2021 Tampa Winter Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 7
$250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 181
Prize Pool:  $37,110
December 6, 2021

The new week kicked off the popular Winter Poker Open Seniors Event and our elder group showed up in full force. The $250 buy-in tournament drew 181 entries to crush the $10,000 guarantee and Cecil Riddle took the first place prize of $10,090 for the outright win.

The prize pool topped out at $37,110 for another huge tournament during the series. The last 19 players earned some money and they burst the bubble within minutes of the dinner break.

Both Tony March and Wilmer Chavira held big leads at various points but neither was able to capture the title. Joan Delker was the last woman standing after Terri-Anne Crawford was eliminated in 11th place.

The battle came down between Riddle and Don Linksy. The two briefly considered a heads-up deal but they decided to play it out. Riddle had a huge lead but the two battled hard until the end. Linsky had to settle for second play and $6,250 while Riddle because the 2021 WPO Seniors Event champion.

1st: Cecil Riddle – $10,090
2nd: Don Linsky – $6,250
3rd: Wilmer Chavira – $4,300
4th: Mark Winchell – $3,050
5th: Joan Delker – $2,220
6th: Marcus Little – $1,670
7th: Rick Drake – $1,290
8th: Mark Babine – $1,030
9th: Tony March – $850
10th: Marcus Gurley – $850
11th: Terri-Anne Crawford – $720
12th: Antonio Payne – $720
13th: Thomas Leonzio – $630
14th: Randy Raji – $630
15th: Adam Farjam – $580
16th: David Stargel – $580
17th: Bascaran Mariathasan – $550
18th: Michael Picciola – $550
19th: Jerry Miller – $550

$250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 181

Seat 1: Cecil Riddle – 1,080,000 (68 bb)
Seat 2: Rick Drake – 226,000 (14 bb)
Seat 3: Joan “Last Woman Standing” Delker – 160,000 (10 bb)
Seat 4: Mark Winchell – 339,000 (21 bb)
Seat 5: Mark Babine – 118,000 (7 bb)
Seat 6: Marcus Little – 253,000 (16 bb)
Seat 7: Don Linsky – 135,000 (8 bb)
Seat 8: Wilmer Chavira – 1,310,000 (82 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $10,090 + WPO trophy
2nd: $6,250
3rd: $4,300
4th: $3,050
5th: $2,220
6th: $1,670
7th: $1,290
8th: $1,030

$250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 181

The Seniors Event was poised to form the final table when Marcus Gurley was eliminated in 10th place but before that, former chip leader Tony March was eliminated in ninth on the other table.

That means we have eight players gathering at the Seniors Event final table with everyone guaranteed at least $1,030 with $10,090 awaiting the winner.

Remaining payouts:

1st: $10,090
2nd: $6,250
3rd: $4,300
4th: $3,050
5th: $2,220
6th: $1,670
7th: $1,290
8th: $1,030

Results so far:

9th: Tony March – $850
10th: Marcus Gurley – $850
11th: Terri-Anne Crawford – $720
12th: Antonio Payne – $720
13th: Thomas Leonzio – $630
14th: Randy Raji – $630
15th: Adam Farjam – $580
16th: David Stargel – $580
17th: Bascaran Mariathasan – $550
18th: Michael Picciola – $550
19th: Jerry Miller – $550

$250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining:  16 of 181

The Seniors Event returned from dinner and quickly played down to the last few tables. Bascaran Mariathasan unfortunately when his big slick ran into and a jack on the flop.

Tournament staff paused the clock mid-way through Level 17 and players redrew new seats at the last two tables of the tournament.

17th: Bascaran Mariathasan – $550
18th: Michael Picciola – $550
19th: Jerry Miller – $550

$250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 16:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining:  19 of 181

It took almost the rest of Level 16 to burst the bubble, 10 long hands getting them on the cusp of raising the blinds instead of going to dinner.

But before that could happen, Wilmer Chavira opened the action from the button and the big blind player moved all in for 55,000. Chavira called and they had to wait for the action to finish on the other two tables.

Chavira:
Big Blind:

“Everyone is cheering for the jack,” Chavira joked.

The big blind was a heavy favorite to double and it looked good after the flop. He needed to fade three outs on the river (and another six for a chop) but the river finished his day.

Chavira dragged the pot, the remaining 19 players were in the money, and tournament staff sent them on a 30-minute dinner break.

$250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 16:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining:  20 of 181

It took a little while to get there but the Seniors Event hit the money bubble in Level 16. Tournament staff paused the clock and they will play hand-for-hand until one player is eliminated with two minutes coming off the clock for each hand.

The 30-minute dinner break is scheduled when Level 16 comes to an end but they will play through until the bubble bursts.

$250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 13:  1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Remaining:  34 of 181

“I’ve never had this many chips!” Tony March told his table.

We doubt that a little bit but he does have a lot. Tournament staff sent the players on a 15-minute break to color off the black chips and March was by far the leader at the time.

He was stacked up to 427,500 (nearly five times average) for the clear lead with stablemate Mark Winchell looking like the second-best at 276,500.

2021 Tampa Winter Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 7
$250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 181
Prize Pool:  $37,110
December 6, 2021

Registration closed for the WPO Seniors Event and a huge crowd of 181 entries showed up to make easy work of the $10,000 guarantee. The prize pool grew to $37,110 with the last 19 spots getting paid. A min-cash is worth $550 while the WPO Seniors champ will earn $10,090 and the trophy.

1st: $10,090 + WPO trophy
2nd: $6,250
3rd: $4,300
4th: $3,050
5th: $2,220
6th: $1,670
7th: $1,290
8th: $1,030
9th-10th: $850
11th-12th: $720
13th-14th: $630
15th-16th: $580
17th-19th: $550

$250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10:  800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante
Players Remaining:  61 of 181

The Seniors Event is moving right along and already down to 61 players after registration closed. We had a lot of regular turn up for the game including Terri-Anne Crawford, Tony March, Wally Maddah, and WSOP Ladies Champion Marsha Wolak.

$250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 9:  600/1,200 with a 1,200 ante
Entries:  181

Registration closed for the Seniors 50+ Event today and our players really turned up. The $250 buy-in tournament had a $10,000 guarantee and they nearly quadrupled it. The prize pool sits at $37,105 and we will post the payout information as soon as it is available.