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As the World Poker Tour proceeded to round out its ninth season, just before heading to Las Vegas for the WPT Championship, the crew and players headed to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino for the aptly named Seminole Hard Rock Showdown. Many players were anxious to participate in live poker in the United States considering their online poker options were recently severely limited.

Registration was open for the $10K buy-in tournament well into Day 2, but a total of 406 players turned out on Day 1 to get things started. When that day was done, only 290 players remained standing, and Randy Dorfman was the chip leader with 160K.

The second day added another 27 players before registration closed. With the total number of players at 433, the first prize eclipsed the $1.1 million mark and made the tournament a success. It will be no surprise to see this become a regular stop on the WPT going forward.

The important numbers:

Players: 433
Prize pool: $4,156,800
First place prize: $1,122,340
Paid finishers: 45

With ten levels complete, Day 2 ended with 145 players still standing. Leading the pack was Todd Terry (pictured above with Chino Rheem) with 296,400 chips, followed by Charles Wiper holding 273,100.

The tournament will find its way to a final table on May 2 to crown a new WPT champion.

All information and photos courtesy of the World Poker Tour Live Updates team.