2023 Tampa Poker Classic

Event 1 Flight D: Heading for the Guarantee

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1:  100/200 with a 200 ante

Three flights for TPC Event 1 are locked down with 626 entries and tonight the $400 No-Limit Hold’em tournament will surpass its $250,000 guarantee with entry number 121. It should not take long to get it.

Players start with 30K in their stacks and all Day 1 levels last 30 minutes, increasing to 40 at the start of Day 2. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 9 at 10:30 pm. Play will continue until 10% of the field remains, rounding up, and they will bag their chips for a Day 2 return on Sunday at noon in the money.

  • $250,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 30,000 in chips
  • Day 1 levels last 30 minutes; Day 2 levels last 40 minutes
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9 (10:30pm)
  • Day 1 will end when 10% of field remains
  • Event 1 Structure Sheet

Event 3: Prize Pool and Payouts with $8,210 to Mixed PLO Champ

2023 Tampa Poker Classic
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 3

$400 Mixed Pot-Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed

Entries: 80
Prize Pool: $26,800
March 9, 2023

The second day of the series produced another fantastic turnout for a one-day trophy event. The $400 Mixed Pot-Limit Omaha tournament drew 80 entries, easily surpassing the $10,000 guarantee and the entries from recent Mixed PLO events.

They created a prize pool worth $26,800 and the last ten spots will be paid. A min-cash will earn $820 while the TPC Event 3 champ will earn $8,210 and the TPC trophy.

1st: $8,210 + TPC trophy
2nd: $5,480
3rd: $3,650
4th: $2,540
5th: $1,840
6th: $1,400
7th: $1,110
8th: $930
9th-10th: $820

Event 1 Flight C: Justin Bishop Leads at Break

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 13:  2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante
Flight B Players Remaining:  45 of 216

Justin Bishop

Tournament staff sent players on another 15-minute break to take the purple 500 denom chips out of play and put more 25K chips in action. They returned to a new chip leader with Justin Bishop up top with 428,000 and Luke Gramentz in second, holding 403,000.

With 22 players advancing to Day 2, it will be a race between the bubble and the next break in two hours.

Event 3: Mixed PLO Crushing

$400 Mixed Pot-Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 8:  600/1,200 with a 1,200 ante
Entries:  75

Ari Engel

The $400 Mixed PLO tournament is drawing a huge crowd on that side of the Poker Room, the 75 entries so far easily surpassing the numbers from previous events. They will play out this level, take a 15-minute break, and return with registration closed.

We found three players in closer quarters who went deep in yesterday’s $400 Limit Omaha 8. Ari Engel finished runner-up to Michael Laake while Jacob Naumann finished fourth and Wally Maddah in ninth.

Jacob Naumann (left) and Wally Maddah (right)

Event 1 Flight C: Registration Closed with 216 Entries

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 10:  1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 ante
Flight B Players Remaining:  88 of 216

Flight C drew another 216 entries into TPC Event 1 to put the combined total at 626. They’ve put more than $200K towards the $250,000 guaranteed prize pool and we only need 121 in Flight D this evening to hit it.

Flight C will continue into the evening until only 22 players remain. They will bag their chips and return on Sunday at noon for Day 2 in the money.

FlightDayEntriesAdvanced
AWeds at 10a20020
BWeds at 6p21021
CThurs at 10a216TBD
DThurs at 6p
EFri at 10a
FSat at 10a
Total62641

Chip counts through Flight B

Event 1 Flight C: James Kerr Leads

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 9:  1,000/1,500 with a 1,500 ante
Flight C Entries:  216

James Kerr

Players returned to their seats after the second break and everyone is chasing James Kerr at the top of the counts. The 2021 TPC Main Event winner is up to 239,000 for a clear lead over the rest of the field. Gary Metz sits in second with 184,500 and Kevin Ragusa is third with 174,500.

The clock shows 216 entries for Flight C and we will post the official numbers once the math is complete.

Gary Metz

Event 1 Flight C: Last Level to Register

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 8:  600/1,200 with a 1,200 ante
Flight C Entries:  205

Players are heading towards the second break of the day and time is running out if you want to join this session. With 205 in Flight C, they have contributed more than $200,000 towards the $250K guarantee and it’s a lock that it gets there in Flight D this evening.

Michael Laake Wins Limit Omaha 8 Outright

2023 Tampa Poker Classic
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 2

$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed

Entries: 73
Prize Pool: $24,455
March 8, 2023

Michael Laake, 2023 TPC Event 2 Champ
Michael Laake, 2023 TPC Event 2 Champ

The first trophy of the 2023 Tampa Poker Classic was awarded in the $400 Limit Omaha 8 one-day tournament and Tampa favorite Michael Laake took the outright title at a tough final table.

The tournament drew 73 entries to more than double the $10,000 guarantee and create a prize pool worth $24,455. The last ten spots were paid with Jacob Naumann, Wally Maddah and WPO Limit Omaha 8 champ Jordan Joeckel cashing but falling short of another trophy.

The title came down to a heads-up battle between Laake and two-time WSOP bracelet winner/11-time WSOP Circuit champ Ari Engel. Laake held off a tough competitor to earn his second major Tampa title along with $7,485.

PlaceFirst NameLast NameCityStatePrize Amount
1MichaelLaakeSt PetersburgFL$7,485
2AlanEngelDelray BeachFL$5,000
3DaleSchmitzWesley ChapelFL$3,330
4JacobNaumannLargoFL$2,310
5EliseRosenNew YorkNY$1,680
6AlexanderRivera CruzCaguasPR$1,280
7JordanJoeckelSan AntonioFL$1,020
8RobertSmithLakelandFL$850
9WallyMaddahTampaFL$750
10MatthewTrizisLargoFL$750

Event 1: Chip Counts Through Flight B

$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Return to Level 15:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining:  41 of 410

Flight A: 200 Entries; 20 Advanced
Flight B: 210 Entries; 21 Advanced
Flight C: Underway
Flight D: Thursday at 6 pm
Flight E: Friday at 10 am
Flight F: Saturday at 10 am
Day 2: Sunday at noon

RankFirst NameLast NameCitySTChip Count
1JahannBardiaWesley ChapelFL830,000
2JohnMcCarthyTampaFL713,000
3JustinHarrellLakelandFL689,000
4TamNguyenTampaFL579,000
5JustinSnavelyOrlandoFL525,000
6TomLawfordSouthamptonUK509,000
7AndrewButteRiverviewFL481,000
8WillieMuhammadLakelandFL466,000
9FarzadRajiClearwater BeachFL465,000
10JohnKowalczikCharlotteNC452,000
11JoshuaJohnsonMorrisvilleNC447,000
12WilliamBurdickBradentonFL428,000
13JosePerezTampaFL389,000
14BrianJohnsonLargoFL355,000
15ConnerReynoldsNaplesFL344,000
16StevenWilliamsWinter GardenFL335,000
17DavidMeagherMulberryFL329,000
18EliasKiwanDavenportFL327,000
19ShannonDaleyNorth PortFL289,000
20PeterDabroscaWilmingtonNC264,000
21AaronThivyanathanSt PetersburgFL259,000
22HarryMozian Jr.BradentonFL244,000
23RaunaqSinghOrlandoFL242,000
24DanielCouzensBoca RatonFL230,000
25MichaelTuttleOrlandoFL223,000
26JosephMattucciSt PetersburgFL207,000
27RoqueVeviurkaGuarapuaua204,000
28PhillipHernzDavieFL203,000
29RamonGonzalezWindermereFL175,000
30ParmMehmiWesley ChapelFL160,000
31TamasHartmanSarasotaFL126,000
32BrianRayTampaFL114,000
33JohnMoranWestfordMA107,000
34ChristopherCochranRinggoldGA107,000
35AntoinetteFiorenzaDelandFL105,000
36RobertWuestnerRiverviewFL96,000
37BrandonGlazeOviedoFL94,000
38TimothyPettusAuburndaleFL88,000
39JasonKlapmanTampaFL78,000
40ShantiDelauney-YardFloydVA73,000
41RandyLevinTampaFL67,000

Event 3: Mixed Pot-Limit Omaha

$400 Mixed Pot-Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
$10,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1:  100/100 with a 100 ante

Another day, another Omaha tournament. This time around with have a $400 Mixed PLO kicking off at noon with a $10,000 guaranteed prize pool. They will rotate between PLO, PLO8, Five-Card PLO, and Big O. Talent will be needed to win this one.

Players start with 20K stacks and all levels last 30 minutes for the one-day trophy event. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 9 at 4:30 pm. A 30-minute dinner break is schedule for 6:30 pm and they’ll return to find our next TPC champ.

  • $10,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 20,000 in chips
  • Levels last 30 minutes
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9 (4:30pm)
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays to completion
  • Event 3 Structure Sheet