$400 No-Limit Hold’em
Prize Pool:  $398,970   |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 14:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining:  154 of 1,209

The opening event of the 2026 Winter Poker Open drew 1,209 entries for the $400 buy-in tournament and 153 players return today at 11 am for Day 2. Technically 154 but Shannon Johnson used the best-stack-forward structure to bag twice, getting a min-cash for the small stack and playing the biggest.

They are each guaranteed at least $710 but a huge $65,940 payout for the top spot. A great return on the $400 investment.

Joshua Pitz bagged huge last night and returns with more than one million chips in his stack, with William Deckard, Imre Papp, Jerome Leonardo, and Carlo Amenta rounding out the top five.

Flight A bagged much earlier than the rest of them so everyone today return to nearly a full level at 3,000/5,000 with 5,000 ante and an average stack around 47 bigs.

Top ten returning stacks:

1. Joshua Pitz – 1,028,000 (206 bb)
2. William Deckard – 756,000 (151 bb)
3. Imre Papp – 701,000 (140 bb)
4. Jerome Leonardo – 699,000 (140 bb)
5. Carlo Amenta – 680,000 (136 bb)
6. Manny Minaya – 663,000 (133 bb)
7. Dustin Geselius – 514,000 (103 bb)
8. Josh Babcock – 508,000 (102 bb)
9. Thomas Minnich-Weber – 506,000 (101 bb)
10. Robert Thomas – 500,000 (100 bb)

Day 2 Seats  |  Day 2 Chips  |  Payouts

Primary Event Schedule

11AM: Event 1 Day 2 – $400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

• Event 1 Day 2 Table and Seat Assignments
• Event 1 Day 2 Chip Counts
• Event 1 Payouts

12PM: Event 2 – $250 Bankroll Builder NLH (Re-Entry)

• $20,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 30,000 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 play to completion
• Event 2 Structure Sheet

$400 No-Limit Hold’em
Prize Pool:  $398,970   |  Structure  |  Payouts
Return to Level 14:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining:  154 of 1,209

Flight A: 111 Entries; 14 Advanced
Flight B: 83 Entries; 11 Advanced
Flight C: 148 Entries; 19 Advanced
Flight D: 122 Entries; 16 Advanced
Flight E: 191 Entries; 24 Advanced
Flight F: 202 Entries; 26 Advanced
Flight G: 352 Entries; 44 Advanced
Day 2: Sunday at 11 am

• Shannon Johnson bagged twice and will receive a min-cash for the smallest bag and play the biggest.

$400 No-Limit Hold’em
Prize Pool:  $398,970   |  Structure  |  Payouts
Return to Level 14:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining:  154 of 1,209

Flight A: 111 Entries; 14 Advanced
Flight B: 83 Entries; 11 Advanced
Flight C: 148 Entries; 19 Advanced
Flight D: 122 Entries; 16 Advanced
Flight E: 191 Entries; 24 Advanced
Flight F: 202 Entries; 26 Advanced
Flight G: 352 Entries; 44 Advanced
Day 2: Sunday at 11 am

• Shannon Johnson bagged twice and will receive a min-cash for the smallest bag and play the biggest.

2026 Winter Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 1
$400 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  1,209
Prize Pool:  $398,970
January 21 – 25, 2026

Registration closed for Winter Poker Open Event 1 with 1,209 entries, turning the $200,000 guarantee into a prize pool worth $398,970. The last 154 players returning for Day 2 are in the money with $710 for a min-cash and $65,940 up top for the Event 1 champ.

1st: $65,940 + WPO Trophy
2nd: $40,700
3rd: $30,680
4th: $23,340
5th: $17,930
6th: $13,900
7th: $10,880
8th: $8,600
9th: $6,860
10th-12th: $5,530
13th-15th: $4,500
16th-18th: $3,700
19th-21st: $3,080
22nd-24th: $2,580
25th-27th: $2,190
28th-30th: $1,880
31st-33rd: $1,630
34th-36th: $1,420
37th-45th: $1,260
46th-54th: $1,130
55th-63rd: $1,020
64th-72nd: $930
73rd-81st: $860
82nd-90th: $810
91st-99th: $770
100th-126th: $730
127th-154th: $710

$400 No-Limit Hold’em
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 13:  2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante
Flight G Players Remaining:  68 of 352

Players returned from their last break after tournament staff pulled the purple chips out of play. They are down to 68 so we can start looking at the money bubble in the near future.

Dustin Geselius is the late leader in Flight G, out front with 485,000. Maribeth Hilliard is second with 447,000 and Adam Weingard not far behind with 422,000.

$400 No-Limit Hold’em
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 12:  1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 ante
Flight G Players Remaining:  85 of 352

Flight G is cruising down toward its last break, with 85 players remaining and 44 moving on to Day 2 tomorrow at 11 am.

We will peep the stacks and see who’s in contention for the chip lead at the end of the night.

$400 No-Limit Hold’em
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 9:  1,000/1,500 with a 1,500 ante
Flight G Entries:  352

Registration closed for Flight G of WPO Event 1 with 352 entries, putting the combined total at 1,209 for the tournament and the prize pool reached $398,970. We will post the payout information later this evening.

Action will continue until 44 players remain and they will return tomorrow at 11 am for Day 2. Players must bag chips to cash in the tournament.

Chip counts through Flight F

$400 No-Limit Hold’em
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Return to Level 14:  3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining:  110 of 857

Flight A: 111 Entries; 14 Advanced
Flight B: 83 Entries; 11 Advanced
Flight C: 148 Entries; 19 Advanced
Flight D: 122 Entries; 16 Advanced
Flight E: 191 Entries; 24 Advanced
Flight F: 202 Entries; 26 Advanced
Flight G: Saturday at 11 am
Day 2: Sunday at 11 am

$400 No-Limit Hold’em
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 8:  600/1,200 with a 1,200 ante
Flight G Entries:  323

Level 8 is here and the last chance for players to enter this big opening tournament of the Winter Poker Open. We have 323 in the field at the moment and the prize pool is just shy of $390K. Registration will close at 3:30 pm, so there’s a little time.

So friends in the field include James Calderaro (who earlier lost aces to kings and queens after running two outers), Ashley Spring, Igor Tretyakov, Maribeth Hilliard, Cheri Ivan, Jennifer Haselton, and Riley Price.