By Mark Hoke
The Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pa., hosted the $500K Parx Open Poker Classic in conjunction with DeepStacks on Aug. 10-24. The series featured 15 events, plus the Mizrachi brothers hosted a power poker clinic for DeepStacks University. Nine of the events were eligible for Player of the Year points.
The series attracted more than 2,200 players, and McLean Karr rode a flopped straight that cracked two sets to claim the main event title and more than $74K. It was the second-biggest live cash for Karr, who defeated Daniel Smith in the heads-up finale. Event winners are featured below. Numerous pros attended the main event, including Mike Matusow, Tristan Wade and Michael Mizrachi. Team Bustout was well-represented by Jeff Gross, David Inselberg and Cris Belkewich, the Ante Up Atlantic City Ambassador.
It was a big week for Parx as it was announced the 90-table room signed a three-year pact to host World Poker Tour events, including a televised main event in 2012. Look for more details here in the coming months.
PHILLY POKER CHAMPIONSHIP: Harrah’s Casino in Chester, Pa., had a big event in August, hosting the Philly Poker Championship in its 32-table event center. The series featured the Prince of Poker, 1998 WSOP Main Event champion Scotty Nguyen.
Abraham Faroni of Penn Valley, Pa., captured the main event, knocking off Michael Anvari of Maryland in the 224-person championship. Faroni earned a cool $27,155. Here are the event winners:
Event 1: Robert Specht, Philadelphia, $6,835
Event 2: William Aldridge, Collingdale, PA, $13,557
Event 3: Craig Whitby, Fleetwood, PA, $3,940
Event 4: Brian Christy, Media, PA, $5,335
Event 5: Asher Conniff, Brooklyn, $3,642
Event 6: Michael Taylor, Bromall, PA, $4,669
Event 7: Vance Propati, Cherry Hill, NJ, $3,994
Main Event: Abraham Faroni, Penn Valley, PA, $27,155
Event 9: Yeun Wong, Conshohocken, PA, $4,085
NEW PHILLY ROOM? According to numerous reports, the Valley Forge Casino Resort will open in Montgomery County, Pa., in the spring with a 40,000-square-foot gaming floor that will have room for 15 poker tables for tournaments. Look for more information on this in an upcoming issue of Ante Up.
— Mark Hoke is the Ante Up Ambassador for Eastern Pennsylvania. Email him at hokeshouse@aol.com.
Parx Open Poker Classic
Parx Casino, Bensalem, Pa., Aug. 10-24
Event 1 • $340 NLHE
Entrants: 479 • Prize Pool: $139,389
WINNER: Kheong Chin, $27,393
Event 2 • $500 NLHE
Entrants: 63 • Prize Pool: $31,500
WINNER: Manh Nguyen, $7,984
Event 3 • $560 NLHE
Entrants: 164 • Prize Pool: $79, 540
WINNER: Trevor Savage, $18,292
Event 4 • $1,100 NLHE
Entrants: 54 • Prize Pool: $52,380
WINNER: Vyacheslav Eyzerovich, $15,191
Event 5 • $340 NLHE
Entrants: 184 • Prize Pool: $53,544
WINNER: Dave Barone, $12,315
Event 6 • $230 NLHE
Entrants: 217 • Prize Pool: $42,098
WINNER: Kobi Waldfogel, $9,681
Event 7 • $340 NLHE
Entrants: 116 • Prize Pool: $33,576
WINNER: John Del Rossi, $9,788
Event 8 • $230 LHE
Entrants: 135 • Prize Pool: $26,190
WINNER: Joshua Keyser, $7,595
Event 9 • $340 NLHE
Entrants: 134 • Prize Pool: $38,994
WINNER: Brian Corbett, $11,309
Event 10 • $340 NLHE
Entrants: 73 • Prize Pool: $21,243
WINNER: Jeffrey Gurfinkel, $6,160
Event 12 • $560 NLHE
Entrants: 95 • Prize Pool: $50,000
WINNER: Nick Spence $14,500
Event 13 • $230 NLHE
Entrants: 146 • Prize Pool: $28,234
WINNER: Paul Colwell, $8,215
Event 14 • $340 NLHE
Entrants: 54 • Prize Pool: $15,714
WINNER: Rob Recine, $4,557
Event 15 • $230 NLHE
Entrants: 162 • Prize Pool: $31,428
WINNER: Carlos Rodriguez, $7,229
$2K Main Event
Entrants: 181 • Prize Pool: $324, 804
WINNER: McLean Karr $74,706
