$350 Deep Stack NL Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 1: 25/50

Three flights are locked down for the opening event of the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Winter Poker Open and we have three more to go. The fourth flight is underway in the poker room and ready to get us one step closer to the $150,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Event 1 has a $250 buy-in and the first three flights combined for 296 entries to put us easily on the pace needed to break the big number.

Entrants sit down to 20,000 starting stacks and play 30-minute levels throughout the day. Late registration is available until the start of Level 9 around 10:30pm with unlimited re-entries during that time. Their day will end at the completion of Level 14 and survivors will bag up for Day 2 return on Sunday.

• $150,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 20,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• Day 1 will end after Level 14 or Tournament Director discretion
• Event 1 Structure Sheet

$350 Deep Stack NL Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Heading to Level 13: 1,000/2,000 with a 300 ante
Flight C Players Remaining: 30 of 98

The 30 remaining players in Flight C of the Winter Poker Open $350 are on their final break of the night. Out in front with only two more levels to go is Greg Salem with a stack of 158,000. If he’s able to hang on to his advantage, he’ll likely bag a top-10 stack overall and head to Day 2 in great position for a cash.

Joining Salem in the late stages of Flight C play are a slew of notables including Mike Raimon.

$150 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) — $1,650 Seat Added
Level 5: 150/300 with a 50 ante
Entries: 33

Like Cheri Beatty, Elizabeth Provan is back at her home property following a trip to the east side of the state for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open. Provan left her mark in Hollywood, final tabling the record-breaking, 5,018-entry, $1M guaranteed opener. She finished seventh in a nine-way chop and turned her lone $360 entry into better than $53,000.

Having already maneuvered through a super-sized field, the Ladies Event here in Tampa should be a breeze for Provan. The player count currently sits at 33 with registration and re-entry available for about another hour.

$150 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) — $1,650 Seat Added
Level 4: 100/200 with a 25 ante
Entries: 32

With the entry count continuing to tick up in the $150 Ladies Event, a handful of recognizable faces are making their way into the action. One of those faces belongs to one of the most loyal of Seminole Hard Rock Tampa grinders, Cheri Beatty.

Beatty is fresh off a trip to Hollywood’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open and is mixing it up on her home felt yet again. She eyes a first-ever Ladies Event cash here in Tampa.

Time for the ladies event. I never do well in these… @SHRTPoker pic.twitter.com/TXGfTwsgrW

— ℭℌℰℜℐ (@CheriBeatty) December 2, 2016

$350 Deep Stack NL Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 10: 500/1,000 with a 100 ante
Flight C Players Remaining: 41 of 98

Just 41 players remain from 98 starting entries meaning more than half the Flight C field is on the rail. Despite the mass exodus, the late stages of play are littered with notables. In addition to Steve Trizis and Karl Manouchakian, regulars Tom Nguyen and Filipp Khavin are in the fray.

Nguyen, who cashed in this event last year, owns nearly $300,000 in career earnings. Khavin, meanwhile, sits on over $441,000 in cashes including a victory in the 2015 WPTDeepStacks-Immokalee Main Event.

$350 Deep Stack NL Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 9: 400/800 with a 100 ante
Flight C Players Remaining: 51 of 98

The final Flight C attendance figure settled in at 98 entries. They join the 198 from yesterday’s Flight A and B to create a three-flight total of 296 entries — well ahead of last year’s pace to this point.

Flight-by-flight breakdown:

$350 Deep Stack NL Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Heading to Level 9: 400/800 with a 100 ante
Flight C Entries: 97

Players are on their second break of the day and the close of registration is right around the corner. Leading the way is none other than Steve Trizis. Trizis has turned his 20,000 starting chips into 131,000 and has the advantage with the end of the day just about three hours away.

Tournament staff is currently coloring up the green 25 chips and they’ll verify the attendance figure for us shortly after registration closes. Stay tuned!

$150 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) — $1,650 Seat Added
Level 1: 25/50

Making its first appearance in 2014, the Ladies Event at the Winter Poker Open has increasingly grown in attendance. Last year’s turnout of 40 ladies marked a noticeable uptick in year-over-year turnout and saw Jean Miccio earn $1,000 as well as a $600 spa package for her victory.

The event is back for another iteration this year and for the first time ever it features a $1,650 seat added as well as a guitar trophy for the champion. Cards in the air now with registration and re-entry available until the start of Level 7.

Here’s a look at how it will play out:

3PM: Event 2 – $150 Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

• Players begin with 15,000 in chips and 25-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 2 Structure Sheet

Updates throughout the tournament’s completion will be available right here at SHRTPoker.com.

$350 Deep Stack NL Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 7: 250/500 with a 75 ante
Flight C Entries: 91

With Flight C’s 91st entry, the Winter Poker Open $150,000 guaranteed opening event has officially enjoyed an attendance increase in each of the first three flights. The field continues to grow and tonight’s flight in addition to tomorrow’s 11am and 6pm installments are expected to be even larger than their predecessors.

Registration and re-entry is available in Flight C until about 3:30pm. The final attendance figure will be posted shortly thereafter.

$350 Deep Stack NL Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 6: 200/400 with a 50 ante
Flight C Entries: 86

The flop laid in a three-way pot. Brian Blanchard checked and an early-position player bet 7,100. It folded to a player in late position and he jammed for just less than 12,000. Action was back on Blanchard and he shoved for more. The early-position player folded and Blanchard was in position to bust a player.

Blanchard: for a set
Late-position player: for flush and straight draws

Runout: turn river

Blanchard improved to a fullhouse and busted the ace-five opponent. With that, Blanchard, who won last September’s Fall Little Slick for $25,000, grew his chip stack to 45,000.