2023 Tampa Signature Poker Series
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 25
$180 Triple Stack NLHE (Re-Entry)
Entries: 74
Prize Pool: $10,730
September 19, 2023

The final tournament at the SPS series ended in a chop seven ways to decide the title tonight with Joel Deutsch as the champion, He claimed the top prize of $1,910 along with the SPS guitar pick trophy for his efforts. The Seminole Hard Rock regular all over the state of Florida now holds above $780,000 in career tournament earnings.

Here is what he had to say right after the win to end the night, “It’s good, this was a nice series with the opener obviously [he][finished][in][sixth][place][for][$38,500], that was nicer, and then I took pleasure with this. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s nice.”

He continued, “I wish this series was a little longer with some bigger guarantees, I think they could pull it off since this is Florida. I just like the big openers, and big-field ones. I played the mixed one, it was a lot of fun, but I didn’t belong there.”

“I have two places with up here in Tampa, and close to home in Hollywood. My kids are in Hollywood, and I have a place here that’s 40 minutes away so I get really excited when they run a tournament series here. These days you don’t have to leave Florida, but I used to travel a lot. Florida is hot, so I don’t have to travel a lot. It’s tremendous, and plus my kids are here, it’s definitely very great, it’s beneficial,” said Deutsch to close out the interview about his affinity for the poker scene close to home here in Florida.

Final Results:

1st: Joel Deutsch – $1,910
2nd: Likang Berninger – $1,845
3rd: Christopher Placko – $1,640
4th: Mark Wiser – $1,485
5th: William Vedadi – $1,235
6th: Richard Glazier – $1,035
7th: Amol Dhaliwall – $470
8th: Ross Lebo – $430
9th: Lawrence Miles – $360
10th: Shane Dellus – $320

2023 Tampa Signature Poker Series
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 24
$600 Eight-Game Mix (Re-Entry)
Entries: 67
Prize Pool: $34,505
September 19, 2023

The eight-game mixed tournament was a new addition to the tournament lineup tonight at the SPS series to close things out, and Tommy “Dragonfish” Hwang won the top prize of $10,535. Former World Poker Tour player of the year Joe Serock was gunning for his second trophy of the day after winning the High Roller earlier, but Hwang used his 2:1 chip advantage at the start of heads-up play to win the day. Hwang moved to Florida from Virginia for his retirement, and poker has become one of his hobbies that certainly proved profitable tonight.

Hwang was all smiles after the victory when we caught up with him for an exit interview. “To be honest, I wanted the trophy, so there was no discussion of chopping or anything. And I wanted to see what it would feel like to take down Joe Serock, who I knew was a long-time pro. I’ve heard of his name since probably 10 years ago,” said Hwang after the win,

Hwang continued, “I’m more of a poker fan, not a poker pro. I listen to all of the podcasts, and I follow all the news, I watch all the broadcasts, so I enjoy it from that perspective.”

“He doesn’t talk a lot, but he was enjoyable to play with. I think the whole tournament and final table were, and I normally try to liven it up with conversations and try to hold the same demeanor whether I’m up or I’m down. I was very short a couple times during the tournament, but you have fun,” said Hwang about his journey throughout the tournament today.

Final Results:

1st: Tommy “Dragonfish” Hwang – $10,535 + SPS Trophy
2nd: Joe Serock – $6,810
3rd: Nicholas Zivolich – $4,530
4th: Elias Nassif – $3,110
5th: Stephanie Behanic – $2,190
6th: Josh Kinch – $1,590
7th: Gregory Josephson –  $1,200
8th: Brian Ulich – $1,200

9th: Stephen Allen – $930
10th: David Moreno – $930

11th: Anthony Askey – $740
12th: Filippos Stavrakis – $740

2023 Tampa Signature Poker Series
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 23
$200 One-Day $50K NLH (Re-Entry)
Entries: 293
Prize Pool: $50,000
September 19, 2023

Sam Majed took home one of the last SPS guitar pick trophies in Event 23 tonight in a final match that some him holding a better than 2:1 chip advantage against Michael Tweedlie. Majed won the top prize worth $10,640 after topping the field of 293 entries.

We caught up with him after the win, and here were his first thoughts after play ended, “It feels great, it’s been a really long grind, and it’s been good to find those tournaments that played big, and award big at the end. This is a really big prize pool for a $200. It’s a result of really long and hard work.”

“Yeah of course, it’s going to be my first trophy so I will start the collection from there,” said Majed when he was asked about finding a spot at home for the trophy.

Majed has played a bunch of events over the course of the tournament series, and this was his impression on the experience, “Overall this is great, the staff is amazing, and the dealers are great. They were all on point and so professional.”

“It was the aces against A-K suited. I ran really hot through the final table, and I just kept catching hands. Aces against A-K, and it was for probably like 500,000, that one was big,” said Majed about the most pivotal hand that led to his victory.

Final Results:

1st: Sam Majed – $10,640 + SPS Trophy
2nd: Michael Tweedlie – $7,080
3rd: Branden Rosario – $5,160
4th: Anthony Askey – $3,810
5th: Mark Kingsland – $2,850
6th: Rhett Van Leeuwen – $2,160
7th: George Hortelano – $1,660
8th: Sanjib Acharya – $1,300

9th: Chase Besuden – $1,030
10th: Jason Durant – $1,030

11th: Ryan Wuebbels – $840
12th: James Bates – $840

13th: Billy Papadopoloulos – $700
14th: Oran Haynes – $700

15th: Marcus Carter – $590
16th: Daniel Lobato – $590

17th: Anderson Premdas – $510
18th: Joseph Steven – $510
19th: Michael Reynolds – $510
20th: Edgardo Rosario Figueroa – $510

21st: Liam Hagens – $450
22nd: April Wilmoth – $450
23rd: Christopher Perry – $450
24th: Mark Elliman – $450

25th: David Tanner – $410
26th: Ray St. Jacques Carrion – $410
27th: Ryan Luker – $410
28th: Longyi Wen – $410
29th: Haley Taylor-Pappalarado – $410
30th: Mark Picarazzi – $410
31st: Duff Charette – $410
32nd: Ramon Gonzalez – $410

33rd: Scott Thompson – $380
34th: Bradley Grossman – $380
35th: Pedro Vega – $380
36th: Daniel Zucker – $380
37th: William Vedadi – $190
38th: Asif Mohammed – $190

$180 Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 17:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante

Here is a look at the current final table seating chart with chip counts in the final event on the tournament schedule.

Seat 1: Bud Wiser – 385,000
Seat 2: Ross Lebo – 176,000
Seat 3: Amol Dhaliwal – 107,000
Seat 4: Joel Deutsch – 340,000
Seat 5: William Vedadi – 198,000
Seat 6: Likang Berninger – 548,000
Seat 7: Rich Glazier – 147,000
Seat 8: Christopher Placko – 236,000

Results Update:

9th: Lawrence Miles – $360
10th: Shane Dellus – $320

$200 One-Day $50K NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  40,000/80,000 with a 80,000 ante

Here is a look at the recent results for Event 23.

7th: George Hortelano – $1,660
8th: Sanjib Acharya – $1,300
9th: Chase Besuden – $1,030
10th: Jason Durant – $1,030
11th: Ryan Wuebbels – $840
12th: James Bates – $840

$600 Eight-Game Mix (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  25,000/50,000 Limits
Players Remaining: 4 of 67 entries

Here is a look at the recent run of results in Event 24.

5th: Stephanie Behanic – $2,190
6th: Josh Kinch – $1,590
7th: Gregory Josephson –  $1,200
8th: Brian Ulich – $1,200
9th: Stephen Allen – $930
10th: David Moreno – $930
11th: Anthony Askey – $740
12th: Filippos Stavrakis – $740