$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 😀
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
Darren Elias
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
$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
$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship Level 1: 50/100
The field is quickly filling in and we’re starting to see that mix of pros and local regulars we were expecting. Just a quick walk through the field found big name grinders Matt Affleck, Andy Frankenberger, Shannon Shorr, Noah Schwartz, Allen Kessler, Aaron Massey, Joe Kuether, Brian Hastings, Harrison Gimbel, and Chance Kornuth.
A few of our locals mixed in with the pros are Ory Hen, Angel Vu, Adam Rouse, Pasquale Caiazza, Mike Beasley, Zach “Redlocks” Kessler, Larry Klur, Daren Stabinski, Tracey Gelb, Steven Bennett, Bret Bader, Luis Santoni, and Robert Campbell.
It was tough luck for another local. We noticed Scott Efron (Boca Raton, FL) was at a different table from where he started. Turns out he was the first one eliminated today.
“They got me on the first hand.” Efron explained. “He moved all-in on the flop and I lost set over set.”
Mike Sexton commiserated with Efron as he fires his second bullet in the Championship.
$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship Level 1: 50/100
The preliminary functions are out of the way and it’s time to play some poker. Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton took the mic, joined by our own Dave Grubb, to get things started in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship.
Just under 300 entrants were registered at the start of play with many more expected.
$3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship Level 1: 50/100
The top tournament on the schedule is here with the start of the 2015 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship. The World Poker Tour is in town with their camera crew ready to go, taping the action for later broadcast. It will attract some of the top players in the world mixed in with our great group of local regulars.
The $3,500 buy-in tournament has a massive $5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. There will be a lot of money on the line and someone will be the next WPT champion in seven days.
Players start with 30,000 stacks and full hour levels throughout the day. There will be a 90-minute dinner after Level 6 and late registration/re-entry will close when they return, approximately 8pm.
We’ll be here following the action from start to finish.
The Seniors Event returned to the 2015 Lucky Hearts Poker Open schedule and the $350 buy-in tournament drew a nice crowd of the 50+ year old gang. Of the 124 entrants to put up their money, it was Canadian Douglas Hartwick as the last one standing in the end for the title and a cool $9,123.
The tournament ran quickly from start to finish. The event was down to just 54 players before the second break and registration still open then closing in on the money in less than four hours. They went to hand-for-hand action on the money bubble and found a bust out on both tables.
Gregg Silverstein and Peter Netherton went out on the same hand to split 12th place money between them. They powered through to the final table and decided to keep playing despite the option of stopping for the night. They ended the day with six remaining after Hector Buitrago was sent out in 7th spot.
The returning six players didn’t waste any time as well, Mark Dugay was all-in and eliminated in 6th place on the third hand of the day. Scott Efron followed him to the cage shortly after getting chopped down to one big blind by Errol Rosen.
The four remaining players were fully prepared to chop the money evenly with all sporting similar stacks. It was almost a done deal until the last hand when 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open points leader Ory Hen moved all-in before they paused the clock.
Hen’s Jacks were instantly called by Douglas Hartwick in the small blind with Kings. The hand knocked Hen down to a couple big blinds and his exit in 3rd was a shock. After a short break, the last three players came to a quick agreement with obvious leader Hartwick getting the title.
“This is my first time here,” Hartwick commented, “I’ve never played here but this is great.”
“Comfortable chairs, massive tournaments, and fun games.” Hartwick laughed. “I plan to stick around for the $2,200 6-Max (Event 15) and the main.”
This isn’t Hartwick’s first taste of success at a Lucky Hearts Poker Open event, he finished 9th in the Championship last year. The Ontario resident might be new to the room but he’s having success right off the bat.
Final Table Results: 1st: Douglas Hartwick (Willowdale, ON) – $9,123 2nd: Errol Rosen (Weston, FL) – $7,824 3rd: Larry Klur (Pembroke Pines, FL) – $7,047 4th: Ory Hen (Cooper City, FL) – $3,162 5th: Scott Efron (Boca Raton, FL) – $2,511 6th: Mark Dugay (Saint John) – $1,953 7th: Hector Buitrago – $1,581 8th: Ed Turner (Lutz, FL) – $1,209 9th: Paul Darpino (Binghampton, NY) – $837
. 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.
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.
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.
