$2,200 High Roller
Day 1 Started
2020 World Series of Poker Circuit Hard Rock Tampa
$2,200 High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2020 World Series of Poker Circuit Hard Rock Tampa
Buy-in
$2,200
Entries
173
Level
27
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
50,000
WSOP Circuit Makes Big Splash in Tampa as $2,200 High Roller Kicks Off Today at 4 p.m.
It is time for PokerNews’s coverage of the first-ever WSOP Circuit stop in Tampa with the $2,200 High Roller, which gets underway at 4 p.m. local time at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino.
The High Roller will be Event #8 on the schedule in what has already been a successful and busy venture for the WSOP Circuit into the new territory of Tampa.
Players will receive a starting stack of 30,000 for each $2,200 buy-in. Re-entry is allowed up until the start of Level 13, which is the beginning of Day 2, as Day 1 will consist of 12 levels of play, each lasting 40 minutes, with breaks every three levels (after two hours of play).
The players who survive the day will return to play on Day 2, which is slated for a 2 p.m. start on Thursday, February 13th.
PokerNews will provide all the Day 1 coverage today for this event and will keep the action going here in Tampa as coverage of Thursday's Event 9: $3,250 High Roller 8-handed will also be picked up.
Slight Delay to Proceedings
The High Roller is currently waiting on the minimum of five players per table to get started as players are still registering and taking their respective seats.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 0
Shuffle Up and Deal
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
Play is now underway with 15 players in their seats as the cards hit the air.
Michael Raimon Victorious in Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
PokerNews is in town to live report the $1,700 Main Event and two high roller tournaments here at the World Series of Poker Circuit at Hard Rock Tampa, but those are just three of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.
In Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha, 166 runners created a $54,780 prize pool that was paid out to the top 25 players including Austin Clanton (3rd - $5,985), Blake Whittington (8th - $1,428), Melisa Singh (13th - $834), Duff Charette (20th - $674), and David Prociak (25th - $619).
In the end, Michael Raimon bested Likang Berninger in heads-up play to win the title for $13,894 and his second gold ring.
“It’s nice. I don’t really play Circuit events anymore, mostly cash,” the 48-year-old Raimon said after his win while also commenting on three-handed play. “We just played slow all three of us. This guy [Austin Clanton] had 2 million, we each had like 150,000 for about an hour and a half and a we all picked our spots. He kept doubling everybody up one after another, then I finally got one big hand with him where he flopped a straight and I turned a full house.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Raimon | Bradenton, Florida | $13,894 |
| 2 | Likang Berninger | Lafayette, Indiana | $8,586 |
| 3 | Austin Clanton | N/A | $5,985 |
| 4 | Ramses Rosa | Florida | $4,274 |
| 5 | Joseph Orsino | Tampa, Florida | $3,127 |
| 6 | Bruce Gans | Ooltewah, Tennessee | $2,346 |
| 7 | Peter Walsworth | Sarasota, Florida | $1,807 |
| 8 | Blake Whittington | Jacksonville, Florida | $1,428 |
| 9 | Jessica Francis | Erie, Pennsylvania | $1,161 |
Players in the Field
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
Budovskiy Shears a Bit From Altman
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
Action was on the turn on a board that read 
. Brian Altman bet 1,000 and was called by Maksim Budovskiy.
The river came the 
. Budovskiy led out with a bet of 2,200 which caused Altman to fold after about ten seconds of thought.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
36,000 | 36,000 |
|
|
32,000 | 2,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 100
More Faces in the Field
Level 2
: 100/100, 100 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |