$1,650 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship

Level 8: Blinds 300/600/75 ante

On Day 2 of Event 1, Ryan Sponaugle was dead last in chips at the start of the day.  When they reached the money, he predicted a 4th place finish for himself.

Ryan went on to finish 6th, just two spots shy of his prediction.

At the same time, he also predicted a win in the main event.  He finished second in this event last December during the Winter Open, earning $72,240.  Ryan is sitting on an above average stack of 53k as they approach the dinner break.

56 players remain.  Average is 41k.

$1,650 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship

Level 8: Blinds 300/600/75

Shawn Cunix (Columbus, OH) has busted out.  “I never got anything going” he said.  Despite playing all three flights and coming up empty, he’s still in good spirits.

He owns 30 Verizon stores here in Florida (plus another 50 or so up in Ohio) and yesterday he bought himself a Bentley for a cool quarter of a million dollars.  It’s outside if you want to go see it.

Now Shawn is sweating his ‘father’ (actually his father-in-law) Terry Ryan, who is still in today’s flight, sitting comfortably with an average stack.

Terry finished 2nd in a $100k guaranteed event in Atlantic City in January earning $14,565, so Shawn is not the only one in the family that can play poker.

$1,650 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship

Level 7: Blinds 250/500/50

Remember to include @SHRTPoker in your Tweets so we can find them!

Just a few tweets from the last break:

@SDiamantas still a force at the table with starting stack. We r on 2nd break & I’m track in at 38k

— Barbara Cardin (@bcardin) March 15, 2014

13k second break. No traction yet. Win some then lose more. #surviving

— Freddie Kirkland (@FKthree) March 15, 2014

23 bb left but hanging in

— Carlos Mendez MD (@CarlosMendezMD) March 15, 2014

$1,650 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship

Level 7: Blinds 250/500/50

Play has resumed after the break.

Tony March (Tampa, FL) was the beneficiary of Joe Gibbons’ first two buy-ins and he’s the early chip leader in this event.  As of the break, he’s up to about 100k.

Of the 115 entries in this flight, only 73 remain in action.  Average stack is 31,500.

$1,650 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship

End of Level 6:  Blinds 200/400/50

Next Level 7: Blinds 250/500/50

That’s the end of level 6 and players are off for their second break of the day.

John Dolan and Justin Zaki

In contrast to Joe Gibbons, who fired three bullets in one level, John Dolan and Justin Zaki have spread theirs out, firing once in each of the three starting flights.

Both John (39k) and Justin (32k) are still holding on in this flight.

$1,650 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship

Level 6:  Blinds 200/400/50

Found Woody Johnson (Sarasota, FL) in the field today.  He won Event 4, the $210 Deep Stack Turbo NLH event, which only seated 55 entrants.

There was no chop and Woody claimed the top prize of $3,657 and his $1,650 seat in this event.

That leaves only Event 2 winner, Peter Walsworth, who I’ve not seen today.  He may have played yesterday (if so, he didn’t survive) or not have been able to play at all.

$1,650 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship

Level 6:  Blinds 200/400/50

Joe Gibbons arrived late during level 4 and within two hands, he busted out running a flush into a full house.  He re-entered, landing in the exact same seat he just vacated.

On the first hand he played, his pocket Kings were cracked by pocket Queens that made a set.  Joe busted again and re-entered.

His third bullet has landed him at a new table and now that registration has closed, there will be no more re-entering.

$1,650 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship

Level 5:  Blinds 150/300/50

Registration for this flight and this event closed at the start of level 5 with 115 entries.  That makes the grand total for the main event 261 entries for a total prize pool of $391,500, well above the $300,000 guarantee.

Lots of familiar faces we have seen throughout the first week of the Spring Poker Open here at Hard Rock Tampa are in the field today:

Konstantinos Pantaridis

Tom Nguyen

Barbara Cardin

Ralph Dyer

Jeff Metajan

Oak Haselton

Amelio Amato

Carlos Mendez

Manny Minaya

$1,650 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship

Level 5:  Blinds 150/300/50

Starting to look like all the preliminary event winners, who won $1,650 entries for this event in their prelim event wins, opted to play today.

Wadie Khalaf topped the largest field of the SHRT Spring Poker Open in Event 5, $155 NLH Re-Entry, which drew 589 entries.

Devis Mulla went back-to-back in Event 6, the Six-Max NLH, repeating his win from the SHRT Winter Open.  He topped one of the smallest fields of the SHRT SPO (65 entries) in the only event that didn’t cover the guarantee.

$1,650 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship

Level 4:  Blinds 100/200/25

Here’s what the field was tweeting about during the break:

First break. Slow & steady. At 25k. Up 25% of starting stack. @markrosepoker & @SDiamantas calling station fireman guy & Pappas at my tbl

— Barbara Cardin (@bcardin) March 15, 2014

First break 15k

— Freddie Kirkland (@FKthree) March 15, 2014

Out HR main. Almost had a full triple up. Got it in w/ Q6 on Q106 flop vs Q8 and KQ. Turn A, River A. Not happy.

— Dave Bennett (@Tiltopotamus) March 15, 2014

Not much happening after first break, at 17.5k. Feeling great though!!! #wpttampa @SHRHollywood #1st

— Jeff Metajan (@JMetajanPoker) March 15, 2014

42k at 100 200 25

— Stephen Diamantas (@SDiamantas) March 15, 2014