Sunday, October 13, 2013

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): End Of Day 1C Chip Counts

Day 1C
Total Players: 275 Players Left: 66 Day Chip Avg: 208,300
First Name Last Name Hometown  Chip Count
Shankar Pillai New York NY 764,500
Christopher Capone Palmyra PA 729,000
Wayne Kaufmann Smithtown NY 504,500
Michael Dentale Brooklyn NY 470,000
Joel Gola Philadelphia PA 453,500
Mark Funk Hilltown PA 415,000
Michael Azzaro Yonkers NY 413,000
Yuriy Kalantanov Rego Park NY 401,500
Mohammad Farah Bensalem PA 360,000
Melissa Burr Brigantine NJ 322,000
Lisa Pickell Brick NJ 304,500
Kevin Grabel Southampton PA 303,000
Alex Zaverukha Newtown PA 284,000
Anthony Arnieri Lumberton NJ 281,000
Kris Gmerek Midland Park 276,500
Josh Albin Freeport NY 276,000
Steven Thorton Springfield 275,000
Matt  Glantz Philadelphia PA 274,000
Alfredo Sosa Paraguay 266,000
Joseph Galazzo Union NJ 265,000
Michael  Rocco California 249,000
Manh Nguyen Pittsburgh PA 244,500
Phil Lifschitz Livingston NJ 238,000
Wes Wyvill Alexandria VA 232,000
Chetna Joshi Bensalem PA 221,500
Matthew Parry Fairport NY 216,000
Peter Brickman Philadelphia PA 213,000
Stephanie Hubbard Hazlet NJ 210,000
Tom Zeitler Amityville NY 204,500
Luis Diaz Hazleton PA 196,000
Vimy Ha Brooklyn NY 189,000
Anatoliy Kim Brooklyn NY 184,500
Yao Wu New York NY 173,000
James Sansone Fayetteville NY 165,000
Evan Lash Little Neck NY 152,000
Steven Khu Philadelphia PA 145,500
Alan Kraut Doylestown PA 144,000
Emmanuil igilov Staten Island NY 142,500
Ketan Pandya Piscataway NJ 138,500
Malik Adawi San Diego PA 130,500
Spiros Stathakis Astoria NY 125,500
Jebhar Patterson Tampa FL 124,000
I.G. McKenzie Baltimore MD 123,000
L.D. DiGiovanna Brooklyn NY 123,000
Chris Bourassa Leesburg VA 116,500
Ian Polomo San Antonio TX 115,000
Jeffrey Schwartz East Windsor NJ 111,500
Ron LaDuca Cherry Hill NJ 109,000
Tom Pschar Ringoes NJ 105,000
Joel Frank Rocky Hill NJ 100,000
Pierre Deissler Mt. Laurel NJ 92,500
Alyson  Parker Plainsboro NJ 92,000
Eric Warming Hockessin DE 92,000
Alli Schultz New York NY 86,500
Jia Liu Brooklyn NY 86,000
Jeff  Guffinkel Florida 75,000
Yannis Vitsentzos New York NY 74,000
Vinny Pahuja New York NY 74,000
Nicholas Partenope Colonia NJ 68,000
Onofrio Reina Elizabeth NJ 67,500
Marcin Podbielski Bellerose NY 62,000
Alex Rocha Vagabond 56,000
Igor  Gonta New York NY 54,500
Luke  Donato East Hanover NJ 50,500
Norman Michalek Westfield NJ 37,500
Leanne Rosenblatt Toms River NJ 32,500

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Fireworks

Maybe it's because we just mentioned that something big needed happen in order for Chris Capone not to bag the chip lead?  Sure enough in a pot during the last four hands of the night, we had a three way hand between Jack Duong, Shankar Pialli, and Player X.  With a shove of 86,000 and a call from Jack Duong, Pialli re-shoved for over 300,000 (having Jack covered).  Duong tanked for a while, and decided to put his remaining 190,000 at risk.  The hands would be tabled:

Duong: Q Q       Pialli: A K        Player X: A 3

Flop: K 8 6

Turn: 2

River: 6

Shankar would bag the chip lead after that hand with 714,000.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): #Boss

Level 15 - Blinds 2,000/4,000/500 (Total Entries: 517)

Chris Capone & Matt Glantz

The chip leader at the end of the night, pending some true fireworks should be Chris Capone.  Matt Glantz (who's to his direct left) was overheard saying that he has played six huge pots in the last level and won all of them.  Capone is up over 600,000 and it's now just a question of what he'll bag over the next 4 hands.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): End Of Night

The tournament floor will announce the final amount of hands with 10:00 on the clock, and players will then bag and tag their chips for tomorrow.  

Players returning for Day 2 will resume play at 12:00pm.

End of Day 1C chip counts as well Day 2 table draws will be posted by 2:30am.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Updated Chip Counts

Level 15 - Blinds 2,000/4,000/500 (Total Entries: 516)

Here are updated chip counts from after the break:

Wayne Kaufmann - 540,000
Mike Dentale - 500,000
Mark Funk - 500,000
Melissa Burr - 390,000
Steve Thorton - 330,000
Matt Glantz - 315,000
Shankar Pialli - 310,000
Jack Duong - 280,000

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Final Break

Players are on their final break of the night and will return to play Level 15, then bag (blinds 2,000/4,000/500).

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Showers

Level 14 - Blinds 1,500/3,000/400 (Total Entries: 515)

The list of players to bust and not re-enter continues to grow, while some really late entries pile in as well.  Here are some of the players we lost:

Mike Shasho
Bob Brady
Sam Taylor
Chris VanDeursen
Taylor Honkofsky


Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Level Going Up

Level 14 is about to begin with blinds increasing to 1,500/3,000/300.  There 513 entries which doubles the guarantee that this event had, another great turnout for the Big Stax main trophy event.

At the conclusion of this level the players will go on their last break of the night, and return to finish Level 15 and bag.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Chip Leaders In Action

Level 13 - Blinds 1,200/2,400/300 (Total Entries: 509)

Here are a few of our chip leaders in action:

Shankar Pillai (270,000)

Jack Duong (230,000)

Mike Dentale (400,000)

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Right Before Break

Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000/300 (Total Entries: 507)

Only a few minutes before break we walked over to Table 65, as Jason Rivkin was in the tank for a decision which would be for all his chips.  After Nicholas Palma opened the pot pre, both the small blind and big blind called (Rivkin was in the big).   The flop came out K 9 9 and both blinds checked to Palma, who fired out a bet.  The small blind check raised, and Rivkin three bet to 24,000.  Palma then four bet to 50,000 and the player in the small blind five bet all-in for 76,000.  Rivkin had just below that number, and after a few minutes in the tank decided to make the call.  Palma would fold behind and the two hands would be tabled:

Flop: K 9 9

Rivkin: A 9        Player X: J 9

Turn: 6

River: 4

Rivkin would leave his opponent crippled, while doubling up to over 150,000.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Break Time

Level 12 is about to end and players will be going on a (15) minute break.  When they return to play the blinds will be up to 1,200/2,400/300.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Updated Chip Counts

Level 12 is about to begin with blinds going up to 1,000/2,000/300.  Here are some updated counts as of the end of Level 11:

Mike Dentale - 320,000
Steve Thorton - 235,000
Shankar Pillai - 220,000
Matt Glantz - 180,000
Joel Gola - 175,000
Jack Duong - 170,000
Kevin Grabel - 160,000
Alyson Parker - 160,000
Nicholas Palma - 155,000
Norman Michalek - 140,000
Alex Rocha - 120,000


Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Burr-ying The Field

Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600/200 (Total Entries: 499)

As the field grows to 500, we see some of our later arrivals building above average stacks.  Melissa Burr (Brigantine, NJ) just busted a player to build her stack to just over 230,000, while Jack Duong (South Plainfield, NJ) has also quickly built a starting stack to over 160,000.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Bracelet WInner In The Crowd

Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200/200 (Total Entries: 487)

At Table 78 sits Shankar Pillai (Commack, NY), who in 2007 bested a final table containing the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Brett Richey, and Perry Friedman, to win his first WSOP bracelet ($3K NL Hold'em).  Pillai would win $527,829, which was his first recorded tournament cash, and so took off his career.  Also at his table sits Igor Rabinovich (Richboro, PA), who just this summer finished 554th in the WSOP Main Event, taking home over $20,000.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): And Down The Stretch They Come

Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200/200 (Total Entries: 481)

Dinner break is now over and the rush to try and bag chips has begun, it's now or never for many of the players in the room.  There will be five more levels played tonight (including the one we are in), so we should expect to see the total number of entrants go over 500.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Dinner Break

Players are on dinner break and will return at approximately 7:30pm.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): At A Glantz

Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000/100 (Total Entries: 474)

Matt Glantz (Lafayette Hills, PA)

In the back of the clubhouse room lies a table we missed earlier, where Matt Glantz sits on a stack of over 250,000. Glantz is seated at the table with Amit Sharma (Big Stax 1000 III final table member) and Alfredo Sosa (Big Stax 300 IV winner).

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Level Up

Level 9 has just started with the blinds going up to 500/1,000/100 (468 total entries).  At the conclusion of this level players will be going on a (75) minute dinner break.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): His Face Is On A Bus

Level 8 - Blinds 400/800/100 (Total Entries: 459)

Joel Gola (Philadelphia, PA

Players may recognize Joel Gola (Philadelphia, PA) even if they haven't played poker with him (if they are locals).  Gola is one of the most well known jewelers in the Philly area, and can be seen in local commercials and plastered on the sides of busses.  He was primarily a cash game player, and would regularly be seen in the 10/10 NL game.  

Joel saw some success earlier in the year during the Borgata Summer Poker Open, making the final table of the championship event and taking home close to $50,000.  Since registering late, Joel has already built his stack up to 150,000.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Updated Chip Counts

Level 7 - Blinds 300/600/100 (Total Entries: 450)

Updated counts from the field:

Mike Dentale - 285,000
Stephanie Hubbard - 150,000
Alyson Parker - 145,000
Tim Little - 120,000
Norman Michalek - 120,000
Alfredo Sosa - 90,000
Nancy Martin - 85,000

Alfredo Sosa (Paraguay) is in the room for the first time since winning the Big Stax 300 last week.  Although it was a three way chop, Sosa had the most chips and recieved over $51,000.  More late arrivals include Chalie Hook and Sam Taylor.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Break Time

Players are going on another (15) minute break, and will return to blinds of 300/600/100.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Scooping Up Pots

Level 6 - Blinds 250/500/50 (Total Entries: 441)

Mike Dentale (Brooklyn, NY) is off to a great early start, as he sits with over 200,000 (and this is after taking a rough beat to lose a sizable pot).  As we walked by his table, we saw an opponent push his remaining 35,000 on a board of K♥ 2♦ 6♣ 3♦.  Dentale only had to put another 15,000 in to call the bet, and his K♠ J♠ would trump his opponents's K♦ 4♦ after a black deuce spiked the river.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Packed Field

Level 5 is about to end, and players will post blinds of 250/500/50 for Level 6.  At the conclusion of the level the players will go on a (15) minute break, but we caught some new faces as they just sat down:

Kyle Bowker

Melissa Burr

Allie Prescott

Vinny Pahuja

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Where Ya Been?

Level 5 - Blinds 200/400/50 (Total Entries: 420)

Players are still filing in, and we are seeing a bunch of new faces that we haven't had throughout the series.  Both Vinny Pahuja and Alex Rocha are returning from Canada, while Joe Liberta and Matt Glanrz are also making their appearances.  

Pahuja just cashed for over $55,000 in the $1,000 Full Tilt Poker Montreal Festival (Main Event).  He finished in 6th place, while another east coast pro Mike Linster ended up chopping the tournament three ways.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): No Strangers To Deep Runs

Level 4 - Blinds 150/300/50 (Total Entries: 404)

There are many players in the field now who have experienced super deep runs in the Big Stax series, and we caught a few on camera:

Ray Ross

Mike Dentale

Sean Wallace

Ilya Ekshtut

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): First Break

Players are going to be going on their first (15) minute break of the day, and will return to blinds of 150/300/50.  More notables continue to enter the room as we are just under 400 total entries:

Erik Rivkin
Nicholas Palma
Sean Wallace
Allison Schultz
Joseph McKeehen

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): Full House

Level 3 has just started with blinds moving up to 100/200/25, and the total number of entires last posted on the board is 373.  The clubhouse room is full of notables looking to put themselves in good position coming into Day 2:

Nancy Martin
Jason Rivkin
Stephanie Hubbard
Mike Dentale
John DiBella
Kevin Grable
Mohammed Farrah
Ilya Ekshtut
Tim Little
Stephen Beckwith
Fritz Stoner
Nicholas Partenope
Alyson Parker
Joe Palma
Bryan Trishetta

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1C): The Time Is Now

Level 1 - Blinds 50/100

The starting days have dwindled, and the satellites are done, which means today is the final chance for players to involve themselves in the Big Stax series.  Registration is open throughout the day until the final minute of the final level (Level 15) ticks away.

Day 1B saw a well known tournament pro bag the chip lead, as Jared Jaffee (Brooklyn, NY) took a double up as he turned a flush against a set of aces.  He used the momentum to go on to bag 475,000, while Patti Haggerty (Scranton, PA) would bag second in chips with 396,000.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): End Of Day 1B Chip Counts

Total Players: 122 Players left: 31 Chip Avg: 197,048
Jared  Jaffee Brooklyn, NY 475,500
Patricia Haggerty Brigantine, NJ 396,000
Gregory Miller Corning, NY 375,500
Chris  DelGrande West Chester, PA 329,500
Edmond Petrell Lumberton, NJ 315,500
AJ Denicco Pottstown, PA 301,500
Vincent Roazzi New Hope, PA 277,500
Morgan  Litwin Brookfield, CT 255,000
Jacob Neff Philadelphia,PA 219,500
Douglas Franklin Philadelphia,PA 211,000
Noam Fligelman Philadelphia,PA 204,500
Aristides Santana Yonkers, NY 203,500
Jeff Wicker Bristol, PA 197,500
Steven  Sarmiento Queens, NY 195,500
Dennis Lisovskiy Holland, PA 193,500
Jesse Mercado Brooklyn, NY 191,000
Joseph Losialo Freehold, NJ 177,000
Justin Levy Coral Springs, FL 177,000
Chris Whitall Hainesport, NJ 148,000
David Inselberg Long Beach, NY 147,500
Christine Brewer Port Monmouth, NJ 141,000
Mike  Stucchio Old Bridge,NJ 130,000
John Mcewen Nazareth, PA 128,000
Lonnie  Heimowitz Monticello, NY 123,500
Michael Marder Sewell, NJ 113,500
Ronald  Wright Hamilton, NJ 112,000
Charles  Minter Yardly, PA 96,000
Kevin  Diamond Long Island City, NJ 91,500
Chris Ocme Franingham, VA 81,500
Kevin  Lutz Belmar, NJ 60,500
Dan  Daconti MT. Laurel, NJ 39,500

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Bagging And Tagging

Level 15 - Blinds 2,000/4,000/500 (Total Entries: 241)

Players are about to find out hand many hands remain in the night, and once they are done it will be time to bag chips for Day 2 on Sunday.  We will be posting the end of Day 1B chip counts shortly after the end of the night.  

You can find those chip counts here on the live updates page, or via Twitter (@matthewaxelrod (or) @parxpokerroom).

Friday, October 11, 2013

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Updated Chip Counts

Level 15 - Blinds 2,000/4,000/500 (Total Entries: 241)

Here are some updated counts from the field:

Greg Miller - 415,000
Patti Haggerty - 410,000
A.J. DeNicco - 270,000
Jared Jaffee - 220,000
Robert Pyne - 150,000
Jeff Wicker - 140,000
Christine Brewer - 125,000
Dave Inselberg - 120,000
Michael Marder - 110,000

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Final Break

Leve 14 is winding down, and players will go on a (10) minute break while the floor colors off the (100) denomination chips.  They are no longer needed with the blinds going up to 2,000/4,000/500 for the final level of the night.  Patti Haggerty (Scranton, PA) is over 275,000, and is looking for her first cash at Parx.  She has over $15,000 in career tournament earnings, but just tripled that number in a single session over this past week, hitting a table share of a bad beat worth $41,000.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Level Going Up

There are currently 54 players remaining in the clubhouse room, which is the same type of pace we had yesterday when we finished with 29 players.  Greg Miller is continuing to lead the way with over 380,000, while we are seeing success out of another former Big Stax winner.  Edmond Petrella (Lumberton, NJ) was one of four players to chop the Big Stax III (Big Stax 300).  Petrella's chop amount that he recieved was $44,275, which was good enough for 2nd in the tournament.

Players will be moving up to Level 14 in less than two minutes, with blinds going up to 1,500/3,000/400.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Who We've Lost

Here are a few players to bust before break, and yet to return with a re-entry slip:

Norman Michalek
Marguerite Spagnuolo
Anthony DiGrado

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Break

Players are going on break for (15) minutes, and they will return to Level 13 and blinds of 1,200/2,400/300.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Chip Leaders

Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000/300 (Total Entries: 238)

Players will finish this level, which has 21:00 remaining, and will once again go on a (15) minute break.  The two largest stacks in the room belong to Greg Miller (330,000) and Jesse Mercaudo (320,000). 

Mercaudo was actually down to 6,000 chips at one point in the tournament, and has clearly gone on a steady upswing.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Level Update

Level 11 has just started with blinds increasing to 800/1,600/200.  Including the seats that are going to be given away in tonight's satellite, we will have reached the tournaments guarantee.  Here are some counts from the end of Level 10:

Christine Brewer - 170,000
Alan Kraut - 150,000
Edmond Petrella - 115,000
Jared Jaffee - 100,000
Marguerite Spagnuolo - 95,000
Michael Marder - 75,000
John Allan Hinds - 70,000

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Main Event Players Back & Satellite Running

Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200/200 (Total Entries: 234)

Main Event players are back from their dinner break, while the satellite for tomorrow's final day is underway in the main poker room.  There are 75 entries already in (Level 3), with registration open through the break after Level 6. 

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Jaffee Doubles

Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000/100 (Total Entries: 230)

As we walked by Table 68, Jared Jaffee (Brooklyn, NY) had his remaining 40,000 in the middle on a board of A♠ Q♠ 8♣ 4♠.  His opponent quickly made the call and the two hands were tabled:


Jaffee: 3♠ 5♠            Player X: A♥ A♣

River: 2♦

Jaffee would end up cracking the aces after turning a flush, and now has close to 100,000.  Level 9 is winding down, and players will go on their (75) minute dinner break.

Live updates will resume at 7:30pm.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Last Level...Then Dinner

There is one minute remaining in Level 8, and players will post blinds of 500/1,000/100 in Level 9.  At the conclusion of this level the remaining players will go on dinner break (75 minutes).

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Solid Runout

Level 8 - Blinds 400/800/100 (Total Entries: 224)

Christine Brewer (Port Monmouth, NJ) is up over 120,000 after doubling up, courtesy of a nice runout.  She was all-in on a flop of K♠ 5♠ 3♠ with A♠ A♣, but was behind her opponents flopped flush (8♠ 6♠).  The turn K♣ wasn't what she may of been looking for, but the river K♥ would lock up the hand for her, and the full double.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Level Up

Level 8 is going to start in a few minutes, and players will then be posting blinds of 400/800/100 (222 total entries).  New players to the field include Norman Michalek and Matt Maccaroni.

Tonight at 7:00pm the poker room will be running a $100 + 20 satellite into tomorrow's Day 1C.  The satellites so far have been very popular, and on average have given away 10+ seats.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Break Time

It's time for the second break of the day, with players returning to blinds of 300/600/100.  The total number of entrants has gone up to 216.  The tournament floor is now coloring off the (25) denomination chips.

Big Stax 1000 (Day 1B): Through The Lens

Level 6 - Blinds 250/500/50 (Total Entries: 208)

Christine Brewer & Patti Haggerty

Sean Wallace 
BFF's Dave Inselberg & Jared Jaffee

Alex Queen

(Left to Right) Mitchell Martin, Jeff Spence, Mike Azzarro

Kevin Lutz

Steven Sarmiento