Play has started in the 3rd flight of Event 1 and there are 51 registered entrants taking part thus far. That number will surely rise as people come in late or re-enter after getting unlucky. We’ll have some photos and names coming soon.
Blinds 1,200/2,400/300 ante 30 players remaining, 86k avg (36 bb)
Cohen Sees Side Pot Disappear
We caught this hand before the last break when a player named Brian or Bryan, who says “you’ll have to guess,” is the victim of a brutal run out, while Randy Cohen (Naples), just missed taking down a 150k side pot
It’s a four way all-in and Brian (we’re guessing) has the lead:
Brian: AA Randy Cohen: QQ Shelly Gross (Pembroke Pines) 99 John Smith (Park City, UT): 77
Flop: A K J (Brian, set) Turn: Q (Cohen, set) River: T
The straight on the board means it’s a 4-way chop.
“I dodged a big one there,” says Gross, who, along with Cohen started the hand with ~90k.
“It is what it is,” says Cohen, who was poised for a huge side pot until the river.
Brian, who had 19k, moves all in two hands later with AJ, but doesn’t improve against Gross’ AK for the knockout. John Smith, whose 15k was the short stack, like Gross, gets new life.
Blinds 1k/2k/200 ante 35 players remaining, 74k avg (37 bb)
Nigel Murray
Nigel Murray (Miami Gardens) has a hard time explaining the hand, but the bottom line is that his 7-2 is best for a 100k+ pot which helped him into the chip lead.
“We both missed our flush,” says Murray who is now up to 155k, after making the call on a board of Q-9-2-K-6 for a winning pair of 2s.
Another big stack belongs to Dimitry Agrachov (Weston) who peaked at 145k, but is now down to 125k.
Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante 54 players remaining, 48k avg (40 bb)
Bradley Taking His Swing in Event 1
It’s been a few years since he’s been in the limelight, but people in this part of Florida may know Bobby Bradley’s name.
The Wellington native was a Major League Baseball first round pick (Pittsburgh, 1999), but arm injuries derailed his pitching career and he turned to his second love, golf. Bradley’s strength is off the tee and he’s turned that ability into a second career.
“I was at the Michael J. Fox outing, but it got rained out,” says Bradley, “so I drove 235 miles to get here.”
Bradley helps foundations raise money as an entertainer at charity events. He works with Charity Golf International and according to its website, Bradley’s has “generated over $1,000,000 in donations for various charities around the United States and Canada.”
“I’ve always played poker,” says Bradley, who was recently knocked out of Flight B, “this is great. I play when I can.”
Bradley is a 7-time RE/MAX World Long Drive Finalist with a longest competition drive measuring 440 yards. His breath taking drives are always a hit at charity events including at last year’s Ron Jaworski Celebrity Golf Challenge.
“It’s great to help raise money and be around good people,” says Bradley, who went toe-to-toe off the tee with Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco at Jaworski’s event which you can see here.
“I told him you’re not an athlete, you’re a quarterback,” laughs Bradley, “but neither am I, I was a pitcher.”
Bradley bolted after busting today, no word if he’ll return for another shot at the $300,000 GuaranteedPrize Pool.
Blinds 250/500/50 ante 90 players remaining, 29k avg (57 bb)
Gleason & Wolak
The first-ever Seminole Hard Rock Poker Player-of-the-Year (SHRP POY) race is underway with the Lucky Hearts Poker Open tournament series at Seminole Coconut Creek. And players are taking notice.
“That’s awesome,” says WSOP bracelet holder Marsha Wolak (Ft. Lauderdale). “It’s really an incentive to play all the places, including Tampa.”
The SHRP POY race incorporates all events held during designated Seminole Hard Rock Poker tournament series which includes Coconut Creek, Hard Rock Hollywood and Hard Rock Tampa.
The 2014 Player of the Year Winner will receive a prize package valued at more than $30,000 and includes entries into future Seminole Hard Rock Poker tournaments.
“That’s pretty cool,” says Tom Gleason (W. Palm Beach) while hearing about the new points system for the first time when Wolak raves about the format.
Gleason is above the chip average with his 42k stack, while Wolak, who won the 2011 WSOP Ladies Event for $192,000, has half the 25k starting stack.
Level 4, the last level to enter Flight B, is underway in the opening event of The Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open.
The poker cage is open until ~1:15 pm, but if you can’t make it to Coconut Creek this afternoon, there’s no worry as the next flight kicks off tonight at 7 pm.
