$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 3: 75/150/25
Players: 399

Three levels are in the books and that means players are now on their first 15-minute break of the day.

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 3: 75/150/25
Players: 399

Kathy Liebert, who currently sits second on the Women’s All-Time Money List with over $6 million in winnings, raised to 400 from middle position and action folded to Ryan Laplante, who if you recall won a gold bracelet this summer at the World Series of Poker.

Laplante opted to defend and then both players checked the flop. After the dealer burned and turned the , Laplante led out for 800 and a short-stacked Liebert took her time before moving all in for 4,625 total. That did the trick as Laplante quickly released.

Meanwhile, Ludovic Geilich was eliminated from the tournament. He was crippled after getting it in with a pair and flush draw, which was bested by an overpair. Geilich’s few remaining chips disappeared a short time later.

For those unfamiliar with Geilich, he is an accomplished European pro who speaks with a strong Scottish accent, though he considers himself both Scottish and German (he has a parent from each country).

A proficient snooker player, Geilich topped a field of 499 entires earlier this year to win the 2016 Wynn Classic Main Event for $150,662. Geilich has nearly $1.3 million in lifetime earnings, but of course he won’t be adding to that in this event.

Ryan Laplante – 17,000
Kathy Liebert – 9,800
Ludovic Geilich – Eliminated

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 2: 75/150
Players: 356

Chance Kornuth, who a few days back won the Charity Series of Poker event here at SHRPO for $5,000, was just eliminated from the tournament.

“He took a chance,” Mike Leah explained after his departure. “He took a chance with a combination draw.”

Ryan Tepen, who was also at the same table, was kind enough to shed some light on the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Team Member’s departure.

As he told it, Kornuth had raised to 400 only to have Joe Hwang three-bet to 1,600 from the button. Both blinds folded, Kornuth called, and the flop came down .

Kornuth checked, Hwang bet 1,650, and Kornuth sprung to life with a check-raise to 4,500. Hwang made the call and was soon put to the test as Kornuth shoved for roughly 16,000 on the turn. Hwang hit the tank and eventually made the call.

Hwang:
Kornuth:

Hwang was ahead with top pair, but Kornuth was drawing strong to both an open-ended straight and a flush. The dealer burned one last time and put out the . It was a dud as far as Kornuth was concerned, and he hastily gathered his things before making a beeline for the door.

Joe Hwang – 40,000
Chance Kornuth – Eliminated

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 2: 75/150
Players: 321

There are plenty of players worth knowing in today’s field, but we thought we’d single out a few we recommend keeping an eye on.

Ryan Laplante – What a year it has been for Laplante, who earlier this summer notched an astounding 12 cashes during the 2016 World Series of Poker. The best result? That would be a win in Event #12: $565 Pot-Limit Omaha for $190,328 and his first gold bracelet.

The day after his win at his bracelet ceremony, Laplante, an openly gay poker player, made a heartfelt speech in the wake of the worst mass shooting in American history where 49 people lost their lives inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.

“I am so proud to call myself a World Series of Poker champion,” Laplante said battling back tears. “I’m proud to call myself an openly gay man. I encourage all of you to be proud of who you are.”

Laplante, who has been playing since 2011, is already having a career year with $287,556 in winnings thus far in 2016. His previous best was $234,604 back in 2014.

Nick Yunis – Only two players from Chile have amassed more than $1 million in earnings. Nicolas Fierro sits atop the South American country’s all-time money list with more than $1.7 million in lifetime earnings, while Yunis is in second with $1,152,604.

Just a couple days ago, Yunis finished third in Event #21: $300 Charity Series of Poker, which earned him $2,000. Before that, he was in Vegas for the 2016 World Series of Poker where he put together six cashes, including a sixth-place finish in Event #9: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Championship for $56,202.

As far as his overall poker résumé is concerned, Yunis’ career-best score was $249,152 for winning the 2015 World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic Event #12: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em. The only other six-figure score of his came right here at Seminole Hard Rock when he placed fifth in April’s WPT SHRP Showdown High Roller for $133,950.

Ari Engel – If you’ve spent any time on the tournament circuit, there’s no doubt you’ve crossed paths with Ari Engel. All he does is travel from stop to stop playing poker, and it seems all he does when there is win.

Engel has eight WSOP Circuit gold rings to his credit, which ties him with Valentin Vornicu and Chris Reslock, though that triumvirate trails Alex Masek’s by a single ring. While Engel is a Circuit beast, he established himself as a powerhouse earlier this year when he won the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event for $1,120,110.

Most recently – three days ago to be exact – Engel came out on top of the SHRPO Event #19: $1,650 No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up for $22,400. Only time will tell if Engel can capture another title in this event.

$2,650 No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 1: 50/100
Players: 259

The tournament floor is chock full of familiar faces. Here are some notables spotted on our first pass through the field.

Amir Lehavot – 20,000
Mike Wang – 20,000
Roland Israelashivili – 20,000
Dermot Blain – 20,000
Kyle Bowker – 20,000
Neil Blumenfield – 20,000
John Monnette – 20,000
Matt Stout – 20,000
Kane Kalas – 20,000
Jonathan Little -20,000
Ari Engel – 20,000
Harrison Gimbel – 20,000
David Levi – 20,000
Jonathan Duhamel – 20,000
Nick Yunis – 20,000
Kathy Liebert – 20,000
Mike Beasley – 20,000
Ryan Laplante – 20,000
Chance Kornuth – 20,000
Ryan Tepen – 20,000
Mike Leah – 20,000
Darryll Fish – 20,000
Allen Kessler – 20,000
Ori Hen – 20,000
Joel Harwood – 20,000