December Mega Stack Challenge - Event #11 - $230 NLH - Final Results

Place	Name	Prize
1	Richard Kerman, Bronxville, NY	$4,344
2	Eugene Shuster, Roslyn Hghts, NY	$4,343
3	Peter Wagner, Hinsdale, NH	$2,598
4	Anthony Magistrale, Danbury, CT	$2,449
5	Louis Proietti, Amherst, MA	$2,106
6	James Clark, Quincy, MA	$1,174
7	Joseph Starratt, Brockton, MA	$963
8	Tony Sabbagh, Ridge, NY	$776
9	Steve Rada, Roxbury, MA	$630
10	Daniel Kusnerak, Newton, NC	$523
11	Leonid Shuster, Solon, OH	$523
12	Charles Lask, Ware, MA	$523

YouTube Video: $1,650 Championship Event Final Table

December Mega Stack Challenge - Event #9 - $1,650 NLH Main Event - Final Results

Place	Name	Prize
1	Marsel Backa, Waterbury, CT	$65,191
2	Long Tran, Quincy, MA	$65,191
3	Tou Kue, Coventry, RI	$32,554
4	Ralph Macri, Redding, CT	$26,306
5	Samantha Cohen, Boca Raton, FL	$19,730
6	Jeffrey Yanchek, Meriden, CT	$15,784
7	Carlo Sciannameo, Worcester, MA	$12,824
8	Timothy O’Keefe, Providence, RI	$10,523
9	Timothy Reilly, Natick, MA	$8,226
10	Suad Kantarevic, Danvers, MA	$5,754
11	Bryan Leskowitz, Leominster, MA	$5,754
12	James Campbell, Marlborough, MA	$5,754
13	Jason Scudamore, Cleveland, OH	$5,096
14	Mark Schumacher, Hopkinton, MA	$5,096
15	Daniel Chalifour, Swanzey, NH	$5,096
16	Jeffrey Miller, New Vernon, NJ	$4,768
17	Giuseppe Ruvolo, Gloucester, MA	$4,768
18	Randolph Spain, Brewer, ME	$4,768
19	Raphael Richter, Provincetown, MA	$4,439
20	Julian Sacks, Ridgewood, NJ	$4,439
21	Joseph Berardi, Groton, MA	$4,439
22	Aaron Smith, Plymouth, MA	$4,110
23	Julie Bae, Stamford, CT	$4,110
24	David Anderson, Holden, MA	$4,110

1st Place: Marsel Backa ($65,191)

Marsel Backa and Long Tran made a deal to chop 1st and 2nd place money as they are friends. After a few hands of raising and re-raising, the two finally got it in. Marsel had said that he had looked at one card as he revealed his [Kc][Jh], and Long hadn't looked as he flipped over his first card, the [Ac]. His second card was the [9s], so he was in good shape to double up. Marsel said he'd win the pot for sure, and the [2d][9h][Ks] put his king jack in front. The [7d] turn changed nothing, and the [Tc] river meant Long Tran would exit the tournament in 2nd place, good for $65,191.

Marsel Backa has won the $1,650 Championship Event, taking home $65,191, the trophy, and the title. Congratulations, Marsel!

3rd Place: Tou Kue ($32,554)

Long Tran folded the button and Marsel Backa limped the small blind. Tou Kue moved all in from the big blind, and Marsel snap called.

Marsel [Qd][Js]
Tou [Ad][Kd]

Marsel was 33% to eliminate his opponent, and the [2c][Td][Qh] flop meant Tou was in bad shape. Tou asked the dealer to give his opponent two pair, but instead the [Ac] hit the turn to give Tou top pair. Marsel asked for a king on the river, but instead the [Qs] fell, which was good enough to earn Marsel the KO. Tou will exit the tournament in 3rd place, collecting $32,554 for his efforts.

Update chip counts on break

Long Tran - 2,300,000
Marsel Backa - 3,900,000
Tou Kue - 465,000

Here are the prizes left to play for:

1st Place: $79,906
2nd Place: $50,476
3rd Place: $32,554

Marsel Backa cripples Tou Kue

All three players saw a [Ah][9c][8c] flop, and Tou Kue raised after a bet and a call. Tou Kue folded but Marsel Backa made the call. The turn brought the [4h], and Marsel check-called a 220,000 bet from Tou. When the [Qd] hit the river, Marsel lead out for 700,000, almost all of Tou's stack. Tou went into the tank, but eventually called and saw the bad news. Marsel had rivered the nuts with [Jh][Td]. Tou mucked his hand, saying, "You got so lucky."

4th Place: Ralph Macri ($26,306)

Ralph Macri was all in preflop [7h][7c] and was up against Marsel Backa's [Ks][Js]. The [Jc][6c][2c] gave Marsel top pair, but Ralph had set and flush outs. The [Kd] turn changed nothing, and the [Qs] river meant Ralph would exit this tournament in 4th place. Ralph will collect $26,306 for his efforts.

5th Place: Samantha Cohen ($19,730)

Samantha Cohen was all in preflop holding [As][Jd] and was called by Long Tran holding [2s][2h]. The board ran out [3d][5d][6c][8s][Qh], and Samantha will finish this tournament in 5th place. She will collect $19,730 for her efforts.

Tou Kue wins a pot off of Samantha Cohen

At 10,000/20,000 blinds with a 3,000 ante, Tou Kue opened the pot to 45,000 and Samantha Cohen made the call on the button. The blinds folded, and the two saw a [6d][2h][5s]. Things got interesting really fast, as Tou's 60,000 bet got raised to 160,000, and then Tou three-bet to 300,000. Samantha made the call, and the [9d] turn curiously brought a check from Tou. Samantha bet 350,000, only to be met with an all in by Tou. Samantha took her time before folding, and Tou took down a nice pot and now sits on almost 1,900,000. After the hand, Marsel Backa gave Tou props for the play, which he said he doesn't normally do.

6th Place: Jeffrey Yanchek ($15,784)

Jeffrey Yanchek opened the pot before being three-bet by Marsel Backa. Jeffrey made the call, and then check-called the [Qh][4d][Qc] flop. The [9h] brought another check by Jeffrey, and Marsel bet 80,000. Jeffrey check-raised to 215,000, and Marsel smooth called to see the [8h] river. Jeffrey moved all in and Marsel snap called, and Jeffrey declared "straight" before seeing Marsel flip over [Qd][4s] for a flopped full house. Jeffrey's jack-ten wouldn't be good enough, and he will be eliminated in 6th place, good for $15,784.

7th Place: Carlo Sciannameo ($12,824)

Carlo Sciannameo was all in preflop holding [5s][5c] against Ralph Macri's [Ts][Td]. The [4s][Ks][3c] flop was no help for Carlo, but the [6d] turn gave him an open ended straight draw. The [8s] just barely missed, eliminating Carlo in 7th place. He will collect $12,824 for his efforts.

Updated chip counts at the break

The final 7 players in the $1,650 Championship Event are now on their first break of the final table. When they return, blinds will be 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante. Here are updated chip counts in seat order:

Samantha Cohen - 1,369,000
Long Tran - 1,551,000
Ralph Macri - 998,000
Jeffrey Yanchek - 553,000
Marsel Backa - 899,000
Carlo Sciannameo - 400,000
Tou Kue - 1,005,000

8th Place: Tim O'Keefe ($10,523)

Jeffrey Yanchek limped under the gun and Tim O'Keefe limped as well. Long Tran completed the small blind, and Ralph Macri checked. The foursome saw the flop fall [4s][Qc][6c], and Ralph bet 45,000 after being checked to. Jeffrey folded, and Tim raised to 110,000, leaving himself around 200,000 behind. Ralph moved all in after Long folded, and Tim made the call.

Ralph [Qs][6s]
Tim [Ah][Qd]

Ralph had flopped two pair and would knock Tim out if he didn't get counterfitted. The [Kh] gave Tim three extra outs, but the [2d] river sealed his fate. Tim will exit this tournament in 8th place, collecting $10,523.

Marsel Backa doubles through Carlo Sciannameo

We arrived to find a board of [7d][8s][7h][3d][Ks]. Marsel Backa was in the big blind and had moved all in, and Carlo Sciannameo, from under the gun, snap called. Marsel turned over [8h][7s] for a full house, prompting Carlo to jump out of his chair and say, "The one hand I can't beat" as he tabled his own full house with [3h][3c]. Luckily for Carlo, Marsel had lost a chunk of his stack in the last level to Samantha Cohen, so Carlo still has around 300,000. Meanwhile Marsel is back up to just over 1,000,000.

9th Place: Tim Reilly ($8,226)

Tim Reilly was all in from early position and was called by Tou Kue. The rest of the table folded, and Tim got the bad news: his [Qc][Jc] ran into Tou's [Qs][Qh]. The [Js][8c][8h] flop gave Tim some hope, but those hopes were dashed on the [Qd] turn. The [7d] hit the river to send Tim to the rail in 9th place, good for $8,226.

10th Place: Suad Kantarevic ($5,754)

Today's Schedule

Today is Day 11 of the Foxwoods Mega Stack Challenge. This series features over $1,000,000 in Guaranteed Prizes. Here's what's on today's schedule:

11am:
Event #11 $230 NLH
$20,000 Guaranteed
($200 Buy-in / $30 Entry fee)
Players start with 15,000 in non-value tournament chips
Registration will remain open until the start of Level 7 (approximately 2:00pm)
Levels will last 25 minutes.
There will be a 45 minute dinner break after Level 14 (approximately 5:35pm).
Full structure is available here.

12pm:
Day 3 of Event #9 $1,650 NLH Championship Event
$300,000 Guaranteed
10 players remain. Marsel Backa is the overnight chip leader.
Levels be played for 60 minutes.
Full structure is available here.

Other Tournaments:
9am: $60 NLH
2pm: $80 NLH
6pm: $120 NLH
8:30pm: $100 NLH Bounty

A full series schedule is available here.

December Mega Stack Challenge - Event #10 - $300 NLH Big Stack - Final Results

Place	Name	Prize
1	Venkatara Ganne, Edison, NJ	$10,623
2	Richard Salaices, Framingham, MA	$6.90
3	Hamid Kashvari, New York, NY	$4.58
4	Natale Kuey, Bronx, NY	$3.43
5	David Dabreo, Coventry, RI	$2.62
6	Gholamreza Khoshkhou, Norwich, CT	$2.12
7	Richard Jordan, Shelton, CT	$1.72
8	JeWook Oh, Fresh Meadows, NY	$1.39
9	Michael LaBarge, Cromwell, CT	$1.11
10	Genti Buzi, Poughkeepsie, NY	$776
11	Russell Green, Syosset, NY	$776
12	Thomas Walsh, Lowell, MA	$776
13	Justin Mancuso, Lynbrook, NY	$694
14	Anthony Magistrale, Danbury, CT	$694
15	Aaron Mayor, Putnam Valley, NY	$694
16	Burton Rubin, Stamford, CT	$653
17	Kevin Grant, Oakville, CT	$653
18	Roger Palombizio, Tolland, CT	$653

Final Table Chip Counts & Seating Assignments

The final table in the $1,650 Championship Event has been set. The final 10 players will return tomorrow at 12pm EST to play down a winner. Blinds will resume at 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante with 57:36 left on the clock. Here are chip counts and seating assignments:

Seat 1: Samantha Cohen - 832,000
Seat 2: Long Tran - 1,076,000
Seat 3: Ralph Macri - 429,000
Seat 4: Jeffrey Yanchek - 888,000
Seat 5: Suad Kantarevic - 88,000
Seat 6: Marsel Backa - 1,350,000
Seat 7: Tim Reilly - 456,000
Seat 8: Carlo Sciannameo - 501,000
Seat 9: Tou Kue - 708,000
Seat 10: Tim O'Keefe - 451,000

Here are the prizes left to play for:

1st Place: $79,906
2nd Place: $50,476
3rd Place: $32,554
4th Place: $26,306
5th Place: $19,730
6th Place: $15,784
7th Place: $12,824
8th Place: $10,523
9th Place: $8,226
10th Place: $5,754

11th Place: Bryan Leskowitz ($5,754)

From the button, Bryan Leskowitz was allin for 178,000. Long Tran folded the small blind, but Tim Reilly made the call from the big blind with pocket jacks. Bryan would need to get lucky with his ace four, but he did not improve. Bryan will take 11th place, collecting $5,754 for his efforts.

Last level of the night

The blinds have just gone up to 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante. Day 2 will conclude at the end of this level, or when the final table of 10 is reached, whichever comes first. Only 11 players remain, so only one more player needs to fall for the final table to be set.

12th Place: James Campbell ($5,754)

At 5,000/10,000 blinds with a 1,000 ante, Marsel Backa raised to 24,000 before James Campbell moved all in for 220,000 on the button. Samantha Cohen flat called from the small blind, and Marsel made the call as well. With many eyebrows raised, the flop fell [Kh][8c][Jd]. Samantha checked and Marsel bet 100,000, putting Samantha in the tank. She eventually folded and Marsel said, "Good fold" as he showed [Js][Jh]. James was disappointed as he revealed his [Ah][Kd] for top pair, but he did have runner-runner outs. The [5s] turn was not one of them, and the [8h] river made Marsel the winning full house. James will exit this tournament in 12th place, good for $5,754. After the hand, Marsel was up to just under 1,300,000.

December Mega Stack Challenge - Event #8 - $230 NLH Ladies Only - Final Results

Place	Name	Prize
1	Alice Sewall, Tolland, CT	$2,569
2	Maria Teixeira, Waterbury, CT	$2,900
3	MaryAnn Levenduski, Wolcott, CT	$2,012
4	Melanie Kaye, Guilford, CT	$2,569
5	Silvana Derosa, East Haven, CT	$1,018
6	Barbara Carralero, Old Lyme, CT	$815
7	Lona Rubenstein, Amagansett, NY	$679
8	Jeanine Giacalone, Riverhead, NY	$543
9	Cheryl Sloane, Braintree, MA	$475

13th Place: Jason Scudamore ($5,096)

Jason Scudamore has been eliminated when his [Kh][Jd] failed to improve against Tim Reilly's pocket aces. Jason will collect $5,096 for his 13th place finish.

14th Place: Mark Schumacher ($5,096)

On a [Jc][9s][8s] flop, Mark Schumacher was all in. Carlo Sciannameo and Marsel Backa folded but Samantha Cohen called with [Qh][Qd]. Mark had a flush draw and a two pair draw with his [As][Js]. The [7d] turn changed nothing, and the [2c] river meant Mark would exit this tournament in 14th place. He will collect $5,096 for his efforts.

15th Place: Dan Chalifour ($5,096)

Long Tran opened the pot before Dan Chalifour moved all in. Long made the call and showed the best hand preflop, pocket aces. Dan sarcastically informed his opponent, "You're ahead," as he exposed his ace six. An ace hit the board to give Long top set, and Dan will have to settle for 15th place. He will collect $5,096 for his efforts.

Updated chip counts at break

The final 15 players are now on their last break of the night. Here are updated chip counts for the remaining players:

TABLE 1
Seat 1: Samantha Cohen - 660,000
Seat 2: -empty-
Seat 3: Mark Schumacher - 629,000
Seat 4: -empty-
Seat 5: Carlo Sciannameo - 467,000
Seat 6: Jeffrey Yanchek - 637,000
Seat 7: Marsel Backa - 680,000
Seat 8: Suad Kantarevic - 150,000
Seat 9: James Campbell - 435,000

TABLE 2
Seat 1: Tim Reilly - 189,000
Seat 2: Ralph Macri - 421,000
Seat 3: Dan Chalifour - 99,000
Seat 4: Tim O'Keefe - 507,000
Seat 5: Jason Scudamore - 82,000
Seat 6: -empty-
Seat 7: Tou Kue - 760,000
Seat 8: Bryan Leskowitz - 338,000
Seat 9: Long Tran - 728,000

16th Place: Jeffrey Miller ($4,439)

Jeffrey Miller was all in under the gun for 59,000 at 4,000/8,000 blinds and action folded around to James Campbell in the small blind. James made the call, and Samantha Cohen folded her big blind. It was a race as James held [5s][5d] to Jeffrey's [As][9d]. The the [2s][3c][Kd][8d][Qs] board meant James's fives would hold up, and Jeffrey will be our 16th place finisher. He will earn $4,439 for his efforts.

17th Place: Giuseppe Ruvolo ($4,439)

Giuseppe Ruvolo was all in from early position and action folded to Samantha Cohen in the big blind, who made the call. It was bad timing for Giuseppe, who revealed [Kc][Tc] and would need to get lucky against Samantha's [Ks][Kh]. The [6c][Ad][9c] flop gave Giuseppe a live flush draw, and the [8s] turn added a gutshot to his outs. The [As] hit the river to give Samantha the winning to pair, sending Giuseppe to the rail in 17th place. He will collect $4,439 for his efforts.

18th Place: Randy Spain ($4,768)

Randy Spain has been eliminated when he ran his pocket eights into Tim O'Keefe's pocket aces. Randy will exit the tournament in 18th place, good for $4,768.

Final 2 Tables Reached

With the elimination of Raphael Richter in 19th place, the final two tables have been reached in the Championship Event. The third table has been broken, so here are the seating assignments for the final two tables:

TABLE 1
Seat 1: Samantha Cohen
Seat 2: Jeffrey Miller
Seat 3: Mark Schumacher
Seat 4: Giuseppe Ruvolo
Seat 5: Carlo Sciannameo
Seat 6: Jeffrey Yanchek
Seat 7: Marsel Backa
Seat 8: Suad Kantarevic
Seat 9: James Campbell

TABLE 2
Seat 1: Tim Reilly
Seat 2: Ralph Macri
Seat 3: Dan Chalifour
Seat 4: Tim O'Keefe
Seat 5: Jason Scudamore
Seat 6: Randy Spain
Seat 7: Tou Kue
Seat 8: Bryan Leskowitz
Seat 9: Long Tran

19th Place: Raphael Richter ($4,439)

20th Place: Julian Sacks ($4,439)

21st Place: Joseph Berardi ($4,439)

Joseph Berardi has been eliminated when his pocket eights fell to Ralph Macri's king jack. Joseph will earn $4,439 for his 21st place finish in this Championship Event.

22nd Place: Aaron Smith ($4,110)

At 3,000/6,000 blinds with a 1,000 ante, Ralph Macri raised to 15,000 before Aaron Smith moved all in for 67,000. Action folded back to Ralph who thought for a bit before calling with [As][8s]. Aaron was live with [Kd][Td], and he flopped a flush draw when the flop fell [3d][7d][5h]. The [Ah] hit the turn, taking away six of Aaron's outs, and the [2s] river failed to complete his flush. Aaron will exit this tournament in 22nd place, good for $4,110.

23rd Place: Julie Bae ($4,110)

A short stacked Julie Bae got the last of her chips in the middle with ace five and was called by a player holding ace king. The [9c][Jh][Js] flop gave Julie some hope for a chop, and the [8h] turn gave her some more outs. But the [Ts] river kept ace king in front, and Julie will exit this tournament in 22nd place. She will collect $4,110 for her efforts.

24th Place: David Anderson ($4,110)

David Anderson has been eliminated when his ace nine was outrun by Marsel Backa's queen ten. The board ran out [Td][4d][5c][Jc][9s] to produce the first in-the-money casualty. David will earn $4,110 for his efforts.

Kevin Calenzo is eliminated on the bubble

At 3,000/6,000 blinds with a 1,000 ante, Kevin Calenzo opened the pot and Ralph Macri reraised him. Action folded back to Kevin who moved all in, and Ralph snap called. Kevin had run his pocket nines into Ralph's pocket kings, and was at risk of being the bubble boy. The Q-Q-A flop was no help for Kevin, but the ace on the turn gave Kevin two extra outs to chop. The river bricked, and Kevin will be the bubble boy. The remaining 24 players are now in they money and guaranteed $4,110.

Suad Kantarevic doubles up again!

In almost the exact same history as earlier, action folded to Marsel Backa on the button who moved all in. Suad Kantarevic called all in, and David Anderson folded the big blind. This time, Suad woke up with [As][Ac], much to the chagrin of Marsel who held [Ad][Ts]. The [5s][8s][5c] flop only gave Marsel backdoor outs, and the [Kd] left him drawing dead. The [6s] river saw Marsel ship over 166,000 Suad's way, and once again hand-for-hand play will continue.

Champion Event is on dinner break

The final 27 players are now on their one hour dinner break. When they return, blinds will be 3,000/6,000 with a 1,000 ante. Here are full chip counts and seating assignments for the remaining players:

TABLE 1
Seat 1: -empty-
Seat 2: Julian Sacks - 195,000
Seat 3: Julie Bae - 56,000
Seat 4: Giuseppe Ruvolo - 155,000
Seat 5: Carlo Sciannameo - 660,000
Seat 6: Jeffrey Yancey - 330,000
Seat 7: Marsel Back - 756,000

Seat 8: Suad Kantarevic - 95,000
Seat 9: David Anderson - 73,000

TABLE 2
Seat 1: Kevin Calenzo - 193,000
Seat 2: Ralph Macri - 489,000
Seat 3: Aaron Smith - 124,000
Seat 4: Tim O'Keefe - 56,000
Seat 5: Joseph Berardi - 116,000
Seat 6: Randy Spain - 236,000

Seat 7: Tou Kue - 324,000
Seat 8: Bryan Lefkowitz - 302,000
Seat 9: James Campbell - 293,000

TABLE 3
Seat 1: Dan Chalifour - 252,000
Seat 2: Samantha Cohen - 321,000
Seat 3: Raphael Richter - 86,000
Seat 4: -empty-
Seat 5: Tim Reilly - 278,000
Seat 6: Long Tran - 758,000
Seat 7: Jason Scudamore - 278,000
Seat 8: Mark Schumacher - 223,000
Seat 9: Jeffrey Miller - 137,000

Suad Kantarevic doubles up on the stone bubble

From the button, Marsel Backa moved all in, having the blinds covered. Suad Kantarevic called all in for around 80,000 and David Anderson folded the big blind. Suad had the best of it with [Jd][Jc] against Marsel's [Kc][6s], and the [Tc][5h][3h][7h][Ad] board kept the jacks in front. Suad will double up to around 170,000, and the tournament will continue hand-for-hand play.

Play continues in Championship Event

The final 25 players in the $1,650 Championship Event have returned from their one hour dinner break. Hand-for-hand play will continue, and the blinds are now 3,000/6,000 with a 1,000 ante.

Championship Event is hand for hand

Chris Tryba was eliminated in 27th place and Michael Borchetta was eliminated in 26th place. With 25 players remaining, the tournament is now hand for hand. The next player to be eliminated will be the bubble boy. The remaining 24 players will make the money, guaranteeing them a minimum cash of $4,110.

Final 3 table seating assignments

Here are full seating assignments for the final 27 players. We will get chip counts in 15 minutes when the players go on dinner break.

TABLE 1
Seat 1: Chris Tryba

Seat 2: Julian Sacks

Seat 3: Julie Bae

Seat 4: Giuseppe Ruvolo

Seat 5: Carlo Sciannameo

Seat 6: Jeffrey Yanchek

Seat 7: Marsel Backa

Seat 8: Suad Kantarevic

Seat 9: David Anderson

TABLE 2
Seat 1: Kevin Calenzo

Seat 2: Ralph Macri

Seat 3: Aaron Smith

Seat 4: Tim O'Keefe

Seat 5: Joseph Berardi

Seat 6: Randy Spain

Seat 7: Tou Kue

Seat 8: Bryan Leskowitz

Seat 9: James Campbell

TABLE 3
Seat 1: Dan Chalifour

Seat 2: Samantha Cohen

Seat 3: Raphael Richter

Seat 4: Michael Borchetta

Seat 5: Tim Reilly

Seat 6: Long Tran

Seat 7: Jason Scudamore

Seat 8: Mark Schumacher

Seat 9: Jeffrey Miller

Final 27 are now redrawing

A player has been eliminated in 28th place, bringing the field down to the final 3 tables. The remaining 27 players are now redrawing for seats, and play will resume shortly at 2,500/5,000 blinds with a 500 ante.

Ralph Macri knocks three out in one orbit

In one single orbit, Ralph Macri has knocked out three players at the feature table.

First, Mike Clemente was all in holding king queen on a king high board against Ralph's ace king. Ralph's kicker held up, and Mike was sent to the rail.

A few hands later, Ralph called a raise from Chris Tryba before Alex Rocha moved all in. Chris folded, but Ralph made the call with ace jack. Alex had him beat with ace king, but joked that Ralph had three jacks to hit. Ralph proceeded to his one of the jacks and send Alex packing.

Dominik Pelli was next to feel Ralph's wrath, running his pocket tens into Ralph's pocket jacks.

With 30 players remaining, Ralph now sits on around 490,000.

Andy Frankenberger has been eliminated

Giuseppe Ruvolo moved all in from the small blind and Andy Frankenberger called from the big blind. It was a flip as Giuseppe held [as][kd] to Andy's [th][tc]. The board ran out [Kh][ac][3s][3d][9s] to give Giuseppe a double up to 120,000, leaving Andy with just 13,000.

Andy looked for a spot to get the rest of his chips in, but folded for an entire order. Finally, he was in the big blind for 5,000 and had 1,000 behind. Under the gun limped and Kevin Calenzo made it 16,000. Everyone folded to Andy who joked about folding before throwing his last 1,000 chip. UTG got out of the way, and Andy had one live card with his [Th][9h] against Kevin's [9s][9c]. After the [8s][3h][Qs] flop fell, Kevin jokingly told the dealer to ship the pot to Andy, implying he'd hit his six outer for sure. The [Qc] turn and [2h] river missed Andy's draw, however, and he was eliminated one table away from making the money.

Carlo Sciannameo is the first player over half a million

Long Tran opened the pot preflop and Carlo Sciannameo made the call. The flop fell [4d][8d][5s] and Long c-bet, only to be raised from Carlo. Long made the call and the turn fell [Th]. Long checked, and Carlo bet 70,000, only to be met by an all in by Long. Carlo snap called, turning over [7d][6c], and had Long's [Qh][Qd] drawing dead. The meaningless [Jc] hit the river to earn Carlo a full double up and make him the first player over a half a million in chips. After taking a few hands to stack up his winnings, he now sits on 623,000.

Fred Paradis has been eliminated

At 2,000/4,000 blinds with a 500 ante, Ralph Macri opened to 10,000 from the button and Fred Paradis moved all in for just under 50,000 from the big blind. Ralph made the call, and it would be a coin flip with Ralph's [Ks][Jc] against Fred's [9h][9c]. Ralph hit the [5h][Kh][Td] flop, and Fred could not find a nine on the [7d] turn or [8c] river. He will be eliminated short of the money.

Updated chip counts at the break

The 43 players remaining in Day 2 of the Championship Event are now on their second break of the day. Here is a chip count for as much of the field as we could count on break:

Long Tran - 450,000
Marsel Backa - 380,000
Tim Reilly - 333,000
Carlo Sciannameo - 320,000
Jason Scudamore - 280,000
Grant Lang - 250,000
Kevin Calenzo - 226,000
Bryan Leskowitz - 221,000
Chris Tryba - 200,000
James Campbell - 192,000
Tom Dobrilovic - 192,000
Dave Stefanski - 175,000
Julian Sacks - 175,000
Raphael Richter - 172,500
Aaron Smith - 154,000
Alex Rocha - 152,000
Samantha Cohen - 140,000
Ralph Macri - 137,000
Tim O'Keefe - 134,000
Michael Borchetta - 130,500
Joseph Berardi - 121,000
Edward O'Brien - 117,500
Sean Dillon - 88,500
Giuseppe Ruvolo - 72,000
David Labriola - 70,000
Fred Paradis - 50,000

Marsel Backa is having a good day

When Day 2 started, Marsel Backa had only 55,400, good for 55th place out of the remaining 84 players. But in the first two levels, Marsel has managed to work his stack up to 270,000 and now sits in the top 5 in chips.

Alex Rocha wins a pot going into break

Samantha Cohen opened preflop and Alex Rocha made the call as did Luis Alves in the big blind. All three checked the [5h][As][6d] flop, and Alex bet 8,000 after being checked to on the [Ks] turn. Luis folded, but Samantha made the call. The [7d] brought a third check from Samantha, this time prompting a 13,000 bet from Alex. Samantha took her time, but eventually made the call, only to see Alex show down [Ah][7h] for two pair. Samantha mucked, claiming ace queen to Alex's disbelief. After the hand, Alex was up to 142,300.

First break of the day

There are currently 61 players remaining in Day 2 of the Championship Event, and those players are now on their first 15 minute break of the day. When players return, blinds will be 1,200/2,400 with a 400 ante.

Checking in with our chip leaders

As Level 14 comes to a close, 63 players remain from the 84 that returned to Day 2. Let's check in with the chip leaders from the top of the day.

Suad Kantarevic started the day as the tournament chip leader with 243,000, but has dropped to 171,000. Meanwhile, Carlo Sciannameo started the day with 220,200 and has increased his stack to 335,000.

Robert Campion and Dave Stefanski started the day in 4th and 6th place, respectively, but have both dropped to well under 100,000. Robert has 51,000 while Dave has 75,000, still plenty of room to maneuver as the blinds are 1,000/2,000 with a 300 ante for 8 more minutes.

Giuseppe Ruvolo and Tou Kue started the day in 3rd and 5th place and haven't made much movement.

$1,650 Championship Event Prize Pool & Payouts

Event #9 $1,650 Championship Event received 226 entries, creating a $328,830 prize pool. The top 24 players will be in the money, with a mincash worth $4,110. Here are the full payouts:

1st Place: $79,906
2nd Place: $50,476
3rd Place: $32,554
4th Place: $26,306
5th Place: $19,730
6th Place: $15,784
7th Place: $12,824
8th Place: $10,523
9th Place: $8,226
10th-12th Place: $5,754
13th-15th Place: $5,096
16th-18th Place: $4,768
19th-21st Place: $4,439
22nd-24th Place: $4,110

Day 2 is Under way

Cards are in the air for Day 2 of the Championship Event. Currently 84 players remain, and the top 24 players will make the money.

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

Today's Schedule

Today is Day 10 of the Foxwoods Mega Stack Challenge. This series features over $1,000,000 in Guaranteed Prizes. Here's what's on today's schedule:

11am:
Event #10 $300 NLH Big Stack
$25,000 Guaranteed
($260 Buy-in / $40 Entry fee)
Players start with 30,000 in non-value tournament chips
Registration will remain open until the start of Level 11 (approximately 2:50pm)
Levels will last 20 minutes.
There will be a 45 minute dinner break after Level 20 (approximately 6:25pm).
Full structure is available here.

12pm:
Day 2 of Event #9 $1,650 NLH Championship Event
$300,000 Guaranteed
Levels be played for 60 minutes.
Dinner break will be after Level 18 (approximately 6:20pm)
Day 2 will conclude after Level 22 (approximately 11:30pm) or Final Table, whichever comes first.
Full structure is available here.

Other Tournaments:
9am: $60 NLH
2pm: $100 NLH Bounty
6pm: $120 NLH
8:30pm: $100 NLH Bounty

A full series schedule is available here.

December Mega Stack Challenge - Event #9 - $1,650 NLH Main Event - Returning Players for Day 2

Table-Seat	Name	Chip Count
6-5	Kantarevic, Suad	243,000
7-5	Sciannameo, Carlo	220,200
8-7	Ruvolo, Giuseppe	214,800
2-8	Campion, Robert	208,000
6-8	Kue, Tou	178,200
6-9	Stefanski, David	171,400
3-7	Dillon, Sean	169,600
10-5	O'Keefe, Tim	164,700
8-5	Anderson, David	141,100
4-9	Helfman, Andrew	140,500
6-4	Labriola, David	134,400
5-5	Cohen, Samantha	133,300
10-2	Darling, Michael	132,800
8-1	Reilly, Tim	125,300
6-6	Huette, Mariko	117,900
7-2	Smith, Aaron	110,800
2-6	Fera, Arthur	109,900
7-6	Rocha, Alex	104,700
9-2	Sacks, Julian	104,600
3-2	Dobrilovic, Tom	102,700
7-4	Meacham, Jeremy	97,300
5-7	Kluchman, David	96,600
8-3	Frankenberger, Andrew	96,300
10-7	Spain, Randy	96,000
10-3	Clemente, Michael	95,000
9-7	Pelli, Dominick	93,900
7-8	Dang, William	93,600
5-4	Calenzo, Kevin	92,400
5-2	Chalifour, Dan	89,400
2-4	Oh, JeWook	84,600
3-3	Donovan, Zach	79,600
2-7	Hammouda, Bassioni	78,400
5-8	Russell, Don	76,600
3-1	Tieri, Joseph	74,700
5-9	Macri, Ralph	74,300
9-5	Lang, Grant	72,400
6-2	Mitchell, Todd	72,300
9-1	O'Brien, Edward	70,400
8-2	Schumacher, Mark	69,600
6-3	French, James	69,200
6-7	Vaillancourt, David	67,000
5-6	Lahey, Tim	66,700
10-4	Berkowitz, Steven	66,500
3-9	Borchetta, Michael	66,100
10-9	Butler, Tom	65,200
3-4	Saunders, Jeffrey	64,600
3-6	Tryba, Chris	64,400
7-7	Sullivan, Stacey	63,800
6-1	Merrow, George	63,700
4-5	Silver, Dan	63,100
7-1	Adams, Justin	61,300
4-1	Borkowski, Bob	60,400
8-9	Lex, James	57,600
1-5	Mann, Michael	57,400
2-5	Backa, Marsel	55,400
10-6	Miller, Jeffrey	54,800
7-3	Andrews, John	53,900
1-9	Karajic, Irfan	53,400
2-9	O'Connor, John	51,800
2-1	Theodosiadis, Pascal	51,000
3-5	Kuey, Natale	50,900
4-7	Jordan, Rick	49,100
1-4	Sgambato, Frank	48,800
1-7	Yanchek, Jeffrey	47,300
8-6	Richter, Raphael	47,000
3-8	Casciola, Philippe	46,100
10-1	Hecker, Gabe	45,000
4-8	Leskowitz, Bryan	42,100
1-6	Paradis, Fred	39,300
1-3	Maxtone-Graham, Guy	38,900
9-4	Bae, Julie	38,100
1-8	Alves, Luis	38,000
1-1	Campbell, James	37,600
4-4	Tong, Jiqiang	37,300
9-8	Grimes, Terry	37,000
9-9	Scudamore, Jason	37,000
4-3	Siegel, Eric	34,200
7-9	Snead, Paul	31,700
2-2	Roy, John	31,400
9-6	Sennon, Peter	29,600
5-3	Ghods, Ehsan	29,200
8-4	Berardi, Joseph	28,100
4-6	Tran, Long	22,200
2-3	Wang, Zhaoxing	20,000

Three more hands

The clock was paused with 10 minutes remaining, and a card was drawn. Three more hands will be played before the survivors from Flight B will bag up for the night. They will combine with the remaining players from Flight A at 12pm to play Day 2. The board currently reads 26 players remaining.

Steven Tabb has been eliminated

Suad Kantarevic limped in early position and Steven Tabb also limped. The next player raised and there were two calls before Steven moved all in. After a long time in the tank, the original raiser folded and Suad called. Steven was in bad shape with pocket sevens against Suad's pocket tens, and he couldn't hit a seven to survive. He will bust out as the last level of the night begins.

36 players remaining

Level 12 has begun, which is the last level of the night. The blinds are now 600/1,200 with a 200 ante. 36 players remain, and here are select chip counts:

Suad Kantarevic - 177,000
Je Wook Oh - 120,000
Alex Rocha - 96,000
Dominik Pelli - 86,000
James Campbell - 55,000
Linsford Gettes - 39,000
Eric Siegel - 28,000

Last break of the night

Players in Flight B of the Championship Event are now on their last break of the night. Registration will close when this break concludes, and we will have prize pool and payout information shortly thereafter.

Photos from Flight A