$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining: 156 of 1,165

Aaron Mermelstein was all in with in the hole from the big blind, and a player in late position held .

The final board read , and Mermelstein doubled up to survive with 520,000 after collecting the pot.

Aaron Mermelstein – 520,000 (65 bb)

$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining: 154 of 1,165

Championship players were sent on their final break of the day with 154 players remaining and the money bubble on the near horizon.

David DiBernardi is back top and he pushed his stack over 1,000,000. His 1.4 million might be good for the lead but we will check on break to confirm.

$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining: 166 of 1,165

Level 16 rolled around, and Brian Altman is again leading the WPT Tampa Championship. He is up to 835,000 and top of the charts as the money bubble nears.

Blinds are up to 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 ante and the average stack is about 351,000 (44 bb).

$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 15:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining: 180 of 1,165

Scott “Twitch” Anderson has been cruising along this afternoon and we caught up with him dragging more chips. A short stack opponent was all in for his last 24,000 and Anderson called to put him at risk.

Anderson:
Opponent:

The popular local was ahead and faded a small spade sweat on the board to get the field one spot shorter.

Scott Anderson – 281,000 (47 bb)

The Championship is down to 180 players and all tables will being to convert to eight-handed play for the duration.

$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 15:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining: 189 of 1,165

A quick walk among the tables, we took a look at some of our locals regulars still in contention, trying to keep the title in Tampa.

Jake Ferro – 735,000 (123 bb)
Wagner Wysotchanski – 341,000 (57 bb)
Brian Kent – 320,000 (53 bb)
James Calderaro – 312,000 (52 bb)
Bryce McVay – 290,000 (48 bb)
Scott Anderson – 272,000 (45 bb)
Ken O’Donnell – 207,000 (35 bb)
Justin Zaki – 76,000 (13 bb)

$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 15:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining: 189 of 1,165

Cards went back in the air after the break and Steven McKoy looks like the new leader. He is up to 820,000 as the field nears the bubble.

Blinds are up to 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante and the average stack is about 308,000 (51 bb).

$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 14:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 198 of 1,165

Level 14 came to an end and players were sent on another break. There are 198 players remaining with 146 getting paid, the bubble should hit right around the time they hit their last break.

$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 14:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 207 of 1,165

Brian Altman three-bet to 30,000 after an opponent opened to 12,000 and it was heads-up to a flop of . His opponent checked, Altman bet 18,000 and he called. The turn was , both players checked and the river was .

His opponent checked, Altman bet 50,000 and it was called.

Altman tabled for aces up and his opponent mucked the pot to our defending champ.

Brian Altman – 492,000 (98 bb)

$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 14:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 225 of 1,165

Blinds are up in the Championship, they are now playing 3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante and the average stack is about 259,000 (52 bb).

With 234 players remaining and 146 getting paid, they can start looking forward to the upcoming money bubble.

$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 13:  2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante
Players Remaining: 234 of 1,165

Action folded to David Jackson in the cutoff. He opened to 8,000 and David Tuthill moved all in for 73,000 from the big blind. Jackson thought for a minute and called.

Tuthill:
Jackson:

It was a race and Tuthill needed his pair to hold to double up. The board ran out and Tuthill stayed in the game.

“Worst hand in poker,” Tuthill quipped afterward.

David Tuthill – 152,000 (38 bb)
David Jackson – 210,000 (53 bb)

A few hands later, right as they were ready to break his table, Tuthill doubled once again. This time it was his holding against the of Tony Sinishtaj.

David Tuthill – 306,000 (77 bb)