$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 2: 75/150
Players: 350

There is about 11,000 in the middle on the river with a completed board of .

Joseph Cheong bet 7,175 from under the gun and the cutoff moved all in for about 22,500, which was more than enough to cover Cheong’s remaining 10,000.

Cheong thought for a minute before calling. The cutoff showed , good for the nut straight, and Chong showed .

Cheong’s set wasn’t good enough to stay alive and hit the rail halfway through the second level.

Joseph Cheong – Eliminated 

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 2: 50/100

The Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood ballrooms are often littered with the SHRPO patches of #TeamSHRP, and today’s $2,650 is no exception. Joining the team early in the event, though, are some family members of the property’s pros — Vineet Pahuja and Joel Harwood.

Vinny is the brother of pro Mukul Pahuja and is quite the player in his own right. He owns more than $2,000,000 in earnings much of which came over the course of his eight career tournament victories.

Joel, meanwhile, is the father of Loni Harwood. Joel taught Loni how to play poker and has a solid resume making more than 30 final tables throughout his career.

Vinny Pahuja – 16,500
Joel Harwood – 19,000

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 2: 75/150
Players: 321

There are plenty of players worth knowing in today’s field, but we thought we’d single out a few we recommend keeping an eye on.

Ryan Laplante – What a year it has been for Laplante, who earlier this summer notched an astounding 12 cashes during the 2016 World Series of Poker. The best result? That would be a win in Event #12: $565 Pot-Limit Omaha for $190,328 and his first gold bracelet.

The day after his win at his bracelet ceremony, Laplante, an openly gay poker player, made a heartfelt speech in the wake of the worst mass shooting in American history where 49 people lost their lives inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.

“I am so proud to call myself a World Series of Poker champion,” Laplante said battling back tears. “I’m proud to call myself an openly gay man. I encourage all of you to be proud of who you are.”

Laplante, who has been playing since 2011, is already having a career year with $287,556 in winnings thus far in 2016. His previous best was $234,604 back in 2014.

Nick Yunis – Only two players from Chile have amassed more than $1 million in earnings. Nicolas Fierro sits atop the South American country’s all-time money list with more than $1.7 million in lifetime earnings, while Yunis is in second with $1,152,604.

Just a couple days ago, Yunis finished third in Event #21: $300 Charity Series of Poker, which earned him $2,000. Before that, he was in Vegas for the 2016 World Series of Poker where he put together six cashes, including a sixth-place finish in Event #9: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Championship for $56,202.

As far as his overall poker résumé is concerned, Yunis’ career-best score was $249,152 for winning the 2015 World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic Event #12: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em. The only other six-figure score of his came right here at Seminole Hard Rock when he placed fifth in April’s WPT SHRP Showdown High Roller for $133,950.

Ari Engel – If you’ve spent any time on the tournament circuit, there’s no doubt you’ve crossed paths with Ari Engel. All he does is travel from stop to stop playing poker, and it seems all he does when there is win.

Engel has eight WSOP Circuit gold rings to his credit, which ties him with Valentin Vornicu and Chris Reslock, though that triumvirate trails Alex Masek’s by a single ring. While Engel is a Circuit beast, he established himself as a powerhouse earlier this year when he won the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event for $1,120,110.

Most recently – three days ago to be exact – Engel came out on top of the SHRPO Event #19: $1,650 No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up for $22,400. Only time will tell if Engel can capture another title in this event.

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 1: 50/100
Players: 313

Nick Petrangelo raised to 225 on the button and the small blind called. Ory Hen three-bet to 800 out of the big blind and Petrangelo called.

The small blind called as well and they were three-handed to a flop of . The small blind checked and Hen bet 1,625. Petrangelo raised to 3,700, the small blind folded and Hen moved all in for 10,500.

Petrangelo quickly called and the cards were tabled. Petrangelo showed , but was on the wrong end of a cold deck against Hen’s .

The turn was the and the river was the to send the pot to Hen and give him the early double up.

Ory Hen – 23,400
Nick Petrangelo – 8,700

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 1: 50/100
Players: 259

The tournament floor is chock full of familiar faces. Here are some notables spotted on our first pass through the field.

Amir Lehavot – 20,000
Mike Wang – 20,000
Roland Israelashivili – 20,000
Dermot Blain – 20,000
Kyle Bowker – 20,000
Neil Blumenfield – 20,000
John Monnette – 20,000
Matt Stout – 20,000
Kane Kalas – 20,000
Jonathan Little -20,000
Ari Engel – 20,000
Harrison Gimbel – 20,000
David Levi – 20,000
Jonathan Duhamel – 20,000
Nick Yunis – 20,000
Kathy Liebert – 20,000
Mike Beasley – 20,000
Ryan Laplante – 20,000
Chance Kornuth – 20,000
Ryan Tepen – 20,000
Mike Leah – 20,000
Darryll Fish – 20,000
Allen Kessler – 20,000
Ori Hen – 20,000
Joel Harwood – 20,000

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 1: 50/100
Players: 259

There was about 1,600 in the pot on the turn with the board reading .

Shannon Shorr checked from the cutoff and Harrison Gimbel bet 1,500 on the button. Shorr called and the river was the .

Shorr checked and Gimbel bet 2,200. Shorr quickly called. Gimbel showed , good for trip eights, but Shorr won the pot with his .

Shannon Shorr – 27,500
Harrison Gimbel – 14,200

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 1: 50/100
Players: 211

Cards are freshly in the air for Day 1 of Event 23, a $2,650 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed freeze-out. The clock shows 211 players with late registration available until the start of Level 9 (~8:40pm).

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)

The second of four events on The Big 4 schedule begins at 2pm. Featuring a $2,650 buy-in and a $1,000,000 guarantee, Event 23 of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open sees its player begin with 20,000 chips and log 40-, 60- and 90- minute levels. Late registration is available until the start of Level 9 with Day 1 wrapping following Level 14. Like the Championship before it, Event 23 is a freeze-out.

Tournament details:

2PM: Event 23 Day 1 – $2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)

• $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool
• Players begin with 20,000 in chips and 40-minute levels
• Late registration available until start of Level 9
• Day 1 will end after Level 14
• Event 23 Structure Sheet

Updates throughout the tournament’s conclusion will be available right here at SHRPO.com.

All eligible, direct buys have been verified and the payouts for those who took part in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Bring a Friend Program are available in the poker room.

Thank you all for participating!