Main Event
Day 1b Completed
2023 bestbet Winter Open
Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
2023 bestbet Winter Open
Prize Pool
$580,425
Entries
327
Level
25
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
50,000
Entries
196
Players Left
30
Macella Survives Day of Drama For Winter Open Main Event Day 1b Chip Lead
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Justin Macella was on the wrong end of a royal flush and a two-outer on the river, yet he still played well enough and found enough fortune himself to earn the Day 1b chip lead of the $2,000 bestbet Winter Open Main Event.
Rollercoaster hands and dramatic suckouts were the themes throughout the day as many players found themselves on the bad end of long odds in big hands before their day was done.
In the end, 30 players truly survived to advance on to Sunday’s Day 2, where combined with those advancing from Friday’s opening flight, 48 now return, with 41 making the money.
The 397 total entries created a prizepool of $580,425, with a min-cash Sunday worth $3,577, while the eventual champion on Monday will receive $122,017 and the champion’s trophy.
Many players contended for the end-of-night chip lead before Macella solidified his spot atop the leaderboard, but he’ll be among a group of players entering Day 2 still more than 100,000 chips behind day 1a chip leader, Brett Feder and his total of 650,000.
Top Ten Combined Day 2 Chip Counts
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Hometown | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brett | Feder | Jacksonville, FL | 650,000 | 162 |
| 2 | Justin | Macella | McRae, GA | 496,000 | 124 |
| 3 | Rodney | Turvin | Cairo, GA | 457,000 | 114 |
| 4 | Maxwell | Young | Portland, OR | 444,000 | 111 |
| 5 | Joshua | Palmer | Boone, NC | 369,000 | 92 |
| 6 | David | Tuthill | St. Petersburg, FL | 324,000 | 81 |
| 7 | Brian | Schaedlich | Ponte Vedra, FL | 324,000 | 81 |
| 8 | Derek | Sacoff | Jacksonville, FL | 323,000 | 81 |
| 9 | Toby | Boas | Sylva, NC | 316,000 | 79 |
| 10 | Adam | Wells | Tallahassee, FL | 311,000 | 77 |
What a Day!
It didn’t take long for the fireworks to begin, as on the second level of the day, Thomas Carroll was the beneficiary of a dealer error where an extra card was burned, with the turn being replaced and becoming the river burn card, and the correct turn card then becoming one of the five outs he needed to survive. Carroll would go on to make it on to Day 2.
George Zinaty ran his kings into aces on the same level, but flopped a king to win a big pot, and he too would advance to play for the money on Sunday.
As mentioned earlier, Macella was on the wrong end of a royal flush that kept Mark Goulding’s tournament alive. Goulding went on from there to bag the sixth biggest stack of the day with 307,000.
Macella was later the victim of a two-outer against Fred Paradis that cost him more than a quarter of his stack, but he rebuilt quickly, then locked up his chip lead with a big hand against Cody Durden late in the day.
Also among the 30 players advancing from Saturday’s flight were Kelley Slay (222,000), Ron Germany (207,000), David Dibernardi (180,000), and Hunter Cichy (43,000).
Some of those who couldn’t make it through to Day 2 included Jeffrey Trudeau, Edward Mroczkowski, Michael Jagroo, Kelly Slay, and Edward Sebesta.
The Plan for Day 2
Those final 48 will return to the bestbet Jacksonville poker room at noon local time, where just six eliminations will be needed to reach the money. From there, they will continue on until just eight players remain. That eight-handed final table will resume Monday at 4 p.m. under the lights of the bestbetLIVE streaming stage.
Play resumes Sunday with 13 minutes remaining in level 14 at blinds of 2,000/4,000/4,000, the point where play was stopped on Day 1a. Levels extend to 60 minutes in length for the remainder of the tournament, with breaks every two levels, and a 30-minute dinner break scheduled after level 20.
Keep your browser locked on PokerNews as our live reporting coverage continues Sunday, and right up until a champion is crowned on Monday.
Day 2 Seat Draw and Chip Counts
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
| Table | Seat | First Name | Last Name | Hometown | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | Nicola | Mincieli | Ponte Vedra, FL | 37,000 | 9 |
| 14 | 2 | Matthew | Johnson | Smyrna, TN | 285,000 | 71 |
| 14 | 3 | Brett | Feder | Jacksonville, FL | 650,000 | 162 |
| 14 | 4 | John | Bellotte | Lake City, FL | 223,000 | 55 |
| 14 | 5 | Derek | Sacoff | Jacksonville, FL | 323,000 | 81 |
| 14 | 6 | James | Solana | St. Augustine, FL | 147,000 | 36 |
| 14 | 7 | Thomas | Carroll | N. Augusta, SC | 91,000 | 22 |
| 14 | 8 | Steven | Ruighaver | Sumter, SC | 192,000 | 48 |
| 61 | 1 | David | Tuthill | St. Petersburg, FL | 324,000 | 81 |
| 61 | 2 | Maxwell | Young | Portland, OR | 444,000 | 111 |
| 61 | 3 | Darren | Young | St. Johns, FL | 60,000 | 15 |
| 61 | 4 | Fred | Paradis | Oldsmari, FL | 92,000 | 23 |
| 61 | 5 | Mark | Goulding | Jacksonville, FL | 307,000 | 76 |
| 61 | 6 | Carl | Mcgowan | Pearson, GA | 38,000 | 9 |
| 61 | 7 | Adam | Wells | Tallahassee, FL | 311,000 | 77 |
| 61 | 8 | Talesh | Patel | St. Augustine, FL | 213,000 | 53 |
| 62 | 1 | William | Davis | Jacksonville, FL | 149,000 | 37 |
| 62 | 2 | Toby | Boas | Sylva, NC | 316,000 | 79 |
| 62 | 3 | Michael | Frierson | Jacksonville, FL | 273,000 | 68 |
| 62 | 4 | Kelley | Slay | Jacksonville, FL | 222,000 | 55 |
| 62 | 5 | David | Dibernardi | Yourgestown, OH | 180,000 | 45 |
| 62 | 6 | Phuong | Ta | Bluffton, SC | 55,000 | 13 |
| 62 | 7 | Aftab | Patni | Orlando, FL | 256,000 | 64 |
| 62 | 8 | Brian | Schaedlich | Ponte Vedra, FL | 324,000 | 81 |
| 63 | 1 | Dwayne | Earnhardt | Rockwell, NC | 57,000 | 14 |
| 63 | 2 | Travis | Padgett | Savannah, GA | 102,000 | 25 |
| 63 | 3 | Joshua | Palmer | Boone, NC | 369,000 | 92 |
| 63 | 4 | David | Burns | Tallahassee, FL | 192,000 | 48 |
| 63 | 5 | Cody | Durden | Macon, GA | 164,000 | 41 |
| 63 | 6 | Jacob | Ferro | Syracuse, NY | 111,000 | 27 |
| 63 | 7 | Russell | Quick | Jacksonville, FL | 197,000 | 49 |
| 63 | 8 | Yichi | Li | Jacksonville, FL | 165,000 | 41 |
| 68 | 1 | Tyler | Mckinney | Jacksonville, FL | 62,000 | 15 |
| 68 | 2 | David | Zrihen | Jacksonville, FL | 84,000 | 21 |
| 68 | 3 | Rodney | Turvin | Cairo, GA | 457,000 | 114 |
| 68 | 4 | Bryce | Mcvay | Tampa, FL | 104,000 | 26 |
| 68 | 5 | Hunter | Cichy | Jacksonville, FL | 43,000 | 10 |
| 68 | 6 | Dane | Cass | Boonville, NC | 191,000 | 47 |
| 68 | 7 | George | Zinaty | Charlotte, FL | 147,000 | 36 |
| 68 | 8 | Charles | Campos | Fernadina Beach, FL | 115,000 | 28 |
| 69 | 1 | Hyndi | Khomutetsky | Orlando, FL | 65,000 | 16 |
| 69 | 2 | Frederick | Smith | N/A | 124,000 | 31 |
| 69 | 3 | Clyde | Maliauka | Clearwater, FL | 227,000 | 56 |
| 69 | 4 | Justin | Macella | McRae, GA | 496,000 | 124 |
| 69 | 5 | Ron | Germany | Covington, GA | 207,000 | 51 |
| 69 | 6 | Richard | Grant | Jacksonville, FL | 136,000 | 34 |
| 69 | 7 | Nghia | Le | Jacksonville, FL | 228,000 | 57 |
| 69 | 8 | Sean | Conklin | Jacksonville, FL | 170,000 | 42 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
650,000 | |
|
496,000 | |
|
457,000 | |
|
444,000 | |
|
369,000 | |
|
324,000 | |
|
324,000 | |
|
323,000 | |
|
316,000 | |
|
311,000 | |
|
307,000 | |
|
285,000 | |
|
273,000 | |
|
256,000 | 20,000 |
|
228,000 | |
|
227,000 | |
|
223,000 | |
|
222,000 | |
|
213,000 | |
|
207,000 | |
|
197,000 | |
|
192,000 | |
|
192,000 | |
|
191,000 | |
|
180,000 |
End of Day 1b Chip Counts (full)
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
496,000 | 56,000 |
|
|
369,000 | 14,000 |
|
|
324,000 | 68,000 |
|
|
323,000 | -37,000 |
|
|
311,000 | -49,000 |
|
|
307,000 | -8,000 |
|
|
273,000 | 28,000 |
|
|
236,000 | 236,000 |
|
|
228,000 | 228,000 |
|
|
227,000 | |
|
|
223,000 | 223,000 |
|
|
222,000 | 17,000 |
|
|
207,000 | -63,000 |
|
|
192,000 | 192,000 |
|
|
192,000 | -150,000 |
|
|
180,000 | -20,000 |
|
170,000 | 170,000 |
|
|
165,000 | 165,000 |
|
164,000 | -4,000 |
|
147,000 | 51,000 |
|
|
147,000 | 147,000 |
|
136,000 | 136,000 |
|
124,000 | 124,000 |
|
92,000 | -48,000 |
|
91,000 | -34,000 |
One Final Suckout to End the Night
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
On the final hand of the night, David Burns got the last of his chips in with 
versus Darren Young's 
.
Burns drilled a nine on the river to wrap up what has been a day full of incredible hands and amazing suckouts.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of the day's wild action.
Final Three Hands
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
With just 32 players remaining and the clock hitting the ten-minute mark, tournament staff have determined that three more hands will be played to complete the night.
A Late One for Macella
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Justin Macella may have just regained the chip lead before night's end as with about 25,000 in the pot on a flop of 
, Hyndi Khomutetsky checked in the big blind and Macella bet 20,000 from the hijack.
Cody Durden called on the button, but Khomutetsky folded.
The turn brought the and Macella now bet 63,000. Durden went into the tank saying he was folding a monster before tossing 
into the muck face up.
Durden's top pair, top kicker would have been in trouble, as Macella showed him 
for an overpair of kings.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
440,000 | 58,000 |
|
|
168,000 | -77,000 |
|
72,000 | 36,000 |
Tightly Packed Chip Counts at the Top
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
382,000 | -6,000 |
|
|
360,000 | 145,000 |
|
|
355,000 | 85,000 |
|
|
342,000 | 167,000 |
|
|
315,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
270,000 | |
|
|
245,000 | 5,000 |
Level: 14
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000
Malone Survives Versus Macella
Level 13
: Blinds 2,000/3,000, 3,000 ante
Richard Malone got his last 40,000 in against Justin Macella preflop and was flipping for his tournament life.
Richard Malone: 
Justin Macella: 
the board came 
, flopping alone a pair of aces and improving to a full house by the river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
388,000 | -42,000 |
|
88,000 | 57,000 |