2019 Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 3
$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 287
Prize Pool: $143,500
February 25-27, 2019

Event 3 was the second multi-day tournament on the Tampa Poker Classic schedule and the early week tournament put together a six-digit prize pool. After a long grind on Day 2, Orlando’s Glyn Griffis topped a tough final table to earn the title along with more than $33,000.

The tournament featured four starting flights and a $100,000 Guarantee. It hit the mark at the start of the fourth flight and the 287 entries created a prize pool worth $143,500. The last 29 spots paid with 56 players returning for Day 2.

They made the money shortly after the first break and Griffis began to assert himself. He quickly moved himself up among the leaders and was the big stack when they reached the final table. Griffis continued to catch big hands as players dropped around him. He had only one hiccup along the way, and it was self-induced.

Griffis made a technical error late on the final table that cost him a third of his stack, a live misclick of an all-in, but he bounced back after the misstep to dispatch Juan Rodriguez heads-up for the outright win.

Our Event 3 champ was excited to collect his first career tournament win. Griffis earned $33,430 for the title and happily packed up his Tampa Poker Classic guitar for the trip back to Orlando.

Final table results:

1st: Glyn Griffis – $33,430 + $1,650 TPC Main Event seat
2nd: Juan Rodriguez – $23,473
3rd: Brian Arbaugh – $14,540
4th: Hanish Patel – $8,844
5th: Bryce McVay – $6,830
6th: Derek Bowers – $5,660
7th: Tom Nguyen- $4,823
8th: James Soper – $4,114
9th: Gerald Silva – $3,343
10th: JT Mention – $2,919

Click the link below for full Event 3 results

Continue reading Event 3: Glyn Griffis Runs Hot to Win TPC Title →

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27: 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante

The heads-up match did not last long. Griffis continued to apply pressure and extended his lead. After a flop of , Rodriguez put his last 1,380,000 in the middle and Griffis called after a minute.

Rodriguez:
Griffis:

Rodriguez was ahead with ace-high and a gutshot wheel draw but had a lot of outs to fade to double. The turn kept him in the lead but Griffis had 18 river outs to end the match. The paired him to give him the hand, the pot, and the title.

Rodriguez earned $23,473 for the runner-up finish while Griffis walked away with $33,430 along with a seat into the Tampa Poker Classic Main Event kicking off in the morning.

1st: Glyn Griffis – $33,430 + $1,650 TPC Main Event seat
2nd: Juan Rodriguez – $23,473

We will post a complete tournament recap on Thursday morning.

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27: 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 287

The table is set and the heads-up battle is underway for the Event 3 title. Glyn Griffis holds a big lead but Juan Rodriguez can get back in with one double.

Seat 2: Juan Rodriguez – 2,250,000 (38 bb)
Seat 8: Glyn Griffis – 4,900,000 (82 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $33,430 + $1,650 TPC Main Event seat
2nd: $23,473

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27: 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 287

Glyn Griffis folded his button and Brian Arbaugh moved all in from the small blind for 495,000. After confirming the count, Juan Rodriguez slammed in a call. Fist full of chips slam.

Arbaugh:
Rodriguez:

Abraugh was ahead for the double but Rodriguez jumped out front on the flop. The board finished turn and river to send Arbaugh out while setting up the heads-up match for the title.

Juan Rodriguez – 2,250,000 (38 bb)
Brian Arbaugh – Eliminated in 3rd place ($14,450)

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27: 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 287

Seat 1: Brian Arbaugh – 950,000 (16 bb)
Seat 2: Juan Rodriguez – 1,600,000 (27 bb)
Seat 8: Glyn Griffis – 4,600,000 (77 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $33,430 + $1,650 TPC Main Event seat
2nd: $23,473
3rd: $14,540

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26: 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 287

Hanish Patel open-shoved for ~1,200,000 from under the gun and Glyn Griffis thought for a moment. He announced call and the other two players could not fold fast enough.

Patel:
Griffis:

Patel was racing to stay alive but the board ran to send our starting day 2 chip leader out in fourth place.

After that hand, the three remaining players were sent on a ten-minute break.

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26: 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 287

Bryce McVay shipped most of his stack to Juan Rodriguez in a cooler, his second best to , and he moved all in for 245,000 after Glyn Griffis opened to 100,000. Griffis called with another big hand.

Griffis:
McVay:

McVay was dominated, caught a little hope on the flop, but that was it after the turn and .

Glyn Griffis – 2,650,000 (53 bb)
Bryce McVay – Eliminated in 5th place ($6,830)

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26: 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 287

Glyn Griffis opened to 200,000 from the small blind and Derek Bowers put in a stack after announce all-in. His shove was for ~675,000 and Griffis called.

Bowers:
Griffis:

Bowers needed to dodge the two live, suited cards but the was the opposite of that. Griffis flopped the joint and Bowers was drawing dead to sixth place after the turn.

Glyn Griffis – 2,450,000 (49 bb)
Derek Bowers – Eliminated in 6th place ($5,660)

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25: 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 287

Derek Bowers opened to 100,000 from the cutoff and Bryce McVay three-bet shipped for 515,000. Bowers quickly called then tapped the table when he saw the hands.

McVay:
Bowers:

McVay needed to dodge a bad beat to stick around and the flop was not unkind. Bowers was open-ended after the turn but bricked the river to send a double.

Bryce McVay – 1,090,000 (27 bb)
Derek Bowers – 620,000 (16 bb)

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25: 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining: 7 of 287

Glyn Griffis opened to 100,000 from the button, Derek Bowers folded his small blind, and Brian Arbaugh moved all in for 500,000. That’s when things became a little interesting. Griffis open was with four blue chips and he went to replace them with a barrel of 5Ks but did not say “fold” first.

After consulting the floor supervisor, the action was deemed a call and Griffis put in the 500,000.

Arbaugh:
Griffis:

Griffis’ live misclick had a dream to crack kings after the flop but the turn and river meant he had to ship a nice chunk of his stack across the table.

Brian Arbaugh – 1,060,000 (27 bb)
Glyn Griffis – 1,825,000 (46 bb)

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 24: 15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining: 7 of 287

James Soper opened to 60,000 from under the gun and Glyn Griffis three-bet to 150,000 from the hijack. It folded back around to Soper, he called, and the flop came . Soper checked out both stacks and announced all in. Griffis quickly called and Soper was in for ~425,000.

Griffis:
Soper:

Griffis was ahead with top two and Soper was left with a gutshot plus backdoor flush outs. The turn and river were no help and Soper was sent out.

“Pay jump for me!” short-stacked Tom Nguyen laughed.

Glyn Griffis – 2,200,000 (73 bb)
James Soper – Eliminated in 8th place ($4,114)

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 24: 15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining: 8 of 287

Action was fast after the dinner break with Glyn Griffis extending his lead after besting James Soper, then he went after Gerald Silva.

Silva open-shoved for 230,000 from the cutoff, Tom Nguyen folded his button, and Griffis snapped from the small blind. Derek Bowers got out of the way in the big and Griffis had it again.

Griffis:
Silva:

Silva needed a lot of help to crack the aces, caught a gutshot on the flop, but could not survive the turn or river to exit in ninth place.

Glyn Griffis – 1,750,000 (58 bb)
Gerald Silva – Eliminated in 9th place ($3,343)

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 24: 15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining: 9 of 287

The players are still on break but here’s how the chip counts will look when they return. Glyn Griffis, Juan Rodriguez, and Derek Bowers hold the big stacks while the other six have 25 big blinds or less.

Seat 1: Brian Ardaugh – 750,000 (25 bb)
Seat 2: Juancho Rodriguez – 1,380,000 (46 bb)
Seat 3: Bryce McVay – 635,000 (21 bb)
Seat 4: James Soper – 540,000 (18 bb)
Seat 5: Hanish Patel – 500,000 (17 bb)
Seat 6: Gerald Silva – 260,000 (9 bb)
Seat 7: Tom Nguyen – 395,000 (13 bb)
Seat 8: Glyn Griffis – 1,390,000 (46 bb)
Seat 9: Derek Bowers – 1,325,000 (44 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $33,430 + $1,650 TPC Main Event seat
2nd: $23,473
3rd: $14,540
4th: $8,844
5th: $6,830
6th: $5,660
7th: $4,823
8th: $4,114
9th: $3,343
10th: $2,919

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 23: 15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 9 of 287

Juancho Rodriguez opened to 60,000 from the cutoff and Hanish Patel defended in the big blind to the flop. Both players checked and Patel bet 100,000 after the turn and Rodriguez moved all in for 585,000. After a short think, Patel called.

Patel:
Rodriguez:

Rodriguez had the big hand (with an open-ender), Patel had top pair with a flush draw but his gutshot draw was dead. The river came to give Rodriguez the king-straight and a big double up.

The final table played three more hands and they were sent on a 40-minute dinner break.

Juancho Rodriguez – 1,330,000 (53 bb)
Hanish Patel – 515,000 (21 bb)

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 23: 15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining: 9 of 287

James Soper found his small double early at the final table. That left JT Mention as the shortest stack and he waited till he found a good hand to take into battle.

He found it after Glyn Griffis opened to 75,000 and moved all in for ~120,000. Griffis quickly called with a monster.

Griffis:
Mention:

A tough spot for the short stack and he could not come back on the despite turning a guthot draw.

Glyn Griffis – 1,450,000 (58 bb)
JT Mention – Eliminated in 10th place ($2,919)

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 22: 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 287

Three more bust outs and Event 3 is down to its final table even before reaching Level 23. Glyn Griffis retook the lead and Derek Bowers sitting in second while James Soper needs to make a move.

Seat 1: Brian Ardaugh – 715,000 (36 bb)
Seat 2: Juancho Rodriguez – 925,000 (46 bb)
Seat 3: Bryce McVay – 750,000 (38 bb)
Seat 4: James Soper – 200,000 (10 bb)
Seat 5: Hanish Patel – 1,155,000 (58 bb)
Seat 6: Gerald Silva – 600,000 (30 bb)
Seat 7: Tom Nguyen – 480,000 (24 bb)
Seat 8: Glyn Griffis – 1,210,000 (61 bb)
Seat 9: Derek Bowers – 880,000 (44 bb)
Seat 10: JT Mention – 255,000 (13 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $33,430 + $1,650 TPC Main Event seat
2nd: $23,473
3rd: $14,540
4th: $8,844
5th: $6,830
6th: $5,660
7th: $4,823
8th: $4,114
9th: $3,343
10th: $2,919

11th: Walter Lustgraaf – $2,919
12th: William Criego – $2,919
13th: David Smith – $2,504

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 22: 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 13 of 287

Event 3 is inching its way to the final table but Lawrence Whyte will not be a part of it. The 2015 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood champ went out in 14th place to leave them only three from the final table.

While the last few levels have not been fortunate for some, former Tampa Summer Poker Open Black Chip bounty champ Derek Bowers has been running it up. He sits with more than 1,000,000 and the only player in seven digits.

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 22: 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining: 14 of 287

We lost four players in a hurry after the break to put Event 3 on the cusp of the ten-handed final table. The stacks are up but so are the blinds, they should get to that last table well before the dinner break after Level 23.

The four knockouts were four of our regulars; Joseph Orsino, Herbert Woodbery, Nolan Burton, and Erik Christensen.

15th: Erik Christensen – $2,504
16th: Nolan Burton – $2,088
17th: Herbert Woodbery – $2,088
18th: Joseph Orsino – $2,088

$570 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 21: 10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining: 18 of 287

The second break is complete and they are back in action after a short pause to redistribute the players from Table 22. We now have two full tables and a dinner break in two hours.

We might see a little pick up in the action over the next level. The slowdown earlier caused the average stack to dip below 30 big blinds so some will be making moves.