$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 6: 400/800 with a 800 ante
Day 1A Entries: 495
Paul Snead was all in with 
in the hole from the cutoff, and Esther Taylor had him covered holding 
.
The final board read 
, and Snead doubled up to survive with 70,500. Taylor held 24,500 after the hand.
Paul Snead – 70,500 (88 bb)
Esther Taylor – 24,500 (30 bb)
$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 6: 400/800 with a 800 ante
Day 1A Entries: 495
The entry count is sliding up near 500 in Level 6 and it should easily get there before the dinner break. We are ahead of last year’s pace and looking at a big final number.
More friendly faces in the crowd included John Racener, James Calderaro, Mark Wiser, Matt Waxman, Matt Wantman, T.K. Miles, and Jerry Wong.
Tampa favorite Racener is coming off a big win yesterday when he topped a tough final table to take our first WPT Tampa High Roller crown.
$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 5: 300/600 with a 600 ante
Day 1A Entries: 480
Brian Altman isn’t the only player spinning up a stack this afternoon. Former WPT Player of the Year Mukul Pahuja is up to 177,100 coming back from the second break to sit among the leader.s
$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 5: 300/600 with a 600 ante
Day 1A Entries: 450
Cards went back in the air after the second break and Brian Altman continued to show that he has a pretty good grasp on this game. Our defending champ is up to 286,100 after four levels and way out front of the rest of the field.
$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 300/500 with a 500 ante
Day 1A Entries: 435
Championship players were sent on the second break with 435 entries and just shy of $1.4 million in the prize pool.
They will return to play two more levels before enjoying a 90-minute dinner break.
$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 300/500 with a 500 ante
Day 1A Entries: 430
In addition to the prize money and hardware associated with each tournament on the schedule, the WPT is also tracking Players of the Festival standings to see who’s having a really good two weeks.
Aaron Thivyanathan came storming out of the gates at the start of the series and sits with a comfortable lead at the top. He has five cashes so far with four final tables, two third-place finishes, and a runner-up. If he holds on to the top spot, he will earn a $1,100 WPT Passport to go along with the money he banked.
$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 300/500 with a 500 ante
Day 1A Entries: 425
The entry count jumped over 400 after the blinds went up and we are nearing a $1.5 million prize pool with a ton of time to boost it.
A few more familiar faces include Paul Snead, Luz Sanchez, Dr. Valerie Cross, Wagner Wysotchanski, Carlos Rodriguez, James Calderaro, and David Nathaniel.
Snead was the last player to win a Championship here, walking away with the big win to cap the 2022 Tampa Poker Classic a few months ago.
$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 3: 200/400 with a 400 ante
Day 1A Entries: 393
We have a lot of players from around the country and the world here in town for the WPT Tampa Championship. They are mingled and seated among a huge group of our local regulars, some who have made it big already and some trying to get there for the first time.
Among them, we found Jake Ferro, Jeremy Becker, Karl Manouchakian, Tony March, Terri-Anne Crawford, John Dolan, Marsha Wolak, David DiBernardi, and AJ Kelsall.
Ferro, the reigning WPT Player of the Year, picked up a win last night in the $2,200 Eight-Handed NLH tournament to add to his credit. He took home nearly $100K and the WPT trophy.
$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 3: 200/400 with a 400 ante
Day 1A Entries: 376
The last time we had a break in a WPT Tampa Championship (more than a year ago) Brian Altman had the lead. Now he has it again.
Altman leads the Day 1A field at the first break with 165,000 up from his 50,000 starting stack. A lot of that seems to have come from WPT Hollywood Poker Showdown Champ Mark Davis who began the table with Altman but no longer there.
$3,500 WPT Tampa Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 3: 200/400 with a 400 ante
Day 1A Entries: 358
After a short delay for WPT introduction and instructions and thanks, cards are back in the air for Flight A of the WPT Tampa Championship.
They will play two more hour-long levels before getting another respite from the action.