After a four-way chop, Soukha Kachittavong walked away with the trophy of the Foxwoods World Poker Finals Main Event, which drew 243 entries for a $589,275 prize pool in Ledyard, Conn. Kachittavong and Je Wook Oh, who was second, each earned $76,037.
The third-place finisher, Matthew Wantman, actually earned the most, pocketing $107K, while Ryan Mostafa finished fourth ($70,037).
Robert Campion, who was fifth, $34,767 to his bankroll.
Playing out of Woonsocket, R.I., Kachittavong increased his live earnings to $372,582. The cash, his fifth at this year’s World Poker Finals, was the richest of his career.
A New York resident, Oh pushed his career take to $604,235. He has 27 cashes in 2015, including a pair at the World Series of Poker, where he was 86th in the main event. Wantman’s cash was his best live showing, bringing his career earnings to $507,903. He’s cashed 28 times this year, five of those at the WSOP.
Mostafa, from Stamford, Conn., has made more than $190K on the live circuit. The first cash of his career came at Foxwoods in July 2012.
The payout took Campion’s winnings to $76,364. A New York resident, he has cashed 10 times, the first coming at the 2014 World Poker Finals.
The sixth-place finisher was Evan Paushter, who earned $27,696. Peter Sennon collected $22,392 for seventh.
Some of the undercard events winners include Robert Passaretta of Pascoag, R.I., who captured the final $300 Big Stack for $6,296, and Robert Courtney of Millbury, Mass., who won the seniors event for $11,507.
The MegaStack Challenge, which runs Dec. 4-14, has more than $1 million in guarantees, including a $300K guarantee for the $1,650 main event, which has two flights on Dec. 12 and concludes the next day. Other interesting events from the series include the $600 opening event, which has a $500K guarantee and three Day 1s, and a $400 event on Dec. 9, which has a $100K guarantee and two starting flights that day with Day 2 on Dec. 10.
And finally, save the date as the poker room will join Ante Up and Blue Shark Optics to host a Restock the Shelves tournament on Jan. 18. Call the poker room for details.
MOHEGAN SUN: There are lots of $85 bounty events this month, pretty much daily at 10 a.m., but the highlight might just be the $230 Holiday Hangover event, which sports five Day 1s from Dec. 27-29 (11 a.m. and 5 p.m.) and Day 2 on Dec. 30 (noon). Call the poker room for further details. And don’t forget the $10K guarantees every Wednesday ($120, 7 p.m.) with 20K starting chips and 20-minute blinds. Seating may be limited, so register early.
Mid-Atlantic
DOVER DOWNS: The Ante Up Set Sail Series at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, as Ante Up Poker Cruise packages were given to Ellen Douras, Mercedis Blake, David Strittmatter, Michael Wilson and James Pickett.
Players earned a raffle ticket for each event in the series that they entered, with five names drawn on the final day. These winners received packages for the April 18 sailing out of Port Canaveral, Fla. The Ante Up Set Sail Series designation is placed on any tournament series that awards at least five cruise packages. All cashers in all events earned Ante Up Poker Tour Player of the Year points.
Tourney winners included Gertrude Dinnocenzo (Event 1, $1,092); Louis Kanaras (Event 2, $3,750); James Sloat (Event 3, $4,900); Thomas Grey (Event 4, $16,500); James Gardner (Event 5, $2,488); Joanne Liu (Event 6, $13,250) and John Mullecker (Event 7, $2,500).
Also, the poker room’s Getaway Weekend will be Dec. 18-20. On Dec. 18, there will be a $10K guarantee ($125), followed by a $15K guarantee on Dec. 19 ($175) and a $2,500 guarantee on Dec. 20 ($35).
Over the holiday weekends, there will be a series of events. Dec. 26 will be a $20K guarantee ($195), followed by a $3,500 guarantee on Dec. 27 ($35). On New Year’s Day, look for a $10K guarantee ($125) and a $30K guarantee on Jan. 2 ($240).
Philadelphia/Atlantic City
SUGARHOUSE CASINO: The property’s fourth $100K Showdown ran Oct. 28 Nov. 1, gathering 550 players. Since its launch in April, the tournament has increased in popularity, meeting the guarantee each time. Rathe Miller claimed the championship for $33,202 and Alex Palumbo took second ($18,673).
Anthony Cuffari, an active tournament player in the region, bagged a record of nearly 650K chips for Day 2 but finished eighth. “My reading skills made a huge improvement through daily tournament experience,” he said. “I’ve been able to pick up on tells by reading body language, getting into better situations in position and making big calls based on the players.”
PARX: The Big Stax XIII series ran Sept. 29-Oct. 13 as 332 players entered the $110 main event.
Vinny Pahuja, Michael Esposito and Thomas Revello agreed to three-way chop after Revello agreed to take home $66K as chipleader while giving Pahuja, who was second in chips, the trophy and title. Pahuja added $62K to his tournament resum of nearly $2M. Esposito, who’s been playing poker for three years, took home his biggest tournament cash for $50K.
“I try not to give anything away to reveal information about my hands,” Esposito said. “I spend most of my time playing cash, but I’ll be playing tournaments more frequently now.”
CHARITY EVENTS: Atlantic City will host Winter Wonderland on Dec. 12, in conjunction with a group of poker players on the 2+2 Forum. The event is run by Billy Vogel, a poker pro from New Jersey. Proceeds this year will benefit the Global Medical Relief Fund. Check the 2+2 Forum for more details.
Meet Matt Glantz
Matt Glantz is a popular poker pro who recently ended his run as Parx Poker Room Ambassador in Philadelphia. He is well-known for his poker play, but his tournament structures are legendary and he was integral in establishing the property’s Big Stax series.
When was the first time you learned to play poker? My first time playing poker was in my late 20s. I was a derivatives trader at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange when I got invited to a $5-$10 seven-card stud game after work one evening. It was the first time I ever played a hand of poker and was instantly hooked.
What’s the biggest win of your career and are there any poker moments you found memorable or life-changing? The European Poker Tour’s London High Roller when I took first for $862K. That was a big score at the time and got me thinking about tournaments for the first time. Previously, I was just a cash-game player.
Would you say the rest of your poker career will be focused mainly on tournaments or cash? I feel as though I’m still primarily a cash-game player but tournaments are definitely (important) now and going forward will be a significant part of my schedule. Tournaments are a great challenge and a ton of fun, but for me, cash games are a much steadier way to make a living. The variance in tournament poker keeps the tournaments a secondary form of poker for me.
Do you have a favorite venue and what makes your poker room different? My favorite poker room is obviously Parx. For many years, I couldn’t wait for poker rooms to become legal in Pennsylvania. When I found out four years ago that Parx was opening up a huge poker room only 25 minutes from where I live, I was thrilled. 
the poker ambassador for Parx Casino, we (were) able to grow the game’s popularity in the Philadelphia area. This is something I really enjoy. The staff at the Parx Poker Room is the most player-oriented friendly staff in any room anywhere. This is what sets our room apart from all the others. — Jo Kim
