$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 16: 1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 ante
Flight B Players Remaining: 42 of 315

Flight B players are back in their seats and they are only four eliminations away from calling it an early end to their night. Carlos Rodriguez is the biggest stack in the room with 288,500. Good enough for the lead but a good deal behind the 487,000 that Kelly Minkin bagged in Flight A.

They should finish before Level 16 comes to an end and we will see if anyone can catch Rodriguez.

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 15: 1,200/2,400 with a 2,400 ante
Flight B Players Remaining: 44 of 315

The plan was to play until only 16:21 was left on the clock in Level 17 unless something extraordinary happened. And it looks like is what’s going to happen.

Flight B is down to 44 players with Level 15 running its course and the stop point will be when they hit 38 players. It won’t happen before the color up break but it won’t be long after their return.

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 14: 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 ante
Flight B Players Remaining: 72 of 315

The Flight B field is shrinking and the current plan is to stop the action when they reach 16:21 in Level 17 unless things go really fast before that time.

Several big stacks are emerging including three-time SHRP champ Evan Teitelbaum. He is up to 155,000 and in contention for the end-of-day lead.

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 13: 800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante
Flight B Entries: 315 (Total: 662)

The third break is complete and registration is now closed on Flight B to put Event 2 at the halfway mark. The 315 from this flight combined to put 662 in the game so far with only 248 entries needed tomorrow to make the $300,000 Guarantee.

It should be an easy path on a Saturday afternoon.

Chip counts from Flight A

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 12: 600/1,200 with a 1,200 ante
Flight B Entries: 306 (Total: 653)

Level 12 is here which means time is running out to join the second of four flights in the $300,000 Guarantee Event 2. The count slowed a bit but the tournament is on an easy path to hit the magic number tomorrow afternoon.

We ran into Jose Reyes in this evening’s field and SHRP regular has some success here. During last February’s WSOP Circuit series, Reyes outlasted the $580 Event 3 field to capture his first career WSOPC ring along with nearly $20,000.

In more recent news, Reyes cashed four times in the 2019 SHR Hollywood Lucky Hearts Poker Open including a final table third-place finish in the $150 Big Stack event.

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 11: 500/1,000 with a 1,000 ante
Flight B Entries: 303 (Total: 650)

While we were taking care of business in Flight A, the second flight climbed over 300 entries itself to push the combined total up to 650. That puts the prize pool more than $200,000 towards the $300,000 Guarantee and it should hit early tomorrow.

We found two players from the most recent big Seminole Hard Rock Poker Main headliner. Both David “Coldstone” Inselberg and Kevin Chan went deep in the SHR Hollywood WPTDeepStacks Lucky Hearts Poker Open Main Event, finishing fourth and fifth respectively for nice payouts.

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Return to Level 17: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante
Players Remaining: 41 of 347

Flight A: 347 Entries; 41 Advanced
Flight B: Underway
Flight C: Saturday at 11am
Flight D: Saturday at 4pm
Day 2: Sunday at noon

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 17: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante
Flight A Players Remaining: 41 of 347

Less than halfway through Level 17, Flight A hit 41 players remaining to hit 12% of the starting field. They got there when Walter Bravo checked a flop and his opponent moved all in for 61,000. It was an easy call with his set of eights having drawing to runners. The turn and river finished the board and Flight A was done for the day.

Kelly Minkin had the chip lead for the last few levels and her hot run. She bagged up a massive 487,000 which is far above anyone else so far.

The chips are being counted and we will have the full Flight A counts later this evening.

Top five Flight A stacks:

1. Kelly Minkin – 487,000
2. Haim Toorgeman – 261,500
3. Walter Bravo – 254,000
4. Steve Karp – 237,500
5. William Valladares – 225,500

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 17: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante
Flight A Players Remaining: 51 of 347

There was an early position shove for 57,500 and it folded to the player in the small blind. He called the shove, leaving 14,000 behind, and Bryce McVay reshipped from the big blind with the bigger stack. The small blind called and McVay found a big blind monster.

McVay:
EP:
Small Blind:

McVay was in great shape and made the overkill flush on the board to send two out and move up to 248,000.

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 15: 1,200/2,400 with a 2,400 ante
Flight A Players Remaining: 60 of 347

Flight A players are taking their last break of the day with 60 players remaining and the day set to stop when only 42 are still in.

We found two big stacks at the tables and two big names to go with them. Kelly Minkin looks like your current leader with 252,000 and she’s followed closely by fellow pro Steve Karp with 220,000.