The third of four starting flights in the $200 No-Limit Hold'em $50,000 Guaranteed Event #1 on the 2015 Seneca Fall Poker Classic drew a whopping 181 entries and re-entries at the the Niagara Falls Poker Room today, outdrawing the previous two flights.
When added to the 249 from the first two flights Friday, this 430 total puts the event well past the guarantee already, with a fourth and final starting flight also underway this evening.
After 14 levels of play, just 26 more players survived with David Wiles bagging the biggest stack out of this flight.
Mike Rellinger took the lead heading into the late levels turning his loose-aggressive style and the into a full house and a big payday. He couldn't help himself, though, and played his way lout of the lead.
In the meantime, Wiles, who rose up practically telling one player he had a set, then showing him as much when he called with a gutshot, continued to accumulate chips late and bagged 248,400.
Others, including early leaders Christopher Gaddi and Mark Roberts also bagged big, while local legends like Nick Walker and Pat Tighe hit the rail.
Yong Wolfer and Jason Nablo were among the other local favorites earning a spot in Sunday's Day 2, where a total of 59 will start so far. At this point, everyone is still chasing Michael Davis and the massive 342,000-chip stack he built on Day 1a.
In the meantime, the event continues with the fourth and final flight that began at 6 p.m. local time, so stay tuned for continued coverage of the 2015 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Event #1 right here on PokerNews.
2014 Western New York Poker Challenge Main Event champ Nick Walker is making a run at it here today.
Facing a 2,200-chip bet from the player on his right, Walker three-bet to 6,000. After a call, they went heads-up to a flop. Walker's opponent checked and he bet 7,600. The call came again, bet when the turn came down, Walker's opponent jammed it in for 8,900.
Walker made the relatively quick call with the and needed only fade a fourth club versus his opponent's . He got it done on the river to climb the leader board into contention.
Seneca standout Yong Wolfer is firing away right now and has moved into the top spot on the chip count list.
Things got rolling when he won a race with versus pocket fours to felt one player. Then he took down a number of pots without showdown.
One such hand started with a late position raise to 800 that the big blind defended. Both players checked the flop, but when the big blind led for 2,000 on the turn, Wolfer clicked it back to 4,000. The big blind called and the river came the .
The big blind led again, making it 5,000 and Wolfer raised it up 12,000. The big blind folded and Wolfer's domination continued.
Holding for two pair, local charter boat operator Randy Lingenfelter just called a 6,000-chip bet on the turn of a board.
He did the same with a full house when his opponent shoved the river for a little more. The full house was good, but Lingenfelter didn't need it, his opponent had and couldn't even beat his flopped middle pair.
With the full double up in tow, Lingenfelter is now near the top of the early counts.
The 2015 Seneca Fall Poker Classic continues today in Western New York with the final two of four starting flights in the $200 No-Limit Hold'em $50,000 Guaranteed Event #1.
The first one kicks off at 11 a.m. local time inside the Niagara Falls Poker Room at the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino and all indications are it will be a big one.
Friday's first two starting flights drew 127 and 122 respectively, putting the event on a pace to absolutely crush the guarantee.
A total of 33 survived those first two flights and today's players will be hoping to join them by playing through 14 30-minute levels or down to 12 per cent of the starting field for the flight, whichever comes first. Players start out with 15,000 in chips and registration and unlimited re-entry is available through the first eight levels.
Of course, even players who bag chips can fire again in the final 6 p.m. flight this evening, taking thier best stack forward to Sunday's second and final day.
Stay tuned for a ton of action from Niagara Falls as the PokerNews Live Reporting team will be on hand for it all from start to finish.