The inaugural $5,300 buy-in Wynn Winter Championship – the biggest buy-in tournament the venue has held in over five years – had no problem passing its $1.5 million guarantee as 435 entrants competed on Day 1 of the tournament. With late registration and re-entries open until the start of Level 13 (approx. 2:10 p.m.) today that number is sure to go up.
Today, 190 Day 1 survivors will return along with any newcomers. Starting the day as the big stack is Serbia's Marko Pantelic with 357,000. Others flush with chips include Alex Rocha (330,000), Patrick Serda (279,000), Michael Dyer (254,000), and David “The Dragon” Pham (233,000).
They will be joined by players like HPT Season XV POY Nick Pupillo (206,500), bracelet winner Ryan Laplante (192,500), Matt Glantz (168,000), WPT Venetian champ Ben Palmer (149,000), 888poker Ambassador Daria Feshchenko (101,000), and Maria Ho (112,000).
“This is a great time of year to return to the larger buy-in tournament scene,” Ryan Beauregard, Executive Director of Poker Operations, said previously. “There are a handful of fantastic events in Las Vegas bookmarking this $5,300 Championship, and I would really love to see this December timeframe become an annual ‘must play’ on everyone’s tournament calendar.”
Tournament Director Ray Pulford added: “I am confident that this tournament will generate a multimillion-dollar prize-pool. We are consistently fielding player requests to run bigger buy-in events, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to grow our Wynn Classic offerings.”
Players who late register today will start with 50,000 in tournament chips. Levels will last 60 minutes each with a 10-minute break every two levels. There will be a 75-minute dinner break at the end of Level 16 (approximately 6:30-7:45 p.m.). All players remaining in the event at that time can enjoy complimentary entry to the Wynn Buffet. A designated entry lane and reserved seating have already been arranged, meaning players can get in and out with ease.
Here's a look at the structure for Day 2, which will play through Level 20 (approx. 11:45 p.m.):
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | BBA |
|---|
| 11 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| 12 | 1,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| 13 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| 14 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| 15 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| 16 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 |
| 17 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 |
| 18 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| 19 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| 20 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 |
, which kept Cai in the lead. After the dealer counted down the almost-identical chip stacks Palacios was left with a single T500 chip and was eliminated a few hands later.
all-spade flop. 
turn. When the 
completed the board on the river, Cheong checked for the third time and Vayo bet 15,000.
flop and Klodnicki made the call. After both players checked the 
turn Kamphues led out for 22,500 on the 
river and Klodnicki thought for a moment before making the call. Kamphues tabled 
