WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, Day 2 Recap

By BJ Nemeth

Note:  To view the official chip counts and seating assignments for the start of Day 3, click here.

Former WSOP November Niner John Dolan (pictured) began Day 2 second in chips behind David Nicholson, but Nicholson faded and busted. Meanwhile, Dolan continued his momentum from Day 1 to stay near the top of the leaderboard, finishing fourth in chips with 224,300.

There were two ClubWPT qualifiers who earned entry into this event via freerolls on ClubWPT.com, and both have survived the first two days. Don Gehrling (pictured) finished Day 2 with 57,000 in chips, while Butch Valure has 53,200.

Since Florida’s gaming regulations allow anyone over the age of 18 to enter the tournament, the Seminole Hard Rock Casino offered their traditional bonus prize to the 18-20 year old who goes deepest in their WPT event. The prize? This basket filled with swag and gifts, highlighted by an electric guitar.

There were three 18-20 year olds in this event — Christopher Barnes, Alexander Condon, and George Sinishtaj. Barnes busted late on Day 1, and Sinishtaj busted early on Day 2 — leaving Condon (pictured above) to claim the prize as the last under-21 year old standing.

Alexander Condon, who just became the last 18-20 year old standing in this tournament, earned the same distinction here last year.

As you can see, he had a different look in this photo from last year, with his hair grown out and without the sunglasses. One of the players at his table joked that he’s acquiring enough electric guitars to start a band.

On the afternoon of Day 2, the Royal Flush Girls hosted a 3-game beach volleyball tournament for players (the ones no longer in the tournament) and fans at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino pool.

Royal Flush Girls Jeannie Duffy, Danielle Ruiz, Tugba Ercan, and Angelique Velez pose for some promo shots with WPT Commentator Vince Van Patten before the tournament.

WPT Anchor Marianela Pereyra (left) warms up her volleyball skills with Vince Van Patten before the tournament.

The WPT cameras were on hand to record the action for a segment on the TV show.

Royal Flush Girl Danielle Ruiz was a bit of a ringer, showing off some serious volleyball skills on the court.

The yellow team (far side) split the first two games against the purple team (near side), forcing a third and final match.

Royal Flush Girls Jeannie Duffy (second from left) and Angelique Velez (far right) anchored the purple team, along with Vince Van Patten (center) and Tony Dunst (second from right). After winning the decisive final match, the purple team won the WPT Beach Volleyball Tournament.

Ebony Kenney is one of the WPT’s Ones to Watch for Season X, and she’s also a local to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. Kenney finished Day 2 well above average with 104,300.

Will Failla (pictured) is the current points leader in the WPT Player of the Year race, but he won’t be adding any points to his total this tournament. In the last level of the day, Failla moved all in for about 20 big blinds over a raise from Raj Vohra (foreground, right). The two players joked with each other as Vohra contemplated his decision, and he eventually called with A-J. Failla turned over [KdKs].

Even if they hadn’t been all in before the flop, it was inevitable they would be after a flop of [KhQh10d] gave Failla top set to Vohra’s flopped straight. Failla needed the board to pair to stay alive, but the turn was the [6s] and the river was the [9s] — Vohra won the pot, and Failla was eliminated.

When Day 2 came to an end, the chipleader was Clyde Hinton (pictured) with 262,900.

Tommy Vedes (pictured) pulled in the biggest pot of the tournament late in the day when he turned a set of kings against Byron Kaverman’s flopped set of jacks. They got it all in on the turn, and Vedes doubled up into the chip lead.

Vedes ultimately finished the day second in chips with 235,300, but his performance on Day 2 — combined with the fact that he made this same WPT Final Table last year — earned him the distinction of ClubWPT Player of the Day. Click here to see his interview with Jessica Welman.

Day 2 came to an end after five more levels with 102 players remaining, and an average chip count around 85,000. Here’s a look at the top 10 heading into Day 3:

1.  Clyde Hinton  –  262,900
2.  Tommy Vedes  –  235,300
3.  Bill Brown  –  227,800
4.  John Dolan  –  224,300
5.  Michael Lind  –  219,600
6.  Kyle Bowker  –  213,400
7.  Brian Senie  –  202,800
8.  Fred Goldberg  –  183,800
9.  Micah Raskin  –  180,000
10.  Josh Mancuso  –  167,500

Day 3 begins Friday at 12:00 noon ET. Return to WPT.com for continuing live coverage of all the action.