WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Affrontement

Kathy Liébert (top left, in purple) has been particularly talkative today, and after a few players at her table complained about her talking non-stop for the first two hours of the day, she said she wouldn't say a word for the next two hours for the low, low price of $500.

It didn't take long for a few players to chip in and raise the money. Around 2:17 pm ET, Liebert stopped talking, and immediately put on her headphones to listen to her iPod. Vivek Rajkumar (at the table but not visible in the photo) called foul, saying that would make it too easy, but someone pointed out that headphones weren't excluded from the bet.

The players did allow Liebert a few exceptions. She is allowed to say things like, "raise," "call," and she's even allowed to ask how many chips a player has or how large a bet is. But only the minimum amount of talking required to play the game.

After a minute or two of silence from Liebert, one of the players said, "It's worth the $100 I invested just for the peace and quiet." Another player added, "We could've gotten five dollars from everyone in the room and shut her up for three weeks!"

Only time will tell if Liebert can keep quiet until 4:17 pm. Stay tuned.

At 2:00 pm this afternoon (starting in a few minutes), the Royal Flush Girls will be out at the Seminole Hard Rock pool to play some Beach-volley avec les joueurs et les supporters.

If you're at the Seminole Hard Rock and have your afternoon free, go out to the pool area for some sun and fun.


Votre Quinte Flush Royale Filles ont commencé la journée en regardant l'action du tournoi avant d'échanger leurs robes contre des bikinis et de se diriger vers la piscine.

On this episode of the Jess and BJ Show, Jessica Welman and BJ Nemeth bet the Bookie's Over/Under on how many players will register on Day 2, recap Day 1 of the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, and answer the question, "What is the best concert you've attended?"

Avec près de 3,000 déjà dans le pot and the board reading [Js10h4s5d], Dan O'Brien checks from early position and the player on the button bets 2,200.  O'Brien eyes his opponent for a minute or two before check-raising to 22,000, which is more than enough to cover the player's remaining 11,300 chips.  The player on the button thinks for about a minute before calling with [Ah10c] for a pair of tens and O'Brien shows [Jh10d] for two pair, tens and jacks.

La rivière apporte le [4h] and O'Brien eliminates the player and takes the potIl est maintenant prêt à 39,000. 

Les joueurs reviennent de la première pause de la journée pour commencer le niveau 7, avec des stores augmentés de 250-500 et 50 avant. Avec 280 joueurs restants sur un total de 433, la pile de jetons moyenne est d'environ 46,400. 

Le jeu continuera aujourd'hui jusqu'à la fin du niveau 10, ce qui se passera à propos de 8:30 13 h HE. Il n'y aura pas de pause dîner.

En premier 40 minutes du jour 2, James Caroll (à gauche) et Noé Schwartz éliminé deux joueurs chacun, créant ainsi de nombreux sièges vides et apportant plus de sang frais à la table. Voici leur nombre de jetons depuis le premier break :

James Carroll-  154,000
Noé Schwartz -  112,700

Un joueur relance à 950 from middle position, Vivek Rajkumar calls in late position, Brandon Meyers calls in the hijack, and the player in the big blind calls as well.

Le flop tombe [Jc7s5s] and action checks to Rajkumar, who bets 2,500.  Meyers calls and the two other players fold.  The turn is the [7d] and Rajkumar checks.  Meyers bets 4,150 and Rajkumar thinks a minute before calling.

La rivière est la [9c] and both players check.  Rajkumar shows [KcQc] for king-high and he has Meyer's 4-6 for a busted straight draw bested and takes the pot.

Vivek Rajkumar - 50,000
Brandon Meyers - 93,000

With Andy Frankenberger's early exit yesterday, Rajkumar is ow in control of his own destiny when it comes to the WPT Player of the Year race.  Rajkumar is currently 100 points behind Frankenberger in  the race, but he can tie with a 27th place finish here and can take the lead if he finishes 18e ou mieux.

We have a slight technical issue with our chip count tab at the moment, so here is a look at the top ten...

James Carroll - 165,000
Randy Dorfman - 160,000
Nick Grippo - 150,000
Todd Terry - 135,000
Noah Schwartz - 130,000
Mark Shoichet - 123,000
Joe Serock - 120,000
Mike Beasley - 105,000
Rhynie Campbell - 100,000
Matt Waxman - 100,000

Allen Kessler s'est arrêté pour transmettre les détails de sa main d'élimination. Comme il l'a décrit, il a déclaré qu'il s'était cassé à la "mode typique d'Allen Kessler".

Kessler started the hand with about 11,000 in chips. After a flop of 6-4-2 with two diamonds, Kessler checked, Michael Benvenuti bet 1,600, and Kessler called. The turn was a non-diamond 7, et les deux joueurs checkent. 

The river was an unspecified diamond (you can probably see where this is going), and Kessler bet 2,500. Benvenuti moved all in, and Kessler called with a set of sevens. But Benvenuti turned over [Qd10d] pour gagner le pot with a diamond flush and eliminate Kessler. 

Now that Kessler has his afternoon free, he might be heading to the Seminole Hard Rock pool where the Royal Flush Girls will be playing beach volleyball with players and fans at 2:00 après-midi.


Michel Benvenuti -  77,000
Allen Kessler -  Eliminé

Noah Schwartz relance à 1,100 depuis la position médiane et Tony Dunst fait tapis pour 8,250 behind him.  Action folds back around to Schwartz and he calls instantly with [AhAd].

"Oh," Dunst remarks with a grin.  "That's where you're at."  Dunst is trailing with [As8s] and fails to improve as the board tuns out [4d2s2cKdKc].  He is eliminated, which is fast becoming the fate for most of the people who have spent time at that table today.

Schwartz already has two KOs to his credit after just a half hour of play, while James Carroll is likely the new chip leader thanks to two big hands where he picked up queens and busted players.  Carroll is currently sitting on 165,000, while Schwartz is up to 114,500. 

L'homme connu sous le nom de Squeaky a fait un rêve la nuit dernière. Un rêve qu'il doublerait dès la première main de la journée. Il s'avère que Squeaky, également connu sous le nom de MIchael Winnett, pourrait être un médium.

Winnett arrives to the tournament area a little late and makes quite the show of unwrapping his new card protector--a Weeble. Winnett is convinced the Weeble will be lucky, especially since the box reads "Dreams come true."

Winnett laisse tomber le Weeble sur la table et il atterrit immédiatement debout, comme les Weebles ont l'habitude de le faire.

"C'est un Weeble chanceux", s'exclame Winnett. "Il a atterri bien droit et tout." Il plafonne ses cartes et l'action se replie autour de lui au cutoff. Il regarde ses cartes et, eh bien, couine.

"Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening! On the very first hand!" He turns to the player on his right and says, "Can you believe it? I am either doubling up or getting out of here!"

Winnett makes it 1,025 to play and Greg Dyer calls behind him from the button. Gaston Nievluski is in the small blind and reraises to a little over 4,000.

Il y a plus de grincements. "Oh mon Dieu, c'est exactement comme je rêvais que cela arriverait !" Winnett suit et Dyer se couche.

Le flop tombe [8s7c2h] and Nievluski bets 12,000. As you can guess, there was more squeaking.

"Gah," Winnett lets out. He grabs the player to his right and hugs him, then moves all-in for another 12,000 or so. As Nievluski deliberates, Winnett stands, squeaks, hugs, and calls for the cameras to come over and capture the action.

Eventually, Nievluski calls with [KdKs]. As Winnett turns over his [7s7d] for a set of sevens, he tells the table, "Can you believe it? He reraised me and then called my all-in thinking he was going to win this hand. This is the greatest hand in the history of poker!"

The turn brings the [Ad] and the river the [Jh] and there is a round of celebratory squeaking as Winnett doubles up to 56,000.

Il ya au moins 20 new players who registered overnight, bumping the total field size to 426 as play is about to begin. WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage announces that this is the last opportunity to register for the event, so we may get a few stragglers. 

L'action commence aujourd'hui au niveau 6, avec des stores à 200-400 et 50 avant. Le 290 survivants de Day 1 joindre l' 20 or so new players to form a current field around 310 joueurs.

They will play five 90-minute levels today, with no dinner break. There is a party for the players at the end of the day, currently scheduled for the Seminole Hard Rock pool, though the location may move indoors, as the forecast shows possible rain.


Mélangez et traitez !

Par BJ Nemeth

Given the conditions in the poker world right now (you know what I'm talking about), the turnout at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown was strong, with 406 players signing up on Day 1. Registration remains open until the start of play on Day 2, so that number is expected to grow even larger. And to get those kind of numbers for a $10,000 buy-in event has to be a little bit of good news for the poker industry.

The official prizepool information won't be available until after registration closes, but we do know that the field is already large enough that first prize will be more than $1 millions.

Et maintenant, un retour photographique sur la Journée 1 du WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown :


L'équipe du WPT prend des images du terrain du tournoi depuis le balcon supérieur de l'arène Seminole Hard Rock Live. Conçu pour les concerts, le lieu offre une ambiance unique pour un tournoi de poker.


At the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, rock 'n' roll lyrics are quoted in interesting places around the entire property. The top balcony here in the arena is particularly steep, so the sign on the railing quotes the Peter Frampton chanson "Si difficile à croire".


Mike Sexton est relié par Vince Van Patten et la Quinte Flush Royale Filles alors qu'il annonce "Shuffle up and deal" pour lancer le WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown.


David Lawrence was still in his two-week free trial period when he entered a 1,700-player tournament on ClubWPT.com. Lawrence didn't pay much attention to the prizepool until he reached the final table, where he learned that the winner would get a seat into a live WPT event. Lawrence won the seat, and when his free trial expired, happily signed up as a full member of ClubWPT.


Un 20-year-old player with few opportunities to play live tournaments in the United States, Harrison Gimbel (from nearby Jupiter, Florida) has already racked up more than $2.6 million in live earnings with an impressive resume of victories. Gimbel won the 2010 PCA main event, the 2009 Florida State Poker Championship, and the WPT Regional tournament that was held here at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino last November.


Since this is the only WPT event in the U.S. that allows 18-20 year olds to play, the Seminole Hard Rock Casino has created a bonus prize basket for the player in that age group that finishes deepest in the tournament. The centerpiece of the prize basket is an electric guitar autographed by Aaron Lewis de la bande Staind.


À l'âge de 24, Jason mercier is already listed among the best players in the world, with more than $5.5 million in live tournament earnings. Mercier has won a WSOP bracelet and an EPT title, and is seeking to win his first WPT title to complete the rare triple crown. Mercier is from the nearby city of Davie, Florida.


The Mizrachis have become one of the most famous families in poker in the six years since Michael Mizrachi won his first WPT title back in 2005. The four brothers (Robert, Michael, Eric, and Donnie) grew up in Miami, and this is where they learned to play poker. Here, Robert Mizrachi gets a massage as he plays a hand on Day 1.


Another look at the field on Day 1 du Seminole Hard Rock Showdown.


Todd Terry (right) won a big pot in the middle of the day involving Chino Rheem (left) and an unknown player in the big blind. After a flop of [Ad9h3d], Terry four-bet all in, the big blind called, and Rheem folded. Terry's set of nines held up against the big blind's flush draw, moving Terry up among the chipleaders with more than 100,000 en chips.


Scott Ian est le guitariste principal du groupe de heavy metal Anthrax et également un passionné de poker. (Ian a participé à quelques événements du WPT ces dernières années.) Ian est l'un des nombreux musiciens qui ont fait don d'instruments à la chaîne de restaurants et de casinos Hard Rock, et l'une de ses guitares est exposée ici au Seminole Hard Rock Live. arène.


Nick Grippo emerged as the chipleader late in the day, but ultimately finished second in chips with 149,375.


The RISE Player of the Day was awarded to Day 1 chipleader Randy Dorfman, a University of Miami alumnus who finished the day with 160,000 en chips.

Grâce à 290 survivants de Day 1, here's a look at the top five chip counts:

1. Randy Dorfman - 160,000
2. Nick Grippo - 149,375
3. James Caroll - 130,925
4. Todd Terry - 124,975
5. Seth Davies - 115,225

Jour 2 commence à 12:00 midi HE. Restez à l'écoute de WorldPokerTour.com pour une couverture continue en direct, y compris des mises à jour des mains, des décomptes fréquents de jetons et un autre épisode du Jess & BJ Show.

Registration remains open until the start of play tomorrow, but the field size is currently listed at 406 joueurs, avec 290 of them surviving to Day 2.

The unofficial chipleader is Randy Dorfman, with an even 160,000. The full list of official chip counts will be posted here in the live updates when they are released by the casino.

John Dolan and Brent Hanks get it all-in on a flop of [Jh4h2s] with Dolan having Hanks covered.  Hanks has the best of it with [JdJc] for top set, but Dolan still had two outs for his pocket queens.

Le [8d] on the turn is no help to Dolan, nor is the [Ad] on the river and Hanks' set holds to give him the pot et le double up.

Brent Hanks - 39,000
John Dolan - 32,5000