$1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship (Re-Entry)
Level 7: 250/500/50 Ante

While it’s Sean Shah who leads following the day’s third break, there are plenty of other players making their way up the leaderboard. Most notably, Jerry Silva sits second in the counts with 85,500.

Here’s a look at some of the big stacks as Level 7 is freshly underway:

• Sean Shah – 92,000
• Jerry Silva – 85,500
• Dimitry Agrachov – 80,500
• Dean Dowda – 77,000

Only a handful of players have hit the rail thus far, one of whom is Event 9 winner Dean Morris.

$1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship (Re-Entry)
Level 7: 250/500/75 Ante

While Championship players were on their third break of the day, the entrant count clicked into triple-digit territory for a nice, big, round number.

The 100 entrants in the Championship so far get us halfway to the $300,000 guaranteed prize pool with two and a half hours to register today, then one more flight Friday and Saturday each.

It all but locks up a really big number by the time registration is completely closed for the Championship and we should close on $500,000 before it’s done.

$1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship (Re-Entry)
Level 6: 200/400/50 Ante

If you took a stroll by Table 45 it would be hard not to notice the stack of Sean Shah. The local pro claims a pile of chips and is flirting with the 100,000 mark here toward the end of Level 6.

According to Shah, he held and opened the button. The small blind raised and Shah called. They saw a flop of , two clubs. The small blind lead and Shah raised. The small blind three-bet and Shah jammed. The small blind called and flipped over aces. They were best with a set versus Shah’s flush draw. Shah went to hit his flush and take a pot worth more than 90,000.

He now claims 92,050 chips.

$1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship (Re-Entry)
Level 6: 200/500/50 Ante

Regardless of what happens in the Championship, Anthony Pellegrini has already had a successful Winter Poker Open. The Largo, FL resident bested one of the toughest fields in the series just over a week ago in Event 5, a $250 pot limit Omaha tournament. Pellegrini was part of a three-way chop that saw him take the top spot and a $3,729 prize. Additionally, he placed 6th in Event 3 and 14th in Event 9.

Pellegrini has a long way to go in the Championship as we’re just about midway through Level 6, but he’s chipped up slightly. He currently sits at about 45,000.

$1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship (Re-Entry)
Level 6: 200/400/50 Ante

We have a new contender for the chip lead and it’s none other than previously mentioned Seminole Hard Rock Poker ambassador Sheddy Siddiqui.

His early table broke and he’s moving up the counts at his new one. We caught the action with the board reading and his opponent all-in. Siddiqui called with a made straight/flush draw against a flopped set .

He dodged eight river outs to send his opponent to the rail and move among the early leaders with 88,600.

$1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship (Re-Entry)
Level 5: 150/300/50 Ante

We are patiently watching the tournament information board as we near triple digit territory in the first flight. Entrant number 100 will put us halfway to the guarantee with two flights (plus late registration today) to run it up and we’re sitting at 96.

Ryan Dunn has taken his seat in the back of the poker room, hidden from most as he tries to make another big finish. He had a very nice November with a fourth place finish in the Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open” Black Chip Bounty event less than two weeks after making the WPT bestbet final table.

$1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship (Re-Entry)
Level 5: 150/300/50 Ante

With deep, 30,000-chip starting stacks and 45-minute levels, players continue to file in here at the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa. One of the most recent entries into the Championship also happens to be one of the hottest players on the circuit right now — Cory Waaland.

Waaland has recorded 23 cashes in 2015 including two WSOP Circuit victories in just the last two months. Waaland boasts career earnings of more than $500,000 and looks to increase that number significantly by scoring what is almost assured to be a six-figure top prize in the Winter Poker Open Championship.

Despite an active start, Waaland’s stack hovers right around 30,000.

$1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship (Re-Entry)
Level 5: 150/300/50 Ante

Players are back in their seats and Level 5 is freshly underway following the second break of the day. Not much has changed atop the counts as Chang Yon leads with Anthony March hot on his trail in second. Yon and March hold 82,000 and 71,000 respectively with Michael Newman holding another of the tournament’s notable stacks. Newman has more than doubled his starting chips as he returned from break to a stack of 68,000.

The clock shows 95 players registered.

$1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship (Re-Entry)
Level 4: 100/200/25 Ante

The count hit 90 entrants and climbing as we hit the midpoint of Level 4. This is predicted to be the smallest flight of the three starters, setting us up for a big number when all the numbers are added.

Sean Shah is back in the poker room and grinding away. He’s spent time in both the tournaments and cash games this series and looking for his second cash of the 2015 Winter Poker Open.

Shah is also looking for his first tournament victory in a career that’s earned nearly $370,000. He has several close calls with his biggest payday coming this past spring when he went out on the WPT-televised final table of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. Shah’s seventh place finish was worth $168,550 but he missed playing in front of the cameras.

$1,650 Winter Poker Open Championship (Re-Entry)
Level 4: 100/200/25 Ante

The start of Level 9 — roughly 6:30 p.m. — marks the last possible time to enter Day 1A of the Championship. As is, the clock shows 91 entries and counting with nearly five more hours late registration/re-entry available. In the time leading up to then, the field (which has already surpassed last year’s opening flight) is expected to grow even more and likely to cross the 100-entry mark.