WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Reaches Sweet 16
What started with 1,982 entrants is down the final 16 following Monday's Day 3 session at the $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour (WPT) Lucky Hearts Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida.
Play inside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino wrapped up at around 11 p.m. ET, and the remaining players will come back at noon Tuesday with their sights set on the $975,240 first place prize. Each of them is already guaranteed at least $49,825 after Ronnie Abro busted in 17th place ($40,615).
WPT Player of the Year Still Standing
Jake Ferro is the reigning World Poker Tour Player of the Year, but he's still seeking his first WPT title. That dream is still alive in the Lucky Hearts Poker Open.
Ferro's picking up right where he left off following Season XIX in the first event of Season XX. He bagged 5,150,000 (52 big blinds) and is right in the thick of things heading into the final two days.
Joshua Kay was the most dominant performer on Day 3 and finished with the largest stack at 11,825,000. He'll be seated at the same table on Tuesday as Alex Yen, who bagged the second biggest stack (11,050,000).
There isn't a past WPT champion remaining, but plenty of talent advanced, including Ferro and three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus, who shipped the $50k pot-limit Omaha event for over $1 million in November.
Anton Wigg, Jake Daniels, and Daniel Lazrus also reached Day 4. Tuesday's session will conclude when the final table is achieved. At that point, the remaining six players will go home for the evening and come back at 2 p.m. on Wednesday to compete for life-changing money and a spot in the exclusive World Poker Tour Champions Club.
Top 10 End-of-Day 3 Overall Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Kay | 11,825,000 |
| 2 | Alex Yen | 11,050,000 |
| 3 | Nicholas Verderamo | 9,650,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Lazrus | 9,600,000 |
| 5 | Jeremy Ausmus | 6,600,000 |
| 6 | Jake Ferro | 5,150,000 |
| 7 | Matt Bond | 4,325,000 |
| 8 | Omar Lakhdari | 4,300,000 |
| 9 | Anton Wigg | 3,650,000 |
| 10 | Saber Salum Penayo | 2,550,000 |
PokerNews will offer daily recaps from the WPT $3,500 Lucky Hearts Poker Open Main Event upon completion of play each day.
*Images courtesy of WPT.com
