2025 Winter Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Florida Event 10 $250 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry) $10,000 Guaranteed Entries: 135 Prize Pool: $27,675 February 3, 2025
Robert Fiore, 2025 WPO Event 10 champ
The last tournament on the 2025 WPO schedule was the popular $250 Seniors 50+ Event. The tournament drew 135 entries, nearly tripling the $10,000 guarantee, and we had a familiar face as the last player standing.
Robert Fiore earned the Event 10 title along with $5,898 in a heads-up deal, and he also set a little history by going back-to-back in this tournament. Fiore was the 2024 Pinktober Poker Open Seniors Event champ; now we’ll see if he can get three during the Tampa Poker Classic.
2025 Winter Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Florida Event 8 $1,700 WPO Championship (Re-Entry) $300,000 Guaranteed Entries: 425 Prize Pool: $637,500 January 30 – February 3, 2025
Scott Heiligman, 2025 WPO Champion
The 2025 Winter Poker Open wrapped up its final weekend with the headliner, the WPO Championship, with a $1,700 buy-in and $300,000 guaranteed prize pool. The tournament drew 425 entries, more than doubling that guarantee, and Scott Heiligman conquered a tough final table to take the title outright for $127,020.
Our players helped put together a prize pool worth $637,500 and the last 55 players made the money for a Day 2 bag. David Moses took advantage of the best-stack-forward format to get paid twice, a min-cash for his smaller bag, and he finished 31st with his biggest.
The tournament quickly played down to its final table, and it became a battle. Nine tough players, including Ryan Hogan coming off a series in Hollywood where he cashed for more than $300K in two tournaments.
They played nearly four hours four-handed before Sandro Vianna De Sa was eliminated. Gabe Fuller was a masterful short-stacked player, working his way up to third when they finally sent him out.
Hogan had the chip lead at the start of heads-up play, but Heiligman battled back and took the title outright, winning a big tournament against tough players.
Congrats to Scott, and thank you to everyone who came out!
2025 Winter Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Florida Event 9 $400 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $25,000 Guaranteed Entries: 158 Prize Pool: $52,930 February 2, 2025
$1,700 WPO Championship (Re-Entry) Prize Pool: $637,500 | Structure | Payouts Level 31: 125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante Players Remaining: 2 of 425
Gabe Fuller
Scott Heiligman folded his button, Ryan Hogan moved all in from the small blind and Gabe Fuller called for about 1,000,000.
Hogan: Fuller:
Fuller had two live cards, had a glimpse of a jack in the window, but both made a pair on the flop. The turn and river finished board, Hogan made a boat, and Fuller’s great run came to an end.
Ryan Hogan – 9,350,000 (37 bb) Gabe Fuller – Eliminated in 3rd Place ($62,230)
$1,700 WPO Championship (Re-Entry) Prize Pool: $637,500 | Structure | Payouts Level 30: 100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante Players Remaining: 3 of 425
Sandro Vianna De Sa
Scott Heiligman moved all in for 2,650,000 from the small blind and Sandro Vianna De Sa called in the big blind.
Heiligman: Vianna De Sa:
Yet another flip at the final table and Heiligman slammed the door pretty hard when he flopped a diamond flush on the board. It finished turn and river to send the pot to Heiligman.
Vianna De Sa was down to four bigs and eliminated by Gabe Fuller two hands later.
Scott Heiligman – 5,500,000 (28 bb) Sandro Vianna De Sa – Eliminated in 4th Place ($46,280)
$1,700 WPO Championship (Re-Entry) Prize Pool: $637,500 | Structure | Payouts Level 30: 100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante Players Remaining: 4 of 425
Gabe Fuller opened to 400,000 and Scott Heiligman moved all in for 1,575,000 from the button. The blinds folded and Fuller called with the bigger stack.
Heiligman: Fuller:
Heiligman needed to improve to double up but missed the flop. The turn was no help but he hit the river to double.
Scott Heiligman – 3,650,000 (18 bb) Gabe Fuller – 2,100,000 (11 bb)