The 2016 Western New York Poker Challenge Main Event drew 103 entries for its first of two starting flights at the Seneca Niagara Casino on Friday.
This marked the first time a Western New York Poker Challenge Main Event Day 1a had drawn over 100, and after 15 levels of play, exactly 20 players survived through to Sunday's Day 2.
Greg Miller built a huge chip lead in the day's 11th level after a hot run of cards and at least one gift, cruising towards bagging a 291,500-chip stack when it was all said and done.
As the day wore on, James Morin appeared to be a contender before he got cooled off, six-bet shoving kings into Alex Visbisky's aces. The aces held and when the dust settled Morin hit the rail and Visbisky moved into a dead heat for the lead with Miller.
In the end, Visbisky, who led the final table of of the 2015 Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event this past November before ultimately finishing third, bagged the healthy chip lead again with 358,500.
Other local heroes who will return for Day 2 include Dan Wagner, Rick Block, Bob Keihl, Pat Tighe, and Andy Ranaletti, while perennial threats including defending champ Buck Ramsay, Cameron Bartolotta, Blake Napierala, and Alex Rivera were all felted.
While today's survivors will all return Sunday to contend for the title and big stacks of cash, another group will get going when the second and final starting flight for the 2016 Western New York Poker Challenge Main Event kicks off Saturday at 11 a.m. local time. And this one's expected to be even bigger as the event appears poised to smash its $200,000 guarantee.
Tune in then to follow all the action live, right here, on PokerNews.
Alex Visbisky and James Morin just clashed again and this time it was for a lot more marbles.
The hand started with a Cameron Bartolotta 4,000-chip open. Visbisky made it 9,000 on the button and Morin woke up with a hand he felt he could four-bet from the small blind, making it 25,000.
Bartolotta turned tail and ran, but after Visbisky five-bet to 55,000, Morin six-bet jammed. Visbisky beat him to the pot with a call, slamming his on the felt. Morin was left wondering why with the and it only got worse for him through the run out.
Visbisky jumped into a dead heat for the lead and although Morin had some 35,000 left, he shoved those with a dominated ace and said goodbye soon after.
Greg Miller has vaulted into a huge chip lead and is closing in on 300,000 already.
He could bag now and be good, but wants to continue the heater he's been on that started when he picked off one bluffer, who Miller said "hadn't played a hand since the eight-grade picnic," but suddenly decided to spazz off all his chips, running into his aces.
He picked up kings soon after, then made a set of sixes, and is now promising to bag even bigger once this flight is through.
Maria Parlatore, who admitted at the break to suddenly not feeling very well, has just as suddenly built a decent stack.
Alex Visbisky somehow made quads again to climb above 80,000. Then he gave about 20,000 of that to Parlatore when she got it in preflop with against his nines and a third player's queens, finding an ace on the river to triple up.
He's now back to 65,000 and she's just under that.
Pat Tighe latest hunt for a big score starts now after two huge doubles have given him a top ten stack.
First, he doubled up with queens versus top pair jacks, then got the rest of that opponent's chips and most of Dave Grana's in a massive, almost 80,000-chip pot.
Tighe got it in on an flop holding versus Grana's and held through an run out, leaving Grana, who had already left before they did the math, with just a few chips.
Tighe had a decent year in 2015, cashing for more than $20,000 in Niagara Falls area events and appears poised for another deep run now as we say goodbye to Grana.
Buck Ramsay open for 1,100 from middle position with the and shipped it in for a little more than half a starting stack when Grand Island, NY's Ron Tebo made it 3,300 from late position.
Tebo called with the and flopped a set and a sweat on a board. It ran out , however, making Tebo a boat, and then quads, to send the defending champ out for the second time today.
This time it appears he will not reenter and Tebo, who coincidentally shares a birthday and four-fifths of a last name with former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, now has a contending stack.
'Tricky' Ricky Block, whose stellar record here at Seneca Niagara includes a Summer Slam prelim win and a Fall Classic Main Event Title, has emerged as the Level 5 chip leader, closing in on 100,000 already.
He managed to river trip sevens in a four-bet pot with the to start his ascent up the leader board. The very next hand he picked up two kings to snatch a few more chips and is off and running.
Grand Island, NY's Dave Grana may not look to happy in the attached photo, but we're betting he's smiling on the inside.
Mostly because he flopped a set of sevens against a set of fours and got all his chips in the middle, holding on to grab the early lead in the latter half of Level 3.
Defending champ Buck Ramsay must have thought he was off to a great start when he picked up pocket aces here in Level 2.
Corning, New York's Greg Miller and his made sure that wasn't the case. Miller got all of Ramsay's chips, and a few more from a third player when he flopped trip treys and held on.
Ramsay hit the reentry button immediately and Miller, who made sixth in the $2,500 at the 2016 WPT Fallsview Poker Classic across the border earlier this year for almost $60,000 CAD, and is still whining about the weak Canadian Dollar, has risen to the top of the early counts.
Tim Wildrick told PokerNews he's had a couple less-than-noteworthy hands hold up in the early going and has emerged as the Level 1 chip leader as a result.
The rest of the early leader board appears to be filling up with Seneca Niagara regs as the entries are now up to 42 heading into Level 2.
![[user127999]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
on the felt. Morin was left wondering why with the 
and it only got worse for him through the 
run out.
into his aces.
against his nines and a third player's queens, finding an ace on the river to triple up.
flop holding 
versus Grana's 
run out, leaving Grana, who had already left before they did the math, with just a few chips.
and flopped a set and a sweat on a 
to start his ascent up the leader board. The very next hand he picked up two kings to snatch a few more chips and is off and running.
made sure that wasn't the case. Miller got all of Ramsay's chips, and a few more from a third player when he flopped trip treys and held on.
