$1,650 Buy-In Championship No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Level 8: Blinds 300/600/75 ante

Phil Wasserman doubled up when his turned a boat against his opponent’s .  The final board was when Phil shoved on the river.

Peter Williams sent an opponent to the rail when his pocket Jacks flopped a set.  On the flop of they got all the chips in.  His opponent had two pair with and was drawing slim to a back-door straight.   The last two fell and Peter took the pot while his opponent took the walk.

$1,650 Buy-In Championship No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Level 8: Blinds 300/600/75 ante

Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Winter Poker Open Championship winner from 2013, Stephen Diamantas, is back trying to defend his title.

He’s doing well so far, up to about 100k.

$1,650 Buy-In Championship No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Level 7: Blinds 250/500/50 ante

On the turn with a board of Sterling Savill bet 2,475.  Michael Scott (sb) check-raised to 6,075, sending Sterling into the tank.

After a few minutes, Sterling let it go and Michael took the pot.

$1,650 Buy-In Championship No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Level 7: Blinds 250/500/50 ante
Entries: 78

Players are back from break and Tom Nguyen (Tampa, FL) is still leading the field; he’s up to 146k.

Defending Champion Stephen Diamantas (Tampa, FL) hit a big hand at the end of the last level.  Diamantas and his opponent are all in on a three heart board of Q-J-T-4.

“It didn’t work,” says Diamantas of his opponent’s all-in bluff, “he had Queen-Eight, no heart.”

Diamantas has for the winning flush in a 60k pot. He’s up to 102k.

Chip Leaders

Tom Nguyen 146k
Stephen Diamantas 102k
Chris Conrad 101k
Angel Vu 85k
Brian Arbaugh 81k

$1,650 Buy-In Championship No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Level 6: Blinds 200/400/50 ante
Entries: 73

As Day 1B is quickly closing in on the Day 1A total of 75 entries, it’s worth mentioning two of the key figures who are making sure the Tampa Winter Poker Open runs smoothly.

Director of Poker Tommy Bates is thrilled with how the Championship and the entire 18 day series is going.  “Living the dream,” says Bates, “we do this for the players. We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback and want to keep growing Tampa poker.”

Bates’ right hand man is Tournament Director Byron Rodriguez who oversees everything from event structures to tournament rulings.  “I want to mention all my floor guys and dealers. Without them, things wouldn’t run as smoothly as they’ve been.”

Bates and Rodriguez are in the Poker Room everyday and encourage players to continue giving their feedback. They want to thank everyone for making poker at the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa a big success.

$1,650 Buy-In Championship No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Level 5: Blinds 150/300/25 ante
Entries: 68

Players are back from their second break of the day with Tom Nguyen (Tampa, FL) the chip leader at 113k.

A couple of stacks are in the 80k range including Yong Wolfer (Rochester, NY) who returns to South Florida after chopping Event 1 for $39,273. Wolfer earned the custom Hard Rock guitar trophy and entry into the Championship Event.

“I’m glad to come back,” says Wolfer, “it’s cold in New York.”

Players will play two levels, break, and then two more levels before a 45 minute dinner break at ~6:00 pm.

Chip Leaders

Tom Nguyen 113k
Yong Wolfer 85k
Chris Conrad 83k

$1,650 Buy-In Championship No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Level 4: Blinds 100/200/25 ante
Entries: 60

South Florida pro Darryll Fish (Fort Lauderdale, FL) is back for another shot at the $300,000 Guaranteed prize pool after busting Day 1A.

Got the practice round out of the way yesterday, firing again in day 1b #WPO @SHRTPoker

— Darryll Fish (@DarryllFish) December 19, 2014

Today’s action has been pretty loose as we’ve seen several players bust and re-enter.

Here’s one hand that epitomizes how play is going; we’ll keep the players anonymous to protect both the innocent and offenders.

Blinds 100/200 – all players with between 20k and 30k in chips.

EP position limps, cutoff makes it 1100. The button and limper both call.

Flop:

Check, c-bet to 2200, button and EP call.

Turn:

check, aggressor bets 6k, button and EP fold.

Just an average hand here in the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Room.

$1,650 Buy-In Championship No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Level 3: Blinds 100/200
Entries: 58

We’ve seen an influx of Brazilian players in Tampa this series, many of them know each other and are currently living in Orlando.

Today’s Brazilian invasion landed three of them on the same table. Josias Santos finished 8th in Event 7 for $1,451 (1 of 4 series’ cashes), he’s next to Ricardo Rodriguez (9th in Event 4 for $1,125).

Across the table from her countrymen is Daiane Mendes, who was 22nd in Event 4.

Other Brazilians seen here in Tampa include Claudemir Osorio who was part of a final chop in Event 4 for $10,000, Rafael Reis, two event cashes and Paulo Castro who final tabled Event 7 with Santos finishing one spot higher in 7th place.

$1,650 Buy-In Championship No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Level 3: Blinds 100/200
Entries: 56

Stephen Diamantas (Tampa, FL), who won the Championship Event here a year ago for $122,000, is in the field.

He has a tough table draw that features Event 7 winner Manny Minaya (Tampa, FL) and John Holley (Destin, FL), fourth in the same event. Douglas Chan (Orlando, FL) is also here, he was the final table and 11th place finisher in the $250 buy-in.

Diamantas has position on all three players who are side-by-side on his right. Holley ($950,000), Minaya ($1.4 million) & Diamantas ($310,000) have combined recorded tournament earnings of $2.65 million.

$1,650 Buy-In Championship No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

Level 2: Blinds 75/150
Entries: 44

A lot of familiar faces are in the field and the list includes:

Manny Minaya
Angel Vu
John Holley
Tony March
Wade Whidden
Tom Nguyen
Rick Clayton
Fernando Diaz