$365 BPO Florida Main Event
Day 1b Completed
2023 Bar Poker Open Florida World Championship
$365 BPO Florida Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
2023 Bar Poker Open Florida World Championship
Buy-in
$365
Prize Pool
$122,688
Entries
426
Level
30
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Entries
145
Players Left
15
Hayes Dominates Day 1b as New Champion to be Crowned at BPO Florida World Championship
Level 19
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
It took a level more than Day 1a, but after just over ten and a half hours, a field of 145 on Day 1b of the Bar Poker Open Florida World Championship was trimmed to just 15 survivors. That number added $41,760 to the prizepool for a grand total of $122,688. Those 15 join the 29 from Day 1a to vie for the title and the $50,000 first prize on Monday.
Leading the charge on Day 1b was Billy Hayes who bagged 790,000 chips, more than double his closest competitor Sunday, taking the overall chip lead with him into Day 2.
The race for second place is a log jam over 300,000 headed by last year’s third-place finisher Nick Sims at 386,000. He’s followed by Antwan Tate, who scored the day’s final elimination by bubbling Victor Cerqueira to finish the day with 367,000. Just behind him is Richard Ellis who was among the chip leaders all day long. Rounding out the top five is Charles Gudaitis, who was on the verge of elimination in Level 15 with kings against aces preflop, but drilled a king to score a huge double-up which propelled him toward his 329,000 chips by night’s end.
End of Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Hayes | United States | 790,000 |
| 2 | Nicholas Sims | United States | 386,000 |
| 3 | Antwan Tate | United States | 367,000 |
| 4 | Richard Ellis | United States | 359,000 |
| 5 | Charles Gudaitis | United States | 329,000 |
| 6 | Ronald Kaepernick | United States | 306,000 |
| 7 | Kenneth Goff | United States | 302,000 |
| 8 | Nicholas Pacheco | United States | 272,000 |
| 9 | Joy Martinek | United States | 260,000 |
| 10 | Sherrie Stumbo | United States | 202,000 |
The Day’s Action
Hayes was among the chip leaders most of the day, but a trip to the feature table late in the day seemed to be to his liking as he then put on a big stack clinic, building to nearly a million chips before dropping a bit late. He still retains the overall chip lead for Day 2, passing Day 1a chip leader Charles Olson’s 725,000 chips with his 790,000.
A new champion was guaranteed early in the day as defending champion Phil Hoff, who bubbled Day 1a, was eliminated after firing two more bullets. Hoff was unable to get any traction Sunday and was busted for good by Milton Thomas who jammed his pocket aces on a king-high board into Hoff. The champ had kinq-queen and called off his last 20 big blinds then failed to improve, ending a disappointing weekend for him.
Several players who bagged a stack on Day 1a played again Sunday, attempting to improve their stack and score a bonus $1,000 for bagging twice. Only Ronald Kaepernick was able to do so, improving his stack from 240,000 to 306,000 in the process.
Crowning a New Champion Monday
The final 44 will reconvene at the Palm Beach Kennel Club on Monday at 11 a.m. to play down to a winner.
The Day 2 seat draw and final payout information will be made available in the morning. What we do know now though is that the winner is guaranteed to receive that $50,000 for their efforts.
Play will resume at the ending point of Day 1a which was with 3:12 left in Level 18 with blinds of 10,000 / 15,000 with a 15,000 big blind ante.
PokerNews is on-site and will continue to provide live reporting updates until a champion is crowned here in beautiful West Palm Beach.
End of Day 1b Chip Counts (full)
Level 19
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
790,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
|
||
|
386,000
386,000
|
386,000 |
|
367,000 | |
|
359,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
|
329,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
306,000
-14,000
|
-14,000 |
|
302,000
302,000
|
302,000 |
|
272,000
-65,000
|
-65,000 |
|
260,000
155,000
|
155,000 |
|
202,000
96,000
|
96,000 |
|
198,000
-100,000
|
-100,000 |
|
176,000
-124,000
|
-124,000 |
|
163,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
143,000 | |
|
117,000
117,000
|
117,000 |
Victor Cerquiera Eliminated on Day 1b Bubble
Level 19
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
After a raise on the button from Antwan Tate, Victor Cerqueira moved all in for about 125,000 in the big blind. Tate called to put him at risk.
Victor Cerqueira: J♥10♣
Antwan Tate: K♠K♣
Cerqueira had run into it, and after the 9♥8♠6♠3♣8♦ runout, he was eliminated by Tate, sending the final 15 players home with a payday and on to Day 2 Monday at 11 a.m.
Stay tuned for complete chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
367,000
239,000
|
239,000 |
|
Busted |
Players are Bagging
Level 19
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Following an elimination at the feature table the final 15 players are bagging up.
PokerNews will provide details of the elimination once the stream delay has caught up to avoid spoilers.
Hand for Hand Play Begins
Level 19
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Following an elimination at the feature table, the tournament is down to 16 players.
The next elimination will send the remaining 15 players home with a min-cash and on to Day 2.
Cassella Doubles Through Hayes
Level 19
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Billy Hayes has continued to smash away at the feature table with his growing chip lead, but he's distributed a small piece of his stack to Paul Cassella.
After Cassella moved all in for 125,000 in early position, Hayes called on the button, trying to eliminate him.
Paul Cassella: 4♠4♥
Billy Hayes: A♥Q♥
The board came K♥K♠9♦7♥J♣ as Cassella's fours held to double him up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
800,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
300,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
Level: 19
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
Witzke Scores Incredible Double Through Bloom
Level 18
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
After an early position raise from Gregg Bloom, Steven Witzke moved all in on the button for 129,000. Bloom quickly called.
Steven Witzke: K♣K♦
Gregg Bloom: Q♣Q♥
Bloom was dominated until the flop came Q♠8♦4♣, giving him a set and putting Witzke on the verge of elimination.
The turn however was the K♠, giving Witzke a two-out set of his own to retake the lead, which held up after the 5♥ fell on the river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
298,000
152,000
|
152,000 |
|
|
160,000
-72,000
|
-72,000 |
Play Has Ground to a Halt
Level 18
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Since a recent elimination at the feature table, leaving the field two eliminations from advancing to Day 2, play has become incredibly tight, with flops rare to be seen and raise-and-take-it becoming the regular occurrence.
Short stacks are clinging to life while large stacks are staying out of each others way with 17 remaining in play.