2021 WPT Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 3
$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Entries:  88
Prize Pool:  $29,480
June 10, 2021

Two years and three days after he won his first guitar trophy here at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa, Chris Kennedy won his second on Thursday night by outlasting a field of 88 to win Event 3, earning $9,895.

Kennedy is from Auburn, Alabama, and he occasionally makes the drive down to Seminole Hard Rock Tampa, where he’s done well in the tournaments.

“This is my favorite venue,” said Kennedy. “I think this is my sixth final table down here in Tampa, and I have a full-time job.”

Kennedy said the key hand from the final table was a big pot against Amie Martini, where they capped it with four bets on the flop, and then added bets on the turn and river. (Click here to read the full update for this hand.)

Both players had flopped trip tens, but the king on the river gave Kennedy a full house to win the entire pot. That hand knocked out Martini in fifth place, and catapulted Kennedy into the chip lead.

“That was a big pot,” said Kennedy. “That gave me a lead that I didn’t think I would ever give up.”

Kennedy held onto that chip lead all the way to the finish line, eliminating Anthony Angerami (third place) and Dale Schmitz (second place) on back-to-back hands to bring the tournament to an end.

Kennedy is taking the day off tomorrow to golf with friends, but plans to take a shot at the $1 million guarantee in Event 1 by playing in the 10:00 am flight on Saturday morning.

But Kennedy is pleased with this trip to Tampa regardless of how that event turns out. He sold some pieces of his tournament action to two of his friends back home (one of whom is battling stage IV cancer), and he said it feels great to have already locked up a profit for his friends.

Final Results:

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  20,000/40,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  1 of 88

In the first hand of heads-up play, Dale Schmitz got it all in from the big blind for 50,000, and both players turned over their cards.

Chris Kennedy:  
Dale Schmitz:  

The board came , and Schmitz briefly praised the three on the river (which gave him a set of threes), until Kennedy pointed out that he had turned a set of eights.

Neither player had a qualifying low, so Kennedy won the pot — and the title and the trophy — with a set of eights.

Congratulations to Chris Kennedy!

1st:  Chris Kennedy  –  $9,895 + Trophy
2nd:  Dale Schmitz  –  $6,116
3rd:  Anthony Angerami  –  $4,010
4th:  James Toole  –  $2,757
5th:  Amie Martini  –  $1,991
6th:  Andy Edgington  –  $1,515
7th:  Todd Wilkins  –  $1,218
8th:  Dawn Weaver  –  $1,038
9th:  Steve Trizis  –  $940

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  20,000/40,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  2 of 88

Dale Schmitz raised from the button to 40,000, Chris Kennedy reraised from the small blind to 60,000, and Anthony Angerami got it all in from the big blind. Schmitz and Kennedy both called.

Kennedy and Schmitz checked it all the way down, and all three players showed their cards.

Board:  

Chris Kennedy:    (two pair, kings and threes)
Dale Schmitz:    (two pair, kings and deuces)
Anthony Angerami:    (ace high)

There were no possible qualifying lows on this board, so the three on the river was enough to clinch the entire pot for chipleader Kennedy, eliminating Angerami in third place.

Anthony Angerami  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($4,010)

Schmitz was left with just two 25K chips, and he looked at Kennedy’s huge stack and said he had a steep hill to climb. These were the chip counts heading into heads-up play:

Chris Kennedy  –  1,000,000  (25 BB)
Dale Schmitz  –  50,000  (1 BB)

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  20,000/40,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  3 of 88

James Toole all in from the button for 40,000, Dale Schmitz is all in from the big blind for the exact same amount (40,000), and they are both covered by Chris Kennedy, who is in the UTG/cutoff position.

Chris Kennedy:  
Dale Schmitz:  
James Toole:  

The board came , so there could be no qualifying lows. Schmitz won the entire pot with a jack-high straight to eliminate Toole in fourth place.

Dale Schmitz  –  130,000  (3 BB)
Chris Kennedy  –  725,000  (18 BB)
James Toole  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($2,757)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 352,000 (9 big bets). The next player to bust will earn $4,010.

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  12,000/24,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  4 of 88

After a flop of , Amie Martini and Chris Kennedy both checked, and Anthony Angerami bet 12,000. Martini check-raised to 24,000, and Kennedy check-reraised to 36,000. Angerami folded, and Martini capped the betting at 48,000.

The turn card was the , Martini bet 24,000, and Kennedy called.

The river card was the , Martini moved all in, and Kennedy called.

Chris Kennedy:    (tens full of kings)
Amie Martini:    (trip tens)

There were no possible lows, and Kennedy won the entire pot with his rivered full house to eliminate Martini in fifth place.

Chris Kennedy  –  440,000  (18 BB)
Amie Martini  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($1,991)

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 264,000 (11 big bets). The next player to bust will earn $2,757.

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  10,000/20,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  5 of 88

After a flop of , Andy Edgington got it all in from the hijack against James Toole in the big blind and Amie Martini in the cutoff.

The turn card was the , and both players checked.

The river card was the , Toole checked, Martini bet 20,000, and Toole called.

James Toole:    (eights full of deuces, 8-7 low)
Amie Martini:    (queens full of eights, no low)
Andy Edgington:    (ace high, no low)

Martini won the high side with her queens full, and Toole won the low side with the only qualifying low. Edgington was eliminated in sixth place.

James Toole  –  290,000  (15 BB)
Amie Martini  –  250,000  (13 BB)
Andy Edgington  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($1,515)

With five players remaining, the average chip stack is about 211,000 (11 big bets). The next player to bust will earn $1,991.

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  8,000/16,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  6 of 88

Three players made it to the river with a fairly big pot and the board showing . Chris Kennedy checked the big blind, and James Toole bet 16,000 from under the gun.

Andy Edgington was in the cutoff with only 4,000 left in his stack, but he went into the tank.

“I know I’m beat,” said Edgington.

Edgington thought for a while before he folded, preferring to be forced all in on the next hand rather than calling in this spot. Kennedy called, saying there was too much in the pot for him to lay down his hand.

James Toole:    (nine-high straight, 8-7 low)
Chris Kennedy:    (queen-high flush, no low)

Toole and Kennedy split the pot, and Edgington said he couldn’t beat either the high or the low, so he would have been eliminated if he had called.

Andy Edgington  –  4,000  (<1 BB)

The next hand, Edgington was forced all in from the small blind for 4,000, and he didn’t bother looking at his cards. Amie Martini limped under the gun for 8,000 (the blinds were 4,000-8,000), Chris Kennedy limped from the cutoff, and Anthony Angerami completed the small blind.

The flop came , and it checked to Kennedy, who bet 8,000. Angerami folded, and Martini called.

The turn card was the , and both players checked.

The river card was the , Martini checked, Kennedy bet 16,000, and Martini called.

Chris Kennedy:    (ace-high straight, no low)
Amie Martini:    (two pair, 8-5 low)

Kennedy and Martini split the side pot, and looking at the board, Edgington told the players on his side of the table he’d love to have “queen-ten-four-five” in this spot.

Edgington slowly turned over his cards one at a time, seeing his own hand for the first time — the , the , and the . At this point, Edgington was thrilled to have a wheel, so he clinched the low side of the pot to stay alive.

Almost as an afterthought, Edgington turned over his final card — the !

Andy Edgington:    (ace-high straight, wheel low)

Edgington ended up with the perfect hand, just as he requested — the nut high and the nut low. So he won 3/4 of the main pot, splitting the high side with Kennedy.

Andy Edgington  –  12,000  (<1 BB)

Edgington got it all in preflop from the small blind on the next hand in a multiway pot, watching the final board come . There were no possible lows, and Edgington turned over to win the entire pot with a flopped full house, eights full of threes.

Andy Edgington  –  36,000  (2 BB)

Edgington went on to slowly build up his chip stack from there, and while he’s short, he’s been treading water for nearly half an hour as he stays alive.

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 176,000 (11 big bets). The next player to bust will earn $1,515.

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  6,000/12,000 Limits
Players Remaining:  6 of 88

Todd Wilkins was short-stacked and all in preflop from the hijack in a four-way pot.

The three other players checked to the turn on a board of , and it checked to Anthony Angerami, who bet 12,000 from under the gun. Chris Kennedy called from the small blind, and James Toole called from the big blind.

The river card was the , so there would be no possible lows. Kennedy checked, and Toole bet 12,000. Angerami and Kennedy both folded. Toole took the side pot.

James Toole:    (ace-high flush)
Todd Wilkins:    (king-high straight, no low)

Wilkins finished with a king-high straight, but it wasn’t enough against Toole’s nut flush. Toole won the pot to eliminate Wilkins in seventh place.

Todd Wilkins  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($1,218)

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 176,000 (15 big bets). The next player to bust will earn $1,515.