she goes…

— Barbara Cardin (@bcardin) April 16, 2015

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 5: 150/300/50 Ante

We got to the table with slightly more than 11,000 already in the pot and the board showing .  Chris Moorman checked the action over to Darryl Fish who put out a bet of 5,400. Moorman quickly put out the call.

The river was the and Moorman checked again. Fish put out a larger bet this time, 13,800 total, and the action was back on Moorman, who went deep into thought contemplating what to do. After over a minute, he decided folding was his best course of action as he slid his cards to the dealer.

There are currently 469 entrants showing on the tournament clock with approximately 15 minutes remaining in Level 5.

$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship
Level 5: 150/300/50 Ante

WSOP bracelet winner and local pro Chance Kornuth jumped to the top of the leaderboard as the field neared the second break. Darren Elias and Igor Skochilo round out the top three as the only players over 100,000 so far.

Notables counts:

Chance Kornuth – 122,425 (408 bb)
Darren Elias – 100,400 (335 bb)
Igor Skochilo – 100,200 (334 bb)
Tyler Reiman – 98,650 (329 bb)
Brian Hastings – 97,500 (325 bb)
Yaron Wasserman – 96,425 (321 bb)
Barry Hutter – 93,375 (311 bb)
Ismail Patel – 92,950 (310 bb)
Peter Kaemmerlen – 86,200 (287 bb)
Trevan Hansen – 83,400 (278 bb)
Justin Zaki – 77,350 (258 bb)
Matt Affleck – 70,150 (234 bb)
Eric Afriat – 69,875 (233 bb)
Brian Altman – 65,325 (218 bb)
Jacob Bazeley – 52,550 (175 bb)
Vanessa Selbst – 52,525 (175 bb)
Andy Frankenberger – 48,150 (161 bb)
Ryan Van Sanford – 41,825 (139 bb)
Anthony Zinno – 38,900 (130 bb)
Loni Harwood – 38,075 (127 bb)
Mukul Pahuja – 34,975 (117 bb)
Jason Mercier – 34,650 (116 bb)
Joe Kuether – 34,075 (114 bb)
Paul Volpe – 32,225 (107 bb)
John Racener – 32,075 (107 bb)
John Dolan – 30,675 (102 bb)
Amanda Musumeci – 29,825 (99 bb)
Jonathan Duhamel – 28,650 (96 bb)
Amir Lehavot – 24,375 (81 bb)
Tim West – 24,350 (81 bb)
Natasha Barbour – 23,325 (78 bb)
Kristy Arnett – 22,325 (74 bb)
Chris Bolek – 19,725 (66 bb)
Shannon Shorr – 17,550 (59 bb)
Zach Kessler – 16,225 (54 bb)
Ory Hen – 13,925 (46 bb)

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

Players are on their second break of the day with 445 entrants in the game. They will return and play two more hour-long levels before going to dinner.

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

Keven Stammen opened pre-flop and was called by two players, one of them being Chance Kornuth on the button. The flop came and it was checked to Kornuth who made a bet of 1,800. The player out of the blinds folded and Stammen made the call.

The turn was the and Stammen led out for 5,000. Kornuth put out a raise of 10,500 and Stammen made a quick call. The river was the and Stammen checked. Kornuth looked back at his cards, and after a moment or two, put out his stack of T5,000 chips — which was enough to set Stammen all in.

Stammen, the 2014 WPT Championship Event winner, shook his head slightly, giving Kornuth a somewhat skeptical look. He grabbed his remaining chips, slightly more than the 30,000 he started the tournament with, and placed them in his two hands. He studied the board for a second and then reluctantly placed those chips into the middle.

“I got it,” said Kornuth, tabling . “Ugh,” said Stammen as he nodded his head. “Good hand.”

Kornuth is among the chip leaders currently with 118,000 in chips.

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

With approximately 3,000 in the pot and facing a 1,000 bet from the player to her immediate right, Vanessa Selbst raised it up to 3,500 with the board showing . Her opponent thought for a moment and made the call.

The river was the and both players quickly checked. Selbst turned over for sevens and threes. Her opponent tabled for a flopped open-ended straight draw that picked up a flush draw on the turn and whiffed on the river.

“That was a lot of outs,” remarked Selbst, happy to take down the small pot.

$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.