Flight A: $350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em
Level 4: 100/200/25 Ante
Entries: 105

Familiar faces are starting to trickle in as Event 3 stretches into the middle levels of play here at the Seminole Hard Rock. Two players familiar with the room and who know what it takes to win here in Tampa are Eric Wert and Anthony Pellegrini. Both claimed victory during the 2015 Winter Poker Open last December.

Wert’s win came at the hands a 546-entry field in a $150 Big Stack tournament. For his efforts, he went home with $7,752.

Pellegrini’s moment in the spotlight came on the exact same day as Wert’s as he claimed victory in a one-day, $250 pot-limit Omaha tournament that ran alongside the $150 Big Stack. Pellegrini bested 103 entries in that event earning $3,729.

Both players are back at it in Tampa in search of another victory here in Event 3 of the WPTDeepStacks series.

Flight A: $350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em
Level 3: 75/150/25 Ante
Entries: 86

As a surprise to no one, the clock just recently ticked over 83 Flight A entries and the tournament is officially on pace to best its $100,000 guarantee. Needing a total of 334 entries, Flight A has done its part and is expected to pull its weight even more during the three-and-a-half hours of late registration.

Tournament schedule:

• Flight A, Underway, late registration until ~3:30 p.m.
• Flight B, Tonight at 6 p.m.
• Flight C, Tomorrow at 11 a.m.
• Flight D, Tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Flight A: $350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em
Level 2: 50/100
Entries: 81

A pair of final tablists in yesterday’s events — Tom Nguyen (Event 1) and Bruce Snell, Sr. (Event 2) — are right back at today here at the Seminole Hard Rock. Both players bubbled their respective tournament’s chops, so to speak.

First, Nguyen busted 7th in Event 1 for $12,739 only to see the final six agree to an even chop worth $36,620. Snell, meanwhile, exited the $250 Turbo 5th for $1,988 while the final four negotiated a chop that saw Paul Neessen earn $6,001 as well as a $1,100 Main Event seat.

Both players were undeterred by their close calls and they’re right back on the horse in Event 3. With their deep runs, they earned valuable points toward the WPTDeepStacks Series Champion race and are in the thick of it with three points-eligible tournaments still undecided.

Flight A: $350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em
Level 1: 25/50
Entries: 50

The third of five primary events on the WPTDeepStacks-Tampa schedule is here. Cards went in the air just moments ago for the first of four starting flights in the $350 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed tournament. Subsequent flights begin tonight at 6 p.m. and tomorrow at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Players in all flights begin with 20,000 chips and log 14, 30-minute levels on Day 1 before play concludes. Late registration and unlimited re-entry are available until the start of Level 9.

Here’s more on today’s 11 a.m. installment:

11am: Event 3, $350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em – Flight A

• $350 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
• 20,000 starting chips
• Day 1 levels are 30 minutes, Day 2 levels 40 minutes
• Registration available until the start of Level 9 (~3:30pm)
• Day 1 concludes following Level 14 (~6:45pm)
• Tournament follows Best Stack Forward format
• Day 2 begins Wednesday, June 15 at noon

Structure Sheet

With the 698-entry opener in the rear view, the $350 event is expected to keep the momentum going heading into this weekend’s $1,100, $300,000 guaranteed Main Event.

Updates throughout the day — including registration figures and end-of-flight chip counts — will be posted right here at SHRTPoker.com.

Good luck, players!

11am: Event 3, $350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em – Flight A

• $350 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
• 20,000 starting chips
• Day 1 levels are 30 minutes, Day 2 levels 40 minutes
• Registration available until the start of Level 9 (~3:30pm)
• Day 1 concludes following Level 14 (~6:45pm)
• Tournament follows Best Stack Forward format
• Day 2 begins Wednesday, June 15 at noon

Structure Sheet

3pm: $90 Satellite into Event 3 (1-in-5)

• $90 buy-in, 10 seats guaranteed
• 7,000 starting chips, 20-minute levels
• Registration available until the start of Level 7 (~5:15 p.m.)

Structure Sheet

6pm: Event 3, $350 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em – Flight B

• $350 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
• 20,000 starting chips
• Day 1 levels are 30 minutes, Day 2 levels 40 minutes
• Registration available until the start of Level 9 (~10:30pm)
• Day 1 concludes following Level 14 (~1:45am)
• Tournament follows Best Stack Forward format
• Day 2 begins Wednesday, June 15 at noon

Structure Sheet

2016 WPTDeepStacks-Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Tampa, Fla.
Event #1
$570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 698
Prize Pool: $349,000
June 9-12, 2016

Season 3 of the WPTDeepStacks set up shop at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa beginning Thursday, June 9. It was then that the first of five primary events kicked off in what would be a 12-day series that ran parallel with the game’s biggest festival, the World Series of Poker. To those familiar with Tampa and its core group of loyal players, the tremendous reception didn’t come as a surprise. The field in the $570 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed opener drew an impressive 698 entries generating a $349,000 kiddie smashing the six-figure target. Following six flights and four days of action, Claudemir Osorio emerged victorious in a six-way chop. There were some unverified, verbal agreements between the players, but for record keeping purposes, the final six split evenly with Osorio pocketing $36,620, as well as a $1,100 seat in the Main Event and the Seminole Hard Rock guitar trophy.

The opener set the pace for what was expected — and what appears will be — a smashing success of a series. In addition to the $200,000 guarantee, the schedule is headlined by a $350 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed prelim and, of course, the $1,100 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed Main Event. Joining Osorio in that headliner will be Paul Neessen who claimed victory in Event 2, a one-day turbo that ran alongside the Event 1 restart.

Osorio was born in Brazil but now resides in Orlando. The win marks his second at the Tampa property having previously laid claim to a title in a $560 event during the Deep Stack Spring Poker Series last may. Additionally, his most recent achievement moves him into six-figure territory in career earnings and tops him out at just over $125,000.

Chopping with Osorio were Karl Manouchakian, Parm Mehmi, Hung Le, Mark Smith and James Sutherland. Other notables to finish in the money included Jordan Chizick (23rd), Jeffrey Fullmer (24th) and Marvin Karlins (38th). The Day 2 restart included other notable faces as well such as Seminole Hard Rock Poker Tampa ambassador Wally Maddah and tournament regular Cheri Beatty. Both players battled it out early, but ultimately fell short of the money.

While it’s the opener that got things started, the WPTDeepStacks-Tampa series has the $1,100 next on the list. That tournament begins June 16 and wraps on June 20 with the live streamed final table.

Event 1 final results:

1st: Claudemir Osorio – $36,620
2nd: Karl Manouchakian – $36,620
3rd: Parm Mehmi – $36,620
4th: Hung Le – $36,620
5th: Mark Smith – $36,620
6th: James Sutherland – $36,620
7th: Tom Nguyen – $12,739
8th: Ioannis Patsourakis – $9,598
9th: Joaquin Pereira – $6,631
10th: James Wood – $4,537
11th: Huyen Vo – $4,537
12th: Vincent Censabella – $4,537
13th: Nathan Stenfors – $3,316
14th: Manny Minaya – $3,316
15th: Seyedali Rad – $3,316
16th: Arch McLauchlin – $2,443
17th: Jacob Mast – $2,443
18th: Michael Cusumano – $2,443
19th: Brian Blanchard – $1,920
20th: Michael McKinley – $1,920
21st: Roberto Melo – $1,920
22nd: Josias Santos – $1,920
23rd: Jordan Chizick – $1,920
24th: Jeffrey Fullmer – $1,920
25th: Thomas Hunnicutt – $1,920
26th: Juan Martell-Salinas – $1,920
27th: Michael Poeltler – $1,920
28th: William McKown – $1,710
29th: Arian Bahrami – $1,710
30th: Jeffrey Garbus – $1,710
31st: Conrad Lau – $1,710
32nd: John O’neal – $1,710
33rd: Kevin Blewitt – $1,710
34th: Brian Arbaugh – $1,710
35th: Joseph Brown – $1,710
36th: Selma Sayin – $1,710
37th: Kenneth Fishman – $1,536
38th: Marvin Karlins – $1,536
39th: Andrew Personette – $1,536
40th: Daniel Wilson – $1,536
41st: Joshua Fulford – $1,536
42nd: Alexander Beece – $1,536
43rd: Heather Rardin – $1,536
44th: Paul Derosa – $1,536
45th: Michael Soares – $1,536
46th: Adam Webster – $1,361
47th: William Dubay – $1,361
48th: Cameron Ua – $1,361
49th: Yazan Musa – $1,361
50th: Sufian Soufan – $1,361
51st: Tony Miles – $1,361
52nd: Daniel Walters – $1,361
53rd: Christian Jabbour – $1,361
54th: Daniel Griggs – $1,361
55th: Anthony Astarita – $1,187
56th: Christopher Boyle – $1,187
57th: Jamie Custalow – $1,187
58th: Jody Keeling – $1,187
59th: Thonglith Vilaihong – $1,187
60th: Charlie Miller – $1,187
61st: Lazaro Remolina – $1,187
62nd: Lawrence Dowling – $1,187
63rd: Jason La Madeleine – $1,187

2016 WPTDeepStacks-Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Tampa, Fla.
Event #2
$250 Deep Stack Turbo No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 163
Prize Pool: $33,130
June 12, 2016

Paul Neessen claimed victory in Event 2 of the WPTDeepStacks at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa late Sunday night. Neessen used barely nine hours to work his way through the 163-entry field in the $250 Deep Stack Turbo No Limit Hold’em event. The hard-fought victory came following a four-way chop that saw Neessen pocket $6,001 along with a $1,100 seat in the Main Event. The other three participants in the cop, Sanjib Acharya, Shaun Occhipinti and Robert Polanco, walked with $5,900, $4,700 and $4,600 respectively.

Neessen is now retired but formerly worked as a sales manager. He resides in nearby Sun City Center, Fla. Despite modest career earnings of only $2,296, Neessen steamrolled the field in the turbo-structured event. He brought the chip lead to the final table and never looked back outlasting fellow big stack Bruce Snell, Sr. before aggreeing to the four-handed chop.

The $250 Deep Stack Turbo marked the second of five events on the series schedule at the WPTDeepStack-Tampa. The 163-entry field generated a prize pool of $33,130 that easily surpassed the $20,000 guarantee. Notables like Seminole Hard Rock Poker Tampa ambassador Wally Maddah, Cheri Beatty and AJ “Doc” Santos tried their luck only to come up dry. In the end, just 18 players finished in the money.

In addition to the lion’s share of the prize pool and a seat in the finale, Neessen earned valuable points toward the Series Champion race. Following the conclusion of the Main Event, the player that’s accumulated the most points via in-the-money finishes captures the title along with a custom trophy, a VIP experience at a WPT filming of their choice and more.

Event 2 final results:

1st: Paul Neessen – $6,001 + $1,100 Main Event seat
2nd: Sanjib Acharya – $5,900
3rd: Shaun Occhipinti – $4,700
4th: Roberto Polanco – $4,600
5th: Bruce Snell, Sr. – $1,988
6th: Tony Wooten – $1,657
7th: Eric Eisenberg – $1,325
8th: Jesaka Downs – $994
9th: James Mori – $745
10th: Bret McCown – $663
11th: Justin Matecki – $663
12th: Scott Nichols – $663
13th: Michael Pittas – $580
14th: Mahmoud Bidarian – $580
15th: Russell Jaicks – $580
16th: Gerald Silva – $497
17th: Kristy Stevens – $497
18th: Gareth Walker – $497

Event 1: $570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em
Level 29: 40,000/80,000/10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 6/698

After some serious deliberation, the remaining six players agreed to a deal that saw five of them give up a portion of an even chop to Claudemir Osorio. In the end, Osorio walked with $36,620 in addition to his side payout as well as the $1,100 Main Event seat and the guitar trophy.

The final report will be posted shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look at the tournament’s final results:

Additional results:

7th: Tom Nguyen – $12,739
8th: Ioannis Patsourakis – $9,598
9th: Joaquin Pereira – $6,631
10th: James Wood – $4,537
11th: Huyen Vo – $4,537
12th: Vincent Censabella – $4,537
13th: Nathan Stenfors – $3,316
14th: Manny Minaya – $3,316
15th: Seyedali Rad – $3,316
16th: Arch McLauchlin – $2,443
17th: Jacob Mast – $2,443
18th: Michael Cusumano – $2,443
19th: Brian Blanchard – $1,920
20th: Michael McKinley – $1,920
21st: Roberto Melo – $1,920
22nd: Josias Santos – $1,920
23rd: Jordan Chizick – $1,920
24th: Jeffrey Fullmer – $1,920
25th: Thomas Hunnicutt – $1,920
26th: Juan Martell-Salinas – $1,920
27th: Michael Poeltler – $1,920
28th: William McKown – $1,710
29th: Arian Bahrami – $1,710
30th: Jeffrey Garbus – $1,710
31st: Conrad Lau – $1,710
32nd: John O’neal – $1,710
33rd: Kevin Blewitt – $1,710
34th: Brian Arbaugh – $1,710
35th: Joseph Brown – $1,710
36th: Selma Sayin – $1,710
37th: Kenneth Fishman – $1,536
38th: Marvin Karlins – $1,536
39th: Andrew Personette – $1,536
40th: Daniel Wilson – $1,536
41st: Joshua Fulford – $1,536
42nd: Alexander Beece – $1,536
43rd: Heather Rardin – $1,536
44th: Paul Derosa – $1,536
45th: Michael Soares – $1,536
46th: Adam Webster – $1,361
47th: William Dubay – $1,361
48th: Cameron Ua – $1,361
49th: Yazan Musa – $1,361
50th: Sufian Soufan – $1,361
51st: Tony Miles – $1,361
52nd: Daniel Walters – $1,361
53rd: Christian Jabbour – $1,361
54th: Daniel Griggs – $1,361
55th: Anthony Astarita – $1,187
56th: Christopher Boyle – $1,187
57th: Jamie Custalow – $1,187
58th: Jody Keeling – $1,187
59th: Thonglith Vilaihong – $1,187
60th: Charlie Miller – $1,187
61st: Lazaro Remolina – $1,187
62nd: Lawrence Dowling – $1,187
63rd: Jason La Madeleine – $1,187

Event 1: $570 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em
Level 29: 40,000/80,000/10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 6/698

The remaining six players have been talking deal for some time. Five of the lot have agreed to chop it evenly then give up $1,500 each to Claudemir Osorio as well as send him home with the $1,100 Main Event seat and the guitar trophy. Osorio originally agreed to the deal, but now has second-guessed it. Play is going on with Osorio leading the way holding 4,100,000 of the 13,960,000 chips in play.