Level: 12
Blinds: 800/1,600
Ante: 200
2013 Seneca Niagara Fall Poker Classic
$1,500 Main Event
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2013 Seneca Niagara Fall Poker Classic
Buy-in
$1,350
Prize Pool
$194,110
Entries
149
Level
26
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
5,000
$1,500 Main Event
Day 1 Completed
Andy Spears Leads After Day 1 of 2013 Seneca Niagara Fall Poker Classic Main Event
![[user153906]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 11
: 600/1,200, 200 ante
The 2013 Seneca Niagara Fall Poker Classic $1,500 Main Event kicked off Saturday morning at the Seneca Niagara Hotel & Casino, just a short walk away from the world famous Niagara Falls. The no-limit hold'em tournament began with 30,000 in chips with one-hour levels, and unlimited re-entries will be permitted until the start of Day 2.
Day 1 attracted a total of 140 entries, and after 11 levels only 46 remained. Leading the way was Andy Spears, who bagged up 293,000. Also among the leaders were Alex Barker, Mike O'Hallahan and Greg Nasso, all of whom finished with more than 200,000.
Spears was the leader right out of the gate on Day 1. Spears, who won the Summer Slam Series Main Event in Niagara Falls this year for $23,700, picked up pocket aces against Dale Decklyer's pocket kings in Level 2. All of the chips went in on the turn, and Spears' aces held up through the river to double his stack.
Several new leaders emerged throughout the day, but Spears quietly amassed a massive stack and will be a force to be reckoned with on Day 2.
In second place behind Spears is Alex Baker, who finished second in this event last year. Baker scooped a nice pot in the last level against one-time chip leader Tom Guindon when the two saw a 
flop. Guindon led out for 4,000, Baker pushed out a pile of T5,000 chips, effectively putting Guindon all in, and Guindon called.
Guindon showed 
for top pair, but he was outkicked by Baker's 
. The meaningless 
and 
completed the board, and Guindon was sent to the rail.
Pete Kaemmerlen also got off to a quick start and then won a huge pot against Charlie Wiggins. Kaemmerlen raised to 2,600 from the cutoff and Wiggins three-bet to 6,500 from the small blind. Kaemmerlen called, bringing a flop of 
. Wiggins open-shoved all in and Kaemmerlen snap called, flipping over 
for top set. Wiggins stood up from his seat, let out a sigh, and slapped 
on the felt. The board completed with the 
and the 
, sending Wiggins to the rail and moving Kaemmerlen above the 200,000-chip mark. He lost a large chunk of that late in the night but still enters Day 2 with a Top 10 stack.
Other notables who advanced to Day 2 were Jeremy Joseph, Mark Roberts, Erik Lemarquand, Steven Przybyl, Travell Thomas, and WSOP bracelet winner Greg Ostrander.
Obviously, though, not everyone was able to survive. Among those who hit the rail and didn't re-enter were D.J. MacKinnon, Art Demmerley, Alex Rivera, Tom Guindon, and Chris Myers, who took a nasty beat toward the end of the day when his pocket aces were cracked by Dennis Durante's pocket kings. Myers and the others will have a chance to re-enter tomorrow morning.
Day 2 will begin noon ET on Sunday. Registration will remain open until play restarts, so we'll have the official entrants and payout numbers available shortly after the cards are in the air.
See you tomorrow!
Day 1 Top 10 Stacks
Day 1 Top 10 Stacks
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Spears | 293,000 |
| 2 | Alex Barker | 265,200 |
| 3 | Mike O'Halloran | 236,200 |
| 4 | Greg Nasso | 206,100 |
| 5 | Michele Iacovone | 190,900 |
| 6 | Mark Roberts | 168,200 |
| 7 | Johannes Mueller | 162,500 |
| 8 | Jeremy Joseph | 151,000 |
| 9 | Ryan Hall | 150,500 |
| 10 | Dennis Durante | 146,500 |
End-of-Day Chip Counts
Level 11
: 600/1,200, 200 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
293,800 | 8,800 |
|
265,200 | 29,200 |
|
236,200 | |
|
|
206,100 | |
|
168,200 | 33,200 |
|
162,500 | |
|
146,500 | 1,500 |
|
120,700 | -24,300 |
|
112,800 | |
|
|
111,500 | |
|
106,000 | |
|
66,000 | 6,000 |
|
37,000 | 12,000 |
|
Busted |
Play Concludes
Level 11
: 600/1,200, 200 ante
A full eleven levels are in the books! Approximately 46 players are bagging up for the night. We'll have a full recap of the days action posted shortly.
Durante Hits One-Outer Against Myers
Level 11
: 600/1,200, 200 ante
A massive three-way all-in just occurred at Table 4, and it ended badly for Chris Myers.
Myers, who was on his second bullet of the day, raised to 3,000 preflop and Dennis Durante three-bet to 12,000. The player in the big blind four-bet all in, and Myers re-shoved over the top. Durante called, creating a pot worth 145,000.
Big Blind: 
Myers: 
Durante:
Myers was in excellent shape to pull the double-knockout, but the flop brought the , giving Durante top set. The turn and river were unable to help Myers and he was left with 6,000. He was eliminated on the next hand when his couldn't outun 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
145,000 | 145,000 |
|
Busted |
Kaemmerlen Pushed Out
Level 11
: 600/1,200, 200 ante
A middle positioned player raised to 3,100 and action trickled around to Pete Kaemmerlen who three-bet to 8,500 from the button. The blinds folded and the original raiser called.
The flop came 
and action checked to Kaemmerlen. He continued out for 10,500 and his opponent came over the top with a raise to 22,500. A grin appeared on Kaemmerlen's face and he let out a chuckle as he kicked his cards into the muck. This hit brings his stack to around 145,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
145,000 | -60,000 |
Baker Eliminates Guindon
Level 11
: 600/1,200, 200 ante
Alex Baker finished second in this event last year, and he's well on his way to one-up that performance in 2013. Baker and one-time chip leader Tom Guindon saw a flop and Guindon led out for 4,000. Baker pushed out a pile of T5,000 chips, effectively putting Guindon all in, and the man they call "Plummer" called.
Guindon showed for top pair, but he was outkicked by Baker's . The meaningless and completed the board, and Guindon was sent to the rail. Baker, meanwhile, jumped into second place behind Andy Spears.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
236,000 | 236,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Level: 11
Blinds: 600/1,200
Ante: 200
Roberts Doubles Through Lemarquand
Level 10
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
On the last hand before the break, Mark Roberts, Erik Lemarquand and Randy Pfeifer were squaring off with the board showing 
. Roberts bet 11,700, and Lemarquand raised to 30,000. Pfiefer folded and Roberts called, leaving 25,000 behind. The river was the . Roberts checked, Lemarquad announced all in and Roberts snapped it off.
Lemarquand: 
Roberts: 
Roberts made his flush on the river and picked off the bluff. He is up to 135,000, while Lemarquand slipped to 91,800.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
135,000 | 70,000 |
|
|
91,800 | -55,800 |