Registration is officially closed for Event 1 with the final number of registered entrants for the final flight being the highest of the five flights at 165 bringing the unofficial total to 639. will have prize pool and payout information posted as soon as they it becomes available. Here is the unofficial current updated number of entrants and returnees.
Every table, all 27 of them, in the Stax Poker Lounge is filled and the tournament has met the $300,000 Guarantee easily as there are 148 registered entrants with approximately 25 minutes left to register.
The final flight for Event 1, a $300,000 Guaranteed NLHE tournament, has officially begun. We have 474 entrants prior to the start of this event meaning we need just over 125 entrants to hit the Guarantee. Thus far we are at 58 for the evening but it’s Friday night in South Florida so we’re sure to see that number increase dramatically until registration closes at approximately 9:10 pm.
The Lucky Hearts Poker Open at Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Coconut Creek will have two additional flights of Event 1, our $300,000 Guaranteed No Limit Hold ‘Em tournament take place today. Day 1D will get things started at 11 a.m. and our 2nd flight of the day, Day 1E, will get underway at 7 p.m. This is a deep stack tournament and players will start with 25,000 in chips. Levels are 30 minutes long and play will go for 14 levels.
In addition the Stax Poker Lounge will be running multiple satellites for a chance to get into the nationally televised WPT Championship Event. You can view a summary and schedule of all events at the following page:
100 registered entrants took part in the third flight of Event 1, a $300,000 Guaranteed No Limit Hold ‘Em tournament and by the time play concluded shortly after 2:30 am local time there were 23 players remaining. Abbey Daniels, best known for her WPT final table appearance a few years ago, is the chip leader for this flight with 274,100 – which was over 100K more than her closer competitor. This puts her in 3rd place overall behind Michael Laake and Jonathan Wolff. So far there have been 312 entrants with 65 moving on to resume play on Saturday.
Daniels remarked on her day – “It was a roller coaster day. I had a really strong start but then lost some big pots. I came to my final table with about 70,000 in chips and then picked up some hands and they held.” One hand shortly before play ended saw an opponent move all in over the top of her opener. She told him “I can’t get away from this” and called with A-K. Her opponent had J-T and Daniels would hit trip Kings to send him to the rail.
Here is the full list for those who made it through to Saturday and their unofficial chip counts:
Players are on their last 10 break of the day. There are 33 still fighting it out for the right to return on Saturday. They will play two more levels (one hour) before calling it a night.
We have just started Level 11. There is just over half the starting field left with 51 players remaining out of the original 100. Four more levels and they will call it a night.
Players are on a 10 minute break – 62 will return momentarily.
Shortly before the break, there was a confrontation at table 26 between two players who were obviously familiar with one another, Roger Goindoo and Josh Hillock. In the first hand, with an ace on the board, Hillock faced a 25K bet from Roger – one that was enough to bust Josh if he called and lost the hand.
“Arrrrrr,” groaned Hillock. “When I call here, you have Ace King and when I fold you have nothing.” Josh shifted in his chair and asked the clock to be called on himself. The floor came over and Hillock let the entire minute wind down. His hand dead, he playfully shoved his stack into the middle. “That’s binding,” laughed Roger as he tortured Josh by showing a 4 to show that he did not have Ace King.
A few minutes later, the two would battle again, getting it all on a J-T-5 flop. Goindoo had pocket 5’s for a flopped set and Hillock was in bad shape with . “At least give me a sweat,” said Josh. The turn brought that sweat – another ten. “Ten,” pleaded Hillock. It wasn’t to be though and Josh was eliminated.
“BYOF,” laughed Roger as Hillock moaned. “Bring your own fish,” Goindoo added. “You writing this? Make sure you get his name right. It’s Josh. Hillock. And I’m the Fishmaster.”
Ronnie Bardah is no stranger to the South Florida poker scene, or for that matter success on the felt. A little known fact to most – Bardah has cashed in four consecutive World Series of Poker Main Event’s including a 24th place finish in 2010 that was good for 317K. “The fields are soft and the structure is great and I’ve been lucky to get some great table draws,” Bardah said when asked to explain his success. Ronnie also recently added a WSOP bracelet to his resume winning a $2,500 Limit Hold ‘Em Six Handed tournament. His lifetime tournament earnings are just short of a million dollars.
72 players of the original 100 still remain with Level 7 about to come to a close. Here’s a look at some others taking part in tonight’s action:
Abbey Daniels – a local favorite, Abbey is best known for her 4th place finish at the 2011 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown. That finish was good for an impressive $286,819. Abbey is no one hit wonder though as she has numerous final tables and wins on her poker resume since that score.
Abbey Daniels
Orey Hen – another regular in the South Florida tournament poker scene, Orey has just over half a million in live tournament winnings with 10 five figure cashes. His biggest cash was a 7th place finish for over 100K at the 2009 Borgata Winter Poker Open.
Joshua Hillock – Joshua has 11 WSOP cashes to his name and $371,648 in reported career tournament winnings. His best cash was a 2nd place finish at a Pompano Beach tournament that was good for almost 100K.
Qasem Jamhour – 2013 was a good year for Qasem at the felt as he won a Venetian Deep Stack event in Las Vegas for $151,495. This is in addition to a 2nd place finish he had at a 2012 Seminole Hard Rock Coconut Creek tournament that saw him take home an additional $47,089.
Adam Levy – another local boy gone good. Levy, a well known online poker professional who now mainly plays live has over two million in reported live tournament winnings with his biggest cash coming in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event when he finished in 12th place for $635,011.
Timothy Miles – Timothy is another player who has had some success at the felt. In 2007, he was one of the hotter players on the circuit as he won three events in less than 6 months for over 200K. His best result is a 2nd place finish at a 2008 WSOP Circuit event that was good for $210,610.
Scott Zakheim – another player with over half a million in reported live tournament winnings, Scott won an event in 2011 in West Palm Beach that allowed him to take home $84,712.
. “At least give me a sweat,” said Josh. The turn brought that sweat – another ten. “Ten,” pleaded Hillock. It wasn’t to be though and Josh was eliminated.
