WPT bestbet Jacksonville’s History is Built Upon Big Moments

From the moment bestbet Jacksonville opened its doors in 2012, the World Poker Tour has become deeply intertwined in its history. Over 13 championship events to date (12 in the current location), the WPT bestbet scramble in all of its iterations has provided memorable moments and some truly noteworthy champions.

WPT events have taken on several different forms over the last 12 years. After starting with a $3,500 buy-in, the standard buy-in for bestbet Jacksonville WPT events increased to $5,000 in Season XIII. It was also during that season that bestbet Jacksonville adopted a bounty format, with 25 players in the field worth a $2,500 bounty when eliminated. That version of the tournament ran for six events, through Season XVIII.

On November 15, the WPT Bestbet Scramble returns for the second consecutive year as a key Main Tour stop, after a two-season absence due to the pandemic. The kickoff of the 14th WPT Championship event in Jacksonville opens a window of opportunity to look back at the most impactful and shocking moments ever to play out at bestbet Jacksonville.

Tony Ruberto Ushers in WPT’s Welcome to Jacksonville

As gaming laws shifted and poker exploded in Florida, the state became one of the most frequent destinations on the World Poker Tour. During Season X, the WPT’s second ever stop in Florida landed the tour in Jacksonville.

The debut of WPT Jacksonville technically began in Orange Park, Florida, on the opposite side of the St. John’s River from where the current bestbet Jacksonville poker room currently stands. But just as many of the WPT events that would follow in the ensuing decade in Jacksonville, the final table of the inaugural WPT Jacksonville event was absolutely stacked.

Tony Ruberto would go on to claim his first of two career WPT titles to date, defeating Sam Soverel heads up. For Soverel, who would go on to become a staple of the high roller tournament scene in the years that followed, this was just the second live tournament cash of his career. 2009 WSOP Ladies Championship winner Lisa Hamilton (3rd) and future WPT Champions Club member Darryll Fish (6th) were also in the mix.

Sam Panzica Nearly Pulls Off Jacksonville Double

In more than two decades of Championship events on the World Poker Tour, only one player – Brian Altman – has won the same WPT event twice. His WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open victories came five years apart, in Season XIII and Season XVIII. Only two other players – Chino Rheem and Carlos Mortensen – have won multiple WPT titles at the same venue (Bellagio in both instances).

Sam Panzica was just one player away from doing something even more impressive – winning the same WPT event in back-to-back years. In Season XV, Panzica made a final table that included a pair of former WPT bestbet Jacksonville winners, Noah Schwartz and Tyler Patterson. As a matter of fact, Patterson himself was chasing the same kind of run Panzica was going on, having won in Jacksonville in Season XIV.

It only took 40 hands to get down from six players to heads-up against Richard Malone Jr., thanks in large part to Malone’s double knockout of Patterson and Ankush Mandavia.

Panzica quickly got down by a deficit of almost 10-to-1, but battled through more than 140 hands of heads-up play and eventually defeated Malone to win the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble. Five months later, Panzica won his second WPT title in the Bay 101 Shooting Star.

Upon his return to Jacksonville one year later, Panzica ran all the way to the final table for the second consecutive year. This time, his competition included four-time WPT champion Darren Elias and WSOP bracelet winner Shankar Pillai. For the second consecutive year, Panzica got heads-up for the title in Jacksonville, and this time his competition was local player Paul Petraglia.

Panzica was up by as much as 5-to-1 over Petraglia in the chip counts, and was a clean turn and river from making WPT history. But Petraglia caught up, doubled up and simply bulldozed his way to the Season XVI WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble title.

To date, Panzica sits as the all-time No. 1 tournament money earner at bestbet Jacksonville, according to The Hendon Mob.

James Calderaro Doubles Up on Second Place Finishes

Over the last decade, James Calderaro has become one of the most consistent presences on the World Poker Tour. Calderaro made a major impact right off the bat, making runs at three separate titles from Seasons X through XII – all in his home state of Florida.

The WPT Jacksonville bestbet Open – a second stop on the WPT calendar for several years – quickly became a favorite for Calderaro. In the very first WPT event ever held in the new bestbet Jacksonville room, Calderaro made what is arguably one of the toughest WPT final tables ever assembled.

Five of the six players were past or future WPT Champions Club members – Calderaro, Darren Elias, Shawn Cunix, Will Failla and Tony Dunst – and the sixth, Daniel Buzgon, has four career WPT final tables. Calderaro reached heads-up play with Cunix holding the chip lead, only for the tournament to slip away in less than 20 hands.

Two seasons later, Calderaro had his best run on the WPT to date. Within a six-week stretch, Calderaro broke through and won the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open, and then returned to Jacksonville for his second shot at a WPT bestbet Jacksonville title. The second time around, Calderaro got heads up with Jacksonville local Nabil Hirezi and once again began heads-up play with a chip lead.

Most of the chips in play went in preflop on a coinflip – for Calderaro, pocket tens for Hirezi. By the turn of a board, Hirezi had exactly one clean out to win – the [Ts] – with any heart making it a chopped pot. Hirezi hit his miracle card, giving him the victory in dramatic fashion and denying Calderaro a clear shot at his second WPT win.

Noah Schwartz Goes Turbo Mode in Breakout First Major Title Win

Noah Schwartz first popped up on the WPT radar in Season VI, when he made the final table of the WPT Borgata Poker Classic Season XI and finished fourth. Schwartz made a few other significant final tables over the next few years, including the landmark $40,000 event at the 2009 WSOP and a second career WPT final table at Festa al Lago in Season IX.

But for all of his successes and close calls in big spots, Schwartz lacked a major title until November 2012. In the Season XI edition of the WPT bestbet Jacksonville Fall Poker Scramble, Schwartz entered the final table with almost half of the chips in play. Just 68 hands later, the tournament was over, and Schwartz was the winner.

It wasn’t as simple as breezing through the field; eventual runner-up Byron Kaverman earned multiple knockouts and closed the significant chip disparity. But with a dramatic river card making Schwartz two-pair to best Kaverman’s two-pair, the celebration for Schwartz ensued. His first comment after winning was telling.

“Finally.”