Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open

Par BJ Nemeth

Royal Flush Girls Jeannie Duffy (left) and Brittany Bell record an intro to Day 2 outside the poker room here at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino.


Mike Sexton was on hand to mingle with the players before Day 2, and hung around to watch the early action. Here, he watched as Kathy Liebert moved her short stack all in after a flop of [KsQc2c]. Liebert would win the pot, mais malheureusement, ils n'ont pas survécu à la journée.


After four-betting preflop, Jason Mercier (left) and Angelo "J.R." Miele (far right) saw a flop of [Qc7h2s]. They reraised each other all in, and Miele turned over [AdQs] for top pair, top kicker. But Mercier showed [KcKd] for an overpaid. It was a huge pot, et Mercier était sur le point de devenir chipleader du tournoi.

But the turn was the [Ah], the river was the [Jd], and Miele turned two pair to crack Mercier's kings and win the pot. Mercier lost most of his stack, but he wasn't critical, and still had enough chips to mount a comeback.


Royal Flush Girls Brittany Bell (left) and Jeannie Duffy check out the action at this table, with Matt O'Donnell (seated, center) and Christian Harder (seated, right).


Allen Kessler appears to be sleeping as a hand plays out between two other players. Kessler was short-stacked with less than 20,000 in chips, and was eliminated a short while later when he got it all in with pocket jacks, but they couldn't hold up against K-Q offsuit.


Angelo "J.R." Miele (à l'extrême droite) prend une photo de Jason Mercier avec la Royal Flush Girl Jeannie Duffy. C'est en fait Miele qui a demandé une photo de Mercier et Duffy ensemble.

Miele et Mercier ont joué quelques gros pots les uns contre les autres le jour 2. Late in the day, they battled over a board of [10s10d9dQd], and Mercier three-bet all in with [Jh10h] (trip tens, open-ended straight draw). But Miele flipped over [8d2d] for a diamond flush.

La rivière était la [3s], and that was the end of Jason Mercier's tournament as Miele became a contender for the chip lead.


Noah Schwartz found himself in an interesting situation on Day 2. He had a summons to appear for jury duty on Monday, which would be Day 3. He began playing more aggressively than usual, figuring he'd win big or go home. That strategy served him well on Sunday; even though he had an up-and-down stack, he survived the day with an average chip stack, and the field is only seven spots'éloigne de l'argent.

We'll have to wait and see until play begins on Day 3 to see whether Schwartz was able to get out of his jury duty. (Or if he decided to play hooky.)


Royal Flush Girls Brittany Bell (left) and Jeannie Duffy highlight the "WPT" shoes that Vitor Coelho was wearing on Day 2. Coelho custom ordered the shoes, choosing the color "Victory Green" and having the back monogrammed with the letters "WPT."

Coelho final tabled WPT Jacksonville earlier this season, finishing fourth to earn more than $75,000.


Au dernier niveau de la journée, Angelo "JR" Miele (premier plan à droite) s'est retrouvé dans un autre grand pot, this time against Harrison Gimbel (center left). Gimbel had three-bet the flop of [Qh10d4s], and then moved all in when the [4h] paired the turn. Miele tanked for several minutes, trying to get coax a reaction, but Gimbel stayed silent and motionless.

Finalement, Miele a demandé : « Si je me couche, est-ce que tu vas me montrer ? » Gimbel l'a ignoré et il a répété la question plusieurs fois. Miele a fini par se coucher et Gimbel a pris la main. pot vaut presque 300,000 en chips.


Jour 1 chipleader Matt Juttelstad (left) kept his momentum going, becoming the Day 2 chipleader as well with 805,000. Gigi Gagne (right) went on a run after the dinner break, busting several players as she built her stack up to 725,000, good enough for second place on the leaderboard.



Grâce à 34 players remaining (but only 27 finishing in the money), here's a look at the top of the leaderboard:

1. Matt Juttelstad -  805,000
2. Gigi Gagné -  725,000
3. Uri Kadosh -  685,000
4.  Angelo Miele  -  570,000
5. Harrison Gimbel - 456,000

Jour 3 commence lundi à 12:00 midi HE, lorsque la finale 34 players will burst the money bubble (27 get paid) and play down to the six seats at Tuesday's WPT Final Table. Stay tuned to WPT.com for continuing live coverage, and hand-for-hand action beginning once they reach the final ten players.

On this episode of the Jess and BJ Show, Jessica Welman and BJ Nemeth talk last women standing, bet the Bookie's Over/Under on Gigi Gagne's finishing position, recap Day 2 of the Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open, and answer the question, "What is your favorite Queen song?"

Votre 34 players still alive in the Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open have bagged up their chips and headed home for the day.

It was another productive day at the tables for Matt Juttelstad, who began the day as chip leader and ended the day in the same spot. Juttelstad ended the day with 805,000 chips, which is more than three times the size of the average stack.

Gigi Gagne, the last woman remaining in the field, is not too far behind Juttelstad.  After being down near the felt earlier today, she rallied up the counts to finish with 725,000.  Uri Kadosh busted Narendra Banwari in the final minutes of play to end the day third in chips with 685,000.

The field will be back in action at 12pm ET tomorrow and will keep playing until the six-handed live streaming final table is set.  All of the official chip counts are posted on the chip count page.  Check back in a little while for seat assignments, the latest episode of "Jess & BJ", and the photo recap of all the Day 2 l'action.

Voici les cinq principaux décomptes de jetons avant le jour J 3:

1. Matt Juttelstad - 805,000
2. Gigi Gagne - 725,000
3. Uri Kadosh - 685,000
4. Angelo Miele - 570,000
5. Harrison Gimbel - 456,000

Roger Goindoo opens to 8,000 from early position and Todd Jacobson moves all-in for 71,000 behind him.  Action folds around to Lazaro Hernandez in the big blind and he calls.  Goindoo folds.

Jacobson shows [10d10h] and Lazaro turns over [3s4s] .  The [Jc6c4h] flop gives Hernandez a pair of fours and some extra outs. The [Ad] on the turn keeps Jacobson out front and the [5d] on the river gives Jacobson a double up on the last hand of the night.

Todd Jacobson - 159,000 (40 BB)
Lázaro Hernández - 98,500 (25 BB)

Narendra Banwari moves all in from early position for 109,000, and Uri Kadosh calls from late position with [JdJs]. Banwari turns over [AhQc], and he'll need to improve to stay alive.

Le conseil vient [10d9c7d6dQd], and Banwari celebrates his pair of queens with a loud "Yes!" But the dealer points to Kadosh and says, "Flush. He's got a flush with the jack of diamonds."

Banwari regarde le tableau et grimace alors qu'il est éliminé du tournoi.

Uri Kadosh -  690,000  (172 BB)
Narendra Banwari  -  Eliminé

Votre 35 players left in the field are going to play three more hands before bagging it up and calling it a night.  The two chip leaders, Matt Juttelstad and Gigi Gagne, are seated side by side and neck and neck in the race to end the day on top. 

Martha Dajer raises to 9,000, leaving just around 25,000 behind and Raj Vohra calls in the big blind.

Le flop arrive 5-4-3 with two clubs and Vohra puts Dajer all-in.  Dajer calls with A-K and Vohra holds 7-8.  The turn puts a third club on board and gives Vohra a seven-high flush draw.  Dajer does not have a club in her hand.

La rivière est la [8c] and Vohra both pairs up and makes a flush to take the pot and eliminated Dajer in 36ème place.

Raj Vohra - 495,000 (124 BB)
Martha Dajer - éliminée

Photo Angelo "J.R." Miele (au premier plan à droite) tanke pendant plusieurs minutes après qu'Harrison Gimbel (en haut au centre gauche) fasse tapis au tournant.

Après un flop de [Qh10d4s] avec environ 75,000 dans le pot from preflop action, Harrison Gimbel bets 36,000 from the small blind, Angelo "J.R." Miele raises from middle position to 72,000, and Gimbel reraises to 108,000. Miele calls.

La carte tournante associe le plateau avec le [4h], and Gimbel moves all in. Miele asks for an exact count, and it's 186,000. Miele studies Gimbel for several minutes, but Gimbel remains quiet and motionless, avoiding eye contact by looking down at his stack.

Miele essaie de poser quelques questions à Gimbel, mais Gimbel reste silencieux. Finalement, Miele demande : « Si je me couche, le montrerez-vous ? Il répète la question plusieurs fois, mais Gimbel ne dit rien.

Miele folds soon after that, and Gimbel takes the pot sans montrer ses cartes.

Harrison Gimbel -  480,000  (120 BB)
Angelo Miele  -  645,000  (161 BB)

Christian Harder and a short-stacked player get it all-in for the player's last 57,500.  Harder holds [JhJc] and the other player has him dominated with [KcKh].

The all-in player stays out front as the board runs out [Qs9s7c8h4c] and he doubles up.

Christian Harder - 157,000 

Un joueur en position médiane relance à 8,500 and Raj Vohra reraises to 25,500 out of the small blind.  The initial raiser fires back, making it 45,000 to play, and Vohra calls.

Le flop arrive [Qd9s5d] and Vohra checks.  The other player checks behind.  The turn pairs the board with the [Qs] and Vohra bets 25,000. The other player folds and Vohra shows him [AcAh].

Raj Vohra - 470,000 (118 BB)

Après un flop de [10s4c3h], Matt Juttelstad checks from early position, the button bets 20,000, and Juttelstad calls. The turn card pairs the board with the [10d], et les deux joueurs checkent.

La rivière est la [5c], Juttelstad bets 48,000, and the button thinks for a bit, carefully counting down his stack, before he calls.

Juttelstad montre [Comme10h] pour gagner le pot avec un trip de dix, et le bouton s'écrase.

Matt Juttelstad -  840,000  (210 BB)

Après un flop de [10s5s3h], Fred Goldberg is all in from late position with [Jd10d] (pair of tens) against Lazaro Hernandez in early position [7c6h] (gutshot straight draw).

Le tour est le [8d], giving Hernandez an open-ended straight draw, but the river is the [Ad], and Goldberg wins the pot avec sa paire de dix pour doubler.

Fred Goldberg-  158,000
Lázaro Hernández -  185,000

Alex Ivanov raises to 11,000 from the hijack and Gigi Gagne reraises to 25,000 on the button.  Ivanov calls.

Le flop arrive [Kc6c4d] and Ivanov checks.  "Thirty," Gagne announces as soon as action is on her.  Ivanov silently called.

The turn brings the [Ks] and Ivanov checks.  Gagne, who is sitting back in her head resting her head on her hand, leans forward and quickly slides out a stack worth 100,000.  Ivanov silently folds.

She asks him, "You want to see it?"  Ivanov doesn't say anything, but Gagne nonetheless shows him [AhKh] for trip kings.

Gigi Gagné - 650,000 (125 BB)
Alex Ivanov - 330,000 (83 BB)

Le joueur sous le coup de la menace relance à 8,000, Fred Goldberg calls on the button, and Raj Vohra calls out of the big blind.

Le flop arrive [10c4d3h] and action checks to Goldberg, who bets 12,500.  Vohra calls and the other player in the hand folds.  The turn brings the [4c] and Vohra bets 23,000.  Goldberg pauses momentarily, then calls.

The river brings the [Ks] and Vohra asks Goldberg about how much he has left.  Goldberg has around 80,000.  Vohra counts out a stack of 5,000 chips and bets 65,000.  Goldberg doesn't give it too much thought before folding.

Raj Vohra - 465,000 (116 BB)
Fred Goldberg - 80,000 (20 BB)

Yaroslav Nakonechnyy raises preflop to 10,000, Gigi Gagne moves all in, and Nakonechnyy snap-calls with A-K. But Gagne turns over A-A.

Nakonechnyy fails to improve, and Gagne wins the pot with her pocket aces to eliminate Nakonechnyy from the tournament.

Gigi Gagne  -  500,000  (125 BB)
Yaroslav Nakonechnyy  -  Eliminé

Les joueurs reviennent de la pause pour commencer le niveau 16, avec des stores augmentés de 2,000-4,000 et 500 avant. Avec 38 joueurs restants, le nombre moyen de jetons est d'environ 233,000.

Il y a eu une certaine confusion avec le calendrier d'aujourd'hui, et au lieu de jouer sept niveaux, le terrain n'en jouera que six. Ce qui veut dire que ce sera le dernier niveau de la soirée.

Le haut 27 les joueurs finiront dans l'argent, gagnant au moins $8,629. But it would take 11 eliminations in this level to reach that mark tonight.

Un joueur s'ouvre à 7,000 and a short stack moves all-in for 24,000 total. Justin Zaki is on the button and cold four-bets to 41,000.

Angelo Miele is in the small blind and tanks for a good bit, at one point mumbling, "Son of a bitch," before folding.  The initial raiser thinks a while as well and eyes Zaki's stack before opting to lay it down.

Zaki retourne [KdKc] et le relanceur initial dit : "Je n'ai pas couché la meilleure main." Miele dit à la table : "J'ai plié Dame-Dix."

The all-in player shows [9h10h].  The [Qs5c3s] and Miele points to the queen on the flop, indicating he would've hit top pair.  The [5d] on the turn is no help to the all-in player, nor is the [8s] on the river and he is eliminated on the last hand of the level.

Justin Zaki - 173,000

Photo Après son élimination, Jason Mercier (debout) s'arrête pour discuter avec Christian Harder.

Jason Mercier raises and Angelo Miele is the only caller.  The two see a flop of [10s10d9d].  Mercier bets and Miele calls.

The turn is the [Qd] and Mercier bets again, this time for 14,500.  Miele raises to 45,000 and Mercier starts to think.

"Don't do it," Miele warns Mercier.  He repeats himself.  "Don't do it."

Mercier opts to ignore Miele's advice and moves all-in for around 100,000.  Miele calls right away with [2d8d] for a turned flush.  Mercier holds [Jh10h] for trip jacks.  "I told you not to do it," Miele tells Mercier.

La rivière est la [3s], which is no help to Mercier and he is eliminated. Miele rakes in the massive pile and, after Mercier leaves the table, he tells the other players, "If he checks, I check."

Miele se rapproche désormais de la tête du classement.

Angelo Miele - 695,000
Jason Mercier - éliminée

Raj Vohra raises preflop, another player reraises, and Vohra calls. The flop comes [10s6d2h], Vohra checks, his opponent bets, and Vohra moves all in.

His opponent calls with [AdAh], and Vohra turns over [9d8d] pour un tirage droit par le ventre.

The turn card is the [Ac], giving his opponent a set, but the river card is the [7d], and Vohra wins the pot avec 10-high straight to eliminate his opponent.

Raj Vohra -  285,000  (95 BB)