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.
Day 2 Blinds: 1,500/3,000/300 ante 37 players remaining, 109k avg (36 bb)
Like a scene from the film The Firm, Ryan Sherman (No. Miami Beach) raced through the Seminole Coconut Creek parking garage and casino, and to register for Flight D of Event 1 of the Lucky Hearts Poker Open. After catching his breath, Sherman sprinted pasted the field to take the flight chip lead with 255k.
“I barely made Level 5,” said Sherman, who like Tom Cruise in the movie, is a lawyer. “I cut it a little too close,” and said he only had five minutes to spare.
Sherman finished ahead of WSOP bracelet holder Norman Ketchum (Loves Park, IL) who bagged 218k. Both players are here because of the $300,000 Guaranteed prize pool, and this week is the first time they’ve been to the Stax Poker Lounge.
“It’s a nice room,” says Ketchum who won his bracelet in 2004.
Sherman almost didn’t make it through the day and said, “I had one foot out the door,” when he hit an Ace on the river with A-Q to crack pocket Queens for a 30k double-up just a few levels after his late arrival.
162 entries were in the fourth of the five flights and 37 advanced to Saturday’s Day 2. That puts the four flight title at 474 entries and 102 players advancing with the 7 pm flight still in progress.
Wendy Freedman (Las Vegas, NV) bagged 63k and was one of the recognizable names who advanced, but WSOP bracelet holder David Diaz (Bartlett, TN) and Mike Beasley (Davie), both with more than $1.3 million in career tournament earnings failed to bag and tag.
Sherman is currently 6th overall and trails Michael Laake’s 293k who was the Flight A big stacks and overall chip leader.
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.
Blinds 1,200/2,400/300 ante 40 players remaining, 101k avg (42 bb)
Some of the friendly faces that were part of the 162 entries in Flight D of the $300,000 Guaranteed prize pool for the opening event of the Luck Hearts Poker Open
Blinds 1k/2k/200 ante 50 players remaining, 81k avg (41 bb)
The big stacks are in the 200k range and includes Raymond Millard (Tamarac) who is at 215k.
Other big stacks include Ryan Bunes (Plantation) and Aaron Tveit (New Hampton, NY) who are at 175k, while David Nowling (Fort Lauderdale) continues to be a big stack at 150k.
The field will play the last two levels with bag and tag set for ~6:30 pm