1st Place: Stephen Dare ($21,489)

When they started heads up, Stephen Dare and Greg Hyman were nearly equal in chips.  But over the course of a few levels, Stephen had won quite a few pots and had Greg on the ropes.  They finally got it in as a coin flip, with Stephen holding [6s][6d] to Greg's [Ac][Kc].  The flop was fairly good for Stephen when it came [3s][4s][5c], and the [7s] turn left Greg drawing to a chop.  The [5h] river was just one pip from salvation, and Stephen Dare wins the tournament.  For his performance today, Stephen will collect $21,489 along with the title, the trophy, and the watch.

2nd Place: Greg Hyman ($19,000)

Photos of the epic heads up battle

Ever since the final two players made a deal to flatten the payouts (1st will now pay $21,489 and 2nd will now pay $19,000), the two have been battling it out.  Stephen Dare has a big lead on Greg Hyman going into the 12,000/24,000 blind level.  Here are some pictures from the heads up match:

3rd Place: Jonathan Drane ($10,705)

After losing a big pot to Stephen Dare, Jonathan Drane moved his last 11 big blinds in from the button.  Stephen tank folded the small blind, later saying he had a king, but Greg Hyman called fairly quickly from the big blind.

Jonathan [9h][8c]
Greg [Ah][3h]

Jonathan couldn't find much on the [3c][4h][4c] flop, but the [7c] turn gave him a flush draw to go with his overcards.  The [5h] river did not improve his hand, however, and he will exit this tournament in 3rd place.  Jonathan earns $10,705 for his efforts.

Championship event starts tomorrow

Tomorrow is Friday, and that means the Foxwoods Poker Classic $2,700 Championship is upon us.  The tournament starts at 11am and features hour-long levels and a 30,000 starting stack.  The tournament will wrap up on Sunday night.  Last year's winner Justin Schwartz beat out 191 other players to collect $112,582.

At 9am, there will be a last chance $300 mega satellite.  The tournament is a turbo structure with 10 minute blinds, so you'll get into the Championship with plenty of time to play on Day 1.  Full structure is available here.

Make sure you tune in to www.FoxwoodsLive.com to watch our featured table at 11am.

4th Place: Gennadiy Kostrov ($8,029)

On a [6d][4s][Td] flop, Gennadiy Kostrov bet out only to see Greg Hyman move all in.  Gennadiy called in for slightly less, and the two revealed their hands:

Gennadiy: [7d][2d]
Greg: [Jd][5d]

Both players had flopped flush draws, but Greg's jack high was strongly in front.  The [Qd] on the turn made both players flushes, but again, Greg's jack high flush was superior.  The insignificant [3c] fell on the river, and the stacks were counted down to confirm that Gennadiy was cover.  By less than one big blind, he was, and he will exit this tournament in 4th place, collecting $8,029 for his efforts.

5th Place: Dominick Pelli ($6,043)

Dominick Pelli was all in preflop with [Kc][Js] against Jonathan Drane's [Ac][5d].  Dominick failed to improve as the board ran out [4h][Ad][Jc][Ts][4c], and Dominick will collect $6,043 for his fifth place finish.

6th Place: Joshua Samier ($4,834)

Joshua Samier has been eliminated when his [Ac][5c] was outdrawn by his opponent's [Kh][Qs].  The board ran out [7c][4h][Ks][6s][Jd] to send Joshua to the rail in 6th place, collecting $4,834 for his efforts.

Event #19 $300 Bounty Prize Pool & Payouts

Event #19 $300 Bounty received 136 entries, creating a $28,560 prize pool.  The top 15 players will be in the money, with a mincash worth $549.  Here are the full payouts:

1st Place: $7,370
2nd Place: $4,813
3rd Place: $3,217
4th Place: $2,392
5th Place: $1,815
6th Place: $1,485
7th Place: $1,210
8th Place: $963
9th Place: $775
10th-12th Place: $604
13th-15th Place: $549

7th Place: Chris Walsh ($3,973)

Chris Walsh has been eliminated when his [Th][2h] failed to improve against Greg Hyman's [6d][6s].  The board ran out [Tc][2d][5h][9h][7c], and Chris will collect $3,973 for his 7th place finish.

Chris Walsh crippled, then makes quads

After checking through on a [Kh][Kc][3d] flop, Chris Walsh check raised Gennadiy Kostrov's bet on a [4s] turn.  Gennadiy called, and the two saw a [Jd] river.  Chris bet again, but this time Gennadiy raised, putting Chris to a decision for most of his chips.  After quite a long time in the tank, Chris made the call and saw the bad news, as Gennadiy had flopped a full house with his [Ks][3h].

After paying off the bet, Chris was left with only 25,000 at 5,000/10,000 blinds.  He folded the next hand, but on the last hand before dinner break, Chris got the rest of his chips in against Joshua Sarmir in the small blind.  Chris was in the lead with [Ac][7s] against Joshua's [Qd][6h] and improbably, Chris flopped a full house when it came [Ah][7c][7d].  The turn came the [2c] and the river came [7h] to give him unnecessary quads.

Chris goes into dinner break with 65,000.

Dominick Pelli quadruples up

Dominick Pelli was all in preflop and called in three spots.  The three players checked to a river on a board of [6c][4d][2h][4c][Js], and Dominick jumped out of his chair and yelled, "I have a boat!"  He did indeed as he tabled [6s][6h] to scoop the pot and claim a quadruple up.

8th Place: Steve Happas ($3,194)

Steve Happas stands to watch the final card get dealt

Stephen Dare opened the pot with a raise before Chris Walsh three-bet, next to act.  Action folded to Steve Happis who moved all in.  Stephen instantly moved all in over the top, and Chris took a few beats before folding.

Steve [Qh][Qc]
Stephen [Ah][Ac]

Steve said he almost folded but unfortunately he did not and was up against a bigger hand.  All he could do is watch as the board ran out [4s][8s][2c][5d][Jc].  After shaking hands, Steve headed to the payout desk to collect $3,194 for his 8th place finish.

Busted in 8th place. Ran my QQ into AA ALLINPRE for 500k pot. @FoxwoodsPoker

— Steve*Dakota*Happas (@Dakotasisland) March 20, 2014

9th Place: Micah Goldberg ($2,590)

Gennadiy Kostrov was all in with [Kh][Js] against Micah Goldberg's [9s][9d].  Gennadiy would need to win this race to survive, and he did when the board fell [5d][Kc][3c][Ah][2s].

Not long after, Micah was all in with with his own [Kc][Jh] and was now at risk against his Gennadiy's [Js][Jd].  Michael went 0 for 2 in this head to head battle as the board came [4c][8d][9s][5d][2s].  Michael will exit this tournament in 9th place, good for $2,590.

10th Place: Justin Schwartz ($2,158)

While on a penalty, Justin Schwartz was appealing the penalty to the Tournament Director and ended up being disqualified in 10th place, earning $2,158.

Gennadiy Kostrov doubles through Chris Walsh

From the small blind, Chris Walsh moved all in and Gennadiy Kostrov called all in for less.  Chris had [Kd][9h] to Gennadiy's [As]-X, and the best hand held up as the board ran out [4c][Td][Qc][3h][Ah].

Stephen Dare doubles through Gennadiy Kostrov

Stephen Dare (left) contemplates calling allin after Gennadiy Kostrov (right) three bets

On a [5d][Th][Jh] flop, Stephen Dare checked and Gennadiy Kostrov bet 35,000.  Apparently thinking the bet was 30,000, Stephen Dare attempted to check-raise to 60,000.  Stephen was forced to raise to 70,000, and Gennadiy moved all in for another 78,000.  After a long tank, Stephan made the call.

Stephan [Ac][Tc]
Gennadiy [Ah][5h]

Gennadiy was a bit of an underdog with his flush and trips draw, and he failed to hit his outs when the turn and river came [4d][4s].

Major drama as Justin Schwartz and Steve Happas have words

We missed the encounter, but apparently Justin Schwartz had said "all in" and may or may not have had cards in front of him when he said it.  This was pointed out after he had folded, and the other players wanted his chips to go into the pot.  The Foxwoods tournament director was called to the table and heard both sides, and it was ruled that Justin would forfeit a minimum raise to 10,000 and would also be on a one round penalty.  Steve Happas expressed his displeasure with the ruling and felt that his entire stack should be in the middle of the pot.  It was a heated encounter, and we captured a bit of it on camera...

The first Foxwoods floorman hears both sides of the situation

Steve Happas expresses his viewpoint

The Foxwoods tournament director gets the full story from the dealer

Justin Schwartz receives the news of the final decision

Dominick Pelli doubles through Micah Goldberg

Dominick Pelli stands up to sweat his allin

On the first hand of the final table, Dominick Pelli moved all in from under the gun and was called by Micah Goldberg in the small blind.  It a race as Dominick had [Ah][Qd] and Micah had [Th][Tc].  The flop gave Micah a set as it came out [2s][6d][Td], but Justin Schwartz pointed out he could hit the [Jd] to pick up straight and flush outs.  Indeed, the [Jd] hit the turn.  To follow that up, the [Kc] hit the river to give Dominick the winning straight.  After the hand, Micah jokingly mentioned that he wanted the blog to reflect that he lost the pot "with grace and dignity."  Indeed, he did, and we are still 10 handed.

Final table reached

We lost two players simultaneously on the final table bubble, so we are down to the final 9 players in Event #17 $1,100 NLH.  Play will begin after a brief break, and blinds will continue at 2,500/5,000 with a 500 ante for another 18 minutes and 13 seconds.  Here are chip counts and seating assignments:

Seat 1: Jonathan Drane - 94,000
Seat 2: Dominick Pelli - 71,000
Seat 3: Justin Schwartz - 225,000
Seat 4: Stephen Dare - 190,000
Seat 5: Chris Walsh - 328,000
Seat 6: Gennadiy Kostrov - 228,000
Seat 7: Joshua Sarmir - 104,500
Seat 8: Steve Happas - 166,000
Seat 9: Greg Hyman - 95,000
Seat 10: Micah Goldberg - 278,000

Here are the remaining prizes to be played for:

1st Place: $24,173
2nd Place: $16,316
3rd Place: $10,705
4th Place: $8,029
5th Place: $6,043
6th Place: $4,834
7th Place: $3,973
8th Place: $3,194
9th Place: $2,590
10th Place: $2,158

Players are now in the money

With the elimination of our 13th place finisher, the remaining 12 players in Event #17 $1,100 NLH are now in the money.  The remaining players are guaranteed at least $2,158, with first place worth $24,173.

Vinny Maglio has been eliminated

Vinny Maglio was late to Day 2, but did show up to nurse his short stack.  He eventually found A-Q and moved his chips into the middle.  He was called by pocket jacks, so Vinny would be flipping for his tournament life.  The window card was an ace, but it was followed by a jack to leave Vinny drawing virtually dead.  No miracle cards came, and Vinny exited this tournament in 15th place, a few spots shy of the money.

March 2014 - Foxwoods Poker Classic - Event #17 $1100 NLH - Returning Players

Place	Name	Chip Count	Table - Seat
1	Dominick Pelli	323,500	6-8
2	Chris Walsh	190,000	6-9
3	Michah Goldberg	187,600	6-6
4	Gennidy Kosrov	184,400	4-1
5	Kent Bowley	156,300	4-7
6	Stephen Dare	130,000	4-5
7	Joshua Samir	97,100	4-3
8	Gregory Hyman	87,400	4-2
9	Justin Scharewtz	82,000	6-7
10	Tarun Golati	78,000	6-1
11	Petko Tsakov	62,200	4-6
12	Jonathan Drane	59,900	6-3
13	Zach Daly	50,100	6-2
14	Steve Happas	49,100	4-4
15	Jason Caluau	44,000	4-8
16	Michael Young	28,500	4-9
17	Vincent Maglio	25,700	6-5

Event #17 $1,100 NLH Day 2: Cards are in the air

Cards are in the air for Day 2 of Event #17 $1,100 NLH.  17 players remain and the top 12 players make the money.  One player, Vinny Maglio, has yet to take his seat here on Day 2.  We'll keep you updated as to whether his seat cashes.

You can watch our feature table on our live stream at www.FoxwoodsLive.com.

YouTube Video: Event #17 $1,100 NLH Day 1

YouTube Video: Event #16 $400 NLH Seniors Final Table

Event #17 $1,100 Midnight Update

We just lost a player in 19th place, which means the tournament is redrawing to the final two tables.  The tournament will play one more level (1,000/2,000 blinds with a 300 ante) before bagging up for the night and returning tomorrow at 12pm.  We are still streaming our feature table at www.FoxwoodsLive.com with a few new faces.