2024 Maryland State Poker Championship
Maryland LIVE! Highlights
Day: all
Filter
(1)
Three down, one to go. The fight is on for the final ambassador bounty in the 6-Max Championship as Maria Konnikova looks to fend off those who are after the golden slip sitting next to her chips.
Arlie Shaban was the first to go before Jen Shahade lost a flip with queen-jack to a set of sevens to surrender her Gold Pass. Action slowed down from there before David Kaye fell to Christian Harder.
“Do I get a prize for being the last person?” she joked.
Konnikova found herself at risk moments ago before cracking queens by making aces full of fives.
Some light-hearted banter was overheard in the 6-Max Championships as two players discussed tomorrow's Pot-Limit Omaha event.
"So what do you say, is this PLO bird tomorrow gonna be big?" one player asked.
“I hope so," said the other.
“I’m going to drop the kids off at the mall or something," the first player joked.
“Why don’t you just leave them in the car like you usually do?” chimed another.
The first player wasn't finished with the bit: “If you throw the valet guy an extra $40, it’s fine."
With Maria Konnikova still hanging around in the 6-Max Championship, a decision was made for the three bounty winners to choose and open their mystery bounty briefcases.
Christian Rose and Gilson De Oliviera had the first choice of briefcases before longtime pro Christian Harder had to choose between Briefcases #1 and #4. He chose #1.
It was the right choice as it soon after popped open to reveal a Gold Pass package to NAPT Las Vegas valued at $10,000.
Many cheered for Harder, though there were a few light-hearted boos.
"Of course Charter won the $10k!" someone said.
Harder has had plenty of luck in this poker room. Ten years ago, he took down the Maryland Live! Summer Series of Poker Main Event for $84,270.
With the completion of the $600 Kickoff event that saw Nick Kocman steamrolling a final table and splashing his chips around in his winner's photo, PokerNews coverage of the PokerStars 2024 Maryland State Poker Championship will take a pause.
It's been an exciting week at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland with a half-dozen winners crowned, four PokerStars ambassadors KO'd and two Gold Passes claimed.
Congratulations to briefcase specialist Christian Harder and last online qualifier standing Daniel Bellis for winning the $10,000 packages to NAPT Las Vegas in November.
Here are a few highlights from this week's coverage:
- Christian Harder Chooses Right Briefcase
- Online Qualifier Was a Chip Boy in Arizona Backroom Games
- Lara Eisenberg Runs Deep
- Kings Versus Kings, But No Chop
- Mohawks and Viking Metal
PokerNews will be back on-site for the upcoming $500,000 Main Event to provide live updates and more, so stay tuned for that coverage.
Maryland State Poker Championship Winners so Far
| EVENT | ENTRANTS | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HORSE | TBD | $26,286 | Eric Lucas | Havre De Grace, Maryland | $ 8,972 |
| Kickoff | 892 | $456,704 | Nick Kocman | York, PA | $ 77,869 |
| Limit Omaha 8 | 40 | $20,000 | William Fidel | Odenton, MD | $ 7,800 |
| Pot Limit Omaha 8 | 55 | $20,000 | Donovan Bates | Woodbridge, VA | $ 7,400 |
| 5-Card PLO Black Chip Bounty | 53 | $20,000 | Timothy Faro | Glen Burnie, MD | $ 3,884 |
| Ladies NLH | 52 | $12,584 | Jenny Chang | Ellicott City, MD | $ 4,657 |
| 6-Max | 215 | $71,810 | Marshall Tarzy | Ijamsvile, MD | $ 11,823 |
The 2024 Maryland State Poker Championship got underway on July 31st with the $600 Kickoff Event. Nick Kocman of Pennsylvania ended up coming out on top of a 892 entry field to claim $77,869. Another big winner from that event was 9th place finisher Daniel Bellis who, as the last qualifier standing, took home a coveted North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Gold Pass worth $10,000 in addition to the $7,787 payout.
As a reminder, the NAPT Gold Pass awards an entry into the $5,300 NAPT Main Event at Resorts World in Las Vegas as well as $2,900 for hotel accommodation and $1,800 to cover other expenses.
Since the Kickoff Event, the Maryland State Poker Championship has crowned 14 winners in side events. Full results can be found below.
Maryland State Poker Championship Winners so Far
| EVENT | ENTRANTS | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HORSE | TBD | $26,286 | Eric Lucas | Havre De Grace, MD | $ 8,972 |
| Kickoff | 892 | $456,704 | Nick Kocman | York, PA | $ 77,869 |
| Limit Omaha 8 | 40 | $20,000 | William Fidel | Odenton, MD | $ 7,800 |
| Pot Limit Omaha 8 | 55 | $20,000 | Donovan Bates | Woodbridge, VA | $ 7,400 |
| 5-Card PLO Black Chip Bounty | 53 | $20,000 | Timothy Faro | Glen Burnie, MD | $ 3,884 |
| Ladies NLH | 52 | $12,584 | Jenny Chang | Ellicott City, MD | $ 4,657 |
| 6-Max | 215 | $71,810 | Marshall Tarzy | Ijamsvile, MD | $ 11,823 |
| Seniors | 159 | $53,106 | Joseph Malebranche | Baltimore, MD | $ 10,034 |
| PLO | 42 | $20,000 | Tim Faro | Glen Burnie, MD | $ 6,942 |
| NLH Multi Flight | 243 | $80,676 | Justin Arnwine | Upper Marlboro, MD | $ 17,956 |
| Big O | 67 | $22,378 | Matthew Riebel | Savage, MD | $ 7,832 |
| Super Seniors | 65 | $21,710 | Steven Halperin | Ellicott City, MD | $ 5,283 |
| Heads Up NLH | 14 | $14,000 | Maxwell Schrack | Glen Burnie, MD | $ 7,000 |
| PLO Purple Chip Bounty | 36 | $54,288 | Anthony Luong | Sterling, VA | $ 14,878 |
Today's schedule sees the start of the much anticipated $2,200 Main Event. Flight A is already underway with the second final Day 1 taking place tomorrow before the field combines for Day 2 on Sunday, August 11th. At the time of writing, 54 players have registered and full updates of play can be found courtesy of the PokerNews live reporting team here.
Last year saw Isiah Ditoto take down a $5,300 version of the Main Event for a career best $221,853 after striking a heads-up deal with James Anderson. That tournament garnered 172 entries, thus failing to surpass the $1,000,000 guarantee. Those numbers are likely the reason the buy in for 2024 has been slashed by more than 50% and the guarantee cut down to just $500,000. Still, with the lower buy in, expect to see a larger field this year as the best of the best from the Maryland poker scene seek to etch their names in the state's poker history books.
While the Main Event is the marquee tournament, there are still plenty of other events set to take place over the next few days. Details of the remaining schedule can be found below.
Maryland State Poker Championship Schedule
| event | Date | Time | Buy-in | Gtd! | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Event | 09-Aug | 11:15 AM | $2,200 | $500,000 | The Main Event Flight A |
| Main Event | 10-Aug | 11:15 AM | $2,200 | $500,000 | The Main Event Flight B |
| 16 | 10-Aug | 6:15 PM | $400 | $20,000 | Black Chip Bounty Turbo |
| Main Event | 11-Aug | 12:15 PM | Main Event Day 2 | ||
| 17 | 11-Aug | 2:15 PM | $1,100 | $50,000 | Live! Stacks Championship |
| 18 | 12-Aug | 11:15 AM | $400/team | Tag Team Championship | |
| Main Event | 12-Aug | 2:15 PM | Main Event Day 3 (If Necessary) |
Be sure to stay tuned as PokerNews continues to provide periodic highlight updates from the Maryland State Poker Championship in addition to the traditional live reporting of the Main Event.
Day 1a in the Main Event is now well underway with 69 recorded entries. Timothy Faro is one of the hopefuls to have hopped into the fray as he seeks to cap off a successful series with another win. Faro has already taken down two tournaments at this year's Maryland State Poker Championship. First, he topped a 53 strong field in Event #5: PLO Black Chip Bounty for $3,884 before following that up with another title in Event #9: PLO, this time beating out 42 other competitors to scoop $6,942.
Faro is a staple on the east coast tournament circuit and has managed to amass $588,703 in live earnings. His biggest single cash, however, occurred in Las Vegas in the 2023 WSOP Main Event, where he finished 110th for $67,000. While Faro has cashes dating back to 2011, most of his volume has taken place from 2019 onwards. In that time frame, he managed to secure a WSOP gold bracelet and $50,864 after winning a 2022 WSOP online event. More recently, Faro final tabled the main event at the WSOP circuit stop in Choctow this past July, where he finished in 8th place for $25,754.
Brandon Mueller is another player in the mix, though at last count he was one of the shorter stacks in the room. Still, with $470,515 in live earnings to his name, Mueller is not someone to be counted out at any stage. Another American grinder hailing from Pennsylvania, Mueller's best cash for $79,005 came courtesy of winning the $5,000 The Grand High Roller in June 2022. Emerging victorious in that event could not have been easy seeing as Mueller had to get past the likes of Leonard Maue, Nikita Kuznetsov, Andrew Lichtenberger and Leon Sturm at a truly stacked final table.
Other career highlights include a victory in a $550 event at the Borgata Winter Poker Open in January 2024 for $29,451 as well as five WSOP circuit ring triumphs.
As the field grows, PokerNews will continue to put a spotlight on selected players, providing some small insight into the vibrant east coast poker scene.
In the 851st episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by PokerStars, Chad Holloway and Kyna England are joined by "Loose Cannon" Lily Newhouse at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas to talk about GGPoker purchasing the World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand for $500 million. What will it mean for the future of poker? It's too early to tell, but that doesn't stop the crew from offering their thoughts.
From there, Newhouse talked about her experience as the Loose Cannon on the PokerStars Big Game, which included playing a big pot early against Sam Grafton and battling against Dave Krosky, who proved to be a different sort of loose cannon! Oh, and did we mention the PokerStars Big Game is confirmed to return this Fall during the NAPT for a second season? Well, it is and you can get all the details here.
Kyna then talks about attending the grand opening of the brand-new Venetian Poker Room, now the largest room on the Strip, and you get to hear from other attendees including Joey Ingram, Maria Konnikova, and 2017 WSOP Main Event champ Scott Blumstein. Plus, rapper Nelly was in the house to play the room's first hand, but you'll have to watch to see how he did.
Additionally, hear about poker reporter Terrance "TJ" Reid winning the Destination: RunGood $2,500 Million Dollar Main Event for $192,755, Nick Kocman capturing a career-best score at Maryland State Poker Championship, and Daniel Bellis winning a NAPT Gold Pass in last longer contest. Speaking of which, you'll have a chance to qualify for NAPT Las Vegas at the upcoming Pennsylvania State Poker Championship.
Finally, learn about one Texas poker room's quest to appeal to the female demographic with a women-first concept, hear about Chad's experience competing on Survivor Angelica: Medieval Mayhem, and get a sneak peek at the new Life Outside Poker featuring Brazilian Vlogger Romulo "Poker Profit" Dorea.
Earlier today the poker world learned of the passing of mixed game enthusiast Mark Dickstein. A native of New York, Dickstein was a staple on the east coast poker scene with $775,000 in career tournament earnings that include a cash in an event here at Maryland Live! casino back in January.
Click here to read more about his life and how he is remembered by members of the poker community.
