Tuesday, June 22, 2010

HOSE Champion - Basilicata; 2nd - Capell

$400 + $50 HOSE

At the beginning of heads-up play, Vincent Basilicata had about a two-to-one chip lead over Dave Capell.

Playing Omaha Hi/Lo:

On a flop of K 9 5 (two clubs), Dave bet and Vincent called. Turn was a four and Dave checked. Vincent bet and Dave raised all-in. Vincent called and showed AK65 rainbow for two pair. Dave held A883 with two clubs for the flush draw. He needed a club on the river to survive, but it was an offsuit 9.

Dave Capell finished 2nd, earning $3,977.

Vincent Basilicata is the HOSE Champion and he takes home $6,363 plus the crystal trophy!

Vincent Basilicata - HOSE Champion

Bubble Time

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

Jennifer So (Galloway, NJ) calls a 150k all-in bet from Mike "Salty Dog" Collins (Bayville, NJ). So's K4 offsuit is the best hand versus Q 7, she hits anunnecessary king on the river to eliminate Collins in 11th place.

The final 10 players are moving to one table.

3rd place - Wiemann

$400 + $50 HOSE

After the break, play resumed with limits of 10k/20k. Since even the biggest stack had fewer than six big bets, it would not be long before someone was all in.

Playing Hold'em:

On a flop of A J 2, Jeffrey Wiemann was all-in against Vincent Basilicata. Jeffrey held J5 for middle pair, but was beat by Vincent's A6. Jeffrey needed another Jack or a 5 to survive, but the last two came Q T and Vincent took the pot. Jeffrey finished 3rd earning $2,386.

Jeffrey Wiemann

So-Mentum

Jennifer So (Galloway, NJ) adds 800,000 to her monster stack when her pocket tens conquer pocket fours on a board of Q-7-J-3-5.

So knocks her Opponent out and we're one away from a final table.

Eleven remain.

HOSE Chip Counts

$400 + $50 HOSE

Another level in the books and the final three are taking ten. Here are their chip counts:

Dave Capell - 154k
Jeffrey Wiemann - 138k
Vincent Basilicata - 118k

Two Deepstackers Down - 13 Players Left

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final


George Zias (Bethpage, NY)

George Zias knocks out Tommy Hudson in 15th place.
Zias up to 890,000 after big blind A-J sees 4-J-J on the flop, ending the day for Hudson's 8-8.

The very next hand, Torpedo knocks out Phil Yeung in 14th place when her A-5 holds up against Yeung's K-Q.

And yes, that is the Payout Sheet in Zias' cap.

Final Three Knotted Up

$400 + $50 HOSE

Playing 7-Stud, Limits 6k/12k:

Jeffrey Wiemann made Aces-Up to beat Vincent Basilicata's wired Kings. Vincent was left with only about 50k.

On the next hand the same two players tangled and when Vincent caught his third Queen on 6th street, Jeffrey surrendered. Vincent was up to ~65k.

Game changed to Stud Hi/Lo:

Same two guys. Vincent surrendered on 5th. He was left with only ~50k.

Game changed to Hold'em:

Vincent was blinded down to only 15k and got all-in from the small blind against Dave Capell. Vincent's AQ suited was a 60/40 favorite over Dave's T7 off. The board came Q J 8 4 6 and Vincent doubled up to ~37k.

Vincent got on a rush and when he bet the turn against Jeffrey, Jeffrey let it go. Vincent - 60k.

Next hand, same result. Vincent was up to ~100k.

Game changed to Omaha Hi/Lo:

Jeffrey and Dave played a pot and Jeffrey made a straight and nut low. Dave also had the nut low and got quartered. Jeffrey was up to ~170k.

The final three continued to push chips around the table.

Big Double-Up For Murphy

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

Mike Murphy (Wilkes Barre, PA) doubles up when his 7-9 of diamonds hit a 9 on the flop and his Opponent's A-5 hit a 5.

The pot was worth close to one million dollars.

Play has tightened up with 16 players remaining.

Mike, decked out in Chase Utley Phillies shirt and Phillies cap just hit a needed double.

Two Stunners

$300 + 50 NLH

Cashing Canadian

As hand-for-hand play hits the 40 minute mark there are two stunning hands, one each on the final two tables.

First Marianne Ferrona (Toronto, Canada) isn't thrilled to shove from the button with only 8k, but figures K J is the best hand she's going to see. But to everyone's surprise the small and big blinds both fold.

"No way," says Ferrona, who can't believe she takes down the pot, "it was only 5 (thousand) more (for the big blind to call)."

Seconds later on the other table, Song Ki (Fairfax, VA) open shoves for 34k with pocket aces and is called by Matthew Galluzzo (Marlboro, NJ) who has pocket 8s.

The second stunner comes when an eight hits the board and Ki hits the rail in 19th place. He takes it in stride saying, "it happens."

After the bubble breaks and the 18 player re-draw, Ferrona is the last woman standing and the first to cash after her pocket kings are cracked. She takes home $834.

Players are on a 10 minute break.

Avoiding a Chop

$300 + 50 NLH

Danny Doin' Alright

Down to 19, play is now hand-for-hand and Anthony Donato, Jr. (Cedarville, NJ) pulls a rabbit out of a hat. He's all in for his last 6,700 and is called by Danny Guerin (Long Island, NY) on the button; the big blind calls as well.

The two players with "live" hands check it down on a board of J 9 9 A J.

Guerin shows A 8, for two pairs, aces and nines. Donato briefly hesitates and reveals A J for the winning full house. The river jack gives Donato much needed life as he and Donato were poised to chop the pot.

A few hands later Donato has pocket aces and doubles again through Guerin.

Donato's no longer the short stack and Guerin continues to lead the tournament with 300k.

Level 14 (1,500/3k/400 ante) is underway.


4th place - Snyder

$400 + $50 HOSE

Play resumed with limits of 5k/10k.

Playing Stud Hi-Lo:

Dave Capell scooped a pot, leaving Anthony Snyder short. Anthony was then all-in on 3rd street against Dave and Vincent Basilicatta. Despite starting with rolled-up Tens, Anthony couldn't hold on when Dave rivered a club flush to scoop.

Anthony Snyder finished 4th earning $1,750.

Anthony Snyder

Jeffrey Wiemann was then all in on 3rd with an open pair of 4s against Dave. By the river, Jeffrey had made two pair and Dave failed to make a low. Jeffrey scooped that pot.

The game changed to Hold'em.

On a very dry board, Dave bet the river and Jeffrey called. "Good call" Dave said when he tabled King-high. Jeffrey held A2 for a pair of 2s to take the pot. He's now up to about 100k and back in the game.

Short Stack Attack

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final


Tommy Hudson (Virginia Beach, VA)


Tommy's Lucky Chuck Taylors

Tommy Hudson (Virgina Beach, VA) came up with a group of friends to play Event 1 in Borgata Summer Poker Open. He drove back by himself and in secret to play this deep stack.

"I didn't want to tell anyone unless I cashed, which I did" said Tommy.

Looking to shove his short stack of 237,000 to double or triple up.

Two Tables Deep

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final


Two Tables - 17 Players Remain

Torpekay Habashzada and Jennifer So are now at the same table (2) and the top two Chip Leaders.

Torpedo has 2 million chips while Jennifer is sitting on 1.5 million.
Girl Power!

At table 1 Kevin Johnson has 850,000 and Jeff Black has 800,000.

Taking a Ten Minute Break.

When we return blinds will be: 15,000 / 30,000 with 4,000 antes.

HOSE Chip Counts

$400 + $50 HOSE

Playing Omaha Hi/Lo, 4k/8k limits:

Vincent made quad 5s to beat Dave's wired Aces. With that pot, Vincent and Dave were dead-even with about 160k each. (There are only 410k chips in play).

The game changed to 7-Stud and Anthony was all-in on 5th street against Vincent. Anthony had Ace-Queen high with four clubs against Vincent's pair of 5s. Anthony paired his Queen on 6th and that's all he needed to double up.

The level expired and they took off for ten minutes away from the felt. Here are the chip counts:

Seat - Player - Hometown - Chips
2 - Jeffrey Wiemann - Allentown, PA - 52k
3 - Vincent Basilicata - Queens, NY - 157k
4 - Dave Capell - Morgansville, NJ - 163k
5 - Anthony Snyder - Leonia, NJ - 38k

Another Man Down

$300 + 50 NLH

The field is down to 20 players which is now being condensed to two tables. Anthony Donato (Cedarville, NJ), who's finished four crossword puzzles throughout the day, is hanging by a thread.

In a surprise move from the big blind, he folds pocket 6s face up with only 10k in chips after a big stack raises from the button. It's clear Donato's hoping to fold his way into the money and has to outlast two other players to do it.

Level 13 (1,200/2,400/300 ante) continues.

That's What So Said

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final


Jennifer So - 1 Million Chips

Jennifer's game is definitely better than so-so.

Jennifer So (Galloway, NJ) in a three way pot knocks a player out in 22nd place.

Jennifer and The Torpedo are the last two women standing and they are both forces.

Borgata Blinds: 12,000 / 24,000 with 3,000 antes

Three From the Money

$300 + 50 NLH

On the last hand of the level, Arran Collins was all-in against seat 1. Arran's pocket Tens were ahead of his opponent's AQ, but the flop came Q 5 5 and seat 1 took the lead. Then a Ten hit the turn giving Arran Tens-full and leaving his opponent drawing to two outs. River was an 8 and Arran doubled up. He's got about 150k now.

They took a break and got back to business with level 13, blinds 1,200/2,400.

21 players remain. Average stack is almost 91k.

Three more to the money!

5th place - Smigel

$400 + $50 HOSE

Adel Shakerian couldn't hold out and busted in 7th place. It didn't take long for the bubble-boy to follow him out the door.

Here are the final five players who will get paid:

Seat - Player - Hometown
1 - Kevin Smigel - Martinsville, NJ
2 - Jeffrey Wiemann - Allentown, PA
3 - Vincent Basilicata - Queens, NY
4 - Dave Capell - Morgansville, NJ
5 - Anthony Snyder - Leonia, NJ

Playing Stud:
Kevin was down to his last 1,000 chips and had to ante 500. Then he caught the low card and had to toss in his last 500 chip. Dave called and by the river, Kevin had made two pair and was back up to 3,500!

It didn't last long as he was soon all in against both Dave and Vincent, who checked to the river. Vincent made two pair and took the pot. Kevin finished in 5th place, earning $1,432.

Kevin Smigel - 4th place

Hungry for Chips

$500 +60 NL Deep Stack Final

No Food in the Poker Room,
Unless it's Gone in 60 Seconds


If you're invited to a Goldstein family reunion, don't be late or the food could be gone. Dave Goldstein (Vorhees, NJ) has been known to eat 22 slices of pizza in 10 minutes, 138 chicken wings in 30 minutes and 5 lbs. of crawfish in 12 minutes.

Goldstein's now looking to devour chips, poker chips, as he competes in the final day of the $560 Deep Stack tournament at the Borgata Summer Poker Open.

"I've always been a really fast eater, everyone always told me to slow down," says the New Jersey mailman. "I also eat high quantities of food, so I gave it a shot and found out I could do both at the same time in world class speed."

After years of zipping through the buffet line, Goldstein's friends convinced him to enter eating contests. And after only four years of competition, he's currently ranked 21st in the world by Major League Eating (not a joke) and the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE).

"I'm in it for the thrill of it, like poker, for the competitiveness," he says. "I can't do sports anymore, weak knees, strong stomach."

And yes, Goldstein considers competitive eating a sport, one that requires training for big events. Two weeks before a contest, he downs a gallon-and-a half of water a day in 4 to 5 minutes to help stretch his stomach, and it doesn't stop there.

"While I'm delivering mail, I'll chew a pack of gum for about an hour," he says. "We have muscles in our jaw that you don't even know about it. In some of these contests if you don't have a strong jaw you'll cramp up."

The training paid off in last year when Goldstein set the crawfish record by finishing 4.99 lbs of crustaceans in 12 minutes. It was an upset over nationally known Sondra "Black Widow" Thomas, who now owns the title after Goldstein was unable to defend his record this year in New Orleans.

Crawfish is considered technical eating, where hand coordination and speed are just as important as consumption. The more recognizable competitions are in the capacity eating category, foods like hot dogs and pizza.

"You not only have to eat fast, but you have to eat a lot," says Goldstein who's competed in the wildly popular Wing Bowl in Philadelphia. You can see his qualifying stunt of eating four pounds of Sloppy Joe's in four minutes at this site.

Goldstein's friends think the competitions are great, while his wife Susan worries about his health. "She's my biggest fan," he says as at a healthy 240 pounds, "but to make her happy I get a physical every year."

As a 42 year old, Goldstein doesn't have aspirations of becoming famous like Joey Chestnut or Kobayashi because, "it's a young person's sport." But he doesn't mind trying to make a few prop bets involving food while he's playing cards.

"Usually I left them off the hook," says Goldstein, "nobody likes to see someone eating at the table anyway."

As for the chips, Goldstein's fresh out after losing a coin flip with pocket 6s to AJ. But it's still a good payday worth $1,304 or 250 lbs of crawfish, something Goldstein could eat in about an hour.

Torpekay Torpedos To Massive Chip Lead

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

1.7 Million

Torpekay "Torpedo" Habashzada (Broomall, PA) knocked out Akim Akimov in back to back hands.

First she crippled his big stack to 300,000 when her A-K saw a flop of K-9-8.
Akim's pocket Queens weren't good enough.

The next hand she was dealt K-K and Akim called with A-8 and lost his tournament life.

26 players left.

Borgata Blinds: 10,000 / 20,000 with 3,000 antes.

No Limit, No Action

$300 + 50 NLH

Play resumed following dinner and when they completed level 11, they continued with level 12, blinds of 1k/2k with 300 antes.

27 players remain at three tables.

Big stack Arran Collins was moved to table 3, two seats to the right of chip leader Ray Ferretti.

With only 9 players remaining, play seems to have slowed as players concentrate on making the money (final 18).

Back In Black

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

This is Jeff Black's first major tournament and he's among the Chip Leaders with 820,000.

He's only here playing because he pulled his back out, was unable to work out, and figured he'd try his hand at a tournament since he's always loved playing poker.

I asked if sitting playing poker for so many hours straight was good for his back. He laughed, "my hip is killing me."

In most tournaments you can look back to a make or break hand.

Jeff's came early on after shoving all in with an open ended straight draw, running into a set of Jacks, then hitting the straight for a ton of chips.

Jeff lives in Atlantic City and is a bouncer.

If Jeff's back continues to give him trouble he might need a "backer" in his next Borgata Tournament.

HOSE Update

$400 + $50 HOSE

HOSE Final Table

Play resumed following the dinner break and one of the short stacks was dispatched very quickly. The final 9 players drew seats and moved to a single table.

Another short-stack fell prey to Dave Capell's aggression and they were down to 8. A couple of the short-stacks tangled over a pot and another player reported to the rail.

With 7 players remaining and only 5 getting paid, they hunkered down to play Stud Hi/Lo.

Adel Shakerian was all-in two hands in a row and both times managed to snag half the pot to stay alive.

Johnson & Johnson

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

Closing In On A Million Chips

Kevin Johnson (Bridgewater, NJ) is your new Chip Leader after hitting runner runner for a boat and knocking out Eric Siegel.

Both players began the hand with close to 500,000.

Eric's 8-9 diamonds flops a straight as the cards fall J-10-7.

After a round of betting Eric snap calls Kevin Johnson's all in as Kevin tables A-J.

Turn J, River 10 gives Johnson the full house and the chip lead at ~920,000.

"I thought he had a Jack" claimed Johnson who took some ribbing from the table.

Kevin's son Robbie is also in the deep stack which is down to 33 players.

Kevin taught his son everything he knows about poker and even sent him out to Vegas two weeks ago where Robbie cashed in two tournaments.

They ended up going heads up at a Borgata tournament before and Robbie won the bragging rights. "If we go heads up again I'll kick his..."

Table 4 With Two Chip Leaders

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final


Akim Akimov 740,000


Will Jaffe 730,000

Torpekay Habashzada, also at table 4 has dropped down to 300,000.

Looks like Phil Yeung played 8-10 clubs to a loss. He's also down.

38 Players remain.

Next money payout - 28-36 earn $946

Dinner Time!

$300 + 50 NLH

At 7pm, the clock was stopped and the remaining 29 players were sent on a 40-minute dinner break. Play will resume at about 7:40pm.

Ray Ferretti (Woolwich, NJ) has taken the chip lead. He's got about 234k as of the dinner break. Arran Collins is up to about 208k.

Ray Ferretti

Dinner Break Chip Counts

$400 + $50 HOSE

The final ten HOSE'ers have taken off for a 40-minute dinner break.

Vincent Basilicata (Queens, NY) has taken over the chip lead by a mile. He's up to about 115k. Dave Capell is second with about 79k. Jeff Wiemann (Allentown, PA) is third with ~49k and Adel Shakerian (Falls Church, VA) is fourth with ~40k.

Average stack is 41k.

Vincent wants to send a shout out to "Spizz". Consider it done!

Play will resume at about 7:40 pm.

Vincent Basilicata

Deep Stack Dinner - Back In 45

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

Empty Felt - For Now

39 remaining Deep Stack players are taking a 45 minute dinner break.

When they return, blinds will be 8,000 / 16,000 with 2000 antes.

Average Stack: 313,461

Phil Yeung (Floral Park, NY) is still the chipleader, now with 798,000.

Close stacks have 780,000.....760,000.....620,000

A Dozen HOSE-ers

$400 + $50 HOSE

12 HOSE-players remain. With only 5 getting paid, they've got a long way to go.

Average stack is a little over 34k.

Dave Capell

Dave Capell (Morganville, NJ) is the current chip leader with about 70k. His wife's name is Karen and he said "Tell her I love her". You got it, Dave.

They're currently in level 12 with limits of 2k/4k.

Simmons Sent Packing

$300 + 50 NLH

Arrived just in time to see Borgata cash & tournament regular Joe Simmons (Philadelphia, PA) all in holding KJ offsuit. He was in bad shape against pocket Jacks. The board came T 9 8 4 4 and Joe was sent packing.

37 players remain. 18 get paid. Average stack is about 51,600.

Arran Collins (Reston, VA) is the current chip leader with ~196k. Danny Guerin (Centerport, NY) is second with ~161k.

Arran Collins

Bubble Breaks - Deep Stack Money

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

Leonardo Palermo Knocks Out Money Bubble


45 Players In The Money Celebrate

Leonardo Palermo (Tom's River, NJ) knocks out the money bubble when his pocket Aces hold up against Opponent's A-8.

Board of 2-9-J-4-10.

Palermo opened for 30,000 and Opponent shoved 110,000 all in.

Opponent goes home with nothing. No money.
He also goes home with no pizza and it's his own fault.

Prior to the hand-for-hand dealing to obtain the money bubble, sources say everyone in the room grew hungry and decided to chip in for a deep dish pizza party.

Everybody chipped in except for two people.

"Make sure the people who refused to chip in for pizza don't get any pizza" said one player who contributed to the party.

So when the pizza's arrived the player who Palermo busted got nothing, not a single slice, and instead all the dealers, I mean, pizza delivery boys got an early, generous tip.

Congrats to the top 45.

PAYOUTS:

1...................$ 67,877
2...................$ 36,761
3...................$ 18,973
4...................$ 16,602
5...................$ 14,230
6...................$ 11,858
7...................$ 9,487
8...................$ 7,115
9...................$ 4,744
10-12.............$ 3,083
13-15.............$ 2,253
16-18.............$ 1,636
19-27.............$ 1,304
28-36.............$ 996
37-45.............$ 878

Number of Entries: 489
Total Buy-In: $244,500

Prize Money: $237,165

Deep Stack Shallows To Six Tables

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

Level 18: Borgata Blinds - 5000 / 10,000 with 1000 antes.

52 players remain on six tables.

Average stack: 235,096

Top 45 cash.

Fish Caught...But Released

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final


Miracles Happen!

Sung Lee a.k.a Frankie Fish is afraid of Torpekay Habashzada and the killer corner.

"Every time she raises, we call, she shoves after the flop, we fold" says Lee. As he's telling me this he shoves his short stack across the betting line. And guess who calls him?

Frankie Fish is crushed pre-flop as he tables A-J diamonds against Torpekay's A-K.

Flop: 7-5-8 rainbow

Turn: 4

Sung Lee stands and turns away from the table. He can't bear to watch. Then it happens...the miracle three-outter hits! A jack falls and Frankie Fish puts a dent into Habashzada's (now) 700,000 stack.

Sung drops to his knees, looks to heaven, and says a thank-you prayer.

Sidenote: Sung gets A-J the next hand and folds pre-flop after Opponent's all-in shove.
He then folds pocket nines pre-flop after Habashzada raises large.

Guess he wants to hold onto those 250,000 chips he just earned.

Players return from Ten Minute break.

Event 15 Payouts

$400 + $50 HOSE

Entries: 41
Total Buy-In: $16,400

Place - Amount

1st ............ $6,363
2nd ........... $3,977
3rd ............ $2,386
4th ............ $1,750
5th ............ $1,432

Yum Yum For Phil Yeung - New Chipleader

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

Phil Yeung - New chip leader with 590,000

How about some three way all in action for the biggest pot in the tournament so far?

Opponent 1 jams pre-flop for 57,000.
Opponent 2 ships 205,000 on the button.
Phil Yeung (Floral Park, NY) looks down at pocket queens and quickly calls.

Opponents table A-J suited and A-K off suit.

Queens hold on a board of 6-7-7-8-2.

A very special big blind indeed for Yeung as he knocks out two players bringing our total to 67.

Level 17: Borgata Blinds - 4000 / 8000 with 500 antes.

Event 14 Payouts

$300 + 50 NLH

Entries: 191
Total Buy-In: $57,300
First Prize: 17,117
Places Paid: 18

Place - Amount

1st ............ $17,117
2nd ........... $9,449
3rd ............ $5,280
4th ............ $3,891
5th ............ $3,335
6th ............ $2,779
7th ............ $1,667
8th ............ $1,251
9th ............ $1,084
10-12th ........ $945
13-15th ........ $834

Break Up Leads To Double Up

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

David Schulman's (New York, NY) table breaks up where he just paid the 6,000 big blind.

Realizing he'll have to pay it again in two hands at his new table, he looks down at A-9 and ships his 71,000 stack. A-Q calls Schulman's A-9. Gonna need a nine to survive.

Board falls 6-7-9-2-10.

"Can't say I wanted a call but it's better to be lucky than smart" admitted Schulman as he stacks chips.

84 Players remain.

Borgata Blinds: 3000 / 6000 with 500 antes.

Events 14 & 15 Updates

As we focus on the Deep Stack finale, we'll keep you posted on the other two tournaments.

$300 + 50 NLH

Entries: 191
Players Remaining: 90
Blinds: 300/600/75 ante (Level 7)

Total Buy-In: $57,300
First Prize: ~$17,000
Places Paid: 18

$400 + $50 HOSE

Entries: 41
Players Remaining: 27
Blinds 300/600 (Level 7)

Total Buy-In: $16,400
First Prize: ~$6,300
Places Paid: 5

Cooked

$500 + $60 NL Deep Stack Final

Adam Cook (Pasadena, MD) raises 9,000 under the gun. Opponent calls in the big blind.

Flop: K 8 9

Big Blind checks...Cook bets...Opponent shoves all in for 70,000 more.

Cook insta-calls and tables A 9.

Table appears shocked to see Opponent table J 4.

Q on the turn gives Cook the nut flush making the J♠ on the river, irrelevant.

Cook climbs to 400,000 with that scoop.

George Kopp (Baltimore, MD) also at table 1, couldn't believe it - "He pulled a Matusow. Guy played five hands great earlier then tried to buy just one pot and he's out."

Kopp doubled up last level after turning a set of sixes against Opponent's pocket Queens.

Running the Gauntlet

$500 +60 NL Deep Stack Final

Killer Corner: Zias, Frederick & Habashzada (r-l)

If you're a short stack, table 4 is NOT the place to be as three of the biggest stacks in the tournament are here. Not only are they all at the same table, but George Zias, Dennis Fredrick & Torpekay Habashzada are in seats 2, 3 and 4 respectively, creating a self proclaimed "Killer Corner."

Fredrick (Drexel Hill, PA) starts the day as the chip leader with 341k and watches Zias (Bethpage, NY) double up with pocket aces on the first hand when he cripples Bruce Bartfield's (Churchville, MD) pocket kings. The next hand, Zias finishes off Bartfield with pocket queens, taking his stack to 350k.

Enter Habashzada (Broomall, PA) who, only five minutes into play, is moved to table 4 (Bartfield's seat) with her 218k stack. On her third hand, Habashzada has the Qon a four flush board and as Fredrick puts it, "the guy gave her 180k. I don't think he saw the flush."

With Habashzada going to 400k and Zias and Fredrick both around 350k, it puts more than one million chips in the "Killer Corner." There's 12 million chips in play and the average stack is just over 100k.

This could make for some big pots as we move towards the money.

Level 14 (1,500/3k, 400 ante) is off and running.

Numbers

$500 +60 NL Deep Stack Final

Underway with 116 players back in action.

Entries: 489
Total Buy-In: $244,500
First Prize: $67,877
Places Paid: 45

$300 + 50 NLH

Entries: 191
Total Buy-In: $57,300
First Prize: 17,117
Places Paid: 18


$400 + $50 HOSE

Entries: 41
Total Buy-In: $16,400
First Prize: $6,363
Places Paid: 5

All totals are unofficial until verified by the cage and the prize pools are calculated by the tournament staff.

Frantic Deep Stacks

$500 +60 NL Deep Stack Final

Several Deep Stack players stop by media row frantically looking for their assigned table. Because all nine tables in the tournament area are already playing, they assume play's already underway and they're running late.

You can see the sigh of relief when they find out that they're looking at the $350 tournament and that the Deep Stack is in the main part of the poker room and doesn't start until 2 pm.

116 players return for the day 2 final and are competing for the nearly $68,000 first prize.

Killing Time

$300 + 50 NLH

Puzzling Situation for Donato, Jr.

A player once said, "poker is hours of boredom, followed by thirty seconds of shear terror." To help pass the time players listen to music, read books or in Anthony Donato, Jr's case, it's crossword puzzles.

"This is the second one this tournament," he says two and-a-half hours into Event 14. Donato (Cedarville, NJ) is hoping to double his paltry 2k stack before he finishes the last few clues of this puzzle, the kind of race you don't want to be in.

Donato gets a playable A Q♣ and says, "here we go," and after a reluctant call from Q J, he doubles up.

Donato's not just battling the 191 players in the field, but he's also going against his father, Anthony Sr., who's not playing today, but finished third in the Seniors Event last week.

"I heard about it all weekend," says junior Donato. "You (the blog) wrote, 'with 35th, 15th, 5th and 3rd place finishes, Donato becomes the clear cut favorite to win it next year.' Now everyone's telling me I have to finish better than him."

Anothony, Jr says his father played some low stakes house poker games, but really got hooked on tournaments after he introduced his dad to hold'em. "He's a much better player than I am," junior says with a smile, "but then again, he's retired and plays a lot more."

After getting his much needed double-up Donato's now looking for a 8-letter word that will keep the family off his back. C-h-a-m-p-i-o-n.

Level 4 (100/200) is winding down.

Hosers in the House

$400 + $50 HOSE

While the $350 NL event is in the tournament part the poker room, the mixed games players are in the common area.

It's an 8-hand rotate and the button starts in the one seat with a round of Hold'Em.

Cards are in the air!

Early Caution

$300 + 50 NLH

As the Gorilla patrols the jungle looking for early action, he stumble across this hand. A middle position raises to 800 and the button three-bets to 3,250. After it folds around to the MP player, he tanks.

The table eventually calls, "clock," and the player has one minute to act. He eventually folds and
one player jokes, "at least tell us you weren't think about jack-nine there." Clearly frustrated the MP player replies, "no there's only a couple of hands that I would think that long about."

The query is, "Jacks?"

The button quickly replies, "I'd throw that away in a second." The table speculates that he had pocket kings.

Level 2 (50/100) winding down.

Busy, Busy Day

$300 + $50 NLH

Tournament Director Tab Duchteau is giving the players and dealers their final instructions.

Players please take your seats
Levels are 40 minutes long
10 minute break after every two levels
Start with 10,000 chips
No chips in your pockets
Not in your seat when the last card is dealt, hand is dead
No cellphones at the table
All stacks should be out
Deal to all stacks
Table Signs Down
Blinds 25/50
Button starts in the 2 seat
Good luck everyone
Shuffle Up & Deal!

Later today:

Noon: $450 HOSE
2 PM: $560 Deep Stack Final

Tuesday, June 22

TODAY IN THE POKER ROOM

11AM: Event 14 - $300 + $50 No Limit Hold'em
  • 10,000 in starting chips
  • Levels last 40 minutes
  • 1-day tournament

12PM: Event 15 - $400 + $50 H.O.S.E.

  • 10,000 in starting chips
  • Levels last 30 minutes Final Table Levels last 40 minutes
  • 1-day tournament

7PM: Event 35 - $100 + $20 No Limit Hold'em

  • 10,000 in starting chips
  • Levels last 20 minutes
  • 1-day tournament

Chip Counts for Day 2

$500 +60 NL Deep Stack NLH

Position-Name-Place-Chip Count

1 DENNIS FREDERICK DREXEL HILL PA 341,400
2 GARY LOBELLO HOLMDEL NJ 319,000
3 AKIM AKIMOV PHILADELPHIA PA 277,300
4 JERRY BROWN PHILADELPHIA PA 260,700
5 ADAM COOK PASADENA MD 255,400
6 ROBERT JOHNSON BRIDGEWATER NJ 232,500
7 PAUL RAMBO NEW CASTLE DE 231,200
8 TORPEKAY HABASHZADA BROOMALL PA 218,400
9 DANIEL CHAN NEW YORK NY 206,100
10 MARK TOMASKO LITITZ PA 197,900
11 DAVID GOLDSTEIN VOORHEES NJ 194,100
12 ERIC SIEGEL MELVILLE NY 192,600
13 SHANE GOSLINE BENSALEM PA 192,200
14 MICHAEL MURPHY WILKES BARRE PA 190,600
15 JEFFREY BLACK VENTNOR NJ 177,500
16 RONALD SESSINGER WEST CHESTER PA 177,300
17 PHILIP MORTON FELDMAN PHILADELPHIA PA 175,000
18 BRUCE BARTFELD CHURCHVILLE MD 167,200
19 BRETT ASNAS ROSLYN HEIGHTS NY 161,800
20 JAY JOHNSON PHILADELPHIA PA 158,400
21 ANTHONY LAM FAIRFAX VA 158,100
22 ANTHONY CARUSO MEDFORD NJ 154,000
23 JAMES ROMOSER WASHINGTON DC 151,500
24 JAMES SALTERS WEST HEMPSTEAD NY 148,300
25 ROBERT KERZMAN NEW YORK NY 142,300
26 CARLOS VALDIVIESO ARLINGTON TX 140,200
27 SACHIN RAMRAKHANI FORT LEE NJ 140,000
28 KEVIN JOHNSON BRIDGEWATER NJ 139,600
29 CRAIG HUNKELE ALLISON PARK PA 135,200
30 TUAN GBEHAN TOMS RIVER NJ 135,100
31 DAVID GROSS BROOKLYN NY 135,000
32 GEORGE ANTONAKOS BALTIMORE MD 128,700
33 NEELESH KALANI PHILADELPHIA PA 127,200
34 MICHAEL CARUSO FLOURTOWN PA 122,100
35 JON-MICHAEL REA STEUBENVILLE OH 121,900
36 LOUIS PETEROY STATEN ISLAND NY 121,000
37 MIKE RODRIGUEZ LEDGEWOOD NJ 120,100
38 PATRICK HARTILL OZONE PARK NY 119,400
39 GEORGE ZIAS BETHPAGE NY 117,800
40 THOMAS HUDSON VIRGINIA BEACH VA 116,600
41 BRYAN BINDERT WENONAH NJ 116,000
42 USHER LEMBERG FAIR LAWN NJ 115,500
43 THOMAS PSCHAR RINGOES NJ 109,700
44 PETER LOMBARDO BROOKLYN NY 108,800
45 SUNG BOK LEE SEOUL 89 108,100
46 CRAIG SANTORO ANNANDALE NJ 106,200
47 KENNETH BENES LAKE GROVE NY 105,800
48 DAVID SCHULMAN BRIARCLIFF MANOR NY 103,600
49 SHEREE BYKOFSKY ATLANTIC CITY NJ 103,000
50 ROBERT GALLAGHER PHILADELPHIA PA 102,200
51 DANIEL SPIRER MECHANICSVILLE PA 101,100
52 RANDY GARCIA WASHINGTON TWP NJ 98,500
53 SHANNON TOWNSEND VILAS NC 97,100
54 ROBERT KASLOV STATEN ISLAND NY 96,700
55 JEFFREY KEHOE HADDONFIELD NJ 94,800
56 KOBI WALDFOGEL PHILADELPHIA PA 94,300
57 BERNARD COLLINS BAYVILLE NJ 93,400
58 LEONARDO PALERMO TOMS RIVER NJ 92,600
59 MAZEN KARNABY NEW YORK NY 89,300
60 WILL JAFFE BRIDGEHAMPTON NY 89,200
61 ANTHONY GELFEN REISTERSTOWN MD 89,000
62 HOVAN NGUYEN PASADENA MD 88,000
63 JOHN DORAN WOOLWICH TWP NJ 87,800
64 MIKHAIL KAZAKEVICH RICHBORO PA 86,300
65 ALBERT GARVER WASHINGTON DC 83,500
66 HARRY PIACITELLI PLYMOUTH MEETING PA 83,500
67 LEIBY GOLDBERGER BROOKLYN NY 81,100
68 GREGORY ROCHESTER DEER PARK NY 79,900
69 BRETT YORIO HARTSDALE NY 79,000
70 TRAVIS HORNING SHERMANS DALE PA 77,800
71 DIMITRIOS BERGOS BALTIMORE MD 77,300
72 MISAEL SANTIAGO PHILADELPHIA PA 77,200
73 CLIFFORD PETERSON CHESAPEAKE CITY MD 76,800
74 YEVGENY GUREVICH MANALAPAN NJ 73,000
75 TIMOTHY DALESSANDRO WEST CHESTER PA 72,500
76 BARBARA ROGERS LOCK HAVEN PA 69,700
77 JOSEPH BOVINO WESTMONT NJ 69,600
78 MICHAEL DEFRANCESCO PITTATON PA 67,900
79 JOSHUA HERTZ GLENSIDE PA 67,200
80 THOMAS MARION NETCONG NJ 63,500
81 ASHOKKUMA DESAI EDISON NJ 63,300
82 PHIL YEUNG FLORAL PARK NY 62,500
83 STACY BRACEY NASHVILLE NC 62,300
84 FRANK GIUNTA COLLEGEVILLE PA 61,100
85 ROBERT NGUYEN W. NEW YORK NJ 61,000
86 MATTHEW MAZZEO E WILLISTON NY 60,000
87 IGOR LULOV BROOKLYN NY 58,700
88 JEFFREY WICKER BRISTOL PA 57,300
89 DANIEL ONISZCZUK FAIR LAWN NJ 57,000
90 DOMINIC POPOLIZIO DOWNINGTOWN PA 56,300
91 EDWIN LAU PHILADELPHIA PA 55,900
92 JOSEPH CALDERON EDEN NY 53,700
93 WILLIAM JESSE DALLAS PA 52,700
94 PHIL LIFSCHITZ LIVINGSTON NJ 52,600
95 JENNIFER SO GALLOWAY NJ 51,900
96 ROBERT PECORARO ROCHESTER NY 51,700
97 PATRICK YUN LAWRENCEVILLE NJ 49,400
98 STEVEN COSENZA NEW YORK NY 49,000
99 CHRISTOPHER CURTIN WARMINSTER PA 48,300
100 ROBERT WOTCZAK GARDEN CITY NY 45,600
101 DOUGLAS ROSEN TAPPAN NY 44,900
102 GEORGE KOPP OWINGS MILLS MD 44,000
103 DAVID SHAFRIN BELLEVILE NJ 42,400
104 WILLIAM EVANS ROCKVILLE MD 40,600
105 JAMES CALLARI HICKSVILLE NY 40,000
106 JAMES WEAVER CORAOPOLIS PA 38,700
107 MATTHEW CARROLL PALOS PARK IL 36,100
108 RICARDO FRANCO PHILADELPHIA PA 36,100
109 JINGWU CAI HAZEL PARK MI 35,500
110 NANCY MARTIN WASH.CROSS PA 35,500
111 DEREK BLENMAN ARVERNE NY 30,500
112 WILLIAM BRADEN TOMS RIVER NJ 29,800
113 KENNETH SMITH LAS VEGAS NV 28,300
114 ROBERT GEOGHEGAN STAT. ISLAND NY 28,000
115 RICHARD RICE HAYMARKET VA 25,600
116 JUSTIN BLAIR MARYDEL DE 21,200