partypoker US Network Series (Jan. 17-24)

Are you a New Jersey resident interested in playing online poker? Planning a visit to the Garden State and want to check it out? If so, PokerNews has a great deal for you with Nj.partypoker.com.

Take advantage of a simple new player bonus that rewards you with extra cash as you continue to play poker and casino. They have the easiest bonus to clear in New Jersey, so you essentially end up getting half of all your fees back in cash!

Simply make a deposit, and we’ll match it, up to $1,000!

So, if you deposit $1,000, we’ll give you an extra $1,000, which will be paid into your account in 10 equal parts as you play and collect points. That’s real money you can use to:

• try out a new cash or fast-forward cash table
• experience their Sunday $40K Guaranteed and $10K Daily Guaranteed
• try their casino games and test your luck on their seven-figure jackpot slots

It's easy to get started:

• Sign Up — Register an account with Nj.partypoker.com and enter all your info, like name, date of birth and SSN,
• Download — Get the app on iOS or Android to start playing
• Deposit — Make your first deposit and we'll match it up to $1,000

Click here to sign up for Nj.partypoker.com!

In Level 10 with blinds of 700/1,400 and an ante of 175, there was 12,400 in the middle on a board of [7d7 sas6h] with three-way action between "HodorHodorHodor" in the big blind, "kgkg510" who was under the gun, and Daniel "leinad" Buzgon in the cutoff.

"HodorHodorHodor" checked to "kgkg510", who bet 9,300 and received a call from Buzgon. Action was then back on "HodorHodorHodor" and they check-shoved for 34,800. "kgkg510" went into the tank, running out of time and failing to use their time bank to result in a mucked hand, and then Buzgon thought for another 15 seconds himself before electing to fold and earn "HodorHodorHodor" the pot without seeing a river.

Player	Chips	Progress
kgkg510	167,463 37,802	37,802
HodorHodorHodor	83,852 83,852	83,852
Daniel "leinad" Buzgon	54,275 -57,627	-57,627

In Level 12 with blinds of 900/1,800 and an ante of 225, preflop action saw 16,200 in the middle with three-way action between "maori3666" in the small blind, "Brittanywins99" in early position, and "gsripps" in the hijack.

"maori3666" led out for 5,400 on the flop and "Brittanywins99" raised to 18,900. "gsripps" three-bet jammed for 47,000 and "maori3666" immediately folded to send action back to "Brittanywins99", who called just as quickly.

"gsripps":
"Brittanywins99":

"gsripps" had gotten their stack in with top two pair but had plenty of outs to fade against "Brittanywins99"'s royal flush draw. Such a task proved to be no problem as the turn and river completed the runout and the pot of 117,000 was shipped their way.

Player	Chips	Progress
gsripps	117,288 117,288	117,288
maori3666	46,213 -7,687	-7,687
Brittanywins99	37,037 -34,476	-34,476

If you’ve ever played poker either at Borgata or online in New Jersey, there’s a good chance you’ve crossed paths with Don Himpele, who has more than $630K in online lifetime tournament earnings and $89K in live scores on HendonMob.

Himpele, a father of five who has been married for 24 years, graduated from Gettysburg College with a degree in Business and Economics, and for the last 25 years he has worked as a trader on the New York Stock Exchange as a Managing Director for Goldman Sachs and IMC Trading. So how did the professional family man find poker?

“I began playing as a teenager,” he told PokerNews. “My mother was an early influence and taught me many ‘gameplay skills.’ I have combined that and my skills as a trader to make strong decisions on the felt.”

He continued: “I consider myself a recreational player, as family and work obligations don't allow for a robust live game tournament schedule. I do play the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main yearly, and many Parx Big Stax tournaments. I am a regular online tournament player who targets buy-ins usually ranging from $200-$2,000. I play in local cash games – usually $5/$10.”

While he only plays when his schedule allows, it’s worth noting Himpele has been playing for a long time. In fact, one of his favorite poker memories stems all the way back to the 2004 WSOP Main Event.

“My most notable experience was my first WSOP Main Event in 2004 and sitting at ESPN feature TV table with top pros,” he recalled. “Also, I cashed in the 2010 WSOP Main Event after being sponsored by Absolute Poker.”

While his Absolute Poker days are behind him, Himpele does spend a fair amount of time competing on the partypoker US Network, which is comprised of partypoker US, Borgata Poker and BetMGM Poker.

“partypoker US brings a strong level of competition and I particularly like when they run a series as it brings a variety of games and a strong turnout with a commensurate prize pool,” said Himpele. “I have a lot of respect for New Jersey's top pros such as Mike Lavenburg, Mike Gagliano, Katie Stone and David Coleman. I enjoy the challenge of battling against them as a test of skill.”

Player	Chips	Progress
Don "dhimp20" Himpele	90,066 13,330	13,330

In Level 13 with blinds of 1,000/2,000 and an ante of 250, "RiverMan" opened to 4,000 on the button and Jaime "mooseman1710" Reyes three-bet shoved for 22,300 in the small blind. "RiverMan" called upon it becoming their turn to do so.

Jaime "mooseman1710" Reyes:
"RiverMan":

Reyes found no help as the runout came , unnecessarily improving "RiverMan" to a full house and earning them the pot and knockout.

Player	Chips	Progress
RiverMan	612,584 542,709	542,709
Jaime "mooseman1710" Reyes	Busted

Play has moved into Level 14 with blinds of 1,200/2,400 and an ante of 300. Over 100 entries have now been logged, with 52 players remaining out of 103 total recorded buy-ins. Chris "rumpthumper" White is now atop the counts, and the top page of the leader board has been updated below.

Registration will remain open through the end of Level 18.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chris "rumpthumper" White	169,097
Ryan "TheSims" Hohner	164,575 66,088	66,088
Dan "mj23style" Sewnig	160,853
gsripps	152,413 35,125	35,125
Kevin "sofcknsick" Campbell	152,320 112,320	112,320
Matthew "gailums" Gailums	143,327 34,819	34,819
kfbackflip	142,037
TheTerminator1	121,670
kgkg510	117,016 -50,447	-50,447
yolegacy	111,296 57,581	57,581
BlckJck	109,465
Eric "alwaysliquid" Vanauken	109,224
Yong "IReadYrSoul" Kwon	101,544 36,891	36,891
juansolo10	99,846
Orson "borgatcha" Young	92,836
Alex "JinYang" Butcher	90,150 50,150	50,150
Don "dhimp20" Himpele	89,516 -550	-550
Jermz	82,670 18,420	18,420
James "Bagels" Lillis	82,135
Daniel "centrfieldr23" Lupo	81,658 -4,263	-4,263

In Level 15 with blinds of 1,400/2,800 and an ante of 350, Chris "rumpthumper" White opened the action with a raise to 7,800 in middle position and was three-bet to 25,200 by James "Bagels" Lillis in the cutoff. Action folded back to White and he four-bet jammed for 88,000 effective, with Lillis making the call to put himself in a coin-flip situation for his tournament life.

James "Bagels" Lillis:
Chris "rumpthumper" White:

A nine-high runout of left Lillis high and dry, and he was eliminated from the tournament at the expense of White who has increased his chip lead in the process and now finds himself with a stack of 300,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chris "rumpthumper" White	300,097 131,000	131,000
James "Bagels" Lillis	Busted

BorgataPoker.com has a trio of Sponsored Pros, and one of them is Katie Stone.

Stone has more than $176K in lifetime live tournament earnings including a career-bet $33,305 for finishing 378th in the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event. In addition, Stone has three Borgata Open titles including the 2018 Borgata Fall Poker Open $300 Deepest Stack for $19,337, 2017 Borgata Summer Poker Open $300 Ladies Event for $2,867, and 2017 Borgata Fall Poker Open $300 Deepstack for $9,484. She also recently won the CSOP Borgata Winter Poker Open Event back in January.

However, where Stone has really thrived is online where she’s amassed more than $900K in lifetime earnings. Of that, $146,954 has come on BorgataPoker.com where she plays under the screen name “KatieStone.”

According to a Q&A she did with the Borgata Blog, Stone was born and raised in New Jersey, but after Black Friday in 2011, she relocated to Rosarito, Mexico in order to continue playing online. When New Jersey authorized Atlantic City casinos to offer online gaming within state borders, Stone moved back north to New Jersey and picked up where she left off — winning!

Recently, Stone took the initiative to create the Discord channel “Poker Peeps Affected By COVID19” and invited those in casino industry affected by recent shutdowns to join.

“I realized how tough it was going to be for everyone to keep up with everything and everyone, with so much changing so fast,” Stone recently told PokerNews. “So, I messaged my friend Cy Watson, who has been very active on social media as well regarding Coronavirus, asking him if he thought it would be a good idea to start a chat for people in the industry to be able to connect with each other for help.”

She continued: “I think the main thing poker players and everyone can do is to keep an open mind. Understanding that this is unlike any situation any of us have encountered before, and so thinking outside the box can go a long way. Taking the time to improve a skill, or learn a new skill whether it's a game or something else could be really beneficial not just financially, but mentally.”

Click here to learn more about Stone’s initiative.

Player	Chips	Progress
Katie "KatieStone" Stone	64,647 -41,074	-41,074