Just 16 players remain in the 2022 World Poker Tour (WPT) Lucky Hearts Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. Joshua Kay is the chip leader heading into Day 4 with 11.825 million chips. Everyone still in the tournament is guaranteed at least $49,825, but most have their sights set on the $975,240 that will go to the winner.
With blinds at 50,000/100,000 and a 100,000-chip ante, Alexander Yen is not far behind Kay, holding 11.050 million chips. And both will be at the same table on Tuesday, so you never know if there could be some fireworks. Two players – Nicholas Verderamo and Daniel Lazrus – have over 9 million, beginning today with 9.650 million and 9.600 million chips, respectively. Nobody else has over 7 million.
Last year’s WPT Player of the Year and the chip leader going into Day 3, Jake Ferro, is in fifth place with 6.600 million chips.
Kay began Day 3 with just under 1.500 million chips and it took him a while to make his upward climb. About four hours in, he eliminated Daniel Beers in 35th place when he outkicked him, growing his stack to 3.505 million.
After building his stack further, Kay knocked out Yuriy Kozinskiy in 20th place, Queens over J-T, to move to 9.800 million (yes, there was quite a bit of chip accumulation before this). He then needed a little luck to jump over the 11 million-chip mark. Manuel Amaro moved all-in with pocket Jacks and Kay made the call with K-Q. The flop offered nothing, but the turn brought a Queen and that was all Kay needed when the river bricked.
Kay has been in situations like this before, having earned nearly $1.9 million in his live tournament career. His biggest cash was for $367,928 when he won the $3,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure LAPT Main Event in 2015.
He has also come very close to winning multiple World Poker Tour titles. Among many cashes, Kay finished 7th in the 2017 $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale, 3rd in the 2017 $3,700 WPT Choctaw Main Event, and 3rd in the 2019 $5,000 WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble Main Event.
Cards will be in the air for Day 4 at noon ET today. Blind levels will be 90 minutes all day, with six minutes remaining in Level 27. The day will end when the field is down to the six-handed final table.
2022 World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open – Day 3 Standings
- Joshua Kay – 11,825,000
- Alexander Yen – 11,050,000
- Nicholas Verderamo – 9,650,000
- Daniel Lazrus – 9,600,000
- Jeremy Ausmus – 6,600,000
- Jake Ferro – 5,150,000
- Matt Bond – 4,325,000
- Omar Lakhdari – 4,300,000
- Anton Wigg – 3,650,000
- Saber Salum Penayo – 2,550,000
- Jose Montes – 2,200,000
- Joseph Crowley – 2,075,000
- Andrew Esposito – 2,050,000
- Thomas Carroll – 1,725,000
- Matthew Zarcadoolas – 1,625,000
- Jake Daniels – 1,200,000
