2015 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam

$600 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info

2015 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
99
Prize
$61,535
Event Info
Buy-in
$550
Entries
504
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
20,000

57 of 309 Survive The Second Flight; 90 Total Through to Day 2

Level 15 : 1,500/3,000, 400 ante
Jeff Wells
Jeff Wells

The second of two Day 1 starting flights for the 2015 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main Event drew a whopping 309 entries to the Niagara Falls Poker Room at Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel on Saturday.

That brought the total entries up to 504, absolutely crushing the $150,000 guarantee. The $550+$50 buy-in created a big $267,498 prizepool that will pay 54 spots. A min-cash will be worth $1,150, and first place will pay a healthy $61,535.

By the time the first 15 levels of play were done, just 57 remained. They will join the 33 survivors from Day 1a in returning to play for the title and huge stacks of cash beginning at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Using his classic over-betting and loose-calling style, Bruce Pace built a large stack of chips, pushing up over 500,000 at one time, claiming victim after victim on the way to a grand lead. Yet, somehow, he let it slip away at the end of the last level of the night, bagging 259,500, with Erie, PA's Jeff Wells making a couple of big hands against him to snatch that lead away.

Thanks to Pace, Wells will take the overall lead into Day 2 with 456,000.

Hollywood actor and poker enthusiast Kirk Acevedo got some time off from filming a TV show in nearby Toronto, Canada, and turned up to play today, bagging an impressive 303,000-chip stack thanks to some solid grinding and a big three-way all-in pot late.

Just Acevedo, Torontonian William Liang, Wells, and Day 1a chip leader Jeffrey Hobrecker will come into Day 2 over the 300,000-chip mark.

Expect tons of action when the chase for the title and $61,535 first-place prize kicks of Sunday at 11 a.m. local time with 90 players remaining, and the PokerNews Live Reporting team will endeavor to bring it all to you, right here in this space.

Tags: 2015 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main EveBruce PaceJeff WellsJeffery HobreckerKirk AcevedoWilliam Liang

Pace Collects Collson

Level 15 : 1,500/3,000, 400 ante
Bruce Pace
Bruce Pace

Bruce Pace has claimed another victim here and it was none other than Former PokerNews Managing Editor Brett Collson.

Collson flopped top pair aces with {a-Hearts}{j-Hearts}, check-called a Pace bet on the flop, then jammed the turn when he picked up a flush draw. Pace called with {a-}{k-} and held when the river bricked.

While Collson hit the rail, Pace moved over the 500,000-chip mark and will surely bag a big lead headed to Day 2 Sunday.

Player Chips Progress
Bruce Pace us
Bruce Pace
530,000
135,000
135,000
Brett Collson us
Brett Collson
Busted

Setting The Pace

Level 11 : 600/1,200, 200 ante
Bruce Pace
Bruce Pace

Chronic stack builder Bruce Pace is at it again. This time he jedi-mind tricked a player into shoving {Q-}{2-} for 60,000 into his top pair on a jack-high flop.

Pace's {J-}{10-} held when the turn and river bricked and he accepted the gift graciously.

That 150,000-chip pot and a whole lot of over-betting has Pace setting the pace as the first player past 200,000 here.

Player Chips Progress
Bruce Pace us
Bruce Pace
205,000
102,000
102,000

Tags: Bruce Pace

Corey Reid Claims The Lead

Level 10 : 500/1,000, 100 ante
Corey Reid
Corey Reid

Local rounder Corey Reid has just jumped into the top spot on the chip counts courtesy of a massive three-way pot.

Reid bet 18,100 into a pot of about the same size three-handed on an {8-Spades}{3-Diamonds}{2-Diamonds} flop. Both his opponents pushed all in, one for a little more, one for a little less.

Reid made the call with {8-Clubs}{8-Hearts} for top set. His opponent's held {9-Clubs}{9-Hearts} and {k-Clubs}{k-Spades} respectively. Both went broke when Reid filled up on the {q-Hearts}{q-Spades} run out.

Player Chips Progress
Corey Reid
Corey Reid
172,000
172,000
172,000

Tags: Corey Reid

Nightmare on Niagara Street

Level 9 : 400/800, 100 ante
Barry Kruger
Barry Kruger

Toronto, Canada's Barry Kruger plays every big tournament in this part of the world and has had a ton of success doing so.

In fact, he's got $340,213 in career live tournament earnings with his biggest lifetime score coming from a second-place finish in the 2013 World Poker Tour Canadian Spring Championship just outside of Montreal, Canada for $265,614.

Today he's vaulted into the chip lead here in Level 9 riding a huge rush of great cards and perfect set ups.

Kruger has rivered a flush, picked up pocket aces, won with big slick and even flopped a queen-high straight getting paid off when his heads-up opponent rivered a smaller one.

Player Chips Progress
Barry Kruger ca
Barry Kruger
151,000
151,000
151,000

Tags: Barry Kruger

Pittsburgh's Pileggi Picks Up Prodigious Pot

Level 8 : 300/600, 75 ante
Larry Pileggi
Larry Pileggi

Pittsburgh, PA resident Larry Pileggi has jumped into the lead here after a huge three-way all in pot.

Pileggi, Jason Zawacki and a third player got heaps in the middle on a {k-Diamonds}{q-Hearts}{4-Hearts} flop with Pileggi on {a-Hearts}{3-Hearts}, Zawacki holding {a-}{k-} and the third player having the best of it with {4-Diamonds}{4-Spades}.

The turn came the {5-Spades} giving Pileggi even more outs and the {2-Hearts} river was one of them, handing him the flush, the straight, the pot, the kitchen sink and the lead.

Player Chips Progress
Larry Pileggi us
Larry Pileggi
130,000
130,000
130,000
Jason Zawacki us
Jason Zawacki
90,000
-30,000
-30,000

Tags: Larry Pileggi

Parlatore Out Front

Level 6 : 200/400, 50 ante
Maria Parlatore
Maria Parlatore

Maria Parlatore has jumped into the lead here through Level 6 and is pushing 100,000.

She made a pair of full houses to drag sizable pots, then got paid off with a turned straight when one opponent rivered a pair of aces.

A little run good and several no-show wins have also added to her ever increasing stack.

Player Chips Progress
Maria Parlatore ca
Maria Parlatore
90,000
40,000
40,000

Tags: Maria Parlatore

"Buffalo" Ray Wings Two; Heats Up

Level 5 : 150/300, 25 ante
Ray Williams
Ray Williams

"Buffalo" Ray Williams just shot up into the chip lead after a massive three-way all-in hand.

He got it in with top set of sevens against a seven-high straight and bottom two pair. Bottom two pair made a boat on the turn, but Williams' was bigger.

In the end, Williams tripled up leaving two others short.

Player Chips Progress
Ray Williams us
Ray Williams
85,000

Tags: Ray Williams

Brzostowicz Laying Beats

Level 4 : 100/200, 25 ante
Chris Brzostowicz
Chris Brzostowicz

Chris Brzostowicz has tripled up to a spot at the top of the early leader board thanks to a couple of massive pots.

First he made the nut flush, then he turned pocket aces into a set. Crushing dreams and collecting stacks, he's now got three times what he started with and counting.

Player Chips Progress
Chris Brzostowicz
Chris Brzostowicz
75,000

Tags: Chris Brzostowicz

Day 1b of The 2015 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main Event Starts Now!

2015 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main Event
2015 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main Event

The 2015 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main Event continues this morning with the second of two starting flights inside the Niagara Falls Poker Room at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel just steps from majesty that is Niagara Falls.

Following weeks of live satellites and guarantee smashing Summer Slam events that have fattened the pockets of local grinders at the venue, there are already more than 100 qualifiers prepped to play, which should help ensure this event's $150,000 guarantee is not just met, but exceeded as well.

In fact, the first flight drew 195 entries Friday and the rest of the poker room was packed with live satellite players throughout the entire session.

Last year, the 2014 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main Event drew 339 entries across two starting flights, with top local rounder Buck Ramsay earning the title and $41,000 in prize money following a heads-up deal with Jacob Ostrander. Ramsay bagged up 104,000 after Day 1a this time around.

Today, players will get going with 25,000 starting stacks and plans to play 15 full 40-minute levels beginning at 11 a.m. local time.

There will be a 45-minute dinner break after the 10th level and registration and unlimited re-entry is open until the break is through at the start of Level 11.

Any and all survivors will return to play down to a champion at 11 a.m. Sunday, joining the 33 players who made it through from the first flight. At this point, they will all be chasing Jeffrey Hobrecker, who is the only player currently above the 300,000-chip mark.

With its deeper structure and bigger buy-in, this event has already attracted some of Western New York's best poker players and even more are expected to turn up today.

Keep it locked right here on PokerNews for updates of all it live from the floor of the Niagara Falls Poker Room from start to finish.

Tags: 2015 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main Event