$1,100 Seminole Lucky Hearts WPT DeepStacks Main Event
Level 9: 300/600/75 Ante
Entries: 710

Players are leaving the room and can take an hour-long break away from the ballroom. Today’s field crossed over 700 and looking at 710 so far.

This is the last chance for players to put their name in the mix, registration will close when they return.

$1,100 Seminole Lucky Hearts WPT DeepStacks Main Event
Level 8: 300/600/75 Ante
Entries: 695

We’re going to hit at least 700 entrants today. A big number, bigger than even the most optimistic predictions. We’re closing in on 1,700 total entrants as the dinner break gets closer and the room is packed from end to end.

The word is spreading that this is the biggest $1,100 buy-in field in Florida poker history. We still have some research to do to verify that information but I nice turnout after Event 1 created the biggest starting field in Florida poker history.

Seminole Hard Rock Poker pro Matt Stout is peacefully grinding at his table and trying to run up his stack. This is his last bullet in the game and needs to make it count.

$1,100 Seminole Lucky Hearts WPT DeepStacks Main Event
Level 8: 250/500/75 Ante
Entries: 670

We haven’t seen much of Lily Kiletto this series but she made her way to the ballroom this afternoon for a piece of the huge prize pool. People may dismiss her at first glance, but that would be a mistake.

Kiletto has nearly $600,000 in career earnings including two WPT final tables in 2013. The first one happened right here when she finished second to Matt Giannetti in the 2013 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship. She also likes to grind the high stakes cash games and was one of the big winners when Poker Night in America was here for the Ladies Night broadcast.

$1,100 Seminole Lucky Hearts WPT DeepStacks Main Event
Level 7: 200/400/50 Ante
Entries: 660

The parade of players is still marching on as the field hits 660 after the second break. People are seeing the big numbers and getting motivated to come out for some Saturday afternoon poker.

The current leader is the camera-shy Raminder Singh with a few chips under 150,000. Steven Sanzone, Jeremy Costa, and Luke Brereton are the only other players over 100,000 though Lawrence Paden Sr is real close.

Top stacks and notable counts:

Raminder Singh – 147,550 (369 bb)
Steven Sanzone – 115,150 (288 bb)
Jeremy Costa – 112,800 (282 bb)
Luke Brereton – 102,550 (256 bb)
Lawrence Paden Sr – 99,800 (250 bb)
Jeffrey Trudeau Jr – 96,250 (241 bb)
Phil Hui – 94,575 (236 bb)
Jean “Prince” Gaspard – 91,775 (229 bb)
Katherine Fleck – 90,275 (226 bb)
Mohammed Jaafar – 89,200 (223 bb)
Neal Brislin – 86,575 (216 bb)
Arthur Peacock – 86,200 (216 bb)
Patrick Peduto – 85,940 (215 bb)
David Lee – 84,500 (211 bb)
Jeffrey Morzella – 82,000 (205 bb)
Andre Crooks – 81,775 (204 bb)
Francisco Gomez – 81,650 (204 bb)
Gary Lucci – 80,650 (202 bb)
Sanjib Acharya – 80,325 (201 bb)
Abbey Daniels – 61,000 (153 bb)
Ralph Massey – 53,925 (135 bb)
Ryann Dunn – 48,400 (121 bb)
Thai Ha – 41,325 (103 bb)
Keven Stammen – 36,950 (92 bb)
Harrison Gimbel – 29,500 (74 bb)
Hans Winzeler – 27,975 (70 bb)
Katy Liebert – 24,250 (61 bb)
Nancy Birnbaum – 23,800 (60 bb)

$1,100 Seminole Lucky Hearts WPT DeepStacks Main Event
Level 6: 150/300/50 Ante
Entries: 630

The Main Event is snowballing, growing exponentially even without unlimited re-entries. The entrant count changes with each glance and 630 entrants are registered as the field takes off on another 15-minute break.

$1,100 Seminole Lucky Hearts WPT DeepStacks Main Event
Level 6: 150/300/50 Ante
Entries: 620

Someone is going to walk away with a dump truck full of money when this tournament is done. That person won’t be the first person this series to have a six-figure day.

Thai Ha is back today looking for his second big score of the series. He was the last player standing in the 4,000-plus entrant field in Ultimate Re-Entry Event 1 for more than $230,000. It was his biggest tournament cash after several runner-up near misses at Parx.

$1,100 Seminole Lucky Hearts WPT DeepStacks Main Event
Level 5: 100/200/25 Ante
Entries: 581

The number 581 may seem like a random milestone but it has a lot of meaning. That count for Flight C officially put the WPT DeepStacks Main Event prize pool over $1.5 million with more than four hours to run it higher. That’s a total of 1,547 entrants over the three flights and climbing.

$1,100 Seminole Lucky Hearts WPT DeepStacks Main Event
Level 4: 75/150/25 Ante
Entries: 560

This is the second year the WPT DeepStacks team brought their brand of poker to our room, although last year it was not the Main Event. It was great added value in the middle of the series and offered up a second chance for entrants to play in front of live-stream cameras.

It was a stacked final table with Nick Pupillo, Carlos Loving, Brett Bader, and soon-to-be Seminole Hard Rock Poker Player of the Year Ory Hen. None of those players picked up the trophy as Texas resident Lawrence Whyte took the top prize.

He’s back in town this week and quietly grinding at the front of the room with his wife to keep him company.

$1,100 Seminole Lucky Hearts WPT DeepStacks Main Event
Level 4: 75/150/25 Ante
Entries: 528

David Farber is the early front-runner as the only player over 80,000 at the first break. Douglas Lee, Arthur Peacock, Blair Miller, and Jesse Howells round out top five stacks with some big names chasing them.

Farber has some success in massive-field tournaments. He final tabled the 22,374-strong field in this summer’s WSOP Colossus event, finishing in eighth for $87,000.

Top stacks and notable counts:

David Farber – 80,275 (535 bb)
Douglas Lee – 72,550 (484 bb)
Arthur Peacock – 70,250 (468 bb)
Blair Miller – 62,000 (413 bb)
Jesse Howells – 61,125 (408 bb)
Abbey Daniels – 48,550 (324 bb)
Jacquelyn Scott – 43,000 (287 bb)
Joe Kuether – 37,175 (248 bb)
Ryan Dunn – 33,225 (222 bb)
Andre Crooks – 31,200 (208 bb)
Ralph Massey – 27,125 (181 bb)
Robert Campbell – 26,875 (179 bb)
Chino Rheem – 23,625 (158 bb)
Allen Kessler – 23,500 (157 bb)
John Depersio – 23,375 (156 bb)
Vinny Pahuja – 23,000 (153 bb)
Keven Stammen – 22,250 (148 bb)
Jared Jaffee – 21,825 (146 bb)
Matt Stout – 21,450 (143 bb)
Luke Brereton – 21,250 (142 bb)
Steven Karp – 19,600 (131 bb)
Stuart Paterson – 18,000 (120 bb)
Daren Stabinski – 17,750 (118 bb)
Nancy Birnbaum – 17,600 (117 bb)
Kathy Liebert – 16,275 (109 bb)
Wally Maddah – 12,075 (81 bb)

$1,100 Seminole Lucky Hearts WPT DeepStacks Main Event
Level 3: 75/150
Entries: 480

The first two hours of Flight C are in the books and players are on a 15-minute break. The field continues to get closer to 500 entrants and we’ll surpass yesterday’s 505 before the next break.

We’ll take this opportunity to walk the empty room and find our early chip leaders.