2016 WPTDeepStacks-Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Tampa, Fla.
Event #2
$250 Deep Stack Turbo No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 163
Prize Pool: $33,130
June 12, 2016

Paul Neessen claimed victory in Event 2 of the WPTDeepStacks at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa late Sunday night. Neessen used barely nine hours to work his way through the 163-entry field in the $250 Deep Stack Turbo No Limit Hold’em event. The hard-fought victory came following a four-way chop that saw Neessen pocket $6,001 along with a $1,100 seat in the Main Event. The other three participants in the cop, Sanjib Acharya, Shaun Occhipinti and Robert Polanco, walked with $5,900, $4,700 and $4,600 respectively.

Neessen is now retired but formerly worked as a sales manager. He resides in nearby Sun City Center, Fla. Despite modest career earnings of only $2,296, Neessen steamrolled the field in the turbo-structured event. He brought the chip lead to the final table and never looked back outlasting fellow big stack Bruce Snell, Sr. before aggreeing to the four-handed chop.

The $250 Deep Stack Turbo marked the second of five events on the series schedule at the WPTDeepStack-Tampa. The 163-entry field generated a prize pool of $33,130 that easily surpassed the $20,000 guarantee. Notables like Seminole Hard Rock Poker Tampa ambassador Wally Maddah, Cheri Beatty and AJ “Doc” Santos tried their luck only to come up dry. In the end, just 18 players finished in the money.

In addition to the lion’s share of the prize pool and a seat in the finale, Neessen earned valuable points toward the Series Champion race. Following the conclusion of the Main Event, the player that’s accumulated the most points via in-the-money finishes captures the title along with a custom trophy, a VIP experience at a WPT filming of their choice and more.

Event 2 final results:

1st: Paul Neessen – $6,001 + $1,100 Main Event seat
2nd: Sanjib Acharya – $5,900
3rd: Shaun Occhipinti – $4,700
4th: Roberto Polanco – $4,600
5th: Bruce Snell, Sr. – $1,988
6th: Tony Wooten – $1,657
7th: Eric Eisenberg – $1,325
8th: Jesaka Downs – $994
9th: James Mori – $745
10th: Bret McCown – $663
11th: Justin Matecki – $663
12th: Scott Nichols – $663
13th: Michael Pittas – $580
14th: Mahmoud Bidarian – $580
15th: Russell Jaicks – $580
16th: Gerald Silva – $497
17th: Kristy Stevens – $497
18th: Gareth Walker – $497