WPT Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open, Day 2 Recap

Level 16: 2,000-4,000, 500 ante

By 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 KQ2. Liebert would win the pot, but unfortunately not survive the day.



After four-betting preflop, Jason Mercier (left) and Angelo "J.R." Miele (far right) saw a flop of Q72. They reraised each other all in, and Miele turned over AQ for top pair, top kicker. But Mercier showed KK for an overpaid. It was a huge pot, and Mercier was on the verge of becoming tournament chipleader.

But the turn was the A, the river was the J, 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 (far right) takes a cellphone photo of Jason Mercier with Royal Flush Girl Jeannie Duffy. It was actually Miele who requested a photo of Mercier and Duffy together.

Miele and Mercier played a few big pots against each other on Day 2. Late in the day, they battled over a board of 10109Q, and Mercier three-bet all in with J10 (trip tens, open-ended straight draw). But Miele flipped over 82 for a diamond flush.

The river was the 3, 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 away from the money.

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.



In the final level of the day, Angelo "J.R." Miele (foreground right) found himself in another big pot, this time against Harrison Gimbel (center left). Gimbel had three-bet the flop of Q104, and then moved all in when the 4 paired the turn. Miele tanked for several minutes, trying to get coax a reaction, but Gimbel stayed silent and motionless.

Eventually, Miele asked, "If I fold, will you show?" Gimbel ignored him, and he repeated the question several times. Miele eventually folded, and Gimbel took the pot worth nearly 300,000 in chips.



Day 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.



With 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 Gagne  -  725,000
3.  Uri Kadosh  -  685,000
4.  Angelo Miele  -  570,000
5.  Harrison Gimbel  - 456,000

Day 3 begins Monday at 12:00 noon ET, when the final 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.

Queen of Hearts

Level 16: 2,000-4,000, 500 ante

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?"

ClubWPT Player of the Day - Raj Vohra

Level 16: 2,000-4,000, 500 ante

Day 2 Ends with 34 Players and Juttelstad Still Out Front

Level 16: 2,000-4,000, 500 ante

The 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 action.

Here are the top five chip counts headed into Day 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

Todd Jacobson Doubles Thru Lazaro Hernandez

Level 16: 2,000-4,000, 500 ante

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 1010 and Lazaro turns over 34 .  The J64 flop gives Hernandez a pair of fours and some extra outs. The A on the turn keeps Jacobson out front and the 5 on the river gives Jacobson a double up on the last hand of the night.

Todd Jacobson - 159,000 (40 BBs)
Lazaro Hernandez - 98,500 (25 BBs)

Narendra Banwari Eliminated by Uri Kadosh

Level 16: 2,000-4,000, 500 ante

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

The board comes 10976Q, 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 looks at the board and grimaces as he is eliminated from the tournament.

Uri Kadosh  -  690,000  (172 BBs)
Narendra Banwari  -  Eliminated

Final Three Hands of the Day

Level 16: 2,000-4,000, 500 ante

The 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 Eliminated By Raj Vohra

Level 16: 2,000-4,000, 500 ante

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

The flop comes 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.

The river is the 8 and Vohra both pairs up and makes a flush to take the pot and eliminated Dajer in 36th place.

Raj Vohra - 495,000 (124 BBs)
Martha Dajer - eliminated

Harrison Gimbel Takes a Big Pot Against Angelo Miele

Level 16: 2,000-4,000, 500 ante

Photo: Angelo "J.R." Miele (foreground right) tanks for several minutes after Harrison Gimbel (top center left) moves all in on the turn.

After a flop of Q104 with about 75,000 in the 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.

The turn card pairs the board with the 4, 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 tries to engage Gimbel with a few questions, but Gimbel remains silent. Eventually, Miele asks, "If I fold, will you show?" He repeats the question a few times, but Gimbel says nothing.

Miele folds soon after that, and Gimbel takes the pot without showing his cards.

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

Christian Harder Doubles a Short Stack

Level 16: 2,000-4,000, 500 ante

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

The all-in player stays out front as the board runs out Q9784 and he doubles up.

Christian Harder - 157,000