Day 3 of the $3,500 buy-in WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in Hollywood, Florida wrapped up Monday night as the sphere of 99 avid gamers who began dwindled right down to a ultimate 16, with avid gamers final together with Darren Elias, Viet Vo, James Calderaro and chip chief Mark Davis.
This is probably the most motion that PokerNews stuck right through a annoying and eventful Day 3.
Gavin and Kuo Fall; Shorr Gets rid of Protecting Champion
Day 3 motion kicked off at midday on Stage 21 with not up to 100 avid gamers and that quantity temporarily dropped as palms performed out around the Grand Ballroom on the Seminole Exhausting Rock.
At Desk 16 sat poker trainer Lexy Gavin and Natural8 ambassador Kitty Kuo as two of the 4 girls final within the box, which previous integrated the likes of Angelina Wealthy, Kristen Bicknell, Ema Zajmovic, Rania Nasreddine and Altynai Fung.

“Two ladies are at all times on the identical desk!” somebody commented from any other desk. “It’s laborious to do.”
About midway during the stage, Gavin hit the rail after a huge cooler the place her Giant Slick fell to the Cowboys of Kumal Shah. Gavin went out in 91st position for a money of $9,300. No longer lengthy after, Kuo was once noticed exiting the event space with a payout slip in hand.
Adam Hendrix, who PokerNews spoke with on Day 2, sat at Desk 23 throughout from Jonathan Jaffe, who bowed out via the top of the extent. In a single hand on the pro-packed desk, Hendrix defended out of the large blind after a elevate from Ilir Rugova in past due place.
The flop got here and Rugova persevered with a raffle of 55,000, which the deep-stacked Hendrix answered to with a check-raise to 160,000. His opponent known as heading to the
at the flip. Hendrix sized as much as 275,000 and Rugova ran thru two time extensions sooner than in the end folding and revealing the
.
“Excellent guess, guy,” he instructed Hendrix.
One desk at the back of them, Shannon Shorr was once getting serious about pots. In a single hand, the cutoff opened and Shorr installed a three-bet. the cutoff then re-raised all-in for 800,000, and the Shorr sipped his morning beverage sooner than tossing his playing cards within the muck. A couple of palms later, Shorr took down a large pot when his ace-jack was once just right at showdown on an ace-high board.
Seated to the instant left of Shorr was once protecting champion Brek Schutten, who took down the Championship Event last year for $1,261,095. Schutten’s consecutive deep run was once lower quick via none rather than the participant via his aspect when he misplaced a race with pocket eights to the ace-ten of Shorr.

Shorr, who’s after his first World Poker Tour title after making 4 ultimate tables, took a second right through his destroy to speak with PokerNews about his scorching begin to Day 3.
“It is been beautiful easy to this point,” the best-ever Alabama cash chief stated. I received a large turn (towards Schutten) and that was once roughly the tale of the day to this point. I am as much as about 2.3 (million).”

Shorr not too long ago took down the first event of the US Poker Open in Las Vegas to show his $10,000 buy-in into $213,900 after you have thru a stacked ultimate desk that still featured Daniel Negreanu and Erik Seidel, who additionally recently spoke with PokerNews.
“That was once tremendous cool,” Shorr stated on Monday. “I are living in Vegas, so it is great to simply be capable to go back and forth and pass play poker. Enjoying towards the easiest (stage) and the hardest festival is tremendous interesting and numerous a laugh. It is like a small participant pool, numerous us guys who’ve been round 15 years, so there may be an innate admire that all of us have for each and every different. So it is a vibe taking part in, and to get there and win is simply a perfect cool enjoy.”
After successful six figures, Shorr was once able to depart Vegas to participate within the South Florida motion.
“I really like coming down right here on the Seminole Exhausting Rock,” he stated. “I truly do not leave out one (collection right here) except I’ve to. Simply tremendous massive fields; the vibe in South Florida is fantastic, clearly. And they are tremendous well-run. I truly experience it.”
Berkey Battles at a Professional-Packed Desk
Deep into Stage 24, with handiest six tables final, a specifically stacked lineup emerged at Desk 6, with the Bose headphone-sporting Hendrix within the one-seat and Berkey in his backward trucker hat 4 seats over in. On Berkey’s instant left was once Shorr beneath an Alabama baseball cap.

The Resolve For Why founder chatted with PokerNews right through the second one destroy about his deep run within the Championship Match.
“It is been swingy,” Berkey stated about Day 3, including that he was once “proper round the place I began the day with,” which was once 1,915,000.
Only some weeks in the past, the Pittsburgh local took down BetMGM Pennsylvania’s March Poker Mania Main Event to win $31,250.
“It was once a laugh. I were given to visit Pittsburgh for a bit of below per week simply to movement some BetMGM occasions,” stated Berkey, who was once an envoy for the net collection. “It is at all times great to win a event.”
He laughed sooner than including, “It is not a sense I am getting all that steadily.”
Berkey had no factor making the go back and forth south to compete on the Seminole Exhausting Rock.
“Florida’s at all times the most efficient. I imply, the sphere’s large, so it is clearly tremendous excessive price. The construction is excellent, it is ran truly effectively. It is a very easy forestall to make.”

With the participant pool shrinking and the highest prize of $1,000,300 nearing, Berkey stated he deliberate to stick centered and would select his spots properly.
“The sphere’s clearly getting a bit of bit harder and (the) moderate stack is much more shallow, so you are simply seeking to navigate,” he stated. “Thirty large blinds roughly performs itself and you work it out from there.”
Elias Busts Hendrix to Finish Day
A couple of dozen avid gamers dropped from the sphere because the day advanced, together with the 2 that PokerNews spoke to on destroy. Shorr bowed out in thirty seventh position to take house $24,000, whilst Berkey survived dinner destroy to complete in twenty first for $34,000.
The power behind the Grand Ballroom was once intense as the sphere contracted to simply 3 tables. With handiest 16 avid gamers advancing to Day 4, Sean Ripp went out in 18th for $41,000 when he ran queens into the kings of Robert Lofaso.
Benjamin Miner was once prone to effervescent Day 4 when he opened to one.3 million at the button with simply 25,000 at the back of and were given a choice from Marcos Exterkotter within the small blind. Exterkotter idea his opponent was once all-in and tabled . Payout issues in thoughts, Miner exhausted thru 5 of six time banks sooner than calling off and tabling
, appearing himself in unhealthy form.
That modified when the board got here to pair his 9, and the runout of
was once simply an insult to Exterkotter.
“Can I am getting an image?” Miner requested sooner than the broker washed the board after he hit quads to stick alive.
“That sucks,” an frustrated Exterkotter muttered sooner than taking a sip of a sugar-free Crimson Bull.
At any other desk, Hendrix finished within the small blind and the large blind, Darren Elias, checked his choice.

The flop got here and Hendrix check-called a raffle of 525,000 from the New Jersey professional. The flip introduced the
and Hendrix checked once more, handiest to check-jam after his opponent guess.
Elias snapped and tabled for the nut immediately. Hendrix may imagine it and frustratingly tabled
for best pair to be drawing useless sooner than the
river and to move out at the ultimate two desk bubble in seventeenth for $41,000.
seventeenth with 16 bagging #####. Such a lot of ultimate 2 and three tables in WPT it hurts.
Day Four Seat Draw
Table | Seat | Player | Count | Big Blinds |
---|---|---|---|---|
7 | 1 | Benjamin Miner | 4,800,000 | 48 bb |
7 | 2 | Dave Moore | 2,500,000 | 25 bb |
7 | 3 | Robert Lofaso | 6,450,000 | 65 bb |
7 | 4 | Andrew Davidson | 5,200,000 | 52 bb |
7 | 5 | Christian Harder | 2,350,000 | 24 bb |
7 | 6 | James Kousouros | 2,725,000 | 27 bb |
7 | 7 | Andrew Barfield | 8,775,000 | 88 bb |
7 | 8 | James Calderaro | 9,675,000 | 97 bb |
8 | 1 | Mark Davis | 14,400,000 | 144 bb |
8 | 2 | Michael Laufer | 9,300,000 | 93 bb |
8 | 3 | Vinny Pahuja | 1,725,000 | 17 bb |
8 | 4 | Viet Vo | 5,500,000 | 55 bb |
8 | 5 | Robert Georato | 6,100,000 | 61 bb |
8 | 6 | Marcos Exterkotter | 1,100,000 | 11 bb |
8 | 7 | Darren Elias | 13,775,000 | 138 bb |
8 | 8 | Carlos Dorca | 6,800,000 | 68 bb |
Action will pick up on Tuesday at noon local time and will play down to six. The final six players will finish the tournament on May 25 at Esports Arena Las Vegas at the Luxor at a televised final table. Follow along in the Championship Event with WPT’s live updates.