$490 + $45 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 13: Blinds 1k/2k/300 ante
34 players are back from dinner break, including chip leader Dominick Minaya (Tampa) to finish out the last two levels of the night. At the conclusion of Level 14 (~7:45 pm) the remaining players will bag and tag.
$490 + $45 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Dinner Break, Play Resumes 6:43 pm
Poker Room Breather
After 12 levels of play, the field is on a one hour dinner break.
We have a new chip leader which belongs to Dominick Minaya (Tampa) who is up to 136k .
Dan Duda (Rockaway, NJ), once the clear chip leader, has come back to the pack and is now even with Bobby Rosetta (Tampa) and fighting for second place with both in the 126k range.
The average stack is 58k (29 bb) with blinds going to 1k/2k/300 ante.
$490 + $45 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 12: 800/1,600/200 ante
Heather & Bill
Players grinding there way to Day 2 can take the edge off with a Rock’n Massage in the Poker Room.
“Make sure you put ‘The’ Heather,” says Bill Smith (Ocoee), who is clearly a fan of her work.
Smith has a chance to relax as he’s well above average with a healthy 90k stack (56 bb).
40 players remain with an average stack of 49k (31 bb) as we heads towards the one hour dinner break (~5:40 pm).
$490 + $45 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 10: Blinds 500/1k/100 ante
Dan Duda
Dan Duda (Rockaway, NJ) has been on a tear since returning from break. He’s doubled his stack from 78k to more than 150k (150 bb) and is the clear chip leader.
While all he says is, “lucky,” another player prompts him to reveal his secret. “Eggs and I went for a run,” says Duda , who’s chip count is nearly twice as much as the next biggest stack.
Bobby Rosetta and a player known only as DJ, both from Tampa, are among a slew of player in the 75k-80k range, good for second overall. 49 players remain with an average stack of 40k (40 bb).
Bobby Rosetta
$490 + $45 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 9: 400/800/100 ante
Chip-a-saurus
Players are back from their second break of the time as the green (25) chips have been removed from play.
Currently 70 players remain with an average stack of 28k (35 bb).
The big stacks are approaching 80k (100 bb) and the most coveted chip is the gray 5k chip which Chris McKean (Geneseo, IL) has well guarded. His chip-a-saurus card protector keeps an eye on both his 55k stack and his pocket pairs.
$490 + $45 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 8: 300/600/75 ante
Calledare Takes Out Two
For a man who’s jumped out of an airplane more than 8,000 times, you’d think poker would be no big deal. But for Richard Calledare (Derry, NH), until he’s pushed the pot, he’s terrified.
“You don’t know what he just did to me,” says Calledare, a professional skydiver, who knocked out two players with pocket Kings. One of them had just doubled through Calledare with running straight cards.
The three players are all in preflop (KK vs 88 vs 66) and when Calledare flops a set, you’d think he’d relax. “What were you afraid of,” he’s asked after breathing a sigh of relief.
“Running diamonds,” laughs another player while pointing to the 8♦.
“You never know,” says Calledare who takes his stack to 30k. After the hand he tells a few skydiving stories, including the time he spent on the movie set of Drop Zone with Wesley Snipes.
“It’s hard to make a living,” says Calledare, “but it’s great, I’ve been all over the world.”
Calledare (second from right), The National Skydiving League
photo courtesy skyleague.com
$490 + $45 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 7: Blinds 250/500/50 ante
Cali-Ford-a John
Trash talking is usually a bad thing at the poker table, but not when it comes from John Ford (Vallejo, CA).
“I talk trash, but I’m no garbage man,” quips Ford, who’s quick with his wit while enjoying his first trip to Seminole Hard Rock Tampa.
After making the cross country trip as part of his bucket list, the 30 year poker dealer veteran says he’s seen it all and is a machine gun of entertainment. “I’ve got more lines than Bell telephone,” he says.
And what about the ladies?
“I tell them, ‘I’d rob a bank for you, fight a tank for you’.”
While Ford has a modest chip stack he’s making the most of his time here saying, “the service is excellent, the people are nice. And I’ve been around the block a few times.”
He says his stay in Tampa is open-ended, but if Ford “gets lucky” and wins a few dollars he may stick around for the Winter Tampa Bay Open Championship Event (Dec. 13-15).
“Just trying to add some color for you,” he says while posting another round of antes.
$490 + $45 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 6: 200/400/50 ante
The entries for the third and final flight comes in at 131 and puts the unofficial total entries at 322. That’s more than enough for the $150,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool and puts first place in the $41,000 range.
The top 32 players will make the money as the 1B field is now focused on making it to Sunday’s Day 2 and getting a piece of the pie.
$490 + $45 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 5: Blinds 150/300/25
Fawcett Finds Trips with 9-5 Sooooted
He doesn’t remember the raise amount, but Charles Fawcett (Lakeland) knows he was holding 9♥ 5♥ when he defended his big blind.
After a flop of Q 9 9, the preflop raiser moves all in for ~12k and Fawcett snap calls with trip 9s.
“I got ’em all,” says Fawcett of his opponent’s chips after cracking aces.
On the first break of the day, Fawcett is one of the big stacks with 35k (117 bb).
“And then on the last hand (of Level 4), this guys (player on his left) goes all in and wants me to call. I said, ‘I just got ’em, let me keep ’em for awhile.’ I’ll give them away later.”
Re-entry is now closed and with 125+ entries for the flight, the $150,000 Guarantee has been met with 316+ total entries over the three flights.
Once the cage verifies the final numbers, we’ll post the payouts for the kickoff event of the series.
$490 + $45 + $20 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 4: 100/200/25 ante
The last level of entry for the inaugural event of the Winter Tampa Bay Open is underway and the $150,000 Guarantee is nearly in the bank.
The third and final flight of 110+ entries puts the the three flight total at more than 300 total entries. The magic number is 307 players, and with registration/re-entry open until ~1:15 pm the prize pool is looking good.