$600 Main Event
Day 2 Started
$600 Main Event
Day 2 Started
It's another gorgeous summer day just steps away from one of the most powerful and beautiful waterfalls in the World here at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel in Niagara Falls, NY.
But inside the Niagara Falls Poker Room there's stacks of cash and a 2015 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam Main Event title on the line, so the 90 players returning to fight for it today might have something else on their minds besides the weather.
The attractive $550+$50 buy-in attracted a whopping 504 entries from all over the surrounding area and beyond, creating a guarantee-crushing $267,498 prizepool. Some 54 of these 90 returning rounders will be guaranteed at least $1,150 for a min-cash, but most will be looking up at the $61,535 on top - Or at least the five-figure scores reserved for fifth or better.
Those with the best view right now include Erie, PA's Jeff Wells with the overall lead sitting on a massive 456,000-chip stack and Hollywood actor and savvy poker veteran Kirk Acevedo, whose looking to add to his six-figures in career tournament earnings with a deep run here while on some down time from the filming of a TV show in nearby Toronto, Canada.
Day 1a chip leader and solid local tourney grinder Jeffrey Hobrecker and Torontonian William Liang are the only other two players over 300,000 in chips right now.
However, there's a number local legends still stacked, including David "Dae Dae" Battaglia, coming off a final table appearance in one of the Summer Slam prelims and Blake Napierala, who has made two final tables so far this series and won Event #4 the night before the Main Event started.
Add in the fact defending Summer Slam and Western New York Poker Challenge Main Event champ Buck Ramsay is still in it and sitting on a six-figure stack and it's going to be a tough job trying to get this money out of the regulars here.
Things will get started around 11 a.m. local time with the start of Level 16 featuring 2,000/4,000 blinds and a 500-chip ante.
This cast of characters playing for a chunk of change this large is guaranteed to be exciting and PokerNews will be on the floor the entire way through. Stay tuned for Live Updates all day long until a 2015 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam champ is crowned.
Level: 16
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 500
Travell Thomas shoved in his short stack and called in two spots, including one other shorty who had him barely covered.
She then got it in on a flop with . The third players in the hand had them both covered and was ahead with while Thomas held .
The turn and river gave the other shorty the pot the scoop Thomas said his goodbyes.
The board now reads 82 remaining with seven others joining him on the rail so far in a seemingly cautious start to play here on Day 2.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Travell Thomas | Busted |
Barry Kruger just felted Seneca Niagara reg Jason Nablo to sneak up to 300,000 and a spot among the leaders now.
After a series of preflop raises, they got it in with Kruger holding and Nablo on .
No surprises on the board gave Kruger the check mark and Nablo the early boot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Barry Kruger |
300,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
Jason Nablo | Busted |
Kirk Acevedo dragged a decent sized pot with queens holding over jacks on a ten-high board while betting all three streets.
He picked up approximately 100,000 in that hand before his table just broke and Acevedo moved his 400,000-chip stack over to a table that already includes fellow chip leaders Jeff Wells, William Liang and defending champ Buck Ramsay.
This one suddenly looks like a table of doom with an absolute ton of chips on it.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Kirk Acevedo |
400,000
97,000
|
97,000 |
Bruce Pace's downfall from 500,000 in chips very late in the night on Day 1b to half that, and now out, is complete.
He still came in with a healthy 250,000 today, but after gifting Andy Ranaletti and Blake Napierala 100,000 each with draws and undercards, he busted out unceremoniously and jumped in a cash game.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Andy Ranaletti |
300,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
Blake Napierala |
290,000
100,500
|
100,500 |
Bruce Pace | Busted |
Level: 17
Blinds: 2,500/5,000
Ante: 500
William Liang is the new boss on the table of doom here in Niagara Falls, moving into the chip lead when he spiked a flush to bust one player and dragged a few more small pots.
He's in the driver seat now as the only player over 500,000 and fellow big stacks Jeff Wells and Kirk Acevedo at the other end of the table.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
William Liang |
540,000
171,000
|
171,000 |
Barry Kruger just busted, falling from grace after giving Adam Foster 100,000 with threes versus when Foster flopped two pair.
He gave the rest to John Yanni, whiffing with an open-ender.
As Kruger said goodbye, Foster moved up to a spot among the massive stacks and Yanni is just underneath, moving from under 90,000 to above 300,000 already after the hand with Kruger and a double up that saw him hold with queens versus .
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Adam Foster |
450,000
167,500
|
167,500 |
John Yanni |
320,000
236,500
|
236,500 |
Barry Kruger | Busted |