$1,650 Tampa Poker Classic Main Event
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10: 500/1,000 with a 1,000 ante
Day 1C Entries: 154 (Total Entries: 327)

The dinner break is about halfway through and we added a couple more entries during that time. Registration will close on the Tampa Poker Classic Main Event when they return, so time is running out.

A quick walk among the tables found a few big stacks but one massive one in the back. Mo Zalikha, a player most likely to be seen on the cash tables, blasted his stack before dinner and will return to a huge 253,000 pile after the break. If his stack stays the same, neither up nor down but maintained, that would be good enough for a top ten stack coming back for Day 2.

$1,650 Tampa Poker Classic Main Event
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
End of Level 9: 400/800 with a 6800 ante
Day 1C Entries: 152 (Total Entries: 325)

Dinner break has arrived and this marks players’ final chance to get in the $1,650 buy-in Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic Main Event. Cards go back in the air just after 6:30pm local time and the registration desk closes at that time.

As is, the clock shows 152 Day 1C entries good for a combined field of 325 and a $487,500 prize pool. Complete payouts will be posted after dinner break as soon as they’re made available.

$1,650 Tampa Poker Classic Main Event
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 9: 400/800 with a 6800 ante
Day 1C Entries: 145 (Total Entries: 318)

The Day 1C clock reads 145 entries in the game and the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic Main Event prize pool is inching toward the $500,000 mark. At present, the combined field is 318 putting the kitty at $477,000. That means only 16 more entries are needed to push the prize pool over half-a-million.

Registration and re-entry are available for about 90 more minutes — until about 6:30pm — before the desk closes after dinner break.

$1,650 Tampa Poker Classic Main Event
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 8: 300/600 with a 600 ante
Day 1C Entries: 138 (Total Entries: 311)

A quartet of players got 1,500 in the pot pre and they saw a flop of . The small blind checked and Oscar Zeledon bet 2,500. Brandon Byars called while the button folded. The small blind called, too.

It was three-handed action on the turn and all three players checked.

The river fell the and the small blind checked a third time. Zeledon sent the action over to Byars who shoved 11,500. Both players folded and Byars lived to fight another day.

It was a nice win,  but Byars still sat under starting stack.

$1,650 Tampa Poker Classic Main Event
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 7: 300/500 with a 500 ante
Day 1C Entries: 134 (Total Entries: 307)

There was a raised pot between Chad Kitchen in the big blind and Vincent Censabella in early position. The flop fell and Kitchen checked. Censabella threw out a gray 5,000 chip and announced an unknown bet. Kitchen promptly raised to 7,000 and Censabella promptly jammed 15,300 total. Kitchen snapped and the hands were tabled.

Kitchen: for bottom set
Censabella: for top pair

Runout:

Censabella was halfway out the door before the river even hit. He was eliminated while Kitchen piled his stack to about 135,000.

$1,650 Tampa Poker Classic Main Event
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 6: 200/400 with a 400 ante
Day 1C Entries: 128 (Total Entries: 301)

Bryce McVay upped it to 1,000 from middle position and the player to his direct left called. It was on Oscar Zeledon in the cutoff and he three-bet to 3,000. The blinds called as did McVay and the other middle position player. It was a three-bet pot five-handed.

Flop: – It checked all the way to Zeledon who C-bet 5,000. Everyone folded except the middle position player. They were heads-up to the turn.

Turn: – The middle position player lead for 5,000. Zeledon quick raised to 10,000 and the middle position player called just as quickly.

River: – The middle position player checked and Zeledon plopped a pile of chips in. The middle position player mucked, surrendering the pot. Zeledon tabled his quad kings — — for good measure and the players went on break.

The pot earned Zeledon a stack worth about 62,000.

$1,650 Tampa Poker Classic Main Event
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 6: 200/400 with a 400 ante
Day 1C Entries: 120 (Total Entries: 293)

The action was heads-up between Ryan Van Sanford in middle position and Toby Boas on his direct left. The board was complete and it laid . Van Sanford checked and Boas bet 3,300. Van Sanford sat for some time, then raised big to 16,000. Boas shifted in his seat before finding a call.

Boas: for a straight
Van Sanford: for a pair of kings

Boas was best and he took a good chunk for his neighbor to the right. Both players have had a good go of Day 1C thus far and about level stacked above starting.

$1,650 Tampa Poker Classic Main Event
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 5: 200/300 with a 300 ante
Day 1C Entries: 107 (Total Entries: 280)

As the field fills fast, so too are the stacks of some players. Tampa’s Bryce McVay has been on the good end of a number of showdowns and is climbing the counts quickly. He claims over 90,000 chips and has more than tripled up here early in Level 5.

McVay is one his tablemates do not want to see with chips. He owns seven tournament wins and more than $450,000 in earnings.

$1,650 Tampa Poker Classic Main Event
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 100/200 with a 200 ante
Day 1C Entries: 105 (Total Entries: 278)

The Saturday session is surging with more than 100 entries registered in today’s play. That has the combined field at 278 accounting for a $417,000 prize pool. The next milestone is half-a-million which is set to hit if and when the Day 1C field hits 161 entries.

Standby.

$1,650 Tampa Poker Classic Main Event
$300,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 3: 100/200 with a 200 ante
Day 1C Entries: 80 (Total Entries: 253)

Table 11 has seen some early action and there’s a new face at it as Tampa regular Peter Walsworth just took his seat. Walsworth has enjoyed some big success on Seminole properties hoisting multiple trophies.

One vacancy from Table 11 is Cheri Beatty. She began the day, but her seat is now empty. The action that lead to her bust is unknown, but Derek Worley is in Seat 2 with a pile of chips.