1st Place: Jeremy Meacham ($38,666)

It didn't take long for David Espinola to get his short stack in against Jeremy Meacham, and David was in good shape to double up, holding A-9 to Jeremy's A-8.  Unfortunately, it was Jeremy's day as the flop fell 7-8-7 to give Jeremy the best hand.  His lead held through the turn and river, and Jeremy Meacham has won the first Mega Stack tournament of the series.  Jeremy will collect $38,666, the trophy, and the title for his efforts today.

2nd Place: David Espinola ($23,608)

Heads up chip counts

With the elimination of Je Wook Oh in 3rd place, we are now heads up.  Here are estimated chip counts for the remaining two players:

Jeremy Meacham - 3,800,000
David Espinola - 500,000

3rd Place: Je Wook Oh ($15,597)

Je Wook Oh was all in preflop holding [Ks][Qd] and was in bad shape against Jeremy Meacham's [Kh][Kc].  The board ran out [8c][Jd][5c][4d][4c] and Je Wook found no miracles to save him from a 3rd place finish.  He will earn $15,597 for his efforts.

4th Place: David "The Negotiator" Pocknett ($12,394)

On a [6s][2h][3s] board, David "The Negotiator" Pocknett held the nuts with [5s][4d] and only had to dodge four outs as Jeremy Meacham held [3c][2s] for two pair.  Amazingly, the [3h] hit the turn to make Jeremy a full house and leave The Negotiator drawing dead.  The [5c] hit the river and The Negotiator made his gracious exit, thanking his supporters and congratulating the remaining players.  He will earn $12,394 for his 4th place finish.

After collecting his payout ticket, The Negotiator was heard saying, "A couple of great opponents, hope you guys make some money."

Je Wook Oh doubles through David Espinola

Je Wook Oh was all in preflop holding [Kd][Kc] against David Espinola's [As][5d].  The [Jd][Ts][7d] flop was safe for Je Wook, and while the [Kh] on the turn gave Je Wook top set, it turned David's three-outer into a four-outer.  The [Ah] hit the river to earn Je Wook the double up.

David "The Negotiator" Pocknett doubles through David Espinola

David "The Negotiator" Pocknett was all in with [As][Jd] and was in great shape to double up against David Espinola's [Qd][Js].  The board ran out clean when it fell [2s][Ad][3d][7c][Ac] and "The Negotiator" doubled up to approximately 1,100,000.

5th Place: Craig Sklar ($9,106)

On a [Ah][3c][2c] flop, Craig Sklar moved all in and Je Wook Oh made the call.  Craig held [4h][4c] against Je Wook's [As][Jh], and he would need to catch a four or a five to survive.  The turn was the [2h] and the river was the [Td], forcing Craig to head to the payout desk.  He will collect $9,106 for his 5th place finish.

6th Place: George Abi-Zeid ($7,420)

George Abi-Zeid has been eliminated when his J-9 failed to improve against Je Wook Oh's A-Q.  George will earn $7,420 for his 6th place finish.

Players are now on break

The 6 remaining players are now on a fifteen minute break.  When they return, the blinds will be 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante.

7th Place: Mike Pasquale ($6,070)

Mike Pasquale was all in and well in front with [9d][9c] against Craig Sklar's inferior [4h][4c].  The [5d][4s][Ts] flop changed all of that, as Mike was outflopped and would need to catch one of the two remaining nines.  The [6s] turn and [3s] river failed to give Mike the suck-resuck he was looking for, and he will exit this tournament in 7th place, good for $6,070.

8th Place: Matt Costanzo ($4,806)

On a [3s][5s][3c][2c] board, Matt Costanzo was all in with [Ks][Qs] and was called by Jeremy Meacham who held [6h][4d].  Jeremy's straight was best, but Matt could survive with a river spade.  It was a black card, but the [Jc] was not the black jack he wanted to see.  Matt will earn $4,806 for his 8th place finish, while Jeremy has increased his stack to approximately 2,800,000.

Craig Sklar doubles through George Abi-Zeid

Craig Sklar was all in and behind with [Ah][6h] against George Abi-Zeid's [6s][6c].  Craig was out of his chair when the [Kc][Qd][Ts] flop fell, giving Craig a glimmer of hope with a gutshot straight draw.  The [Kd] hit the turn to give Craig a few counterfit outs.  The [Js] on the river made Craig's straight, however, and he will survive his all in.

9th Place: Eric Israeilov ($3,720)

On a [Ad][Kh][Kd][5d] board, Eric Israeilov moved all in with [Ah][Jd] and was snap called by his opponent who held [Ks][8s].  The river [9s] was not the two outer Eric was looking for, and he will exit this tournament in 9th place, good for $3,720.

David Espinola doubles through Matt Costanzo

David Espinola was all in preflop holding [3s][3c] against Matt Costanzo's [Ad][Jc].  The [9d][Ks][Ts] gave Matt a gutshot straight draw to go with his overcards, but the [3d] on the turn left Matt drawing to just the gutshot.  The [Kc] hit the river to give David the winning full house, and he will double up to survive.

Je Wook Oh doubles through Mike Pasquale

After Mike Pasquale opened to 65,000, Je Wook Oh moved all in and was called.  It was a race as Je Wook held [As][Qc] to Mike's [9d][9c].  The flop fell [5c][3d][8h], and Je Wook would need to pair one of his hole cards to survive.  The [Ac] on the turn was just what he needed, and now he would need to avoid a river nine.  The [4s] hit the river to earn Je Wook a full double up to around 1 million.

Final Table Chip Counts & Seating Assignments

chip leader Jeremy Meacham

Seat 1: Je Wook Oh - 470,000
Seat 2: David "The Negotiator" Pocknett - 830,000
Seat 3: Matt Costanzo - 945,000
Seat 4: Jeremy Meacham - 1,245,000
Seat 5: George Abi-Zeid - 600,000
Seat 6: Craig Sklar - 595,000
Seat 7: Eric Israeilov - 460,000
Seat 8: Mike Pasquale - 1,100,000
Seat 9: David Espinola - 305,000

Here are the prizes to be awarded:

1st Place: $38,666
2nd Place: $23,608
3rd Place: $15,597
4th Place: $12,394
5th Place: $9,106
6th Place: $7,420
7th Place: $6,070
8th Place: $4,806
9th Place: $3,720

Final Table Reached

There was a double elimination to get the field down to the final 9 players, and the remaining players are currently drawing seats at the final table.  Chip counts and seating assignments will be posted shortly.

Players are now on their dinner break

The 13 remaining players are now on their one hour dinner break.  Play will resume at approximately 7:15pm EST.

Matthew Costanzo doubles up with a Royal Flush!

Matthew Costanzo was all in preflop for 163,000 holding [As][Js] against the pocket eights of Je Wook Oh.  The [Ts][2d][Ks] gave Matthew a royal flush draw to go with his overcards, and the [Qs] hit the turn to complete Matthew's royal flush.  The [Ad] hit the river, and Matthew will double up to around 350,000.

The remaining players are now on break.  When they return, blinds will be 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante.

Matthew is all smiles after doubling up

Final 2 tables reached

We are now down to the final 18 players, and the clock has been paused to redraw them into their new seats.  Play will resume shortly.

$600 Is Now In The Money

On the first hand of play, 2 players were eliminated, narrowing the field from 39 players to 37.  Play then went hand for hand for four hands until a player was lost on our featured table to bring the field down to the final 36.  The remaining players are guaranteed at least $1,315, with all eyes on the $38,666 first place prize.

YouTube Video: $600 Mega Stack Day 1

$600 Mega Stack Day 2 Is Under Way

Cards are back in the air for Day 2 of the $600 Mega Stack.  39 players remain and only the top 36 will make the money, so the money bubble will be sure to burst soon.  Play will continue at level 18, which is 2,500/5,000 blinds with a 500 ante.

May 2014 - Mega Stack Challenge - Event #1 - $600 NLH - Returning Players

Name	Chip Count	Table/Seat
Israilov, Eric	546,500	2-7
Oh, JeWook	511,000	5-9
Meacham, Jeremy	342,500	1-8
Belanger, Rory	323,500	4-4
Pocknett, David	322,500	2-8
Blake, Jeff	283,000	4-3
Pasquale, Mike	279,000	2-9
Costanzo, Matthew	274,500	5-3
Espinola, David	249,500	4-9
Ruvolo, Giuseppe	225,500	1-9
Hoglund, Thomas	215,500	5-6
Ricciuti, Bob	191,500	3-6
Schonbach, Chris	191,500	3-7
Wantman, Matthew	160,000	1-3
Freedman, Paul	158,500	2-5
Mourtadh, Alias	144,500	3-4
Sklar, Craig	135,500	3-2
Lauer, Andrew	131,000	2-4
Tran, Long	130,000	1-6
Israelashvili, Roland	124,000	1-2
Smith, Andrew	123,500	5-1
Hou, Ernie	114,500	3-3
Firestone, Steve	109,500	4-7
Orman, Erik	103,000	4-1
Torgersen, Ryan	102,500	4-8
Meaney, Frank	101,000	1-5
Whitley, David	101,000	5-8
Walsh, Thomas	96,000	2-3
Houle, Charlie	90,500	3-8
Vo, Chien	90,500	5-2
Rodriquez, Rene	83,500	1-1
Trumbo, Keith	81,500	2-1
Chalifour, Dan	75,000	4-2
Paradis, Fred	70,500	5-5
Grandieri, David	69,500	1-4
Abi-Zeid, George	68,000	4-5
Vye, Gerard	60,000	5-4
Aiello, Gerald	59,000	2-2
Cohen, Michael	8,000	3-9

Play is done for the night

The tournament staff has drawn a card, and all tables are now playing 6 more hands before bagging up their chips for the night.  The remaining players will return at 12pm EST to play down to a winner.  Full chip counts and seating assignments will be posted here shortly.