A Chop and a winner

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 28: 60,000/120,000/120,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 2

After playing a couple of hands heads up, the players stopped the clock to discuss making a deal. The players agreed upon a chop, with Doug Lang, who had about 6 million chips to the 13 million of Michio Cohen, picking up $19,755, which was $3,000 more than second place money. That left Michio, with $23,755 and bragging rights as the winner of the 2nd ever Rivers Schenectady Monster Stack Tournament.

Thank you to everyone who came out and helped make this such a successful event!

Ryan Proctor loses the flip, knocked out 1 hand later

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 28: 60,000/120,000/120,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 2

Ryan Proctor called got it all in with AₓKₓ vs 5ₓ5ₓ and the board ran out 4ₓ9ₓ3ₓ10ₓ4ₓ to seriously cripple his stack. One hand later, he ran Q♦️J♦️ into the AₓAₓ of Michio Cohen. The board ran out Kₓ9ₓ7ₓJₓ5ₓ, to knock him out. He collects $10,955.

Rob Saladin comes in 4th

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 28: 60,000/120,000/120,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 3

Rob Saladin pushed all in in the big blind with 4ₓ4ₓ, but was called by the QₓQₓ of Doug Lang. Everyone else folded, and the board fell Aₓ2ₓ6ₓ, but the turn Qₓ sealed the deal, and the river Qₓ rubbed salt in the wound as Lang won with quad Qs. Rob Saladin continues his fantastic run at Rivers Schenectady, with a 4th place finish worth $8,040. He had cashed in previous Rivers events for $1,400, $14,000, and $46,000.

With the knockout, Michio Cohen has beat a personal bubble. In last years Rivers Monster Stack Tournament, Michio came in 4th place.

Ryan Proctor knocks out Michael Stein

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 28: 60,000/120,000/120,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 4

Michael Stein was brutally sent to the rail when his Qₓ8ₓ offsuit was called by the big stack Ryan Proctor. Proctor called the relatively small all in of 500,000 with 5ₓ8ₓ. With three outs for Proctor to make the knockout, the board ran Jₓ4ₓ9ₓ7ₓ, but the river 5ₓ sent Stein to the rail. He picks up 6,004 for his efforts.

No longer 6 handed as Vinny Leone hits the rail

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 28: 60,000/120,000/120,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 5

We are finally 5 handed as Vinny Leone hits the door, as AₓJₓ could not run down the KₓKₓ of Ryan Proctor. He bettered his 23rd place finish from last years Monster Stack event, bringing home 4,521.

Michio Cohen completes a huge comeback

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 28: 60,000/120,000/120,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 5

Michio Cohen had been down to 110,000 here at this final table, but has made a huge comeback and now leads the remaining 6 players with 7.5 million chips. He is trying to better his 4th place finish in the last Rivers Monster stack tournament.

STILL, we are 6 handed.

Ryan Proctor with the tight fold

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 23: 20,000/40,000/40,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 9

Ryan Proctor made a tight fold just now, right after I said I had been looking to write about him. The current chip leader with about 5 million decided not call the all-in of the small blind while he was in the big blind. He flashed me 5ₓ9ₓ offsuit, and mucked. He also requested no picture of himself for this post.

Play is continuing 6 handed. Another all-in just occurred between Rob Saladin and Michio Cohen. Rob shoved all in pre-flop with Aₓ10ₓ and was called by Michio with QₓJₓ. The flop came QₓJₓ6ₓ, but the turned Kₓ and river 4ₓ gave Rob Saladin broadway and secured yet another double up.

7 all in calls have occurred 6 handed, with no one yet knocked out. Play is continuing as level 27 ends and the players leave on break.

Rob Saladin doubles up to

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 27: 50,000/100,000/100,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 6

Absolutely no one wants to leave in 6th place, as another all-in call has led to a double up. Rob Saladin moved all in pre-flop with Aₓ9ₓ offsuit and was called by Qₓ10ₓ. Rob’s shove for 1.1 million was again looked up by Michael Stein, and the board ran out 3ₓ9ₓ2ₓ8ₓ2ₓ, to give Rob a much needed double up.

Vinny Leone doubles up again

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 27: 50,000/100,000/100,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 6

Vinny called a 2x raise preflop with Q♥️9♥️, and saw a flop heads up of Qₓ7ₓ9ₓ rainbow. Michael Stein bet, Vinny shoved all-in for 1.6 million and was called by Michael who turned over KₓQₓ. The board ran out Aₓ4ₓ which gave the double up to Vinny, who after being down most of the final table, has reached an average stack. Michael, who was the chip leader till that pot, is still sitting healthy without about an average stack. An average stack is currently 3.2 million.

John Lacombe finishes 7th

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 26: 40,000/80,000/80,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 6

Action had slowed somewhat since coming back to the break, but then John Lacombe shoved all in for over 1 million chips with A♦️10♦️. He was looked up by Michael Stein with 10ₓ10ₓ. The board ran out 4ₓ5ₓ3ₓ7ₓ9ₓ which knocked out Lacombe in 7th place.

6 players remain, with the next one out picking 4,521.

Chips still firing as we are approaching dinner break

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 25: 30,000/60,000/60,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 7

All-ins have been very frequent at this final table, with some players chip stacks fluctuating greatly. There have only been 2 eliminations so far however, and players will look to refuel and refocus after they come back from break in 60 minutes.

Former River tournament winner Rob Saladin is sitting with an average stack, and our current chip leader is Doug Lang, who currently has over 4 million. The average is currently 2.7 million.

Rob Saladin Slow plays Aces

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 25: 30,000/60,000/60,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 7

Rob Saladin just limped AₓAₓ on the button with 2 small stacks behind. The small blind Michio Cohen just called, and the big blind Joe Murphy raised all-in. Rob asked for a count and then thought for a moment before declaring call. Michio insta-mucked, and Rob quickly turned over his AₓAₓ. Joe turned over AₓJₓ, and when the board ran out clean, picked up the pot and the knockout.

Joe Murphy picked up 2,680 for his 8th place finish. The 7th place finisher will pick up 3,457.

The rest of the payouts: (Cause I just remembered I never put them up.)

1st: 26,653

2nd:16,857

3rd: 10,955

4th:8,040

5th: 6,004

6th: 4,521

7th: 3,457

Vinny Leone triples up, doubles up

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 24: 30,000/50,000/50,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 8

Vinny Leone was down to his last 330,000 chips when he moved all in with 9ₓ9ₓ. He was called by AₓJₓ and Aₓ2ₓ, but the board ran out 6ₓq0ₓ6ₓ4ₓ3ₓ which secured him a triple up.

The very next hand he called all-in for less with K♥️Q♥️. Michio Cohen, who had shoved turned over Aₓ9ₓ. The flop came down very good for Michio, with a 2ₓ8ₓ9♥️. But the turn and river went 10♥️4♥️, giving Vinny a flush and a double up.

Those two hand took him from 330,000 up to over 2 million in chips. We are still in search of our 8th place finisher.

Kevin Ryan first final table victim

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 24: 30,000/50,000/50,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 8

Kevin Ryan called all in when he rivered top pair on a 6ₓ4ₓ9ₓ10ₓJₓ board. His opponent turned over KₓQₓ and Kevin became the first victim of the final table. He took home over 2,600 dollars for his effort.

Three free seats

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 23: 20,000/40,000/40,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 9

Three of our final 9 actually won their seat on route to the final 9. Michio Cohen, Kevin Ryan, and Ryan Proctor each hit a high hand this month which guarenteed a free $600 ticket into this months Monster Stack Tournament. They have turned that free seat into a minimum 2,302 payout, with the opportunity to win the top prize of 26,653.

Doug Lang Picks up a big pot

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 23: 20,000/40,000/40,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 9

Doug Lang just picked up a very nice pot, one of the first large ones at the final table. Lang raised to 80,000 pre-flop, but after Rob Saladin called, was re-raised to 205,000 by Michio Cohen. Than Lang- repopped it to 605,000. Saladin folded after some thought, and then was called by Michio. The flop came Jₓ10ₓ4ₓ, Doug shoved all in for well over 1 million, and Michio folded.

simultaneous knockouts brings us to 9

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 23: 20,000/40,000/40,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 9

Two knockouts on the two different tables brings us to 9 as Carl Diveglia and Ramakrishna Jammula were both sent to the rail. This brings us to our official final table. Our final 9 are:

Seat 1: Michio Cohen

Seat 2: Kevin Ryan

Seat 3: Joseph Murphy

Seat 4: Michael Stein

Seat 5: John LaCombe

Seat 6: Vinny Leone

Seat 7: Ryan Proctor

Seat 8: Doug Lang

Seat 9: Rob Saladin

The average stack is currently over 2.1 million. Still a lot of play left with the average stack having over 52 Big Blinds

The prize up top is 26,653, with the players already having guaranteed themselves 2,302 for 9th place.

11th All in survived

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 22: 20,000/30,000/30,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 12

One of the current chip leaders, Rob Saladin, has been sitting next to Kevin Ryan for some time now, or at least long enough for him to give him the nickname “cockroach,” because he claims it is impossible to get rid of him. Rob stated that Kevin has survived no less than 11 all-ins. Kevin has been relatively short most of the day, but he has continued to double up at critical times. He most recently survived an all in for 370,000 on the flop of Jₓ8ₓ9ₓ. His opponent called with Jₓ2ₓ, but Kevin had KₓKₓ, which held up after the board ran out blanks. He currently sits with a below average stack, but is still alive.

AK<AQ for 12 remaining

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 22: 20,000/30,000/30,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 12

Eric Bresee got it all in on the flop with A♥️K♥️ on a 4♥️2♠️5♠️ board, and was called by the A♣️Q♣️ of Michael Stein. The 6♠️ was no help to Stein on the turn, but the river Q♠️ gave Stein the knockout and a pot of over 700,000. Bresee was eliminated and picked up $1,585 for his efforts.

The players just received another pay bump as we look for two more knockouts to determine our unofficial final table.

Brian Morgan, Joe Rice Fall

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 22: 20,000/30,000/30,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 14

Joe Rice fell in 16th place to Michio Cohen, as he now sits 3.7 million. Seconds later, Brian Morgan was knocked out in 15th place, as the field continues to shrink.

We are down to 14, and the players redraw when we are down to 10. The tables are currently 7&7.

Dennis Zolo busts, and we have 2 tables

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 21: 15,000/25,000/25,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 20

Dennis Zolo put his last chips in the middle when he shoved out of the Big Blind with K♣️6♣️, but the button called him with A♣️2♣️, and the board ran out 10ₓ5ₓ9ₓJₓ2ₓ to knock him out. He earned a payout of slightly over 1,250 dollars.

With that we are down to 18 and the final 2 tables as the players just received a small pay bump with 17th taking home 1,401 dollars.

Some updated chip counts coming on the next break in 10 minutes.

Chip leads are changing

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 19: 10,000/15,000/15,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 21

Chip leads are changing as one of the former big stacks doubles through the previous big stack in the room. John LaCombe stays alive with a rivered full house to double through the top pair of Rob Saladin for more than a 1 million chip pot. Michio Cohen becomes the new chip leader with more than 2.2 million.

The first paid bustouts have come and gone with only 21 left remaining.

The Bubble has burst

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 21: 15,000/25,000/25,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 23

We are down to 23 as the tournament field has shrunk significantly in the past hour. Some notable eliminations are WSOP player of the year leader Shaun Deeb, and professional jockey Rajiv Maragh. Currently the active chip leader is Rob Saladin, who looks to have hit the 2 million chip mark. The average stack is currently 877,000.

Rajiv Maragh stays alive

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 19: 10,000/15,000/15,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 40

Rajiv Maragh, the professional jockey, started the day with about an average stack, but has gotten short early on Day 2. He has remained alive though, after he 3-bet all in preflop, and his opponent folded. He picked up nearly 55,000 but he still below average halfway through level 19.

Murphy knocks out the Last woman standing

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 19: 10,000/15,000/15,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 41

Joseph Murphy showed no mercy knocking out the 100K guarenteed Monster Stack’s last woman standing. Tammy Lavalley picked up 9ₓ9ₓ in middle position, and shoved all in but was called by the current tournament chip leader who turned over AₓAₓ. The board ran 0ut 2ₓJₓ2ₓ8ₓ5ₓ, and Murphy added to what is already the biggest stack in the room.

Day 2 field shrinks quickly

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 17: 6,000/12,000/12,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 45

The chip leader going in to Day 2, Joseph Murphy, has extended his chip lead nearing 1.4 million. He is followed closely by John LaCombe who had the second most chips going into Day 2 with around 1.2 million.

We are down to 5 tables remaining, with only 22 players left before the bubble burst. We should start to see action slow somewhat now that the some of the Day 2 buy-ins and small stacks have either busted or doubled up.

Payouts and small stacks

$600 Monster Stack NLH Day 2
$102,290 Prize Pool
Level 17: 6,000/12,000/12,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 193
Players Remaining: 50

The Day 2 buy-ins and small stacks are firing it in early, as the prize pool and total payouts have come out.

This tournament hit the guaranteed prize pool, with 102,290, which means that 23 are getting paid out of the remaining 50. A minimum cash is going to pay out 1,268, with first place paying 26,583!

Day 2 begins with last woman standing

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 2
Level 18: 6,000/12,000/12,000 Big Blind Ante
Players Remaining: 52

Day 2 has begun and cards are in the air. Besides the notable large chip stacks, we are down to our last woman standing here on Day 2, as Tammy Lavalley survived through Day 1. She is short with only 127,000 to start that day, but she is alive.

Registration has just come to a close! Total numbers and payouts will be available shortly!

Day 2 Chip Counts and Seat Assignments

Wayne Daley Doubles up as the day ends

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 17: 5,000/10,000/10,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 106
Players Remaining: 29

Wayne Daley re-raised to 75,000 with his AₓAₓ on a Kₓ4ₓ9ₓ flop, and his opponent raised him all-in. He called and his opponent showed Kₓ8ₓ off-suit, and with 5ₓ6ₓ on the turn and river, his 200,000 all in gave him a nice starting stack for Day 2 tomorrow.

The day ends, and Joe Murphy is the Day 1A and 1B chip leader, with slightly over 1,000,000. Not counting Day 2 buy-ins, the starting field will be 49 on Day 2.

Full chip counts and stacks will be posted later tonight!

Final level of the day

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 15: 3,000/6,000/6,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 106
Players Remaining: 30

Play has slowed considerably now that we are in our final level of the day. Most of the players seem to have set their sites on day two, now that the average stack is 350,000, with the day 2 blinds set to be 6,000-12,000. The smaller stacks are still attempting to double up, and we have just had some new entries so, we may see some more bustouts and a higher average stack before the end of the day.

Kevin Ryan with a double knockout

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 16: 4,000/8,000/8,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 103
Players Remaining: 35

A three way all in occurred with two of the smaller stacks left in the tournament. The first player shoved with AₓKₓ, the second player shoved with Aₓ7ₓ, and they were both looked up by Kevin Ryan who showed down KₓKₓ. The board ran 5ₓ10ₓ8ₓ7ₓ4ₓ, which secured the double knockout, and near double up for Kevin Ryan.

Stephen Posa uses his “1 time”

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 15: 3,000/6,000/6,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 100
Players Remaining: 34

Stephen Posa actually said he was using his one time when his all-in shove for 160,000 with Aₓ10ₓ was called by the KₓKₓ of one time chip leader David Howard. Those who ask, shall receive, and Stephen Posa saw an Aₓ in the window. With the rest of the board running out clean, he garnered a big double up to a better than average size stack. An average stack now is 290,000.

Then there were 4…… tables

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 14: 3,000/5,000/5,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 36

Down to 4 tables as the 37th player knocked out was also the last woman standing here on day 1B. Day 1B has reached its 100th entry, with 80 minutes left to play.

Michio first to 1 million

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 14: 3,000/5,000/5,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 98
Players Remaining: 38

David Howards chip lead was short lived as Michio Cohen, with his most recent knockout, is the first player to cross the 1 million chip mark.

Currently 100 minutes left till the end of day 1B.

David Howard Gets a huge double up

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 14: 3,000/5,000/5,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 40

David Howard was heads up and called a bet of 40,000 on the turn on a board that read 5ₓKₓKₓ3ₓ. The river came down a 5ₓ and it was checked to him. He thought for a split second then looked at the dealer and said, “I’m all in,” for what was an exceptionally large all-in of 340,000. He was snap called by his opponent, but when David turned over Kₓ9ₓ, his opponent tabled his cards and showed 5ₓ2ₓ, for a worse full house, and Howard picked up the massive pot, which makes him the new Day 1B chip leader with nearly 850,000 in chips.

Brian Morgan makes a huge comeback

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 13: 2,000/4,000/4,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 96
Players Remaining: 42

Brian Morgan, who was down to 10,000 chips very recently, tripled up 3 times and has climbed his way back up to nearly an average stack. He just raised UTG +1 and took down the pot as he smiled and flashed the table (and me) AQ offsuit. He currently sits with over 180,000.

The bust outs are coming quickly now with bigger stacks beginning to form. We might see less than 30 advance from Day 1B to Day 2 tomorrow.

5 tables left

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 13: 2,000/4,000/4,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 95
Players Remaining: 43

Down to 5 tables, the average stack in the room has crept up to 220,000. The current chip leader is Michio Cohen, who currently tops 800,000. Currently at level 13, the field plays till level 17 before ending play for the night. Buy-ins do not end until the start of the clock on Thursday morning.

Michio Cohen becomes a chip leader

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 12: 2,000/3,000/3,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 94
Players Remaining: 54

The pot already contained 180,000 on a board of 9ₓ6ₓ8ₓ3ₓ prior to the river card. The river fell a 10ₓ and Michio open shoved all in for 150,000. His opponent tanked for a minute and a half or so contemplating his decision, until he finally decided to call. Michio turned over Aₓ7ₓ for a 10 high straight, and his opponent turned over 9ₓ9ₓ for a set of 9s which were no good. Michio now sits with more an a 500,000 chip stack heading into the 3rd and last break of the day.

Another table down, as we are now down to 54 players remaining. 20 advanced to day 2 on Day 1A, and buy ins remain open until the start of Day 2 Thursday.

Checking back in on some Players

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 11: 1,500/2,500/2,500 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 93
Players Remaining: 56

The field is continuing to shrink as we are getting close to our 3rd and final break of the day. Just a quick update on some players mentioned today. The current average chip stack is 165,000. All chip counts are an approximation.

Anthony Angerami: 160,000

John Yanni: 70,000

Dennis Zollo: 250,000

Jonathan Giordano: 290,000

Michael Stein: 350,000

Tom Skelly: 120,000

Brian Morgan: 175,000

Alex Mulvey: Eliminated

Jonathan Giordano makes Jacks stand up

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 10: 1,000/2,000/2,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 93
Players Remaining: 65

Giordano faced a very large raise to 40,000 pre-flop, and looked down at pocket JₓJₓ and decided to re-raise his opponent all in for another 60,000 on top. His opponent tanked and said out loud he did not believe he could fold even if he wanted to, and then put his chips in the middle and turned over Aₓ8ₓ off suit. The board ran out very clean for JₓJₓ as it came 4ₓ7ₓ2ₓ7ₓ3ₓ and gave Jonathan a very nice pot, which chipped him to well over 200,000.

Another table has broken in Van Slycks as we are down to 7 tables here on Day 1B.

Michael Stein makes it work

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 10: 1,000/2,000/2,000 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 91
Players Remaining: 65

Michael Stein bet 20,000 on after a turn card fell laying the board 10ₓJₓKₓ6ₓ, and he was called by his opponent. The river came the a useless 2ₓ, and Michael bet 30,000. His opponent thought for about a minute, and then finally decided to call. Michael turned over AₓQₓ, the nuts, and was shipped a very nice pot which put him above an average stack in the room.

Player bust outs are starting to come with a little more frequency, as players seem to be bluffing and creating more action as the blinds continue to go up.

Dennis Zollo makes the combo draw

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed
Level 8: 800/1,200/1,200 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 85

Dennis Zolo got his K♣️Q♣️ all in on a 8♣️9♣️J♥️ board. His 80,000 chip shove was called by A♥️A♠️, but the board ran out 4♥️10♣️ which gave him a flush and the winning hand. He now sits with 180,000 chips with the average in the room being 130,000.

Players just left for their second break of the day, with the black 100s being colored up. The biggest stack in the room appears to be around 350,000.

Tom Skelly Survives with middle pair

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed
Level 8: 800/1,200/1,200 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 83

Tom Skelly shoved all in for 56,000 with 9ₓ10ₓ with 4 players to act on a 10♠️7♥️J♣️Q♠️ board. The first player in front of him called, the second player thought for a moment before folding, and the third player snap folded. The calling player turned up 9♠️7♠️ for bottom pair and a flush draw. The board blanked on the river with a 2♥️, ensuring the double up for Tom.

Tom’s table broke immediately after the hand becoming the first table to break of the day. The players scattered to other parts of Van Slycks, as the field begins to slowly shrink.

John Yanni stays alive

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed
Level 6: 400/800/800 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 80

John Yanni faced an all-in bet on the turn after he had flopped 2 pair with J♠️9♠️ on a 2♠️J♣️9♣️Q♣️ board. His opponent had shoved for close to 65,000, with John only have just above 55,000 remaining. After thinking for a few moments, John decided to call and flipped over his cards. His opponent turned over 8♣️8♠️, and the river A♥️ allowed John to take down the pot. He now sits with close to 150,000, which is very healthy with the average stack in the room sitting at 115,000.

Anthony Angerami with a knockout

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 6: 800/800/800 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 75

Anthony Angerami snap called when his opponent shoved on a Kₓ5ₓ9ₓ board. Anthony wasted no time, and beat his opponent to table his pockets AₓAₓ. His opponent turned over 7ₓ7ₓ, and the board ran out 5ₓ5ₓ, giving Anthony the better full house. His opponent shoved for around 40,000, which Anthony picked up and added to his above average stack.

A new table just opened as we are up to 75 entries on Day 1B as players have begun to start rebuying. Still plenty of play left with the 100,000 starting stack and the big blind only at 800.

Brian Morgan doubles up

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 5: 300/600/600 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 72

Brian Morgan shoved all in for 65,000 on a 3ₓ10ₓ5ₓ flop and was called by Kₓ10ₓ. He was very happy to turn over his pocket QₓQₓ, and the board ran out 7ₓ2ₓ to give him a nice pot and double up. He now has an above average stack in the room.

These sorts of hands are becoming a theme in the room as chips are really starting to fly at a quicker pace now that the players have come back from the first break of the day. Knockouts have been few and far between so far but the pace of action has picked up.

Alex Mulvey shows courage

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed
Level 4: 300/500/500 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 59

Alex raised pre-flop to 2,500 but was re-raised by another player to 20,300. He thought for a moment and then called. Alex led out for 25,000 on a flop of 10♦️7♦️3♥️. After a long pause from his opponent who had stopped to tip a waitress for a drink, she looked back at the board and then called the 25,000. It went check-check on the 2♥️ turn, and check-check on the 9♣️ river. Alex looked defeated as he checked the river, but got excited when his opponent turned over A♣️J♣️ of clubs, and he turned over the winning hand of A♠️Q♠️ for a nice pot.

Players are continuing to file in, and as we have nearly tripled our the entries that we had at the start of the day.

Slow and Steady wins the race

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 3: 200/400/400
Total Entries: 50

The action is steady as there have been no eliminations yet. Players keep coming, however, and all of the tables are beginning to fill. On Day 1A we saw chips start to really fly after the first break of the day, and we could see something similar today after the players go on break in 45 minutes.

Winners Together

$600 Monster Stack NLH
$100,000 Guaranteed Day 1B
Level 2: 200/300/300 Big Blind Ante
Total Entries: 38

Front: Rob Saladin Back: Vito Masi

We have two former winners of major Rivers poker events sitting at the same table on Day 1B. Robert Saladin won the inaugural Capital Region Classic back in May of 2017 as well as the Stockade Series back in October of 2017, prizes that totaled more than $60,000. Vito Masi has been on a hot streak of late, after picking up the trophy in the 2018 Capital Region Classic, he took 4th place in the Empire State Championships at Turning Stone, with those totaling more than $20,000.

Players are continuing to file in as the action is slowly starting to pick up here on Day 2B.