2014 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open: Defending Champ Hinkle Still Alive With 62 Left
The 2014 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open made headlines over the weekend as the venue was forced to fork over more than $2.5 million in order to meet its $10 million guarantee. While that news didn't necessarily bode well for the industry, it added extra value for the 478 players who returned on Day 2 looking to get a piece of the massive prize pool.
After another long day on the felt on Sunday only 62 players were still alive heading into Day 3, with former WSOP November Niner and Florida native John Dolan leading the way. Dolan bagged 3,005,000 in chips and is in great position to capture the title earned by Blair Hinkle last year. Meanwhile, Hinkle is also still in contention after bagging one of the shorter stacks on Day 2.
2014 SHRPO Top 10 Stacks
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Dolan | 3,005,000 |
| 2 | Farhan Madhani | 2,191,000 |
| 3 | Martin Hanowski | 1,848,000 |
| 4 | Sergey Rybachenko | 1,739,000 |
| 5 | Robert Park | 1,390,000 |
| 6 | Joe Kuether | 1,333,000 |
| 7 | David Tiffenberg | 1,239,000 |
| 8 | Daniel Colman | 1,237,000 |
| 9 | Eugene Curzio | 1,228,000 |
| 10 | Hans Winzeler | 1,225,000 |
According to the SHRPO Blog, the money bubble burst about three hours into Day 2 as WSOP bracelet winner Joey Weissman was eliminated in 301st place. Weissman's pocket queens were cracked by an opponent's flush, leaving him empty-handed and securing a min-cash for the rest of the field.
Among those who made the money but later joined Weissman on the rail were Greg Merson, Tristan Wade, Paul Volpe, Amanda Musumeci, Marvin Rettenmaier, Brian Hastings and Matt Salsberg. Salsberg tweeted that he ran pocket nines into the AxQ♣ of the red-hot Daniel Colman, and the recent EPT Barcelona Super High Roller runner-up hit an ace on the river to send Salsberg packing.
Several other big names are also in contention, including Mohsin Charania, Curt Kohlberg, Amir Lehavot, Blake Bohn, Russell Thomas, Jimmy Collopy, Jared Jaffee, John Racener and the aforementioned chip leader Dolan. Defending champ Blair Hinkle will also return on Day 3 with hopes of repeating, but he'll have some work to do when he takes his seat.
Welp 312k to end day 2. Only 62 players remain so still a chance for #back2back #SHRPO. Blinds 1-2k tom #fb
— Blair Hinkle (@blur5f6)
Day 3 will kick off at noon ET at the Seminole Hard Rock with the blinds starting at 10,000/20,000/3,000. We'll have a full recap with all of the day's highlights upon the completion of play.
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