2015 Winter Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa
Event #9
$250 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em
Total Entries: 120
Prize Pool: $23,550
December 14, 2015

Tampa, FL (December 14, 2015) — Dean Morris of London is the most-recent winner at the 2015 Winter Poker Open. Morris carded the top spot in Event 9, a $250 deep stack no limit hold’em tournament, following a three-way ICM chop that saw Anthony Solares take second and Event 1 winner Steven Bennett place third. Morris pocketed $4,599 as well as the $1,650 WPO Championship seat.

“I did come over for the poker,” Morris said of his travels to the States. “I was going to play some earlier events, but this is the first event I’ve played. I’m going to play the Main, obviously.”

Prior to Event 9, Morris, a 46-year-old managing director of an IT company, claimed 37 career cashes and 10 victories totaling just over $100,000. He boasted cashes in Europe, Tunica and Las Vegas, but never Florida — until now.

“[This][is][the] first time I’ve been to Tampa — or Florida — to play,” Morris said. “It’s been really good. I like the [Seminole] Hard Rock […] I enjoyed it. It was a good game today — nice and friendly.”

Event 9 boasted a $20,000 guarantee that was bested comfortably in Level 5. By the time all was said and done, the 120-entry field accumulated a $23,550 kiddie that paid the top 18 finishers. The in-the-money field was virtual who’s who of WPO standouts. Event 1 winner Bennett took part in the three-way chop while Event 4 winner Eric Wert finished 13th and Event 5 winner Anthony Pellegrini 14th. Others heading home with a payday include John Holley (17th) and Jeremy Costa (18th).

The 2015 WPO runs through December 20th when action concludes with the $1,650/$300,000 guaranteed Main Event. Additional events on the schedule include two, $150 deep stack turbos and the $250 Seniors Event.

Event 9 final results:

1st: Dean Morris – $4,599 + $1,650 WPO Championship seat*
2nd: Anthony Solares – $4,297*
3rd: Steven Bennett – $4,292*
4th: David Pisciotta – $1,884
5th: Tyler Crane – $1,413
6th: J Mike Kennedy – $1,178
7th: James Gibson – $942
8th: Glen Breton – $707
9th: Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr. – $530
10th: Bryce McVay- $471
11th: Enzo Romano – $471
12th: John “Rainman” Dollinger – $471
13th: Eric Wert – $412
14th: Anthony Pellegrini – $412
15th: Richard Ogle – $412
16th: Victor Paulin – $353
17th: John Holley – $353
18th: Jeremy Costa – $353

* -Denotes three-way ICM chop

$250 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 19: 6,000/12,000/2,000 Ante

Dean Morris came out on top of the Event 9 field following a three-way ICM chop. Anthony Solares edged Event 1 winner Steven Bennett for second meaning Morris goes down as the winner, Solares runner up and Bennett 3rd.

Congratulations, Dean!

More on the tournament will be posted shortly.

$250 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 19: 6,000/12,000/2,000 Ante

David Pisciotto got all in for 163,000 and Event 1 winner Steven Bennett called. Pisciotto held while Bennett needed to improve with the .

The flop smacked Bennett when it fell improving him to two pair. Pisciotto never caught up and busted 4th earning $1,884.

The remaining three players are now talking chop.

$250 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 19: 6,000/12,000/2,000 Ante

Tyler Crane limped from early position as did Anthony Solares from the cutoff. It folded to Dean Morris in the small blind and he made it 42,000 to go. J Mike Kennedy moved all in from the big blind. It was back on Crane and he moved all in for more. Solares folded. Morris called and had both players covered while Crane held the chip advantage over Kennedy.

Kennedy:
Crane:
Morris:

The runout came with four spades — — improving Morris to an ace-high flush. He won the pot as well as busted Crane and Kennedy 5th and 6th respectively. They earned $1,413 and $1,178.

$250 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 19: 6,000/12,000/2,000 Ante

James Gibson got all in preflop versus Event 1 winner Steven Bennett. Bennett held the chip advantage and had a made hand with versus Gibson’s .

The board came and Gibson busted 7th for $942. With that, Bennett is one elimination closer to his second title of the series.

$250 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 18: 5,000/10,000/1,000 Ante

Dean Morris raised to 22,000 from early position. It folded all the way to Glen Breton in the big blind and he shoved for 170,000. Morris called and Breton was at risk.

Morris:
Breton:

The runout was . Breton flirted with flush, straight and pair outs, but never hit. Morris earned the pot and busted Breton 8th for $707.

$250 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 18: 5,000/10,000/1,000 Ante

Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr. open-shoved the button for 111,000. Chip leader Anthony Solares called from the small blind with . Trudeau was behind with the .

The runout came and Solares’ ace-high held. Trudeau, Jr. busted 9th earning $530 while Solares padded his chip lead.

$250 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 18: 5,000/10,000/1,000 Ante

Following a two-table stalemate that lasted the better part of three hours, Enzo Romano busted 11th and Bryce McVay 10th in simultaneous hands. The field is now down to nine players, consolidated to one table and the final playing session is underway.

In addition to Anthony Solares’ monster chip lead, the other headline at the table is that of Steven Bennett’s. Bennett won the Winter Poker Open series-opening event a few days ago and eyes his second title of the series.

Here’s a look at how the last nine players  stack up followed by the remaining payouts and updated results:

Seat assignments and chip counts
Seat 1: Anthony Solares – 932,000
Seat 2: James Gibson – 201,000
Seat 3: Glen Breton – 249,000
Seat 4: David Pisciotta – 166,000
Seat 5: Dean Morris – 403,000
Seat 6: J Mike Kennedy – 70,000
Seat 7: Steven Bennett – 236,000
Seat 8: Tyler Crane – 86,000
Seat 9: Jeffrey Trudeau, Jr. – 109,000

Remaining payouts
1st: – $7,065 + $1,650 WPO Championship seat
2nd: – $3,886
3rd: – $2,237
4th: – $1,884
5th: – $1,413
6th: – $1,178
7th: – $942
8th: – $707
9th: – $530
10th: – $471

Updated results
11th: Enzo Romano – $471
12th: John “Rainman” Dollinger – $471
13th: Eric Wert – $412
14th: Anthony Pellegrini – $412
15th: Richard Ogle – $412
16th: Victor Paulin – $353
17th: John Holley – $353
18th: Jeremy Costa – $353