2014 Seneca Fall Poker Classic: Bracken, Cleveland Lead as 28 Advance in Event #2
The 2014 Seneca Fall Poker Classic continued Monday in Niagara Falls, New York with Event #2, a $125 no-limit hold'em tournament with a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool. The tournament features six separate starting flights across three days, and Flights C and D took place on Monday.
The morning session attracted a total of 80 entrants, and after 12 levels it was Darrin Bracken leading the 15 players who advanced to Wednesday's Day 2. Bracken took the lead in Level 11 in a hand against Art Demmerley and never looked back. Demmerley moved all in for 23,900 on a 5♥3♥J♠ flop and Bracken called. Demmerley had a straight flush draw with the 4♥6♥ against Bracken's Q♣J♣, and the pair held up for Bracken to move him close to 100,000. He busted a short stack on the next hand to climb into the chip lead.
Also advancing to Day 2 with healthy stacks are Mirko Medic, Darren D'Agostino, Ron D'Grillo, Mike Ralyea and Steve Rokitta.
The second flight on Monday saw a field of 67 play down to 13. Wayne Cleveland (pictured) emerged as the leader with 132,600. He was followed closely by Sonny Rattan and Adam Oshei.
Cleveland had a stack of only 44,000 going into the final two levels of the night and told the PokerNews Live Reporting team that he was going to loosen up his play in order to have a big stack going into Day 2. He did just that, more than tripling his stack and finishing the flight on top of the leaderboard.
Among those who failed advance on Monday were Jason Nablo, John Stempier, Art Demmerley, Aaron Obstein, Mark Roberts, Joe Ciffa, Randy Pfeifer and Hoss Coloa. Each of them will get another opportunity during the final two starting flights on Tuesday.
After four flights a total of 64 players have advanced to Day 2. Here's a look at the top 10 stacks:
| Player | Chips |
|---|---|
| Marc Pusmucans | 188,000 |
| Darrin Bracken | 173,000 |
| Mirko Medic | 160,600 |
| Mandy Smith | 148,200 |
| Olivier Dufour | 140,200 |
| Wayne Cleveland | 137,600 |
| Adam Foster | 125,400 |
| Sonny Rattan | 122,800 |
| Adam Oshei | 122,300 |
| Steve Ma | 119,900 |
We’ll have complete coverage of Event #2 until a champion is crowned on Wednesday. The flagship $1,000 Main Event kicks off on Friday with the first of two starting flights, with the conclusion set for Sunday.
Thanks for following our coverage of the 2014 Summer Slam in Niagara Falls, New York. We’ll see you Monday!
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