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Matt Brunskole put the chip lead in the bag after Day 1 of the 2017 Western New York Poker Challenge Main Event this past Spring.
Now it's summer and he's at it again. The Niagara Falls, Canada resident is up to 70,000 already and among the early leaders after getting it in with big slick versus kings and finding the three outer.
Following up on a final table finish in the 2017 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam $1,000 Deep Stack High Roller last week, Chris Damick has vaulted into a spot among the early leaders here.
Damick limped big slick and the blinds came along for the ride. It checked to him on a 
flop and he bet 500. The small blind called and the big bumped it to 2,500. Only Damick called and they went heads up to an 
turn. Both players checked, but the big blind led 2,500 on the river.
Damick made it 12,500, the big blind shipped it in for 28,000 total and Damick snap called. Turned out the big blind had for the smaller full house.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
75,000 |
Level: 5
Blinds: 150/300
Ante: 25
Mark Roberts philosophy is a simple one: Pick off the bluffs and show the nuts.
"Easy game," he said.
So easy, in fact, Roberts has it up to 100,000 already, making him the first player to six figures and the Level 5 leader.
A deep run in the $200 NLH Reentry event at the start of Summer Slam earned Roberts a four-figure score and set him up for a big series. He ran deep in the $125 Reentry and now appears poised to make his mark on the 2017 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main Event as well.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
100,000 |
Sammy Smith is hovering over his chips like he doesn't want anyone to see them, much less take them.
And good luck to all those who try, because Smith is running as hot as a Buffalo chicken wing.
He rivered a four-card straight with two kings in the hole to escape trouble and drag a big pot. Next, he turned 
into the nut straight.
Smith has 85,000 and a spot among the leaders now. He'll be pulling rabbits out of hats before the day is through, even with one arm wrapped around that stack.
Level: 6
Blinds: 200/400
Ante: 50
People are beginning to wonder if Arthur Gates has even left the Poker Room over the past 24 hours.
He spent most of the afternoon and evening Thursday winning the 2107 Summer Slam $125 Reentry event. This morning he was also seen winning a seat into the Summer Slam Main Event through a $90 satellite.
Plus, the hot streak only continues as he finds himself among the leaders here in Level 6.
This Niagara Falls local held with queens versus big slick, picked up kings to drag another pot, and even when he's wrong, things go right. A few minutes ago he misread his hand after one short stack shoved 6,000 into a 
flop.
Gates called with the 
.
"i thought I had a pair and the ace of clubs," he said. No matter, the shorty had the 
and missed on a 
run out to give Gates the ace-high victory.
Momentum is real.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
75,000 |
At one point or another, Veerab Zakarian has had a big stack in almost every event on the 2017 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam schedule.
So why should the Main Event be any different? It certainly should not.
The Young Wizard raised aces under the gun and after one opponent made it three bets, he slid in a fourth. The call was made and they got it in on a ten-high flop. Turns out Zakarian's foe had kings and after that classic cooler, he's sitting on 70,000.
In the meantime, the room is considering changing the name of the event to the 2017 Mark Roberts Open, as he continues to set a blistering pace and all late entries are starting to feel like a donation to Roberts' mortgage fund.
He's got 135,000 and will take a massive chip lead into the second break of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
135,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
70,000 | |
|
||
Level: 7
Blinds: 250/500
Ante: 50
Chris Damick picked up kings and loved the flop.
The only thing nearer and dearer to his heart was the fact his heads up opponent wanted to bluff off his stack.
Damick now joins Roberts at the top of the counts here in Level 7.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
130,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
