HPO Columbus Regional Championship
Day 1 Completed
HPO Columbus Regional Championship
Day 1 Completed
The last regional stop before the championship event for the second season of the Hollywood Poker Open took place Saturday as 126 entrants tested their poker ability at the Hollywood Casino in Columbus, Ohio.
After 11 levels of play completed, 29 of the original 126 made it through to Day 2 where they will still have plenty of work in front of them before they make the money as only 13 will get paid. With 126 entrants, it was a record turnout for an HPO Regional Main Event, smashing the previous best of 72 set at the Charlestown, West Virginia stop. The HPO continues to make strides and is proving that it is not just another poker tour.
Of the remaining 29 survivors, Scott Dehm bagged the most chips with an impressive 270,200 next to his name. He was followed closely by John Michalak (215,200) and Nick Guagenti (207,200). Other notable chip stacks included the likes of Ryan Pochedly (148,700), Joseph Couden (134,100), and Trevor Renner (131,500).
2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Chris Moneymaker attempted to win his second HPO Regional Main Event of 2014, but he would be eliminated and decided not to fire a second bullet. Local poker pro Shawn Cunix battled for position throughout the day, with his family watching for a majority of the time, and ended with 76,200 in chips.
Check back with PokerNews Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. local time as the remaining players look to make the money and the final table. We will crown a winner before the night is over and that sole survivor will take home an impressive first place prize of $60,827.
Table | Seat | Name | Hometown | Chip Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
22 | 1 | Dave Gomersall | Bay Village, OH | 42,100 |
22 | 2 | Jeff Berens | Lancaster, OH | 40,200 |
22 | 3 | Danny Clements | West Chester, OH | 74,800 |
22 | 4 | Nicholas Nicastro | Columbus, OH | 12,100 |
22 | 5 | Steve Birtcher | Columbus, OH | 71,400 |
22 | 7 | Jay Harless | Columbus, OH | 17,800 |
22 | 8 | John Michalak | Cleveland, OH | 215,200 |
22 | 9 | Scott Dehm | New Albany, OH | 270,200 |
23 | 1 | Mark Zullo | Seville, OH | 32,200 |
23 | 2 | Ryan Pochedly | Lakewood, OH | 148,700 |
23 | 4 | Mike Frazee | Dayton, OH | 118,800 |
23 | 5 | Todd Funderburg | Powell, OH | 67,100 |
23 | 6 | Trevor Renner | Akron, OH | 131,500 |
23 | 8 | Stephen Barrick | Blacklick, OH | 33,300 |
23 | 9 | Joey Couden | Colombus, OH | 134,100 |
24 | 1 | P.J. Grace | Clinton Township, MI | 65,900 |
24 | 2 | Ryan Austin | Westerville, OH | 61,400 |
24 | 3 | David Westfall | Lakewood, OH | 51,000 |
24 | 5 | Trent Baker | Columbus, OH | 63,200 |
24 | 7 | Jim Adams | Dayton, OH | 85,600 |
24 | 8 | Shawn Cunix | Colombus, OH | 76,200 |
24 | 9 | Jeff Russell | Columbus, OH | 103,700 |
25 | 2 | Nick Guagenti | Westerville, OH | 207,200 |
25 | 3 | Joe Pulliam | Westerville, OH | 53,800 |
25 | 4 | Christopher Collins | Columbus, OH | 119,100 |
25 | 5 | Jacob Menzie | Blacklick, OH | 81,500 |
25 | 6 | Dustin Bryan | Dublin, OH | 31,800 |
25 | 7 | Brandon Sowers | Cincinnati, OH | 54,400 |
25 | 8 | Jared Palmer | Peebles, OH | 63,900 |
Here are the full end of day chip counts from Day 1 of the Hollywood Poker Open Columbus Championship Event.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Scott Dehm |
270,200
40,200
|
40,200 |
John Michalak |
215,200
200
|
200 |
Nicholas Guagenti
|
207,200
47,200
|
47,200 |
Ryan Pochedly |
148,700
128,700
|
128,700 |
Joseph Couden |
134,100
114,100
|
114,100 |
Trevor Renner |
131,500
111,500
|
111,500 |
Christopher Collins |
119,100
99,100
|
99,100 |
Michael Frazee
|
118,800
98,800
|
98,800 |
Jeffrey Russell |
103,700
83,700
|
83,700 |
Jimmie Adams |
85,600
65,600
|
65,600 |
Jacob Menzie
|
81,500
50,000
|
50,000 |
Shawn Cunix |
76,200
36,200
|
36,200 |
|
||
Danny Clements |
74,800
54,800
|
54,800 |
Stephen Birtcher |
71,400
51,400
|
51,400 |
Todd Funderburg |
67,100
47,100
|
47,100 |
Patrick Grace III |
65,900
45,900
|
45,900 |
Jared Palmer |
63,900
43,900
|
43,900 |
Trenton Baker |
63,200
43,200
|
43,200 |
Ryan Austin |
61,400
41,400
|
41,400 |
Brandon Sowers |
54,400
34,400
|
34,400 |
Joseph Pulliam
|
53,800
33,800
|
33,800 |
David Westfall
|
51,000
31,000
|
31,000 |
David Gomersall |
42,100
22,100
|
22,100 |
Jeffrey Berens
|
40,200
20,200
|
20,200 |
Stephan Barrick
|
33,300
13,300
|
13,300 |
Play is winding down for the evening and we've just broken another table and have four tables remaining. 34 players are left. We'll have a full list of who survived the evening and what their chip counts are shortly after play concludes.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Scott Dehm |
230,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
John Michalak |
215,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
Nicholas Guagenti
|
160,000
98,000
|
98,000 |
Ross Gottlieb |
90,000
-5,000
|
-5,000 |
Shawn Cunix |
40,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
|
||
Andrew Jeffrey |
20,000
-75,000
|
-75,000 |
Level: 11
Blinds: 500/1,000
Ante: 100
The players are on their last 15-minute break of the day. They will return and play one more level before bagging and tagging for the day.
As is often the case in a poker tournament, the top spot is constantly changing. Right now it is John Michalak who is sitting pretty after winning several big pots to move nearly 70,000 ahead of his nearest competitor.
"I flopped a set versus Aces and the guy couldn't let it go," Michalak told us when we asked him how he built his massive stack.
Michalak has had some success at the felt with $120,094 in live tournament earnings. His biggest score is $21,327 for a deep run in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
John Michalak |
235,000
215,000
|
215,000 |
Level: 10
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 75