Event 1: Luke Doolittle Leads After Break

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
 | Structure
Level 13: 800/1,600 with a 200 Ante
Players Remaining: 72 of 243

Luke Doolittle

Event 1 players returned from dinner break and registration is officially closed on the first tournament on the WSOP Circuit schedule. We will post the prize pool and payout numbers once the full accounting is complete.

SHRP regular Ido Ashkenazi was one of the first players over six digits but he has been surpassed. Luke Doolittle came back to his seat as the chip leader and his 156,600 is setting the post-break pace.

Doolittle has over $100K in career tournament earnings including a fourth-place finish in the 2017 Coco Poker Showdown Main Event for nearly $16,000.

Event 1: Six Figures for Ido Ashkenazi

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
| Structure
Level 12: 600/1,200 with a 200 Ante
Entries: 237

Ido Ashkenazi

Ido Ashkenazi has found his way to a six-figure stack midway through Level 12. The Seminole regular has had a number of cashes and a handful of wins in South Florida, but none here in Coconut Creek. Some of his most notable scores include Everglades Poker Open and a Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown wins. Most recently, he carded a sixth-place finish in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship just last month earning better than $156,000.

Event 1: Platinum Pass Winner Carlo Rodriguez

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
| Structure
Level 9: 300/600 with a 100 Ante
Entries: 221

Carlo Rodriguez

Seminole Gaming partnered with Poker Stars to give away two Platinum Passes during Hollywood’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. The first one was given away on the eve of the series by an in-room freeroll while the second one was given away through a random drawing of all SHRPO tournament players. That lucky pass was won by Carlo Rodriguez.

Inclusive of a $25,000 entry as well as travel and hotel accommodations, the Poker Stars Platinum Pass is valued at $30,000. Rodriguez, a South Florida local, will represent Seminole Gaming and its Florida properties at the Poker Stars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship next January in the Bahamas.

Rodriguez, who’s among the Event 1 field here in Coconut Creek, sat down with Hollywood’s Tournament Director Tony Burns following the win:

Event 1: Gary Fitzgerald Sends One Home

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
| Structure
Level 7: 200/400 with a 50 Ante
Entries: 186

Gary Fitzgerald

Gary Fitzgerald recently scored a KO picking up 6x4x on a Kc3s2c5s board. His opponent had the last of her stack in the middle with 3c3d for a set. Fitzgerald had her at risk with his straight and the river fell the Ac — a blank. The straight was best and Fitzgerald took a pot more than tripling his starting stack.

Event 1: First Break Done

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
| Structure
Level 5: 100/200 with a 25 Ante
Entries: 163

The first break is a wrap and cards are back in the air to blinds of 100/200 with a 25 ante. The field cracked 152 entries during the recess, putting the prize pool above the $50,000 guarantee.

The World Series of Poker Circuit brand attracts locals and travelers alike and we did a walk through the tournament floor to find some familiar faces.

Neil Blumenfield
Francis Margaglione
Herbert Woodbery

While Blumenfield and Margaglione are South Floridians, Woodbery is among a crew that’s come to us from the northwest part of the state. Others traveling to the area include Mark “Bud” Wiser and Michael Laake.

Event 1: Inching Closer to $50K

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
| Structure
Level 4: 75/150 with a 25 Ante
Entries: 134

The WSOP Circuit kickoff is getting deeper into the structure and there’s a sizable field brewing with 134 entries in the game. That puts the event just a few shy of the $50,000 guarantee with registration and re-entry available until the start of Level 13.

There’s a number of South Florida locals, as well as travelers from across the state that have made their way to Coconut Creek for the game. We’ll take a look at some of the faces we recognize shortly.

Event 1: Coconut Creek’s Pedro Palacio in the Early Game

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
| Structure
Level 2: 50/100
Entries: 99

Pedro Palacio is a regular in the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek poker room and enjoyed a nice payday via one of the room’s promos earlier this year. The Coconut Creek tournament leaderboard promo earned Palacioa $3,500 entry in the Hollywood Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship and he parlayed it into an eighth-place finish and $86,000 score.

Palacio is in action here in the WSOP Circuit opener and hopes to again score a deep run and nice payday, this time in his home room.

Event 1: First of Two Coco WSOP Circuit Series Underway

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
| Structure
Level 1: 25/50
Entries: 58

The clock struck 11am just moments ago and Tournament Director Charlie Ciresi kicked off the 2018 World Series of Poker Circuit at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. This opening event is a $400 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry tournament with $50,000 guaranteed. Players begin with 15,000 chips and are set to play all the way through until there’s a winner, expected to occur during the early morning hours of Friday.

Details:

11AM: Event 1 – $400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

  • $50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 15,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 13
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 1 Structure Sheet

The series runs daily in Coconut Creek awarding a total of 12 rings plus a Seniors Event ring. In addition to loads of cash and prizes, two entries in the season-ending Global Casino Championship are up for grabs — One to the Casino Champion (the player who earns the most points via in-the-money finishes) and the second to the Main Event champion.

Good luck, Coco players!

WSOP Circuit Day 1 Schedule

Primary Event Schedule

11AM: Event 1 – $400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

  • $50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 15,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 13
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 1 Structure Sheet

Secondary and Satellite Schedule

9AM: $65 Event 1 Turbo Satellite

  • Players begin with 3,000 in chips and 10-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Satellite Structure Sheet

4PM: $250 Main Event Satellite

  • Players begin with 5,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Main Event Satellite Structure Sheet

6PM: $135 Nightly NLH Tournament

  • Players begin with 12,000 in chips and 20-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Nightly Tournament Structure Sheet