Mohegan Sun hosts the Summer Poker Showdown from July 26-30, featuring five events, including a $1,100 main event with a $100K guarantee. The series opens with $200 event and closes with a $300 tourney with a $25K guarantee. For more on this series, see the ad in our current issue.
In other news at Mohegan, Sean Thomson and Gregory Gallagher earned $10,500 apiece for finishing first and second, respectively, in Spring Fling. The win was the first of Thomson’s career.
Dimitri Haskaris of Norwich, Conn., was third in the $230 tourney, which had a prize pool of $69,258 and 357 entrants.
FOXWOODS CASINO: At the MegaStack Challenge, Leonard Sande of West Haven, Conn., won the $600 opening event, which had a $400K guarantee and 776 players, for $45,896. Marc Evanier was second ($43,432) and John Caputo was third ($42,480).
Zhi Wu won Event 8, a $400 event, earning $19K by beating nearly 410 players.
The Summer Kickoff, which sports $800K in guarantees, runs until July 4. The $1,200 main event begins July 1 with a $200K guarantee and two starting flights (11 a.m., 5 p.m.). You can register until the start of Level 10.
Go to foxwoods.com for more info.
EAST WINDSOR UPDATE: Lawmakers approved most of a legislative package on June 7 that could mean to a new tribal casino in East Windsor. The House voted 103-46 to allow the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to build a casino in East Windsor to compete with a new MGM Resorts casino in Springfield, Mass. The bill just awaits Gov. Daniel P. Malloy’s signature.
New York
RIVERS CASINO & RESORT: Robert Saladin of Montgomery, N.Y., took first for $46,034 at the Capital Region Classic in Schenectady. The five-day event, with 1,095 entries from seven states and Canada, had a prize pool of $272,655, almost tripling the guarantee.
Gerald Edwards was second ($32,258) as 137 players cashed.
“We had a fantastic turnout for the Capitol Region Classic and we heard a lot of positive feedback from players who have been looking for big poker tournaments in this area for years,” Rivers GM Mary Cheeks said. “We’re eager to keep delivering for those players and look forward to announcing our next big event.”
TURNING STONE RESORT CASINO: At press time, the poker room’s bad-beat jackpot was nearly $310K. Also, did you know Turning Stone offers rake back? If you play cash games for 40-59 hours in a month, you will receive $40. If you play 60-79 hours you’ll get $60, and so on, until you reach 200-plus hours for $250. Call the poker room for details. Also, see the ad on Page 32 in the current issue for info on the July High Hands promotion.
SENECA NIAGARA: The Summer Slam series runs July 20-30. The $600 main event, which begins July 28 with Day 1A at 11 a.m. and July 29 with Day 1B at 11 a.m., has a $100K guarantee. The series has other guarantees, including a $50K with four opening flight across July 21-22, and a $1K opening event July 20 at 11 a.m. that’s guaranteed to pay $20K to first place.
Atlantic City-Philadelphia
Just before kicking off the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, former WSOP champion Joe McKeehen booked another win, taking home the trophy from the $1,100 Big Stax main event at Parx Casino in Philadelphia. With 447 entries, the prize pool was nearly $477K. McKeehen came back on Day 3 as chipleader out of 12 players, and he had been to the final table in the $1,100 event on many occasions, he had yet to claim the trophy.
No stranger to heads-up play, McKeehen edged Travis Greenawalt, who had won this event once, to pocket $106,126. Greenawalt earned $67,107.The tournament had 53 cashers, including Parx Ambassador Esther Taylor-Brady, Aaron Mermelstein and Mike Linster.
SugarHouse Ambassador Joe “Worm” Palma also made it in the money after winning the Big Stax $340 event for about $60K.After being appointed SugarHouse’s Poker Pro, this was the first series Palma entered with a patch. “It was an awesome way to get things started,” he said. “Great for the team.”
Since many tournament players headed off to WSOP, Parx adjusted the schedule accordingly, pushing the $550 buy-in after the championship. Those 967 entrants who remained behind tangled for a $459,325 prize pool.Chris Laieta and Jason Ritchie chopped for $74K each. “It was a long time overdue,” Laieta said. “Been running good.”
SUGARHOUSE CASINO: The SugarRush Challenge $100K guarantee, which ran June 21-25, wasn’t over at press time. Look for results in a future issue. With eight $250 starting flights and a $1,100 Day 2 buy-in, SugarHouse consistently has brought in bigger numbers over the course of nearly three years.
Mid-Atlantic
MARYLAND LIVE: The poker room hosts the Live Legends $1,100 main event July 15. Step satellites are available. See the ad in the current issue for the Legends series schedule and details.
DOVER DOWNS HOTEL AND CASINO: The poker room hosts the annual Delaware Poker Championship over Labor Day weekend. The series, which has eight events, runs Aug. 30-Sept. 4. The kickoff event is Aug. 30 with a $5K guarantee. The $100K main event begins Sept. 1 with the first flight.
In other news, the latest Getaway Weekend will be July 14-16, running three tournaments with combined guarantee of $43K, including one for $25K. Here’s the schedule: July 14, 11:15 a.m.: $15K guarantee for $150, 25-minute blinds, 30K stack; July 15, 11:15 a.m.: $25K guarantee for $200, 30-minute blinds, 30K stack; July 16, 11:15 a.m.: $3K guarantee for $45, 15-minute blinds, 30K stack.
There are two satellites (July 10, 7:15 p.m., $30 and July 12, 7:15 p.m., $30) for the $25K guarantee as one player out of 10 will earn a seat.
DELAWARE PARK CASINO: The $30K freeroll for those who qualified in June will be July 13. Also, ask about how you can enter a drawing to win back your buy-in to other events simply by registering before the tournament begins.
Meet Travis Hartshorn
Travis Hartshorn has won a Borgata Poker Open main event and a Parx Big Stax main event in the past year, plus he’s had many final-table appearances on the East Coast.
Tell us about your poker journey. When did you get started? I first started playing casually online with my brother when I was 13 or 14. Slowly, I got a little more serious about it and in the end never could find something that felt more right for me.
When was your first bink? My first trophy was a $550 event in Pittsburgh in April 2016. Soon after, I started playing tournaments professionally.
Will you be at the World Series? Yes, a full summer no-limit schedule, though I haven’t planned it out. I’m just going to take it one event at a time and play whatever I want to, which may or may not end up including events at other casinos in addition to the WSOP events.I’ll also mix in some cash sessions.
Have you ever made a comeback from being extremely short-stacked? I was one of the shortest stacks with three tables left in the Big Stax 300, short enough that I was sweating every bustout and grinding for every pay jump. Then, suddenly, we were at the final table, but I was still short. I managed to make it to four-handed third in chips and, after shutting down the chop talks, I closed it out. — Jo Kim
