Saturday, August 24, 2019 12:30 AM Local Time
Ostapchenko Bags Huge Lead After Day 1a of the Foxwoods Main Event
Day 1a of the World Series of Poker Circuit $1,700 Main Event at Foxwoods in Connecticut is in the books. The day attracted 161 entries and when the dust settled after fifteen levels of play just 31 remained with chips to bag for the night.
Bagging the lead was Andrew Ostapchenko who survived with an astonishing 736,000. That is more than twenty times the starting stack and more than double the second-largest stack. He was spotted from early in the day collecting chips and gained a considerable amount as play progressed including a hand where he flopped quads in a preflop all-in flip to surge up the counts. Ostapchenko's great Day 1 was a continuation of his week of success as he took home $97,220 from Parx Casino in Philadelphia earlier this week.
The other big stacks, some distance behind the leader, include Guang Li, (355,000) and Vinny Pahuja (332,000) as the only other two with over 300,000.
Also among the notable players to bag for the night was Mukul Pahuja with 210,000, 13-time ring winner Maurice Hawkins who used a late-night surge to bag a decent amount at 198,000, and Stanley Lee who finished with 163,500.
However it was not a profitable day for the majority of the field, as many players who entered the day did not make it to the end including Allen Kessler, Matt Brady, Nicholas Palma and Joseph Giulino.
Day 1b will begin Saturday, August 24 at noon local time. Flight B will take center stage where many players, returning or new, will converge on Foxwoods for their last chance at making Sunday's Day 2.
Just as with Flight A, PokerNews will provide all the coverage so make sure to tune in then!
Saturday, August 24, 2019 12:24 AM Local Time
End of Day Chip Counts
Andrew Ostapchenko | 736,000 | 285,000 |
Guang Li | 355,000 | 0 |
Vineet Pahuja | 332,000 | 332,000 |
Ralph Macri | 225,500 | 50,500 |
Mukul Pahuja | 210,000 | 2,000 |
Maurice Hawkins | 198,000 | 48,000 |
Chico Pho | 182,000 | 77,000 |
Mitch Garshofsky | 170,000 | 0 |
Justin Adams | 169,500 | 169,500 |
Anthony Leung | 169,000 | 143,000 |
Michael Azzaro | 164,000 | 164,000 |
Stanley Lee | 163,500 | -6,500 |
Adam Bitker | 152,000 | 152,000 |
Matthew Wantman | 150,000 | 35,000 |
Kyle Anderson | 148,000 | 148,000 |
Scott Efron | 139,000 | -86,000 |
Juan Carlos Ramirez Parodi | 120,500 | -4,500 |
Robert Ricciuti | 114,000 | 114,000 |
Jeremy Barron | 105,000 | 105,000 |
Luke Graham | 101,500 | 101,500 |
Terrence Doyle | 101,000 | 101,000 |
Tarun Gulati | 91,000 | |
Alex Jim | 89,500 | 5,500 |
James Hundt | 84,500 | 84,500 |
Michael Rossitto | 82,000 | -40,000 |
Bassam Akiki | 56,500 | 56,500 |
Henry Valentine | 55,500 | -16,500 |
Mike McGrath | 54,500 | 54,500 |
David Kurtz | 49,000 | 49,000 |
David Parades | 40,000 | 40,000 |
Lauren Monosson | 19,000 | 19,000 |
Saturday, August 24, 2019 12:03 AM Local Time
End of Play
Day 1a has reached its conclusion. Full chip counts and recap to follow.
Friday, August 23, 2019 11:46 PM Local Time
Li Squeezes Pahuja Out, Sends One Home
A player moved all in for 30,000 from the cutoff, Mukul Pahuja called on the button and Guang Li moved all in from the big blind. Pahuja folded and the remaining two turned over their cards.
Opponent:
Guang Li:
The board ran out and Li's cowboys held on for the pot, sending an appointment home
Guang Li | 355,000 | 75,000 |
Mukul Pahuja | 208,000 | 88,000 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 11:33 PM Local Time
Garshofsky Forces Out Rossitto
Action was on the river with a dangerous looking board reading . Mitch Garshofsky made a bet of 30,000 over to his opponent Michael Rossitto who stared down Garshofsky for a bit before ultimately relinquishing his hand into the muck.
Mitch Garshofsky | 130,000 | 5,000 |
Michael Rossitto | 122,000 | 40,000 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 11:27 PM Local Time
Neal Stacks Another, Sends Israelashvili Home
Roland Israelashvili moved all in for his last 45,000 and Gregory Neal was the only player to call, the two tabled their hands.
Roland Israelashvili:
Greg Neal:
The dealer spread out on the flop, shifting the lead to Neal. A came down on the turn card and Israekashvili was now drawing to just an ace to stay alive.
A completed the board, failing to hit Israelashvili as he was eliminated by the two pair of Neal.
Gregory Neal | 346,000 | 81,000 |
Roland Israelashvili | 0 | -40,000 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 11:22 PM Local Time
Level 15 started
Level: 15
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 3,000
Friday, August 23, 2019 11:02 PM Local Time
Ostapchenko Continues to Roll
The board showed and there was around 13,000 in the pot. A player moved all in on the river for 12,000 and Andrew Ostapchenko snap-called.
The player tabled for a pair of tens and Ostapchenko turned over , giving him a flush and the pot, eliminating his opponent.
Andrew Ostapchenko | 451,000 | 31,000 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 10:42 PM Local Time
Level 14 started
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,000/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Friday, August 23, 2019 10:37 PM Local Time
Hawkins Leaves Kessler Short
Action was caught at the very end of a hand that resulted in Maurice Hawkins collecting a large pot on a board that read . His winning was showing against the beaten of Allen Kessler who was having a significant portion of his stack being carved away by the dealer as he was left with a very short stack.
Maurice Hawkins | 150,000 | 79,000 |
Allen Kessler | 20,000 | -32,000 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 10:35 PM Local Time
Updated Chip Counts
Mitch Garshofsky | 123,000 | -8,000 |
Maurice Hawkins | 120,000 | 49,000 |
Matthew Wantman | 115,000 | 0 |
Chico Pho | 105,000 | 77,000 |
Vincent Moscati | 92,000 | 5,000 |
Michael Rossitto | 82,000 | 21,000 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 10:30 PM Local Time
Late Registration has Ended
The first twelve levels of the day have completed and the late registration period has come to an end. A total of 161 entry slips were sold, accumulating $243,915 towards the final prize pool. Tomorrow will see Day 1b play the same amount of levels as today, adding all registrants to the total of today.
Friday, August 23, 2019 10:28 PM Local Time
Ostapchenko Flops Quads, Surges in Chips
Andrew Ostapchenko was in a preflop flip against Joseph Giulino, holding the against the of Giulino.
The flop made was gin for Ostapchenko as it came for quads to put Giulino all but out the door who took out his phone to take a pic of the carnage his stack had just undergone.
The turn and the river rounded out the board to bust Giulino and send Ostapchenko toward the top of the chip counts.
Andrew Ostapchenko | 420,000 | 295,000 |
Joseph Giulino | 0 | -152,000 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 10:26 PM Local Time
Bernal Secures a Double Through Kessler
Nelson Bernal moved all in for his remaining 30,500 on the button and Allen Kessler shoved right behind for more. The big blind folded and the two remaining tabled their hands.
Nelson Bernal:
Allen Kessler:
The flop fell , giving Bernal the lead with his flopped pair of eights. A on the turn gave Kessler some more outs but the river was none of them as Bernal took down the pot with his pair of eights.
Nelson Bernal | 64,500 | 0 |
Allen Kessler | 52,000 | 0 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 10:18 PM Local Time
Moscati Doubles
On a board that read Vincent Moscati moved all in for about 28,000 into a pot of about the same amount and was called by his opponent. Moscati turned over the while his opponent had the . The river was a harmless and Moscati gained a big double up.
Vincent Moscati | 87,000 | 60,000 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 10:08 PM Local Time
Neal Takes Out Two
Gregory Neal was in a good spot as he held in a preflop all in against the of one opponent and the of another.
The board would run out clean for the kings as it came and Neal collected all of the chips from his two vanquished opponents.
Gregory Neal | 265,000 | 218,000 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 10:01 PM Local Time
Level 13 started
Level: 13
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 2,000
Friday, August 23, 2019 9:45 PM Local Time
Last Break of the Night
The remaining 54 players are now on their last 15-minute break of the night. They will return to play three more levels before bagging it up.
Friday, August 23, 2019 9:45 PM Local Time
Michael Zaino Doubles Career Earnings With Event #5: $600 NLH Victory
While PokerNews is only live reporting the High Roller and Main Event tournaments at the World Series of Poker Circuit Foxwoods stop, there have been plenty of other side events playing out all week long.
One of them was Event #5: $600 No-Limit Hold'em, a tournament that drew 156 entries and created an $80,340 prize pool. Up top was $21,050, and capturing that prize – and doubling his lifetime earnings in the process – was 25-year-old Michael Zaino from Wethersfield, Connecticut.
He began the final table as the chip leader and went wire-to-wire to captured his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. To do it he had to defeat Stephen Friedrich in heads-up play, and also went through Andrew Lauer, who was denied a fourth gold ring after busting in sixth place for $3,495.
Final Table Results
Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
1 | Michael Zaino | Wethersfield, Connecticut | $21,050 |
2 | Stephen Friedrich | Tolland, Connecticut | $12,999 |
3 | Hilary Dombrowski | Gloucester, Massachusetts | $9,038 |
4 | Mohammad Haghdoust | Millbury, Massachusetts | $6,427 |
5 | Olivier Lacoste | Strasbourg, France | $4,684 |
6 | Andrew Lauer | Granby, Connecticut | $3,495 |
7 | Michael Cervantes | San Francisco, California | $2,667 |
8 | Solomon Yi | Norwalk, Connecticut | $2,097 |
9 | Daniel Hagenlocher | Glendale, New York | $1,695 |
Friday, August 23, 2019 9:45 PM Local Time
Jim Finds a Dime Against Wang
Michael Wang opened to 3,600, the two players two his left called and Alex Jim moved all in for 38,600. Wang shoved over the top and the two remaining tabled their hands.
Alex Jim:
Michael Wang:
The board ran out and Jim now took the lead with his set of tens. The turn and river did not improve Wang's hand as he doubled up Jim.
Alex Jim | 84,000 | |
Michael Wang | 79,000 | -41,000 |