The first of two starting flights for the 2016 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam $600 Main Event was a wild one inside the Niagara Falls Poker Room on Friday.
The flight itself drew 184 entries, putting the event well on the way to smashing its $100,000 Guarantee with Saturday's second starting flight still to come.
By the time 15 levels were through, just 34 survived a roller coaster day.
Mike "The Mayor" Rellinger grabbed the early chip lead and then dusted that off in no time. He fired a second bullet and rose from the ashes again to bag a healthy stack.
The chip lead changed hands more times than it's worth counting, until suddenly, in a wild flurry at the end of the day, Joseph Elia (420,500) grabbed the overnight lead, getting in a 420,000-chip pot with queens versus aces and flopping quads to crack them.
Satellite qualifier Julie Billiteri also had a crazy end to the festivities, starting the 14th level with around 20,000 and running it all the way up to almost 400,000 over the next hour.
Sammy Iraci, Linda Hackney, David Paluch, and local hero Jason Nablo also bagged over 300,000.
All 34 survivors will return Sunday at 11 a.m. local time where they will be joined by those who push through Saturday's second starting flight to play down to a champion.
Tune in tomorrow at 11 a.m. local time for PokerNews' coverage of the second starting flight for the 2016 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam $600 Main Event, because if today was any indication, it should be a humdinger.
Sammy Iraci is not only the first player up to 300,000, he's closing in on 400,000 now, into the last two levels of the flight.
He dragged a 140,000-chip pot off Nathan Kross making a sixes full of threes and told PokerNews he's picked up a bevvy of 10,000-20,000-chip pots without showdown on the way to building the biggest stack in the room so far.
Iraci's also got the My Stack App run good going for him, updating his stack regularly right into the blog with the App, and taking advantage of the uncanny luck associated with doing so.
After a raise in front of him, Jeffery Hobrecker three-bet. John Araujo cold-called out of position and the raiser came along.
It checked to Hobrecker and he bet 19,000 on the flop. Only Araujo called. The turn brought the , and Araujo fired out 34,000. Hobrecker called.
Finally, on the river, Araujo checked and Hobrecker moved all in. Araujo snap-called with two kings for the straight, but Hobrecker had the for quads.
Araujo was left with only a few chips and a chair, busting out unceremoniously soon after, while Hobrecker, who grabbed the chip lead in the first flight of this tournament last year, grabbed it again right now.
The first of two starting flights for the 2016 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam $100,000 Guaranteed $600 Main Event will kick off at 11 a.m. local time on Friday, just blocks from the Falls.
Last year Toronto, Canada's William Liang crossed the bridge, took down the title and a $61,535 first-place prize, getting the best of a 504-entry field that absolutely crushed the event's guarantee.
Weeks of satellite qualifiers and another eight days of prelims leading up to this Main Event should ensure the guarantee is exceeded again this summer, as the popularity of poker continues to grow in the Western New York area and beyond.
Players will start the event with 30,000-chip stacks and plans to play through 15 levels of 40-minutes each. Registration and unlimited reentry is available until the start of Level 11, and players will get another kick at the can tomorrow, even if they bag up chips tonight, carrying their best stack forward to the final day Sunday.
There will be a 45-minute dinner break at the end of Level 10, where the registration and reentry period remains open. The $600 price-point should make for a ton of action and plenty of reentries.
As always, the area's best and brightest are expected turn up for this one, and PokerNews will be on hand to catch all the ups and downs. Strap in, the 2016 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam $100,000 Guaranteed $600 Main Event starts now.
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flop. Only Araujo called. The turn brought the 
, and Araujo fired out 34,000. Hobrecker called.
river, Araujo checked and Hobrecker moved all in. Araujo snap-called with two kings for the straight, but Hobrecker had the 
for quads. 
