$1,650 Main Event (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
End of Level 15: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante
Player Remaining: 18 of 115

Day 1A of the $1,650 buy-in Winter Poker Open Main Event kicked off at 11am. With registration and re-entry open until just after 6:15pm local time, the field topped out at 115 entries. That accounts for $172,500 of the tournament’s $500,000 guaranteed prize pool and has it well on pace to best the six-figure target.

Following 14 levels, only 18 remain and it’s Michael Turton that claims the chip lead. There’s a log jam at the top, but Turton’s 356,000 were best after all was said and done.

Here’s a look at some of the big stacks:

• Michael Turton – 356,000
• Dan Sepiol – 348,000
• Kharlin Sued – 347,000
• Huicun Qiao – 324,000
• Jason Goldman – 302,000

Full official chip counts will be posted around midnight.

All those advancing from today’s action will return Sunday at noon for Day 2. Those unable to make it to the Seminole Hard Rock today are encouraged to come out for tomorrow’s Day 1B or Saturday’s Day 1C.

$1,650 Main Event (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 15: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante
Player Remaining: 18 of 115

A short stack was all in for about 40,000 and 2016 WPTDeepStacks Tampa Main Event champion Anthony Astarita had him at risk.

Astarita:
Short stack:

Runout:

It was a back-and-forth battle with Astarita beginning with the lead, the opponent pairing up on the flop and tripping up on the turn, then Astarita hitting the flush on the river.

Astarita took a nice pot while another one hit the rail late in the day.

$1,650 Main Event (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 15: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante
Player Remaining: 19 of 115

The last level of the day is underway and it appears Farhad Madhani and Dan Sepiol are making their case as the stacks to be contended with. The pair is each over 300,000 and battling it out in a neck-and-neck race for the Day 1A chip lead.

We will provide the chip counts from the advancing players after the action concludes.

$1,650 Main Event (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 14: 1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 ante
Player Remaining: 24 of 115

The flop was and Dan Sepiol got 208,100 in the pot versus Ofer Peleg. The hands were up and it was a tough draw for Peleg.

Sepiol: for top set
Peleg: for top top

Turn and river:

Peleg stood thinking he was covered. It took the dealer a good couple minutes to count down the stacks, but in the end Peleg was left with a few chips. Sepiol, meanwhile, doubled big.

$1,650 Main Event (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 14: 1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 ante
Player Remaining: 25 of 115

Almog Biton was short and in the middle holding against Corey Lipke’s . The runout wasn’t friendly to the shortstack, falling . Lipke added insult to injury turning quads and sending Biton home late in Day 1A.

$1,650 Main Event (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 13: 1,200/2,400 with a 2,400 ante
Player Remaining: 27 of 115

A Day 2 berth is just over an hour away and play is tightening up with deep stacks and lots on the line. The Main Event lost only two players since returning from break and there are currently 27 still hanging around.

$1,650 Main Event (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Heading to Level 13: 1,200/2,400 with a 2,400 ante
Player Remaining: 29 of 115

Just like that, Jeff Trudeau has been eliminated from the Main Event. The action is unknown, but his roughly 250,000 chips have gone elsewhere and his downfall is the most notable elimination from the last level.

Players are on their last break of the night. When they return, they’ll settle in for three more levels of play before bagging and tagging for the evening.

$1,650 Main Event (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 11: 800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante
Player Remaining: 36 of 115

The Winter Poker Open Main Event is down to four tables with loads of notables in pursuit of an early bag. Among those still in are Tony March, Aaron Speer, Anthony Astarita, Erik Christensen, Brett Bader, Joseph Rivers, Ofer Peleg, Jeff Trudea, Nick Costarelis, Joseph Acquavella, Cheri Beatty, Dan Sepiol and Tony Tran.

The aforementioned Ory Hen, Ido Ashkenasi, AJ Kelsall and Michael Cohen have all been eliminated.

$1,650 Main Event (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 11: 800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante
Player Remaining: 40 of 115

Jeff Trudeau joined us for the early play in the $570 opener last week. He then trekked back to South Florida for some more tournament action and enjoyed a nice win. He’s back in Tampa and the momentum remains as he’s flirting with the 250,000 mark midway through Level 11.

Through his young career, Trudeau has enjoyed more than $1,350,000 in scores including 18 tournament wins and nine runner-ups! His best finish in Tampa is a 5th place and he undoubtedly would enjoy changing that here in the Main Event.

$1,650 Main Event (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10: 600/1,200 with a 1,200 ante
Player Remaining: 44 of 115

Players are back in their seats following the 45-minute dinner recess and registration is closed in the Winter Poker Open Main Event. Day 1A drew a total of 115 entries putting $172,500 toward the $500,000 guarantee. They’re slated to play six more levels before action concludes around 10:40pm local time.

Here’s a breakdown: