$175 + $25 + $20 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Blinds 10k/20k/3k ante
Duane Podgorski (Lakeland, FL)
$2,475
Duane Podgorski never got his traction heads up and bled chips until he was forced to defend his big blind with T2 and was dominated against Al Khan’s AQ. There’s no help on the board and Podgorski finishes runner-up in the turbo tournament.
Podgorski, a bowling pro shop owner, adds $2,475 to his bank account with his second place finish.
$175 + $25 + $20 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Blinds 8k/16k/2k ante
Dave Phillips (Clarkston, MI)
$1,613
Dave Phillips moves all in for 80k and Duane Podgorski makes the call.
Phillips: J7
Podgorski: AJ
The board runs out Q-4-Q-T-T and Podgorski gets the knockout with his Ace kicker.
Phillips, who is “mostly retired,” finished in third place, earning $1,613.
$175 + $25 + $20 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
6k/12k/2k ante
Matthew Pang (Toronto, Canada)
$1,120
Matthe Pang has 83k (7 bb) when he’s all in with A7 vs the A8 of Dave Phillips. Pang doesn’t improve and is out in 4th place for $1,120.
Al Khan is the clear chip leader with nearly half the chips in play. He and Phillips are playing against Duane Podgorski three-handed.
$175 + $25 + $20 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Blinds 5k/10k/1k ante
Beth Marshall (Orlando, FL)
$818
Beth Marshall is all in for 60k with JT against the KK of Duane Podgorski. After a flop of A-Q-7, Marshall can hit a King for a straight, but she brinks the turn and river.
Marshal finishes in 5th place for $818.
$175 + $25 + $20 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Blinds 3k/6k/1k ante
Megan Gallagher (Sarasota, FL)
$627
Megan Gallagher says, “I’ve been short the last hour,” moments after her elimination. “I was luck to make the money.
On her final hand she’s all in with J8 and ahead of Beth Marshall’s 52, but trip 5s takes it for Marshall.
Gallagher adds $627 to her bankroll after finishing in 6th place.
$175 + $25 + $20 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Blinds 3k/6k/1k ante
Norbert Kara (Clearwater, FL)
$504
Just after the bubble breaks, Norbert Kara is all in with T2 against the AJ of Matthew Pang who flops a Jack to get the knockout.
Kara, who is originally from Hungary, wins $504 for his 7th place finish.
$175 + $25 + $20 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Blinds 3k/6k/1k ante
Three quick eliminations, puts the remaining 7 players in the money. Joseph Morris, Richard Thai, and a third player can add a final table to their resume, but nothing to their bankroll:
Joseph Morris (Tampa, FL)
Richard Thai (Las Vegas, NV)
$175 + $25 + $20 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Blinds 2,500/5k/500 ante
Final 10 Players
Matthew Pang is holding QQ against his opponent’s AK and he wins the race to knockout a player on Table 1. A quick elimination on Table 2 and the field is down to 10 players who redraw for final table seats.
Three more eliminations and we’re in the money with the top seven getting paid.
Seat-Name
1 Duane Podgorski (Lakeland, FL)
2 Christopher Lovelady (Pinellas Park, FL)
3 Matthew Pang (Toronto, Canada)
4 Richard Thai (Las Vegas, NV)
5 Al Khan (Wesley Chapel, FL)
6 Dave Phillips (Clarkston, MI)
7 Joseph Morris (Tampa, FL)
8 Norbert Kara (Clearwater, FL)
9 Megan Gallagher (Sarasota)
10 Beth Marshall (Orlando, FL)
$175 + $25 + $20 Mixed NLH & PLO (Re-Entry)
Blinds 6k/12k/2k ante
David Griffith (Nashville, TN)
$4,232
Heads up doesn’t last long before David Griffith wins this mixed game event in the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Winter Poker Open tournament series.
On the final hand, Griffith and Russell Waggoner see a flop of K 6 7, Waggoner moves all in for 95k and Griffith snap calls.
Griffith: AK
Waggoner: KT
Griffith dodges the three-outer on the turn and river to win the tournament with a pair of Kings and the better kicker.
“I like Pot Limit a lot,” says Griffith who wins $4,232. “It kind of blows your mind when someone goes all in, especially when you’re a Pot Limit player.”
Griffith is a business man and poker is “something I like to do.” And he adds that he had smooth tournament was never in danger of being eliminated.
After the win, Griffith gave a shotout to his daughter Kysa and her new baby Kamiyah, who’s only two weeks old. It’s Griffith’s third grandchild.
Griffith is looking forward to playing in the WPT Hard Rock Tampa Bay Winter Poker Open Championship. In addition to the prize money, Griffith won a voucher into the Main Event.
$175 + $25 + $20 Mixed NLH & PLO (Re-Entry)
Blinds 6k/12k/2k ante
Russell Waggoner (Venice, FL)
$2,591
Russell Waggoner is a 2-to-1 chip underdog to David Griffith when heads-up play began, but he never gets the double-up he needs to get back in the match.
On the final hand, Waggoner is out kicked KT vs AK after a King hit the flop.
“It was fun,” says Waggoner of the split game format, “but I’m tired tough.”
Waggoner is a retired Head Hunter and takes home $2,591 as runner-up.