$1,000 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
$1,000 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
The first of two starting flights for the $1,000 buy-in 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event drew 121 entries on the hotel balcony at the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino on Friday.
They played through 15 total 40-minute levels and when it was all said and done, 24 players pushed through to Sunday's second day.
Local star Alex Visbisky booked the overnight chip lead, as he has a habit of doing in big events at Seneca.
Things started slowly all around, but midway through the day, Frank Monaco railed multiple Seneca Niagara title holder Buck Ramsay in a massive pot to take a big chip lead. He got it in on the turn with a set versus Ramsay's straight, but rivered a full house to drag the 145,000-chip bounty.
It wasn't long before Monaco found himself in another huge pot, getting it in for almost 400,000 versus [Removed:317] with aces over kings and holding.
At that point it appeared he would bag the chip lead with ease, but Visbisky kept coming on to make it close.
First, he busted Adam Foster with aces over ace-king to move over 200,000, then he took a massive pot off a once-healthily stacked Robert Petronio without showdown, displaying a series of check-raises that ultimately forced Petronio to fold on the river.
As the night wore on, Monaco slipped from the perch at the top of the leaderboard and Visbisky bagged the biggest stack with a massive 434,000. Top local rounder Dan Wagner was also on the right side of variance all day to move up to a spot among the leaders once the flight was through.
While the survivors of this day will have to wait until Sunday to get back at it, the 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event will continue with its second and final starting flight beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
If last year's event is any indication, they may draw even twice as many entries for that and PokerNews will be providing live coverage from start to finish. Tune in then to follow all the action
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alex Visbisky |
434,000
64,000
|
64,000 |
Dan Wagner |
346,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
Robert Petronio |
247,000
92,000
|
92,000 |
Joseph Elhage |
247,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
Frank Monaco |
245,500
-64,500
|
-64,500 |
David Olshan |
242,500
112,500
|
112,500 |
Colin Padgett |
186,000
-34,000
|
-34,000 |
William Lewandowski | 159,500 | |
John Macdonald |
155,500
-24,500
|
-24,500 |
Hayden Glassman |
149,000
49,000
|
49,000 |
Steve Calvaneso | 145,500 | |
Chris Barton |
137,000
-43,000
|
-43,000 |
Cameron Bartolotta | 113,500 | |
Peter Bogulski |
97,500
-22,500
|
-22,500 |
Paula Alibrandi |
94,000
-21,000
|
-21,000 |
James Girdlestone | 83,500 | |
Paul Bitterman | 82,000 | |
Kim Batka | 79,500 | |
Joseph Latona | 75,500 | |
Kimlong Trieu |
75,000
-35,000
|
-35,000 |
Jeremy Joseph | 75,000 | |
Amin Akhlaghi | 67,000 | |
Andy Spears |
54,500
54,500
|
54,500 |
John Araujo
|
39,000
39,000
|
39,000 |
The clock was stopped with ten minutes left in Level 15 and a draw was conducted to determine the number of hands left to play.
They drew a six.
As they push through the last level of the night with plans to stop with 10 minutes remaining, there has been a shift in the balance of power at the top of the leaderboard.
Frank Monaco has dipped slightly from his peak, allowing Alex Visbisky to move on top. Here's what the rest of the big contenders look like right now:
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alex Visbisky |
370,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
Dan Wagner |
325,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
Frank Monaco |
310,000
-84,000
|
-84,000 |
Joseph Elhage |
240,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
Colin Padgett |
220,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
Bill Lewandowski |
185,000
185,000
|
185,000 |
John Macdonald | 180,000 | |
Chris Barton |
180,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
Robert Petronio |
155,000
-40,000
|
-40,000 |
David Olshan |
130,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
Peter Bogulski |
120,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
Kimlong Trieu |
110,000
-55,000
|
-55,000 |
Hayden Glassman |
100,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
John Araujo
|
Busted | |
Rich Balsano
|
Busted | |
Chris Meyers | Busted |
Level: 15
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 400
Colin Padgett tanked it out for a minute facing a 20,000-chip bet heads-up on a board. Then he shipped it in for 74,000 total.
His opponent snap-called with aces, but Padgett had turned the goods, holding the for the straight. The river was a meaningless and Padgett doubled into contention.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Colin Padgett |
175,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
Alex Visbisky limped the small blind and Robert Petronio bumped it up 6,000 more in the big blind. Visbisky called and checked the flop with two clubs.
Petronio checked behind and the turn came the . Visbisky checked, Petronio made it 9,000 and Visbisky check-raised to 24,000. Petronio fired back with a raise to 45,000 and Visbisky flatted.
The turn came an offsuit ten and Visbisky checked again. Petronio made it 55,000 and Visbisky check-raised again, making it 125,000.
Petronio folded and Visbisky is now withing shouting distance of Frank Monaco at the top of the counts.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alex Visbisky |
350,000
115,000
|
115,000 |
Robert Petronio |
195,000
-45,000
|
-45,000 |
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,200/2,400
Ante: 300
When one shorty shoved 40,000, the truly blessed Dan Wagner went all in behind him for heaps. Silvio DeRubeis then woke up with jacks in the blinds and let fly the last of his almost six-figure stack.
Wagner had big slick and even though the shorty had some kind of raggedy jack, the case jack came out on the flop, giving DeRubeis a set.
DeRuebeis looked good to double up and more, but by the end of it all, Wagner made Broadway to bust them both and start his move towards 300,000.
He continued it busting another shorty with nines versus ace-ten a few hands later. The shorty flopped a ten, but Wagner was blessed with a nine on the turn.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Dan Wagner |
280,000
160,000
|
160,000 |
Silvio DeRubeis | Busted |