Tune in, turn on and drop out as as the fourth of six starting flights for the third event on the 2015 Seneca Fall Poker Classic schedule kicks off inside the Niagara Falls Poker Room this evening.
Set at a price-point designed to attract top local rounders, recreational players and even pit players on a freeroll, this $100 buy-in $50,000 guaranteed, multiple starting flight, multiple re-entry event is big and getting bigger, as players fire away all day and night for a shot at big score.
They will get 15,000 chips to start and must play through fourteen 20-minute levels, or until 12 per cent of the starting field remains, to push through to Thursday's second and final day. A total of 40 players are already there from the 213 total entries in first three flights. Day 1a chip leader Anthony Knoll and his 161,400-chip stack is ahead by a nose after Warren Hart bagged 161,000 in the early flight today.
Registration and unlimited re-entry is available through the start of Level 9. With two more starting flights also set for tomorrow at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., players can always get in more than one, even if they bag chips, taking their best stack forward.
The quicker structure, affordable buy-in and the Niagara Falls Poker Room's reputation for laying its guarantees to waste should make for big fields and a ton of action as this event plays out.
PokerNews will of course be on hand for it all, continuing at 6 p.m. local time.
Silvio DeRubeis smooth called a Rick Block open with aces, then did the same again when Cameron Bartolotta three-bet and Block folded.
They both checked a dry flop, but when the turn came a they went back and forth raising until all the chips got in. Bartolotta had two queens and was sent back to Canada chasing a bad beat jack pot when the river bricked.
DeRubeis, a finalist in Event #1 here Sunday, and just about every other big tournament at Seneca over the past 12 months, also added a big pot early when he made two pair on a board against a player with wanting to get it in.
Local cash grinder Chris Gras is coming off a spectacular performance in the first event on the 2015 Seneca Fall Poker Classic schedule that saw him come back from a few chips and a chair late on Day 1, to the big chip lead in the money, before bubbling the final table.
Now he's worked the early levels here to take the chip lead heading into the second break on Day 1d of Event #3.
"That's how you become a live tournament wizard," he said, explaining that today's run has included queens holding over ace-high, getting some value out of pocket fives and a big pot where he flopped a set of aces against bottom two pair on an flop, holding to win some 40,000 chips.
He's now closing in in 60,000 already and firmly ahead of the pack.
Scott Treutlein has vaulted into the overall lead heading deep into the second half of the day with 120,000 chips already.
He three-bet jacks and got one caller who was willing to go all in on an flop with just . That was just fine with Treutlein, as his set held to see him crest 100,000 faster than any player has in any of the three previous flights.
In the meantime, Silvio DeRubeis dusted off his early advantage and ended up bricking all in with versus pocket jacks to go broke.
The fourth of six starting flights for this third event on the 2015 Seneca Fall Poker Classic schedule drew 90 entries at the Niagara Falls Poker Room inside the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino tonight.
From there, just 17 made it through to the final day of the $50,000 Guaranteed $100 No-Limit Hold'em event set for Thursday, joining the 40 players already through from the first three flights.
With 303 entries so far, the event isn't exactly on pace to meet the guarantee, In fact, some big numbers are needed to get there over the last two starting flights Wednesday, as they stand 322 entries short right now.
Top local tourney grinder Pat Tighe grabbed the chip lead tonight when he called a five-bet shove from early leader Scott Treutlein on pocket tens. Tighe had aces, aces held and he continued running like a god through the end of 14 levels, busting what seemed like half the remaining field on the way to bagging 238,300 and taking hold of the overall chip lead heading into Day 2.
Dmitri Novik was the only other player past the six-figure mark, although local heroes including Nick Zinter, Cameron Bartolotta, and Jerry Calvaneso bagged close.
With four flights over and done with now, the fifth and sixth flights will go off tomorrow at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time.
Tune in then as PokerNews will be on hand to capture all the action and sweat the overlay from start to finish.
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they went back and forth raising until all the chips got in. Bartolotta had two queens and was sent back to Canada chasing a bad beat jack pot when the river bricked.
board against a player with 
flop, holding to win some 40,000 chips.
. That was just fine with Treutlein, as his set held to see him crest 100,000 faster than any player has in any of the three previous flights.
after Treutlein five-bet shoved 
.