The Mohegan Sun poker room in Uncasville, Conn., is bringing back its Summer Showdown with $200K guarantee throughout the series that runs July 25-29.
The $1,100 main event has a $100K guarantee as players begin with 30K chips and will have 40-minute blinds for Levels 1-9 (and you can re-enter during this time period, too) and 50-minute levels from there.
The main begins July 28 at 11 a.m. and players return for Day 2 on July 29 at noon. There are numerous satellites for this event.
The opening tourney has a $50K guarantee and four flights spread across two days, beginning with Flight 1A at 11 a.m. July 25.
FOXWOODS RESORT CASINO: Soukha Kachittavong beat nearly 150 entrants to win the $1,650 MegaStack Challenge main event in Mashantucket, Conn. The victory paid $57,033 as the prize pool reached $242,500.
Second-place finisher Aram Zobian earned $47K, followed by Emmanuel Okrah ($27,160), Glen Minxolli ($20,370) and Stephen Song ($15,520).
The series opened with a $600 event as Rhode Island’s Martinho Camara grabbed the top spot and $47,455 after surviving a 640-plus-player field, generating a $331K prize pool. Mike Tokatlyan was runner-up ($33,571), Calvin Ma was third ($32,274), Sean Moynihan was fourth ($30,482) and Quintin Tyson earned $22,197 for fifth. David Gunas won the two-day $400 tournament for $16,872. The event drew 375 runners for a $127K prize pool. Joseph Acquavella was second ($16,830), followed by Anthony Magistrale ($15,811) and Will Chadwick ($15,633).
New York
TURNING STONE RESORT: Chris Damick took the top spot in the $50K East Coast Poker Championships Main Event in Verona. The $250 event drew 309 participants, beating the guarantee by nearly $15K as Damick earned $6,252.
Jason House (second), James Hence (third), Christopher Falanga (fourth), James Miller (fifth), Matthew Catalano (sixth) and Jonte Sutton (seventh) received $6,248 apiece after the chop.
Louis Scott won the $225 event and David Kneeskern took first in the $70 pot-limit Omaha tourney.
Up next is the $25K guarantee July 6-15.
DEL LAGO RESORT CASINO: At press time, the bad-beat jackpot was approaching $212K. This 14-table room has a handful of guarantee tourneys during.
Eastern Pennsylvania
WSOP SUCCESS: Paul Volpe of West Chester, Pa., is leading the way after some early results at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He finished third in Event 2 ($10K bounty) for a whopping $170K and he cashed in Event 5 ($100K high roller), placing 15th for $155K-plus. Also in Event 2, David Eldridge of Cranberry Township, Pa., finished seventh for nearly $47K. Philadelphia’s 2015 world champ Joe McKeehen was third in Event 3 ($3K shootout) for $101K-plus.
PARX CASINO: Michael Rossitto captured the Big Stax $1,100 main event for $108K-plus. The event had 417 entrants to push the prize pool past a half-million dollars. With six players left, Rossitto was the short stack with less than 10 big blinds. But he managed to fight back found himself heads-up with John Ciofalo. On the final hand, Ciofalo raised and was three-bet by Rossitto. Ciofalo shoved Rossitto instantly called. Rossitto had kings vs. Ciofalo’s sixes. Rossitto flopped a set and the title was his.
SANDS BETHLEHEM: There will be a $400 black-chip bounty tournament at 11:15 a.m. July 8 and a $325 deepstack July 27 at 11:15. Tourneys run Tuesday nights at 7:15 and Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings at 11:15.
Over Memorial Day weekend, the Borgata poker room in Atlantic City featured a huge field of 1,174 entrants and prize pool of $300K-plus as part of the Summer Kickoff Series. David Finkel of Lawrence, N.Y., won the event for $55K.
The Memorial Day deepstack (May 25) had 135 runners but the final table chopped for $4,987 each.
The Saturday deepstack series on May 19 had 393 entrants as the final two players, Rickey Lee of Woodbury, N.Y., and Joseph Gergus of Orwigsburg, Pa., each took home $28K-plus.
In other Borgata news, the Summer Open will begin with a $300 women’s event, dubbed Ladies First, on July 8. Starting the series with a women’s event was the brainchild of Borgata regular Nancy Martin, who pitched the idea to Borgata’s popular tourney director Tab Duchateau, who liked the concept and ran with it. With female events seeing their numbers dwindle as a result of usually being scheduled after a big series, this move is an attempt to resurrect the women’s poker scene.
Mid-Atlantic
Delaware’s state nickname is the “First State” because it was the first of the original 13 states to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It appears Delaware will be earning a similar distinction, as it will be first state, aside from Nevada, of course, to offering sports betting after the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 14 ruling to overturn the federal ban.
Delaware started offering sports betting at multiple locations on June 5. Bettors can make single-game wagers at Delaware Park, Dover Downs Hotel and Casino and Harrington Raceway and Casino.
“We’re hopeful that this will bring even more visitors into Delaware to see first-hand what our state has to offer,” Delaware Gov. John Carney said.
DOVER DOWNS HOTEL AND CASINO: Over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, the poker room hosted and met all of its guarantee tournaments. The opener had 117 entrants as Thomas Smith won the title. The Memorial Day main event drew 201 players and chopped four ways for $7,200-plus each. Jonathan Sandej won the third event, beating 130-plus players for $3,944. The final event reached the final table and then they chopped for almost $1,100 each.
Did you miss this series? That’s OK, because Dover Downs will host another three-event series July 20-22, featuring more than $35K in guarantees. Here’s the tournament schedule: July 20, 11:15 a.m., $7,500 guarantee, $100 buy-in, 25-minute blinds; July 21, 11:15, $25K guarantee main event, $200, 30-minute blinds; July 22, 11:15, $3K guarantee, $45, 20-minute blinds.
In addition, there will be two main-event satellites where one player out of every 10 entries will earn a seat (July 18, 7:15 p.m., $30 and July 19, 7:15, $30).
LIVE CASINO: The Maryland poker room is hosting Christmas in July with 25 days of high hands and other giveaways.
Meet Robert Addeo
A dealer for Harrah’s Philadelphia, Robert Addeo also plays in the region.
You’re famous for action and sick bet-sizing in the Philly area. Do you adjust your game accordingly? Well, the true secret to my erratic style of play is that I make sure I get enough Jameson in my diet prior to hitting the table. Realistically though, I always know what’s going on and where I’m at, in every hand I play. But yes, to answer your question, I do adjust my game. Every game comes with different variables and if you don’t adjust, you won’t be successful.
How do you balance dealing poker and playing poker full time? To be honest, at this point in my life, I’m playing a lot of poker but not nearly as much as I was playing 10-12 years ago. At the same time, I’m also not dealing as much as I was. My personal life has occupied a lot of my time recently and I’m focusing on some new endeavors. Coincidentally, I’m doing this interview as I sit at a PLO game at the Rio in Las Vegas. I do enjoy traveling and playing these days. I enjoy seeing different casinos and meeting new characters. — Jo Kim
