$360 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
End of Level 17: 2,500/5,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 288 of 2,570 d5i6w
The field is on a 15-minute break while the 500 chips are being raced off and colored up. The average stack will be just shy of 30 big blinds when the new level begins, and the money bubble is expected arrive before the next break.
A list of top and notable chip counts will be added here shortly.
$360 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 17: 2,500/5,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 320 of 2,570
Dan Suied (Miami, FL)
Two well-known pros drew the same table at the start of Day 2, and one is unintentionally trolling the other.
Dan Suied, the self-proclaimed “Miami Boss”, began his day at Table 18 and found Steve Karp waiting for him. Karp said he didn’t look at his table draw so his choice of apparel was just a happy coincidence.
His shirt? It’s emblazoned with Suied’s Event 1 winner photo from 2015 with his phrase “Like a Boss”. They laughed and Karp continued to swear it was the only t-shirt he had to wear today.
$360 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 17: 2,500/5,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 333 of 2,570
A good flop for Wesley Blomgren’s hand
Wesley Blomgren began his day with an above-average chip stack but slid in the early stages. He found a fun way to get them back.
Blomgren was all-in with against pocket queens and it looked like big trouble until the dream flop came . Just to give him a small sweat, the hit on the turn but he faded runner-runner perfect knockout on the river.
“You needed both of them,” joke a table mate.
The hand pushed him up to 120,000, still short of his returning stack but moving in the right direction.
$360 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 16: 2,000/4,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 378 of 2,570
Avi Kalmis adds to his chip lead
We strolled past Table 33 to check on our chip leader and found him pulling in another pot while a player left his seat and the rest of the table discussing nicknames for Avi Kalmis.
He added another 100K to his stack to place him as the first player over 500,000 in the tournament.
A lot of players are not fairing as well. More than 100 players hit the rail during the first hour of play and it will be a steady stream until the money bubble nears.
$360 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 15: 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 450 of 2,570
Asher Conniff (left) and Stewart Newman (right)
There are a few tough spots in the ballroom and Table 40 will probably be happy when it breaks. They have two tough spots to get through in 2015 WPT World Champion Asher Conniff and Seminole Hard Rock Poker team member Stewart Newman.
That table will not last very long before disbursing its occupants elsewhere. The pace is quick at the beginning and they’ve lost enough players to break five tables in the first 30 minutes.
$360 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 15: 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 489 of 2,570
Avi Kalmis (Plantation, FL) unbags his chip lead
After a few short announcements and the daily reading of the rules, play is underway for Day 2. There have already been several “seat open” calls in the first five minutes as the shorties try to double into contention.
$360 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 15: 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante
Players Remaining: 489 of 2,570
Avi Kalmis
Six starting flights of Event 1 are done and now everyone remaining will as one in the ballroom. One of today’s players will be our first multi-day tournament champ and they’ll have to do a lot of work to get it done.
There are 489 players returning today out of the 2,570 starting entrants and they are all aiming for a piece of the $771,000 prize pool. The first order of business is getting into the money when 250 players remain, then they’ll try to ladder up on their way to the final table.
Avi Kalmis is the returning chip leader after he finished Flight B with 417,000. Chino Rheem, the 2016 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Finale champion, sits in second place but there are plenty of big names trying to chase them down.
They’ll return to Level 15 with blinds at 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante and will play 40-minute levels throughout the day. They should hit the money bubble shortly after the first break and we’ll see a lot of movement after that is complete.
Cards will go in the air at 1pm sharp and we’ll have all the action.
$360 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
End of Level 14: 1,200/2,400 with a 400 ante
Day 1F Players Remaining: 126 of 534
Chino Rheem
Play has concluded in Flight F and the clock shows 126 players remaining. Leading the action with a stack of 378,500 is none other than Chino Rheem. Rheem tops the counts, but only by a margin. He’s trailed by Andrew Touchette (376,500) and Zev Mandel (366,000)
Andrew Touchette
Zev Mandel
Complete chip counts will be posted within the hour.
$360 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 14: 1,200/2,400 with a 400 ante
Day 1F Players Remaining: 135 of 534
The last level of the night is upon us. Players are set to log just a bit more action until play concludes shortly after 1:30am local time. The clock shows 135 remaining and it’s Chino Rheem who owns the chip lead now with more than 300,000.
Complete chip counts will be posted after play concludes.