The WSOP Circuit Main Event is right around the corner so that means it is time to roll out the Monster Stack as a big warmup. The $400 buy-in tournament has a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool and two starting flights, one today at 11 am and another tomorrow at the same time.
Players will start with 30,000 stacks and the first 24 levels will last 30 minutes before increasing to 45 from Level 25 forward. Late registration is available until the start of Level 13 at 5:50 pm with unlimited re-entries during that time.
The top 15% of the field will make the money and the last 8% will advance to Day 2 on Thursday.
It will be another busy, exciting time in the Event Center and we look forward to seeing more friends come to town as we near the Main Event.
$200,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Players begin with 30,000 in chips
Levels 1-24 last 30 minutes; Levels 25+ last 45 minutes
Late registration available until start of Level 13
Day 1 will end at the conclusion of level 24 or 8% of the field
2019 Winter Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Florida $1,650 Winter Poker Open Main Event $500,000 Guaranteed Entries: 479 Prize Pool: $718,500 December 12-16, 2019
The Winter Poker Open spent 13 days awarding big money and Guitar Trophies with the Main Event headlining the schedule. The $1,650 buy-in tournament had a great turnout and it was Greenville, SC resident David Moses taking home nearly $150,000 as the WPO Main Event Champion.
The tournament featured a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool that reached $718,500 after 479 entrants joined over the three starting flights. There were 72 players advancing to Day 2 on Sunday with only 48 of them set to earn a piece of the prize pool.
Austin Buchanan bagged a huge chip lead in Flight A and no one caught him in the next two. He stayed hot on Day 2 with the chip lead for most of the day but found himself at the bottom of the counts when the final table reconvened on Monday afternoon.
SHR Tampa favorite Manny Minaya began the final table with the chip lead but dropped to the pack as Moses began to build. Buchanan was the first to be eliminated from the final table followed by Mark Scacewater. Terri-Anne Crawford, the lone woman still in the Main Event, battled over the last two days but had to settle for seventh place.
With five players remaining, Minaya and Duff Charette were the two shorter stacks and went out shortly after a break. The last three players, Moses, Justin Zaki, and TK Miles, were all talented and the stacks were virtually even when it went three-handed.
Miles took a cooler against Zaki, queens into kings, and made a valiant come back that ultimately came up short. Moses and Zaki exchanged the heads-up lead until they got the chips in with similar stacks. Moses had the best hand, it held up, and he took home the title along with $149,595 while Zaki had to settle for a $104K score.
This is the second major Seminole Hard Rock Poker title for Moses to go along with his February 2019 WSOP Circuit win in Coconut Creek.
Congratulations to David and a huge thanks to all of our players who made this a very successful series.
Main Event final table results:
1st: David Moses – $149,595 2nd: Justin Zaki – $104,750 3rd: TK Miles – $67,345 4th: Duff Charette – $44,367 5th: Manny Minaya – $34,165 6th: Nick Mann – $28,295 7th: Terri-Anne Crawford – $23,711 8th: Mark Scacewater – $19,320 9th: Austin Buchanan – $14,959
$1,650 Winter Poker Open Main Event $500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts Level 31: 100,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
David Moses pulled into a slight lead when they played the biggest pot of the tournament. Justin Zaki opened his button to 350,000 and Moses moved all in.
“I’m leaning call,” Zaki told him after a few minutes thought.
Zaki thought some more and slapped in a calling stack.
Moses: Zaki:
“I run pretty bad in these,” Moses told Zaki.
Not this time. The dealer ran out the board to send the pot to Moses. They counted down the stacks and Moses’s 7,425,000 was good enough for the title.
1st: David Moses – $149,595 2nd: Justin Zaki – $104,750
$1,650 Winter Poker Open Main Event $500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts Level 31: 100,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 479
There was a brief discussion of a heads-up deal but nothing could be agreed upon. Justin Zaki leads but it’s a near dead heat for the title.
$1,650 Winter Poker Open Main Event $500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts Level 31: 100,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 479
With the flop , David Moses checked and Justin Zaki bet 225,000. David Moses check-raised to 600,000 and Zaki moved all in for 3,775,000 and Moses called.
Zaki: Moses:
Zaki flopped top two against Moses single pair of jacks and his hand held after the turn and river to double into the lead.
$1,650 Winter Poker Open Main Event $500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts Level 30: 75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 479
There were no major pots over the first 30 minutes after the break. Justin Zaki was able to pull back a few more chips but Moses continues with a comfortable lead.
$1,650 Winter Poker Open Main Event $500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts Level 30: 75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 479
David Moses and Justin Zaki were sent on another break as the 5K chips were removed from play. David Moses continues to lead but Zaki has enough chips to make his moves.
Blind levels will now last 40 minutes each until we have a winner.
$1,650 Winter Poker Open Main Event $500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts Level 29: 50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 479
Justin Zaki continued to come back and took the heads-up lead when David Moses opened his button to 350,000. Zaki called, the flop came and Zaki checked. Moses bet 400,000 and Zaki announced all in. Moses double-checked his cards and called.
Moses: Zaki:
Moses was ahead with top-top against Zaki’s pair of deuces/flush draw/gutshot wheel draw. The turn changed nothing and Moses won the pot after the river. He was the at risk player and was all in for 6,335,000.