2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic

$1,000 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
qq
Prize
$64,882
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,000
Prize Pool
$264,810
Entries
300
Level Info
Level
27
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
5,000

Dan Wagner Wins the 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event for $64,882

Level 27 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Dan Wagner
Dan Wagner

West Seneca, New York's Dan Wagner took down the 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event inside the Niagara Falls Poker Room at the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino Monday.

The 29-year-old professional poker player won his way into the event making the final table of a $200 tournament at the Fall Classic Warm-up here in October, and essentially freerolled his way to a $64,882 victory.

Before today, Wagner was a perennial bridesmaid here at Seneca Niagara, and although he is among the areas top earning pros, this was his first big win after final table appearances in the 2016 Western New York Poker Challenge and 2015 Summer Slam Main Events over the past 18 months.

Wagner went wire-to-wire at the final table, steamrolling his way to the win.

Cameron Bartolotta doubled through Veerab Zakarian to start the day before Brian Bowen took ninth, losing a race with tens for all his chips.

Wagner busted Peter Bogulski and Sean Gomez in quick succession before Jay Clark sent his short stack over to Nicholas Potwora, bowing out sixth. Wagner got all those chips winning a race against Potwora's sevens to send him home fifth, then took a massive lead into three-handed play when Bartolotta busted Mark Allott fourth.

Veerab Zakarian became the next victim of Wagner's domination, taking third after getting it in with a dominated ace, and although Bartolotta put up a fine fight, he ran a big ace into Wagner's queens and could not improve, taking second less than a half hour into heads-up play.

In the end, Wagner got the monkey off his back, another big score for the record books and his winner photo will grace the cover of an upcoming issue of CardPlayer magazine.

For PokerNews, this ends our coverage of the 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic. With congratulations to Wagner, a list of other big Fall Classic winners too long to mention here, and the Niagara Falls Poker Room staff, who put on another great show, we say goodbye until the Spring, when the 2017 Western New York Poker Challenge rolls back into town.

Tags: Brian BowenCameron BartolottaDan WagnerJay ClarkMark AllottNicholas PotworaPeter BogulskiSean GomezVeerab Zakarian

Cameron Bartolotta Eliminated in 2nd Place ($40,781)

Level 27 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Cameron Bartolotta
Cameron Bartolotta

Dan Wagner has just won the 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event.

After grinding Cameron Bartolotta down to 1.3 million, Wagner made it 125,000 on the button. Bartolotta shoved in and Wagner made the quick call with the {q-Clubs}{q-Spades}.

Bartolotta needed an ace or a miracle with the {a-Spades}{9-Clubs}, and although he picked up some hope on the {5-Hearts}{3-Clubs}{j-Hearts}{9-Spades} board to the turn, the {10-Spades} river ended it all.

Bartolotta booked second for $40,871, and the title, the trophy, $64,882 and a spot on the cover of CardPlayer magazine now belongs to Wagner.

Tags: Cameron BartolottaDan Wagner

Veerab Zakarian Eliminated in 3rd Place ($29,394)

Level 27 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Veerab Zakarian
Veerab Zakarian

Veerab Zakarian got the last of his chips in preflop with the {a-Hearts}{10-Spades} against the unbeatable Dan Wagner on the dominating {a-Diamonds}{j-Diamonds}.

The {6-Spades}{7-Clubs}{4-Diamonds}{3-Hearts}{2-Spades} board sent Zakarian home third, two years after he finished second in this very same event.

Wagner begins heads-up play with a massive chip lead over Cameron Bartolotta.

Player Chips Progress
Dan Wagner us
Dan Wagner
7,500,000 990,000
Veerab Zakarian ca
Veerab Zakarian
WPT 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Cameron BartolottaDan WagnerVeerab Zakarian

Mark Allott Eliminated in 4th Place ($21,714)

Level 26 : 20,000/40,000, 4,000 ante
Mark Allott
Mark Allott

Mark Allott has had a pretty good 2016. Earlier this year he won one of those 50/50 charity lotteries for almost half a million dollars.

Today he capped a nice run in the 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic finishing fourth moments ago.

He jammed the {k-Diamonds}{q-Clubs} for 600,000 and change and Cameron Bartolotta looked him up with the {a-Clubs}{10-Hearts}. Allott went down on an {a-Spades}{8-Hearts}{4-Hearts}{9-Clubs}{2-Clubs} run out adding $21,714 to the pile.

The three-handed chip counts have been updated.

Player Chips Progress
Dan Wagner us
Dan Wagner
6,510,000 1,410,000
Cameron Bartolotta
Cameron Bartolotta
1,310,000 410,000
Veerab Zakarian ca
Veerab Zakarian
WPT 1X Winner
1,055,000 255,000
Mark Allott
Mark Allott
Busted

Tags: Cameron BartolottaMark Allott

Nicholas Potwora Eliminated in 5th Place ($16,153)

Level 26 : 20,000/40,000, 4,000 ante
Nicholas Potwora
Nicholas Potwora

If Dan Wagner wasn't running away with this thing before, he is now.

After Wagner opened, Nicholas Potwora shipped it in for 650,000 and Wagner made the call with the {a-Hearts}{k-Clubs}.

Potwora has the {7-Clubs}{7-Diamonds} and fell behind in the race for his tournament life on the {k-Diamonds}{6-Hearts}{4-Hearts} flop. The {4-Diamonds} turn and {a-Diamonds} river only really improved Wagner, and he scored another knockout, sending Potwora home fifth.

Four handed now, Wagner's got a little more than half the chips in play and seems to be cruising to inevitable victory.

Player Chips Progress
Dan Wagner us
Dan Wagner
5,100,000 660,000
Nicholas Potwora
Nicholas Potwora
Busted

Tags: Dan WagnerNicholas Potwora

Sean Gomez Eliminated in 7th Place ($9,533)

Level 26 : 20,000/40,000, 4,000 ante
Sean Gomez
Sean Gomez

Dan Wagner's domination continues here at the final table as he's now pushed over four million, taking out Sean Gomez in seventh along the way.

Wagner shoved the small blind with the {q-Clubs}{j-Clubs} and Gomez called off his last 540,000 with the {a-Spades}{k-Diamonds}. Wagner said he didn't feel good about it, but was all over the {5-Clubs}{j-Diamonds}{2-Diamonds}{q-Diamonds}{3-Hearts} board to rail Gomez seventh.

Player Chips Progress
Dan Wagner us
Dan Wagner
4,440,000 540,000
Sean Gomez us
Sean Gomez
Busted

Tags: Dan WagnerSean Gomez

Peter Bogulski Eliminated in 8th Place ($7,415)

Level 26 : 20,000/40,000, 4,000 ante
Peter Bogulski
Peter Bogulski

Peter Bogulski gave quite the speech about small armies and making the Seneca Nation great again before pushing all in for 300,000.

Dan Wagner called with the {a-Diamonds}{5-Clubs} in the big blind.

Bogulski had the {q-Diamonds}{q-Hearts} monster, but little chance against the hot running Wagner after the {a-Clubs}{2-Hearts}{2-Spades} flop. No queen on the {6-Hearts} turn or {3-Diamonds} river sent Bogulski and the army back to his suite upstairs at the Seneca Niagara Resort Hotel & Casino having finished eighth.

Player Chips Progress
Dan Wagner us
Dan Wagner
3,900,000 300,000
Peter Bogulski us
Peter Bogulski
Busted

Tags: Dan WagnerPeter Bogulski

Brian Bowen Eliminated in 9th Place ($5,958)

Level 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante
Brian Bowen
Brian Bowen

Card dead from the outset of the final table, Brian Bowen finally picked a hand and went with it, open-shoving for almost 300,000.

Mark Allott was the only caller and turned over the {a-Hearts}{k-Clubs} immediately. Bowen was in a classic race for his tournament life with the {10-Spades}{10-Diamonds}, but fell behind on the {k-Spades}{j-Spades}{2-Hearts} flop.

The {a-Clubs} turn had Bowen calling for the queen, but the {3-Spades} river bore no resemblance and he hit the rail ninth.

Player Chips Progress
Mark Allott
Mark Allott
1,500,000 400,000
Brian Bowen us
Brian Bowen
Busted

Tags: Brian BowenMark Allott

The 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event Final Table Starts Now!

Dan Wagner
Dan Wagner

The 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event final table will kick off at 12 p.m. today inside the Niagara Falls Poker Room at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Resort, and the poker community in Western New York is buzzing.

Nine players remain in the hunt for a $64,882 first-place prize, Seneca Niagara poker glory and a spot on the cover of CardPlayer Magazine, but one has a huge lead and a chance to get an ever-growing monkey off his back.

Dan Wagner currently sits 17th on Hendon Mob's Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel All Time Money List with $49,884 in tournament cashes. However, big scores in Las Vegas and across the bridge in Niagara Falls, Canada have his career tournament earnings up to $273,078, making him one of Western New York's top grinders.

The only thing missing from Wagner's trophy case are the trophies. He's made multiple Main Event final tables at Seneca Niagara, and his biggest score came from a runner-up finish in the $1,100 buy-in 2015 Fallsview Poker Classic in Canada, but he has yet to win a tournament.

Today will mark his best chance yet. Wagner comes in with 2.7 million in chips and a massive lead. He's got roughly 30 percent of the chips in play and none of the other eight players still in are within one million chips of him. It would seem it's his tournament to win, or lose, but it is poker, and anything can happen.

Mark Allott comes into the final nine as the closest player to Wagner, after a huge three-way all-in hand saw him knock out Joseph [Removed:340] on the final table bubble, and double through one-time leader Veerab Zakarian, cracking his aces after calling off 400,000 in chips and flopping a set of sixes.

Zakarian is still in as well, and although much shorter than he could have been, he still retains a shot at redemption after finishing second to Rick Block in this very event in 2014.

Three other players in the final nine will be looking to complete their rags to riches story with an even deeper run here today. Jay Clark got short before the bubble, but turned things around to book a seat at the final table with more than one million chips. Cameron Bartollota survived some bad luck early on Day 2 and a short stack to push through, and the colorful Peter Bogulski rose from the ashes of the bubble to earn his spot in the final.

The rest of the final table includes poker hobbyist Brian Bowen, Maryland's Sean Gomez, and Nicholas Potwora, who stayed among the leaders throughout the day Sunday making a few head-turning reads.

Play will resume at 12 p.m. Monday with the levels increasing to 60-minutes in length. The top six finishers will all earn five-figure prizes.

PokerNews will have live coverage from the start of the final table until a 2016 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Champion is crowned, so stay tuned to catch all the action.

Here's how the final table looks:

SeatPlayerCount
1Nicholas Potwora812,000
2Mark Allott1,440,000
3Veerab Zakarian694,000
4Cameron Bartolotta470,000
5Dan Wagner2,710,000
6Sean Gomez645,000
7Brian Bowen745,000
8Peter Bogulski356,000
9Jay Clark1,105,000

Tags: Brian BowenCameron BartolottaDan WagnerJay ClarkMark AllottNicholas PotworaPeter BogulskiSean GomezVeerab Zarkanian