2023 Tampa Signature Poker Series
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 1
$400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 3,788
Prize Pool: $1,250,040
September 6 – 11, 2023

The inaugural Tampa Signature Poker Series kicked off with the $1,000,000 guaranteed Event 1. The $400 Deep Stack drew 3,788 entries, and Willie Wiggins conquered a tough final table to take the title, the $163,290 top prize, and the SPS trophy.

The turnout over the eight starting flights created the third-biggest tournament field in Tampa history and they put together a prize pool worth $1,250,040. A total of 382 players bagged chips for Day 2, returning in the money, and nine players picked up a bonus min-cash for advancing two stacks forward.

After a long Day 2 run, we had 12 players still in contention when they returned to the Event Center to finish playing it out. Joey Burns held the lead for most of Day 3 but Wiggins took control after some timely doubles and saves.

Wiggins only took one hand of heads-up play to defeat Frank Lewis for the title and the $163K top prize. He celebrated with his friends and took home another trophy to match the one he won in Hollywood a few years back.

Congrats Willie!

Final table results:

• – Full Event 1 results (PDF)

$400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 37:  500,000/1,000,000 with a 1,000,000 ante

Heads up play began with Willie Wiggins holding a nearly two-to-one chip lead over Frank Lewis and they didn’t wait long to get things going.

Willie Wiggins – 75,100,000 (75 bb)
Frank Lewis – 38,200,000 (38 bb)

On the first hand, Lewis opened to 3,000,000 and Wiggins moved all in.

“I can’t let you run over and raise me off every hand,” Wiggins told Lewis.

“Let’s do it,” Lewis said after thinking about it for two minutes.

Wiggins:
Lewis:

Lewis ran into a bigger ace and needed to improve to double up. The flop changed nothing then Lewis was drawing dead after the Wiggins paired his jack on the turn. The river finished the board and Wiggins took the outright win.

Lewis earned $100,680 for his second-place finish, not too shabby, and Wiggins took home $163,290 plus the SPS trophy.

1st: Willie Wiggins – $163,290 + SPS Trophy
2nd: Frank Lewis – $100,680

$400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  400,000/800,000 with a 800,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 3,788

It seemed like a pretty standard pot with three players remaining and a three-way pot. The board was out to the turn and reading when the fireworks were lit off.

With a packed rail thanks to Event 10 on break, Willie Wiggins and Joey Burns put their chips in the middle with Frank Lewis opting to stay out of the fray.

Burns tabled pockets aces but Wiggins was ahead with two pair and the slightly bigger stack. The river finished the board, Wiggins’s friends erupted, and it was a shocking exit for our Day 3 starting chip leader.

Willie Wiggins – 75,100,000 (94 bb)
Joey Burns – Eliminated in 3rd Place ($78,480)

$400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  400,000/800,000 with a 800,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 3,788

Traci Myhrum opened to 1,600,000 from the cutoff and picked up calls from Joey Burns on the button and Willie Wiggins in the big blind. The flop came and all three players checked.

The turn was and Wiggins checked. Myhrum moved all in for about 12,500,000 and Burns folded.

“I don’t think I can fold this,” Wiggins told Myhrum. He called and the hands were tabled.

Wiggins:
Myhrum:

Wiggins was ahead with his paired eight and heart draw; Myhrum had seven outs but blanked the river to go out in fourth place.

Willie Wiggins – 37,800,000 (47 bb)
Traci Myhrum – Eliminated in 4th Place ($61,530)

$400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  400,000/800,000 with a 800,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 3,788

With the flop reading , Bob Panetta moved all in for 2,100,000 and Joey Burns called after a short think.

Panetta:
Burns:

Burns was ahead with his ace kicked and Panetta’s time at the final table ran out after the turn and river.

Joey Burns – 24,500,000 (31 bb)
Bob Panetta – Eliminated in 5th Place ($48,530)

$400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  400,000/800,000 with a 800,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 3,788

Joel Deutsch and Bob Panetta were the two short stacks at the final table when Panetta played a hand against Willie Wiggins. Panetta moved all in for 2,200,000 after a flop holding and Wiggins called with .

The turn was safe for Wiggins but Panetta stayed alive when he spiked the river to double up.

“That’s a $10,000 hand river right there,” Deutsch said of the difference between fifth and sixth place.

Soon after, Deutsch was all in from the big blind for the 800K ante and 600K out front. Traci Myhrum, Joey Burns, and Frank Lewis all came along for the minimum and checked down the board.

Deutsch showed and Myhrum tabled for the best of the live hands to eliminate Deutsch in sixth place.

Traci Myhrum – 15,200,000 (19 bb)
Joel Deutsch – Eliminated in 6th Place ($38,500)

$400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  400,000/800,000 with a 800,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 3,788

Seat 1: Bob Panetta – 5,200,000 (7 bb)
Seat 3: Joey Burns – 24,300,000 (30 bb)
Seat 4: Frank Lewis – 40,600,000 (51 bb)
Seat 5: Joel Deutsch – 3,100,000 (4 bb)
Seat 6: Willie Wiggins – 24,600,000 (31 bb)
Seat 8: Traci Myhrum – 14,500,000 (18 bb)

1st: $163,290
2nd: $100,680
3rd: $78,480
4th: $61,530
5th: $48,530
6th: $38,500
7th: Chong You Chen – $30,720
8th: Jonathan Gold – $24,660
9th: Colin Nickerson – $19,920

$400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35:  300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 3,788

Willie Wiggins open-shipped for 11,000,000 on the dot and it folded to Joey Burns on the button. He called and the blinds folded.

“Only calling because this is my favorite hand,” Burns said.

Wiggins:
Burns:

Wiggins was ahead and stayed that way on the board to double up.

Willie Wiggins – 23,500,000 (39 bb)
Joey Burns – 36,000,000 (60 bb)

$400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35:  300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 3,788

Chong You Chen was sitting on 15,800,000 and three-bet ripped it in to get a call from chip leader Joey Burns in the small blind.

“I hope we’re flipping,” Burns said as he called.

Burns:
Chen:

Burns was better than flipping and Chen was eliminated after the board came .

Joey Burns – 51,000,000 (85 bb)
Chong You Chen – Eliminated in 7th Place ($30,720)

$400 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 35:  300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 3,788

In a series of raises that went so fast that the table gasped, Traci Myhrum and Jonathan Gold got their chips in the middle in a hurry, with Gold at risk for 5,700,000.

Myhrum:
Gold:

A huge cooler for Gold with his kings running into aces and the flop helped little. He picked up a heart draw on the turn but blanked the river to exit in eighth place.

Traci Myhrum – 15,800,000 (26 bb)
Jonathan Gold – Eliminated in 8th Place ($24,660)