$1,700 WPO Main Event (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10:  500/1,500 with a 1,500 ante
Entries:  168

The dinner break is complete and registration is closed for Flight A of the 2020 Winter Poker Open Main Event. The clock shows 168 entries but we will wait for official word before counting everything out.

Fernando Rodriguez has the second biggest stack at the second break but took the lead from Josh Adkins over the next three levels. He returned to a stack worth 259,000 while Adkins is still up there with 232,000.

Nick Owens (193,000), Ryan Van Sanford (180,000), and Matthew Zazaian (172,000) are the other big stacks rounding out the top five.

$1,700 WPO Main Event (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 9:  500/1,000 with a 1,000 ante
Entries:  163

Level 9 came to an end and Flight A players were sent on their 90-minute dinner break while the black chips come out of play.

There are 163 entries in the game so far with registration and re-entries closing when they return at 7pm.

$1,700 WPO Main Event (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 9:  500/1,000 with a 1,000 ante
Entries:  160

We caught that action on Table 41 with a battle of the blinds between Ryan Van Sandford and chip leader Josh Adkins. With about 30K in the pot, the board was out and reading . Van Sanford moved all in for 47,000 from the small blind and Adkins thought for two minutes in the big.

The WPT champ called, Van Sanford flipped up for a turned set, and Adkins mucked before his cards could be tabled.

Van Sanford pulled his double while Adkins is still sitting with a big stack.

Ryan Van Sanford – 107,700
Josh Adkins – 198,000

$1,700 WPO Main Event (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 8:  400/800 with a 800 ante
Entries:  153

The Flight A entry count jumped over 150 as they slide into Level 8 and the prize pool is approaching a quarter of a million dollars with a ton of time to spin it up.

Dinner break hits in an hour and registration will close after the 90 minutes away from the Poker Room.

$1,700 WPO Main Event (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 7:  300/600 with a 600 ante
Entries:  138

The second break is complete and Flight A players are back in their seats for more action. They will work their way through three more levels before taking a 90-minute dinner break.

Josh Adkins was the leader at the first break and he’s still at the top. He stacked up to 136,900 for the biggest stack in the room but Fernando Rodriguez is not too far behind with 135,400.

$1,700 WPO Main Event (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 6:  300/500 with a 500 ante
Entries:  137

Flight A is nearing the second break with 137 entries and the prize pool climbing. Once Level 6 runs its course, they’ll leave the area for 15 minutes to regroup and refresh.

Two more of our regulars took seats and grinding next to each other. Both Russell “Bud” Waggoner and Tom Nguyen have success in the room but both are looking for that big Tampa Main Event win.

$1,700 WPO Main Event (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 5:  200/400 with a 400 ante
Entries:  132

There was little doubt the Main Event would make it’s $200,000 guaranteed prize pool after seeing the turnouts the week before it kicked off.

Flight A hit 130 entries in Level 5 to officially put the prize pool over $200,000 and it will continue climbing for a long time. Late registration and re-entries are available today until 7pm plus two more flights to go.

$1,700 WPO Main Event (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 5:  200/400 with a 400 ante
Entries:  128

We caught the action between Rafael Reis and Kevin Bagin with the board out and complete reading .

Bagin checked and Reis pushed his stack in the middle, more than enough to cover the 22,200 Bagin had behind. He thought for a couple minutes and called at risk before tabling . Bagin’s two pair kings and queens got a muck from Reis for the double.

“I three barrelled him,” Reis explained while he held his basically beginning stack.

Bagin – 64,000
Reis – 30,4000

$1,700 WPO Main Event (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4:  200/300 with a 300 ante
Entries:  119

Cards are back in the air after the first break with 120 now playing, counting down to the guarantee.

No one is running away with a huge early stack, you can see that in the smaller buy-in tournaments but rarely in the big ones. Josh Adkins was the break time leader with 80,100 after three levels.

Adkins earned a guitar trophy in the 2014 Winter Poker Open but he scored really big a little over one year ago. His WPT profile shows one cash, one final table, and one win; Adkins put his name on the WPT Champions Cup when he won the WPT Jacksonville title in October 2019 for a cool $331,480.

$1,700 WPO Main Event (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 3:  100/200 with a 200 ante
Entries:  110

Three levels are down and that means it’s time for the Main Event players to take a 15-minute break from the action. We have 110 entries in the big tournament so far and only 20 short of the guarantee with late registration open until 7pm and two more flights to go.

It’s not all visitors in the field today, most of the players are from right here in Tampa and we see them on a regular basis. Carlos Loving is a regular feature in our tournaments and the Tampa pro recently crossed over $1 million in career earning. He also picked up a final table finish with he cashed in fourth place in Event 5.