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
[Removed:317] made it 3,600 in late position and Frank Monaco, who had been moved to the table a hand earlier, raised to 20,000 from the small blind.
[Removed:318] fired back with a four-bet to 50,000 and Monaco five-bet shoved for 187,000. Monaco promised to show his cards as [Removed:318] tanked it out. Eventually, he turned over the when [Removed:318] called.
It was the biggest pot of the day so far and it was a massive cooler for [Removed:318], who had the . No surprises came on the board and while [Removed:318] was left with crumbs, Monaco is truly the runaway chip leader.
Alex Visbisky has crossed the 200,000-chip mark now and is in contention for the lead.
After about five bets he and Adam Foster got it all in preflop for close to 200,000 with Visbisky on two aces and Foster holding big slick.
The flop brought the case ace and a king, but Foster bricked a shot at running quads on the turn and river to bust out and send Visbisky's stack soaring.
Frank Monaco raised it up preflop from early position and Buck Ramsay defended his big blind.
The flop came and Ramsay check-called a 4,000-chip Monaco bet. The turn came the , and after another Ramsay check, Monaco jammed in a little more than the 64,000 in Ramsay's stack.
Ramsay tank-called it off with the and his straight was good over Monaco's set. That is until the miracle river came down and filled Monaco up.
Shock and awe filled the other faces at the table and as Ramsay hit the rail, Monaco stacked up what amounts to a massive early chip lead.
Along with his stack, Ramsay left behind a small pin with a picture of the American flag on it. He is Canadian.
[user127999]
The 2015 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event Final Table
The leaves are changing colors. Temperatures are dropping. It's Fall in Western New York and that means attentions turn to the Niagara Falls Poker Room and the start of the $1,000 buy-in 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event.
Play will begin at 11 a.m. on Friday with the first of two starting flights for the $200,000 guaranteed event. However, things are a little different this time around. CardPlayer magazine has come on as a title sponsor of the event, meaning there's more than just big money and Seneca Niagara poker glory on the line. This year's Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event winner will actually grace the cover of CardPlayer, a magazine that's become an institution in the poker industry.
The event will kick off on the hotel balcony, allowing anyone 18 and up to enter. Players will start with 30,000 in chips and plans to play through 15 40-minute levels on Day 1. The levels increase in length as the tournament moves forward.
Registration and unlimited reentry is available through the first ten levels and the 45-minute dinner break that will take place after ten levels are through. Plus, there's another starting flight Saturday.
This event always attracts some of the area's top poker talent and last year a machine operator from Frewsburg, NY named Kurtis Boutelle began a run that would ultimately include multiple local titles by booking a $62,933 win here, defeating a field of 291 entries.
They smashed the guarantee last time around, creating a $256,866 prize pool, and with multiple satellite winners already lined up, at least the same kind of numbers are expected this year.
PokerNews will be on hand for every flop, turn and river from beginning to end, so get your popcorn ready, our coverage of the 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event starts now.
![[user127999]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
when [Removed:318] called.
. No surprises came on the 
board and while [Removed:318] was left with crumbs, Monaco is truly the runaway chip leader.
and Ramsay check-called a 4,000-chip Monaco bet. The turn came the 
, and after another Ramsay check, Monaco jammed in a little more than the 64,000 in Ramsay's stack.
and his straight was good over Monaco's 
set. That is until the miracle 
river came down and filled Monaco up.
