Saturday, May 17, 2014

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Final Break

Players are going on their final break of the day, and when they return to action the blinds will be 2,000/4,000/400 (308 total entries).  The tournament floor will be coloring off the (100) denomination chips, and updated chip counts will be posted afterwards.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Big Stacks

Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/400)
Total Entries: 308

Going into the final break, here are the big stacks:

David Johnston - 440,000
Staffan Lind - 390,000
Matt Itkin - 370,000
Chris Boyadjian - 343,000

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Level Up/Gone Bust

Level 14 is about to begin, with the blinds going up to 1,500/3,000/400 (307 total entries).  Players have two more levels in the night before bagging for Day 2.  The following players have busted (without re-entering):

Alex Queen
Jennifer So
Jonas Wexler
Renata Colache
Tyng Low

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Numbers Update

Level 13 (Blinds 1,200/2,400/300)
Total Entries: 305

Here is a quick numbers update related to Day 1B:

Day 1B Entries: 214
Day 1B Active Players Remaining: 75
Day 1B Chip Average: 143,000

Day 1B Chip Leader: Chris Boyadjian (Queens, NY) 365,000

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Level Up, Players Out

Level 13 has just started, with the blinds going up to 1,200/2,400/300 (305 total entries).  The bustouts have been coming in the past hour, with notables to leave including:

Sean Wallace
Maggie Morris
David Kim
Mike Shasho

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Updated Chip Counts

Level 12 (Blinds 1,000/2,000/300)
Total Entries: 304

Here are updated counts from the floor:

Daniel Fischer - 395,000
David Johnston - 270,000
Barry Leventhal - 220,000
Greg Himmelbrand - 215,000
Kyle Bowker - 205,000
Joe Wertz - 190,000
Joel Gola - 170,000
Justin Liberto - 160,000
Dan Wach - 130,000

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Break Time

Players are going on another (15) minute break, and when they return the blinds will be going up to 1,000/2,000/300 (304 total entries).  There are less than 100 active players in the tournament room, as all of the outer tables have broke (and additional broken table in tournament area).

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): The 200K Club

Level 11 (Blinds 800/1,600/200)
Total Entries: 304

The following players are the only ones at the moment over 200,000:

Matthew Zambanini - 270,000
Mike Handwerker - 235,000
Joel Gola - 230,000
Bobby Oboodi - 220,000
John Botticello - 210,000
Barry Leventhal - 205,000
Ryan Eriquezzo - 205,000

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Not Going Quitely

Level 11 is about to begin, with the blinds going up to 800/1,600/200 (301 total entries).  Igor Burokhov already has one chip lead bonus in his pocket, and he's building a stack quickly (and surely not quietly).  He was involved in two big hands with Mike Melkersen, just now getting it in with a combo draw against Mike's A J on a 4 8 K A board.  Igor spiked a river five to make a straight and chip up over 200,000, while busting Melkersen.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Payne Making Noise

Level 10 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Entries: 300

Antonio Payne (Hazlet, NJ) is looking to climb up the leaderboard in a stealth fashion, but the cat is out of the bag after his Twitter post:


Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Chip Lead Bonus Reminder

Level 10 (Blinds 600/1,200/200)
Total Entries: 297

The $5,000 bonus at stake today for bagging the chip lead is on everyone's mind, so here is a look back at those who took the bonuses earlier in the series:

Big Stax 300 ($1,000 Bonus):

Day 1A: Val Zekser
Day 1B: Igor Skochilo
Day 1C: Staffan Lind

Big Stax 500 ($1,500 Bonus):

Day 1A: Justin Liberto
Day 1B: Kevin Grabel
Day 1C: Igor Burokhov

Big Stax 1500 ($5,000 Bonus):

Day 1A: Mike Cologna (694,000)

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Blinds Going Up

Level 10 is about to begin, with the blinds going up to 600/1,200/200 (295 total entries).  There have been over 200 entries today alone, and they continue coming in.  Jeff Gross is here on his first bullet, while Joe Black (who chopped Big Stax 500) is firing once more.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Morris Climbing

Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)
Total Entries: 292

Maggie Morris, winner of the Big Stax V (500 Event), is trending up and now has 140,000.  Here are some other updated counts from the field:

Ryan Eriquezzo - 250,000
Benny Bianco - 165,000
Kevin Truong - 160,000
Robert McLaughlin - 155,000
Joel Gola - 125,000

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Eriquezzo Working Again

Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)
Total Entries: 287

Ryan Eriquezzo

Ryan Eriquezzo (Danbury, CT) is back at it again, running up his stack (which was at 16,000) to 245,000 before dinner break.  For those who don't remember, Ryan bought in the morning of Day 2 for the Big Stax 300 with six big blinds.  He ended up going into Day 2 with over 1,000,000, and finished the tournament in 17th place.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Back From Dinner

Level 9 (Blinds 500/1,000/100)
Total Entries: 284

Players have returned from dinner and the cards are once again in the air.  The triple crown dream is still alive for California Chrome as the horse wins the Preakness in easy fashion.  The concentration in now on the home stretch in this starting day, and the race towards the $5,000 chip lead bonus.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Getting Some Grub

Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Entries: 276

Players are going on dinner break in just a few minutes, and when they return to Level 9, the blinds will be going up to 500/1,000/100.  The break schedule will also change a little with the scheduling change for dinner.  The breaks will be every three levels, with a color up break after Level 14.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): New Shooters

Level 8 (Blinds 400/800/100)
Total Entries: 274

There is a new bunch of players beginning to build above average chip stacks:

Kyle Bowker - 190,000
Jason Rivkin - 170,000
Renata Colache - 170,000
Greg Himmlebrand - 160,000
Robert McLaughlin - 140,000
Joe Wertz - 120,000

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Level Up

The final minutes of Level 7 are ticking away, and blinds will be going up to 400/800/100 (269 total entries).  This will be the last level before dinner, and players will return to action until the end of the night (after Level 15).

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Oboodi Joins Field

Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/100)
Total Entries: 268

Bobby Oboodi

Another players making his first appearance at a Big Stax event is Bobby Oboodi, who has just been seated at Table 54.  Bobby has over $1,400,000 in career earnings, and a WPT title to his name.  Two years after winning the WPT title at the Borgata, he won the $2,500 Championship event during the 2013 Borgata Spring Poker Open.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): *** Dinner Break Reminder ***

Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/100)
Total Entries: 264

Just a reminder to players that the dinner break today will be after Level 8.  In order to help players beat the rush from patrons leaving after the Preakness, the dinner break is moved up one level.  The break will last from 5:35-6:50pm.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Updated Chip Counts

Level 7 (Blinds 300/600/100)
Total Entries: 261

Here are some updated counts from break (players are currently on break):

She Lok Wong - 220,000
Kyle Bowker - 155,000
David Johnston - 150,000
Mike Melkerson - 137,000
Ray Ross - 132,000
Greg Himmlebrand - 105,000
Alex Queen- 87,000

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Break Time

Players are going on a (15) minute break, and they will return to Level 7 and blinds of 300/600/100 (256 total entries).  Updated chip counts will be posted once the floor colors the green (25 denomination) chips off of the tables.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Photo Ops

Level 6 (Blinds 250/500/50)
Total Entries: 255

Players will be on break at the end of this level, but while they are still seated, it gives an opportunity to catch some in action:

Abe Faroni

Tom Dombrolovic 
Renata Colache

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Level Up/Quick Exit

Level 6 is about to start, with the blinds going up to 250/500/50 (253 total entries).  There have been to satellites to this event in the past 24 hours, with almost all of the winner choosing to play the event.  Ben Coren was one of the players to win a seat last night, but his time in the tournament was short lived as he just Tweeted about his final hand:

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Early Chip Counts

Level 5 (Blinds 200/400/50)
Total Entries: 250

It's still the early stages of the day, but a handful of players have already eclipsed the 100,000 mark.  The players leading the way at the moment are She Lok Wong (140,000), Tim Ward (130,000), Kyle Bowker (120,000), and Michael Melkerson (105,000).

Today's field has almost doubled that of Day 1A, and the entry count continue to rise, with Sean Wallace and Barry Leventhal just taking their seats.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Welcome Bach Wach

Level 4 (Blinds 150/300/50)
Total Entries: 248

Level 5 is about to begin, with blinds going up to 200/400/50.  The last time Dan Wach (Boonton, NJ) was here, it was two months ago during the Big Stax V $1,500 Main Event.  Wach continued his solid tournament play, finishing in fifth place for $34,402.  For those who didn't know Wach's past accomplishments, he bested two fields of over 4,000 players a year apart (Borgata Poker Open 2012/2013), to finish runner-up both times for a combined $430,000.

With the 2014 WSOPC National Championship coming to Atlantic City in the upcoming weeks, it's only fair that a one time winner of that event gets recognized.  Ryan Eriquezzo (Danbury, CT) is still one of the stories of this Big Stax series, buying into Day 2 of the Big Stax 300 with six blinds and running it up to a Day 3 finish (17th place).

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Who Was Missed

Level 4 (Blinds 150/300/50)
Total Entries: 240

As the tournament area grows, the sea of players gets a little cloudy, causing some notables to be overlooked at first glance.  Here are some of the notables that were here earlier:

Christine Brewer
David Johnston
Paul Shedaker
Renata Colache
Gordon Shackelford
Abe Faroni
Tom Dobrilovic
Michael Melkerson
Justin Liberto

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Off To A Quick Start

Level 4 (Blinds 150/300/50)
Total Entries: 233

She Lok Wong (Woodhaven, NY) showed up midway through Level 3, and he's made the most of the short time at the table.  Wong has already more than doubled his starting stack, and currently sits with 120,000.  Wong is another tournament pro with a solid resume, with a $95,000 score less than two months ago in the $2,500 Foxwoods Poker Classic Main.

New players continue to arrive fashionably late, with two new tables opening in the outer tournament area:

Jack Duong
Kyle Bowker
Allison Schultz
Jonas Wexler
Dave Stefanski
Tarun Gulati
David Datashvili
Joe Galazzo

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Break Time

Players are going on their first break of the day (15 minutes), and they will return to Level 4 and blinds of 150/300/50.  There are currently 222 total entries on the board, which means the Day 1B field is 130 entries at the moment.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Missing Out On The Open

Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/25)
Total Entries: 219

Kori Hunter (Ellicott City, MD)

Kori Hunter may be a Maryland native, but he doesn't miss Big Stax events very often.  Hunter recently had an opportunity to qualify for the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, and ended up three strokes short of moving forward in the process.  Hunter shot a 72 (which many recreational golfers can only dream of), and that was with a two-stroke penalty for showing up (30) seconds late.

Hunter's best finish in this event was during the inaugural Big Stax series ($1,500 Main Event), when he finished in 13th place for $9,403.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Another Stacked Table

Level 3 (Blinds 100/200/25)
Total Entries: 215

The stream of entries is coming into the poker room at a steady pace, with Table 35 the newest table to open.  The late registration tables seem to often be some of the more difficult in the field, with this addition following suit:

Robert McLaughlin
Greg Himmelbrand
David Kim
Steven Sarmiento
Ben Coren

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Blinds Going Up/New Tables

Antes are now introduced to the field for the first time, with the blinds in Level 3 going up to 100/200/25 (208 total entries).  In the first (90) minutes of the day, the field has already surpassed yesterday's end number of 92.  

Players continue to enter the tournament, and new tables are opening in the outer tournament area.  Table 34 is the newest additions, with players seated including Benny Bianco, Alex Queen, and Jennifer So.  Tyng Low (Flushing, NY) has arrived at Parx for the first time in a Big Stax event, an accomplished tournament player with a solid resume.  Low won the $2,500 Borgata Summer Poker Open in 2011 for over $211,000, and most recent final tabled another $2,500 event at Borgata during the Fall Poker Open in November.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): In The Field

Level 2 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Entries: 200

The poker room currently has twelve active tournament tables, with many notables choosing the second of the two starting days to fire:

Matt Brady
Brett Richey
Matt Brady
Joe Simmons
Joe Wertz
Jason Rivkin
Michael Wang
Robert Sichelsteil
Kori Hunter
Mohammed Farah
Igor Burokhov
Joe Palma
Mike Lavenburg
Andrew Zhu
Ray Ross
Alan Kraut
Mike Shasho
Emad Alabsi
Dave Inselberg
Robert Pyne
Frank Ferrigno
Jeffrey Spence
Joel Frank

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): First Level Down

Level 2 started moments ago, with the blinds going up to 75/150, and players continue to settle in the main poker room.  With the Preakness later in the afternoon, Parx East is full of casual racing fans, including those sweating action from the felt.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1B): Cards In The Air

Level 1 (Blinds 50/100)

The cards are in the air for Day 1B, and it's the final opportunity for players to put themselves in contention for a trophy (unless they buy-in for 10 bigs tomorrow morning).  As the main poker room fills up, players use their own introductions via Twitter:



Big Stax 1500 (Day 1A): End Of Day 1A (Chip Counts)


Day 1A
Total Players:  92 Players left:  22
Total Chips: 4,600,000 Average Chips: 209,091
Name Last Name Hometown  Chip Count
Mike Cologna Freehold,NJ 694,500
Michael Quibble Ledyard,CT 429,000
Christopher Tryba Evergreen, CO 342,000
Terry Grimes New Rochelle 338,000
Michael Matrone Morganville,NJ 284,000
Will "The Thrill" Failla Smithtown 261,500
Joseph Cappuccio Hammonton,NJ 255,500
Esther Taylor Havertown 222,500
Roland Israelashvili New York,NY 202,000
Stephanie Hubbard Hazlet,NJ 200,500
Matt Glantz Lafayette Hill,PA 194,500
Kevin Bressler Wayne,PA 165,500
Vinny Longo East Hanover,NJ 146,000
Igor Skochilo Astoria,NY 123,500
Frank Argano Miami Beach 123,000
Jewook Oh New York,NY 121,000
James Kaplan Boca Raton,FL 120,500
Sheldon Gross Hillsboro Beach,FL 89,500
Ken  Silberstein Edison,NJ 87,500
Joseph LaPinta Toms River,NJ 77,000
Travis Greenawalt Landisville,PA 68,500
Peter  Mimmo Meadowbrook,PA 46,500

*** Mike Cologna (Freehold, NJ) $5,000 Day 1A Chip Lead Bonus

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1A): Final Hands

The tournament clock has been paused at 10:00 minutes, and there will be four more hands remaining in the night.  Once those hands are done, the floor will verify players chip counts, and they will bag for Day 2 on Sunday.  The end of day chip leader will be posted once all numbers have been checked and are official.

Big Stax 1500 (Day 1A): Remaining Players/Contendors

Level 15 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/500)
Total Entries: 92

Here is the lineup for the players remaining, with the contenders chip counts posted:

Table 62:

  1. Sheldon Gross
  2. Leonardo Palermo
  3. Joe Lapinta
  4. Stephanie Hubbard
  5. Roland Isrealashvili
  6. Amnon Filippi
  7. Joe Cappuccio
  8. Kevin Calenzo
  9. Vinny Longo
Table 63:
  1. Mike Cologna - 550,000
  2. Michael Quibble
  3. Matt Glantz
  4. Terry Grimes
  5. James Kaplan
  6. Igor Skochilo
  7. Mike Matrone - 480,000
  8. Dave Stepanski
  9. Maggie Morris
Table 64:
  1. Jewok Oh
  2. Peter Mimmo
  3. Frank Argano
  4. Esther Taylor
  5. Will Failla
  6. Travis Greenawalt
  7. Ken Silberstein
  8. Chris Tryba - 420,000