$2,000 bestbet Winter Open Main Event Begins Friday
While temperatures may be dropping in the middle of winter, the poker scene in Florida is heating up, nowhere more so than bestbet Jacksonville this weekend for the 2023 Winter Open Main Event.
Last year, the $2,000 buy-in tournament drew a field of 387 entries that created a $692,739 prize pool, with Tyler Payne of Fayetteville, North Carolina taking home the huge $140,058 first prize.
The Main Event is the culmination of bestbet’s Winter Open series that has seen big fields for every preliminary event, including 128 runners for Thursday’s single-day $1,000 buy-in 6-max event that saw 126 entries build a prize pool of $108,360 with Daniel Anderson taking home $28,218 for his win.
bestbet Winter Open Side Event Winners
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 NLH | 733 | $250,225 | Kelly Andrews | $40,377* |
| Event #2: $400 NLH with $100 Bounties | 121 | $27,830 | Phillip Napier | $7,247 + Bounties |
| Event #3: $300 NLH | 88 | $21,560 | Kenneth Brossoit | $5,548* |
| Event #4: $400 NLH | 106 | $34,980 | Mark Marcellus | $7,970* |
| Event #5: $300 Ladies NLH | 72 | $17,640 | Kim Sukyung | $4,999* |
| Event #6: $400 NLH with $100 Bounties | 96 | $20,210 | Pablo Valdivieso | $6,341 |
| Event #7: $1,000 NLH 6-Max | 126 | $108,360 | Daniel Anderson | $28,218 |
| *indicates a deal was made |
If the big numbers continue, tournament organizers’ hopes of crossing the 400-entry mark for this year's Main Event could certainly happen.
The first of two opening flights kicks off at noon local time, with players receiving 30,000 chips and starting blinds of 100/200. A big blind ante begins in the second of the day’s 14 scheduled 40-minute levels.
Players will receive a 15-minute break every three levels, with a 60-minute dinner break after level 9. Unlimited re-entry and registration remain open until the end of that dinner break (the start of level 10).
Players do have the ability to enter Day 1b Saturday even if they bag Day 1a, with their biggest stack being moved forward to Day 2.
Day 2 will take place Sunday at noon with the survivors of the opening flights combining to play 60-minute levels until they reach the final table, which will be streamed Monday on bestbet’s YouTube channel. The final table begins at 4 pm local time and will stream on a delay.
PokerNews will be on the scene to bring live reports until a champion is crowned on Monday, so keep it right here for all the action from the outstanding bestbet Jacksonville poker room.