143 Return to Battle for the First-Ever Potomac Winter Poker Open Title in the $400 Opening Event
At noon local time, all 143 survivors out of 1,812 entries which were collected during the six starting flights in the $400 Opening Event will return to the MGM Grand Ballroom in the hotel lobby of the MGM National Harbor to play down to a winner in the first event of the 2020 Potomac Winter Poker Open. The full prize pool details will be shared at the start of the day but the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool that was set has already been crushed in this inaugural event.
Leading the charge towards the final table is Michele Lawson with 1,116,000 which she collected during an amazing run on Day 1c. She’s trailed in the chip counts by local hero and Day 1f chip leader Justin Arnwine with 1,012,000, Justin Vioral with 892,000 who took the Day 1d chip lead, Day 1e leader Mukharji Uppalapati with 847,000, and Ryan Tamanini who’s coming fresh of a tournament win in the Borgata Winter Poker Open a few weeks back.
The day 1b and 1a chip leaders Patrick Dewey (594,000) and Daniel Araya (529,000) can be found further down the counts but with over 50 big blinds at the start of the day, there’s still everything to play for. James Anderson, Yaser Al-Keliddar, and Christopher Csik for example already have experience in winning the bigger titles that come with a ring or bracelet but they will all be aiming for that beautiful glass trophy here in Oxon Hill.
But they won’t be the only ones, everyone will have their sights set on the pay jumps and the final table. When they return, they will finish the 24 minutes and 50 seconds that are left of Level 17 which has a small blind of 5,000, big blind of 10,000, and a big blind ante of 10,000. Level duration will then be increased to 45 minutes with a break taking place after every three levels or when chips need to be raced off. Once the final table has been reached, level duration will increase to 60 minutes.
Get comfortable in your seats as the PokerNews live reporting team will be there from the first raise until the first-ever official PWPO Champion has been crowned.
The 2020 Potomac Winter Poker Open $400 Opening Event Schedule
| Day | Date | Starting Time | Late Reg | Entries | Survivors | Further Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1a | Wednesday February 5 | 17:00 | End of Level 11 | 207 | 16 | 8 players cashed for $550 |
| Day 1b | Thursday February 6 | 17:00 | End of Level 11 | 167 | 13 | 7 players cashed for $550 |
| Day 1c | Friday February 7 | 11:00 | End of Level 11 | 338 | 27 | 13 players cashed for $550 |
| Day 1d | Friday February 7 | 17:00 | End of Level 11 | 268 | 21 | 11 players cashed for $550 |
| Day 1e | Saturday February 8 | 11:00 | End of Level 11 | 481 | 38 | 19 players cashed for $550 |
| Day 1f | Saturday February 8 | 17:00 | End of Level 11 | 351 | 28 | 14 players cashed for $550 |
| Day 2 | Sunday February 9 | 12:00 | - | 143 | - | Level duration increases to 45 mins, FT to 60 mins, play down to a winner |
for Gambrel to flop two pair and improve to a full house on the turn to eliminate Webster.
for Bagga to flop two pair and hold to double up with.
for Castaldo to hold and eliminate Frampus for $3,693.
for Zelesnick to improve his pocket pair to quads to send Fry to the payout desk in 23rd place for $3,693.
for Lafuria to improve to a set on the flop and a full house on the turn to eliminate Katan in 19th place.
