September was filled with some major tournament action in the Tampa Bay area. The Hard Rock and Silks poker rooms had series that attracted some big numbers.
The Silks at Tampa Bay Downs in Tampa held a five-event series, rekindling the PPC series it ran in the summer. Pamela Buzzetto, who is a floor supervisor at Derby Lane’s poker room in St. Petersburg, captured the main event. She walked away with cash (the event was an eight-way chop so actual numbers were not released) and a $4K Aruba prize package. When I asked her about the tournament, she said it was all about running good and was excited to go down to Aruba.
Along with this win, Buzzetto has several notable cashes to her name, including two at this past World Series. However, she was not the only area female player to take down events locally.
The Hard Rock’s Fall Tampa Bay Open series had two of Central Florida’s finest female players win titles: Anne “Shari” Amato and Natasha Barbour. These two are no strangers to big cashes or big titles. Amato last year made it to the televised final table of the Heartland Poker Tour event in Daytona Beach. She also made a deep run at the Seminole Hollywood Everglades Poker Open with another fine bay-area female player, Marsha Wolak.
These women made deep runs in the series main event and have boasted numerous top 10 finishes. Wolak earned a World Series ladies bracelet in 2011. Barbour is a bay-area grinder who tours the circuit and has big cashes across the country, including South Florida, Biloxi, Miss., and several series in Vegas at the Wynn and Caesars.
As for the main event, Scott Anderson pocketed $68,393 for the Tampa Bay Open title. The series held 17 events and saw a good mix of buy-ins and game styles. All winners are listed in the chart.
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Tampa Bay Open
Event 1 • $515 NLHE
Robert Boody, $37K
Event 2 • $190 NLHE
Tom Clermont, $2,613*
Event 3 • $190 NLHE
Tom Wilkes, $3,313*
Event 4 • $290 NLHE
Evan Eisenberg, $3K*
Event 5 • $220 NLHE
Ernest Webb, $4,181*
Event 6 • $220 Seniors
Anne Amato, $6,670*
Event 7 • $355 NLHE
Natasha Barbour, $4,461*
Event 8 • $220 NL/PLO
Adam Farjam, $3,923
Event 9 • $220 Seniors
Don Fann, $5,688
Event 10 • $220 PLO
Walid Maddah, $3,317*
Event 11 • $245 Bounty
Jason Lux, $3,724*
Event 12 • $220 NLHE
Robert Gill, $5,116
$1,500 Main Event
Scott Anderson, $68,383
Event 14 • $220 NLHE
Barron Whipple, $3,479*
Event 15 • $290 Bounty
Alban Frasheri, $3,916*
Event 16 • $355 NLHE
Amir Daoud, $4,919
Event 17 • $190 NLHE
Ryan Gittings, $2K*
* Denotes chop
