Alicia Pachla committed her short stack with the but needed help against Paula Ferro's . Pachla hit her ace on the board but it wasn't enough to claim the win. She wished her tablemates good luck before making her way to the cashier.
Michael Ferrer managed to survive with a short stack all day but made his last stand with and Sil Derubeis called with pocket jacks. The board spelled the end for Ferrer, who bows out in 21st place.
Charles Johnson, Jr. just won a massive pot off Randy Pfeifer to take the chip lead and cross 1 million in chips.
On a flop of , Pfeiffer led out for 22,000 and Johnson clicked it back to 50,000. Pfiefer three-bet to 152,000 and Johnson shoved, having Pfeiffer covered.
Pfeifer thought it over for two minutes, engaging in some chatter with Johnson, before tossing in a call.
Johnson:
Pfeiffer:
Pfiefer was nearly drawing dead, and the turn put a stamp on it. Pfeifer hit the rail while Johnson took a commanding chip lead.
Brad Perkins shoved his last 35,000 in from the hihack and Charles Johnson called from the cutoff. The rest of the table folded, and Perkins discovered he was in bad shape.
Perkins:
Johnson:
The flop all but ended it, giving Johnson a set, and the and completed the board to eliminated Perkins in 24th place.
On a flop of , David Conron had all of his chips comitted with the against Buck Ramsey's . Ramsey hit gin with the on the turn, and he faded the board pairing with the on the river to send Conron out the door in 25th place.
With the flop showing , James DiPasquale and Colin Padgett checked to Lawrence Schumacher, who bet 20,000. DiPasquale called, and Padgett responded by moving all in for 89,700. After getting a count, Schumacher called and DiPasquale folded face up.
Schumacher:
Padgett:
Padgett needed a spade and had already lost two of his outs to DiPasquale. The on the turn paired him up but provided him no help, and the river sealed his fate. Schumacher now has 400,000 and is seated directly next to chip leader Damian Baird.
Salvatore Incardona opened from middle position, David Conron shoved from the hijack, and Scott Hosbach reshoved from the button. Incardona looked pained as he let his hand go, and the cards went on their backs.
Conron:
Hosbach:
Hosbach picked up some help on the flop, but he failed to improve through the river.
"This is like taking candy from a baby," Conron yelled. "It's easy over here."
Welcome back to PokerNews' coverage of the 2015 Western New York Poker Challenge Main Event! After two Day 1 starting flights attracted a total of 275 entries, only 74 will return at noon ET Sunday to compete for the $59,000 top prize.
Two players dominated their respective starting days and will enter Day 2 with a sizable chip advantage on Sunday. Damian Baird (443,700) bagged the lead on Day 1a after winning a 350,000-chip pot with a royal flush, and Scott Hosbach finished Saturday's flight with 412,200. Amazingly, both players were seated at Table 4, Seat 7 when they bagged for the night.
Others returning with big stacks include Randy Pfieifer, Jimmy Thomson, Alex Rivera, Veerab Zakarian, Blake Napierala, and former Seneca Niagara Main Event winners Buck Ramsey and Andy Spears.
Today's action will begin in Level 14 with the blinds at 1,200/2,400/300. With 74 players remaining and the top 27 being paid, we'll see more than half the remaining field go home empty-handed today. The plan is to play down as close to a winner as possible tonight, but the tournament will likely be extended into Monday.
Our Day 2 coverage begins at noon, so stay tuned for all the action from the balcony of the Seneca Niagara Hotel & Casino!
![[user153906]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop opened up a lot of opportunities for Desai, but he bricked the 
turn and 
river. With that, we're down to our final two tables.
but needed help against Paula Ferro's 
. Pachla hit her ace on the 
and Sil Derubeis called with pocket jacks. The 
, Pfeiffer led out for 22,000 and Johnson clicked it back to 50,000. Pfiefer three-bet to 152,000 and Johnson shoved, having Pfeiffer covered.
turn put a stamp on it. Pfeifer hit the rail while Johnson took a commanding chip lead.
on a flop of 
. Trushang Desai called with 
river, bringing an end to Nick Pfaffenbach's tournament.
against Buck Ramsey's 
on the river to send Conron out the door in 25th place.
