$2,500 SPS Championship (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 300/500 with a 500 ante
Day 1A Entries: 92
Time once again for Championship players to take a break from the action, maybe catch a snack at the grill or some sun now that it has returned to the Tampa area.
With 92 entries so far, our Day 1A players have put more than $200K toward the $500,000 guarantee. It’s a good day to be in the Poker Room.
$2,500 SPS Championship (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 300/500 with a 500 ante
Day 1A Entries: 86
Another level is in the books and the entry count to steadily clicking up toward 100. With a full day of registration and a level on Day 2, there’s plenty of time to join us.
Some more friends in action include Liz McKane (who finished eighth out of 825 in Event 3), Mo Alhalwani, Steve Ekin, Mitch Mitchell, Thad McNulty, and Woodrow Pass.
$2,500 SPS Championship (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 3: 200/400 with a 400 ante
Day 1A Entries: 69
Action is back underway after the first break with 69 entries and more coming to the cage to register. A fine start to the final weekend of the series.
Cory Wood is the early leader in the Championship, out front with 118,000 followed closely by Tahsin Kelekci with 110,000.
$2,500 SPS Championship (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 2: 200/300 with a 300 ante
Day 1A Entries: 64
Flight A players are about ready to take their first break from the action with 64 on the clock and many more expected as we head into the weekend.
More friends in the game include Dion Jagroo, Wagner Wysotchanski, Kharlin Sued, Robert Lebeau, and Dan Clemente.
$2,500 SPS Championship (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1: 100/200 with a 200 ante
Day 1A Entries: 52
The SPS Championship is off to a great start with nearly 50 entries in the beginning and a lot of happy grinders ready to build a big bag.
Some friends in early action include David DiBernardi, Drew Dodge, Mark Zhang, Chad Kitchen, Maxwell Young, Gabe Fuller, and Kevin Carnevale.
$2,500 SPS Championship (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1: 100/200 with a 200 ante
The preliminaries are (mostly) locked up and today we roll out the biggest game on the schedule with the 2024 Signature Poker Series Championship. Flight A gets underway at noon with a $2,500 buy-in and $500,000 guarantee, a slow structure and plenty of chips.
Players start with 40,000 in their stacks and all levels last 60 minutes. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 10 on Sunday at 1:15 pm. Each flight will play eight full levels and survivors will return for Day 2.
Primary Event Schedule
12PM: Day 1A – $2,500 SPS Championship (Re-Entry)
Secondary and Satellite Schedule
9AM: $280 SPS Championship Turbo Satellite (1-in-10)
3PM: $280 SPS Championship Satellite (1-in-10)
6PM: $280 SPS Championship Satellite (1-in-10)
2023 Tampa Signature Poker Series
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 19
$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 48
Prize Pool: $50,000
September 17, 2023
Elliot Smith won the first trophy on the docket of a loaded lineup tonight at the SPS series, and it took his career earnings above $2.5 million. Smith sat down for a conversation after his win, and here is what he had to say about the victory, “Excellent, you know I wasn’t sure I was going to play because I busted the main the day I registered. But i figured hey, you know what, let’s have some fun, so I jumped in.”
“I kind of came in as a middle stack, and I showed up 20 seconds before the first hand was dealt, and I got pocket aces to double against A-Q. That has happened to me multiple times in tournaments, so the moral of the story is show up on time [laughs]. You won’t win the tournament if you miss the first hand,” said Smith when asked about his path to the final table.
He continued, “I had a good stack, and then we had a couple hands on the bubble where I could put some pressure on. I was picking up some fortunate hands and winning some big flips in some key moments.”
“When we were three handed I got all in three times in a row against this one guy, and I just didn’t let it bug me, and eventually the hands worked out where I won a flip versus him and turned it around and the luck changed,” said Smith about one of the toughest stages for him at the final table.
And in regards to the final hand, this was the play-by-play from Smith: “When I was heads-up I limped the big blind, and the other guy made it a 5-x raise and I called. The flop came A-3-2, all spades. I bet small, he raised small, and the turn was another deuce. He led small, I raised small, he called. And then the river came, and it was a king. I ripped it in for like 75%, and he called with 4-3 suited, but I had a flush so it was good.”
Smith concluded the interview with these thoughts that encapsulate the community spirit that has been a part of the SPS series, “I feel like the dealers are exceptionally friendly, and the staff is very friendly. It’s a good atmosphere, so that’s huge. I feel like the level of play has been good, but a lot of people are here to just have fun.”
Final Results:
1st: Elliot Smith – $19,500 + SPS Trophy
2nd: Artem Metaldi – $11,500
3rd: Aaron Thivyanathan – $7,000
4th: Anthony Askey – $5,000
5th: Ludek Sisak – $4,000
6th: George Qiao – $3,000
$1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 16: 4,000/8,000 with a 8,000 ante
Players Remaining: 7 of 48
Here is a look at the final results for Event 19. Stay tuned for a winner’s photo and interview with the new champion Elliot Smith.
1st: Elliot Smith – $19,500 + SPS Trophy
2nd: Artem Metaldi – $11,500
3rd: Aaron Thivyanathan – $7,000
4th: Anthony Askey – $5,000
5th: Ludek Sisak – $4,000
6th: George Qiao – $3,000
Primary Event Schedule
11AM: Event 20 – $400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
12PM: Day 3 – $1,700 SPS Championship (Re-Entry)
2PM: Event 19 – $1,100 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
2PM: Event 21 – $3,500 Signature NLH (Re-Entry)
6PM: Event 22 – $250 Triple Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
Secondary and Satellite Schedule
4PM: $150 H.E.R.O.S. Event 24 Satellite