$3,500 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open” Championship
Level 4:  100/200/25 Ante

Nick Yunis is below starting stack, but he just bounced back a bit when he bet the river on a board of . Yunis bet 5,600 from the big blind, and his opponent tanked for a while before calling from middle position.

Yunis turned over for a rivered full house, tens full of jacks, and his opponent mucks. Yunis takes the pot to get back up near the starting stack.

Nick Yunis  –  27,000  (135 bb)

The past two summers, Yunis has finished 1st and 2nd in the big charity event held as part of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in August.

Charity events are certainly fun, but Yunis would probably like to add a championship trophy to his resume.

$3,500 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open” Championship
Level 4: 100/200/25 Ante

We have a nice crew of players travelling around representing Seminole Hard Rock Poker and happy to have them back with us today. While several others  are spread evenly among the other players, including Sheddy Siddiqui, Michael Laake, and Stewart Newman, Table 17 is collecting a few of them as well.

Matt Affleck and Darryll Fish joined their table at the start of play while Matt Stout took his time getting down here. Fish comes back to South Florida after a great run at the WPT Montreal event where he finished second to Jared Mahoney.

Stout in no slouch and coming off a runner-up finish in the opening event of the Borgata Fall Poker Open for a cool six-digit score.

They’re all gathered at the same table and the noise volume has increased.

$3,500 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open” Championship
Level 3: 75/150/25 Ante

Matt Salsberg is another of our players coming into the game after success in the entertainment industry. He was producer/writer of the popular show Weeds while also milling around the poker tables.

His big poker success began in 2012 and he would eventually become the World Poker Tour Season XI Player of the Year with three televised final tables and one title. Salsberg also tossed in a third place WSOP finish last summer to cement his reputation in the game.

He’s continues to hover below a starting stack after the break as the field moves closer to 250 entrants.

I am not an ambassador for them like @mcmattopoker and some guy named Sheddy but @shrpo is currently the best poker venue in the country.

— matt salsberg (@msalsberg) November 27, 2015

$3,500 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open” Championship
Level 3:  75/150/25 Ante

We picked up a touch of movie magic in the house when Oscar-nominated actor Jennifer Tilly took her seat in the ballroom. She’s often seen at the poker tables in recent years in addition to her acting duties.

Tilly is also the third WSOP Ladies Event Champion to enter the ballroom. She won her gold bracelet in 2005 and joins 2011 winner Marsha Wolak and Jacquelyn Scott who picked up one this summer.

$3,500 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open” Championship
Level 2:  75/150/25 Ante

The players return from their first break to begin Level 3, with increased blinds of 75-150 and a 25 ante.

The field size is up to 231 entries, and registration remains open until the end of the dinner break, around 8:00 pm

A scan of the field during the break revealed five players with at least 65,000 in chips, creating our first unofficial leaderboard of the tournament:

1.  William Parker  –  98,450  (656 bb)
2.  Krysztof Stybaniewicz  –  74,075  (494 bb)
3.  Dimitry Agrachov  –  71,475  (477 bb)
4.  Eric Lazarus  –  67,175  (448 bb)
5.  Michael Massri  –  65,150  (434 bb)

Parker’s quick rise to the top primarily came from a single hand, when he was part of a three-way preflop all in and cracked A-A and J-J with A-K suited — Parker made a flush to bust both players. And now he’s knocking on the door of 100,000 in chips.

Here are some of the notable players further back in the field.

Darryll Fish  –  57,000  (380 bb)
Ory Hen  –  55,300  (369 bb)
Matt Affleck  –  49,575  (331 bb)
Matt Waxman  –  46,550  (310 bb)
Dan Shak  –  41,175  (275 bb)
John Dolan  –  38,050  (254 bb)
Aaron Massey  –  32,050  (214 bb)
Sheddy Siddiqui  –  31,800  (212 bb)
Kelly Minkin  –  31,350  (209 bb)
Joe Kuether  –  31,000  (207 bb)
Chance Kornuth  –  30,575  (204 bb)
Jennifer Tilly  –  30,000  (200 bb)
Jessica Dawley  –  29,925  (200 bb)
Natasha Barbour  –  29,650  (198 bb)
Adam Levy  –  29,250  (195 bb)
TK Miles  –  27,375  (183 bb)
Ari Engel  –  25,525  (170 bb)
Jason Mercier  –  25,150  (168 bb)
Matt Salsberg  –  24,625  (164 bb)
Neil Blumenfield  –  23,225  (155 bb)
Jonathan Duhamel  –  22,450  (150 bb)
Cornel Cimpan  –  20,400  (136 bb)
Marvin Rettenmaier  –  19,175  (128 bb)
Stewart Newman  –  17,675  (118 bb)
Kane Kalas  –  13,875  (93 bb)

$3,500 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship
Level 3: 100/200

Before they hit the first break, Marvin Rettenmaier was hooked up in a decent sized pot against Steven McKoy. The board was complete and “Mad Marvin” was contemplating his decision when McKoy called the clock.

Tournament staff gave Rettenmaier a minute to make up his mind and he eventually called to see McKoy quickly roll over for the turned wheel.

Rettenmaier still has plenty of ammunition with 19,000 going on break while McKoy moved up to 44,000.

$3,500 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship
Level 2: 75/150

Players are off on their first break of the day with 224 entrants showing on the board. They’ll take a 15-minute breather while we get our first idea of the early front runners.

$3,500 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship
Level 2: 75/150

Players will soon head off on their first break of the day as one of the best players in the game jumps in.

Jason Mercier has proven his skills at the poker table over the years and continues to impress. He sports three WSOP bracelets and an EPT title along with almost $16 million in career earnings. Good enough to put him atop the all-time money list for Florida poker players.

$3,500 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship
Level 2: 75/150

The field continues to fill in with locals and pros but Natasha Barbour has a little bonus help at her table. Not that she needs it.

The Seminole Hard Rock Tampa ambassador has over $600,000 in career tournament earnings including a runner-up finish in a WSOP $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event this summer and 12th place finish int he 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship.

$3,500 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship
Level 2: 75/150

We mentioned Ory Hen was looking for back-to-back titles but Matt Affleck is here looking for his second consecutive Seminole Hard Rock Poker Championship.

The last time we saw Affleck in South Florida, he was busy winning the 2015 Coco Poker Open a few minutes north of here for $264,000. That win also put him in the lead for the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Player of the Year, but there’s a long ways to go. He jumped the red-eye across the country to make him our long distance grinder.

We hit the 200 entrant mark and it continues to climb as we approach the first break of the day.

Red eye flight to Miami for @shrpo Rock and Roll main event tomorrow. $3500 $2milllion tomorrow. They awarded 58 seats to the main today

— Matthew Affleck (@mcmattopoker) November 27, 2015