Third Try's the Charm for Rex Clinkscales - Wins 1st WPTDS Title at 3rd Final Table

WPTDeepStacks regular Rex Clinkscales (pictured) topped a record field of 704 players to win the WPTDS Tampa Main Event on Monday at a final table that clocked in at just over six hours of play. It was Clinkscales third final-table appearance on the tour, and this time he took home his first WPTDS title along with $159,354 in prize money.

Clinkscales made a last-minute decision to travel out to Tampa from Las Vegas after he busted out of a World Series of Poker event, and it turned out to be a great call. “It feels amazing. It’s an incredible feeling. I’m just really blessed, and really fortunate to even be here. I’m just very thankful to be able to win,” said Clinkscales, who was very happy after he made his seventh cash on tour his first WPTDS victory.

Cards got into the air at Noon between the final nine players, and it took two hours of play before Karl Manouchakian busted in ninth place, and Danny Laboto exited in eighth place. Another hour transpired before Amelio Amato took his leave in seventh place.

Clinkscales then scored a key double up thru Zoltan Anda, and that eventually sent Anda to the rail in sixth place. After that, Ryan Luker doubled up once, but he wasn’t able to double up the second time he moved all in. Luker cashed in fifth place, and then a long period of double ups sustained a lengthy four-handed battle.

After holding the chip lead for most of the early stages at the final table, Andrew Boccia was knocked down to a short stack during this stretch of play, and Boccia eventually busted in fourth place. The chip leader at the start of play Sebastian Momtazi was eliminated shortly after that in third place to set up a final battle between Clinkscales and Michael Cohen.

Clinkscales held a large lead with 14,475,000 over the 3.1 million of Cohen, but Cohen was able to double up once to prolong the heads-up battle. Cohen moved all in on the button to start the final hand, and Clinkscales called to cover him. They then flipped over their cards one last time.

Clinkscales: 
Cohen: 

Board: 

Cohen was eliminated in second place, good for $92,374, and Clinkscales won the WPTDS Tampa Main Event. He took home $159,354 in prize money, a $3,000 WPTDS Championship package, and a WPTDS trophy. He also received a $5,000 seat in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event, and a Seminole Hard Rock guitar trophy.

Congratulations to our newest WPTDS Champion, Rex Clinkscales!

https://youtu.be/tmpKx7glolo

Final Table Results

1: Rex Clinkscales – $159,354 + $3,000 WPTDS Championship Package
2: Michael Cohen – $92,734
3: Sebastian Momtazi – $56,671
4: Andrew Boccia – $46,711
5: Ryan Luker – $37,781
6: Zoltan Anda – $30,911
7: Amelio Amato – $24,729
8: Danny Lobato – $18,890
9: Karl Manouchakian – $13,051

That concludes our coverage from WPTDeepStacks Tampa. Thanks to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for hosting another great stop on the tour. The next stop takes us to the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno for the WPTDeepStacks Reno Summer Main Event that will run from August 25-28. The Main Event features an $1,100 buy-in and a $200,000 guarantee. The WPTDeepStacks live reporting team will have live updates, chip counts, photos, and videos for you from Nevada in two months.