• Big Stax XXIV 2500 Main Event 5:50 PM
• Level 17 (3000/6000/1000)
• Total Entries: 112
• Players Remaining: 33

Patel is still in good shape and near 700k midway through Level 17.

The 2500 Main Event certainly grabbed some players who had just played the WSOPc Main Event at Harrah’s in Atlantic City and Patel is certainly one of those players. He hasn’t cashed at Parx since 2011 and plays the WSOPc all over the country. Last year, he had his two biggest scores when he won the WSOPc Main at Tunica for $192,152 and also an $800 event at the Deepstack Extravaganza in Vegas for $190,976. After notching his two best scores in 2017, Patel is up to ~$640k in live earnings.

• Big Stax XXIV 2500 Main Event 5:25 PM
• Level 17 (3000/6000/1000)
• Total Entries: 112
• Players Remaining: 37

One more level before the dinner break and the field is about to be down to four tables. Vaysman appears to have hit the 1M chip mark and is still in the lead. Right now the average stack is ~302k, which is just over 50 big blinds heading into Level 17.

• Big Stax XXIV 2500 Main Event 5:00 PM
• Level 16 (2500/5000/500)
• Total Entries: 110
• Players Remaining: 41

Vaysman started Day 2 in the lead after bagging 398,900 during Day 1 play, nearly four starting stacks. Over the first three levels, he maintained his position and improved to 740k, ~150 big blinds during Level 16.

Vaysman only has three tournament cashes totaling $5k in earnings which makes him a stand-out player in this stacked field. He has Olivier Busquest on his immediate right as well as Big Stax 500 Main Event Winner Dan Daconti and Esther Taylor in his orbit. However, despite the lack of live results, it is Vaysman that is pacing the field early in Day 2.

• Big Stax XXIV 2500 Main Event 4:35 PM
• Level 16 (2500/5000/500)
• Total Entries: 110
• Players Remaining: 52

13 places paid. $77k up top.

1st	$77,053
2nd	$49,210
3rd	$31,714
4th	$23,121
5th	$17,341
6th	$13,109
7th	$10,167
8th	$7,664
9th	$6,580
10th	$5,832
11th-13th	$5,419

 

• Big Stax XXIV 2500 Main Event 4:20 PM
• Level 16 (2500/5000/500)
• Total Entries: 110
• Players Remaining: 52

The field is now set and the final number is 110 entries. Payout information will be posted shortly. There will be two more levels before the dinner break. Here are the Top 4 stacks on the six remaining tables:

1. Brandon Vaysman 740,000
2. Justin Liberto 680,000
3. Aaron Mermelstein 630,000
4. Neil Patel 585,000

 

• Big Stax XXIV 2500 Main Event 1:00 PM
• Level 13 (1200/2400/300)
• Total Entries: 78
• Total Bagged: 44

Day 2 is set to get underway at 1 PM in the Main Building. Registration will remain open for the first three levels of play which should bring the entries close to 100 total. 44 players bagged from Day 1 and any new entries will start with 100k chips, over 40 big blinds, and plenty of play for the early portion of Day 2.

Day 2 will continue until the completion of Level 23 or until the Final Table is reached. The full structure for the event can be found at parxcasino.com/bigstax.

The current chip-counts heading into Day 2 as well as seating can be found HERE. Blog coverage will begin once registration is closed around 4 PM.

1st Place – Greg Weber $104,233

2nd Place – Anthony Garofalo $97,521

Greg Weber had a slight edge in the final chip counts and negotiated a slightly higher pay-out and 1st place. However, the two players were essentially dead even for heads-up play and will go down as co-champions of the 1500 Main Event.

Greg Weber essentially dominated the event from the first level of Day 2 play. He didn’t lose his chip-lead until Joe Palma took it from him during four-handed play. Although he became the short-stack at a couple of points during four and three handed play, Weber still managed to end up on top and grab the largest payout from the event.

Anthony Garofalo, on the other hand, stayed fairly under the radar for the majority of the event and carefully navigated his way through the tough Final Table until finally getting a big double through Weber with AxKx against 7x7x. In the end, a slew of premium hands and huge flops (he folded a hand that would have flopped a Royal Flush against Palma’s Full-House) took him all the way to heads-up and the largest score of his live career.

There is still one more event still running during Big Stax XXIV. The 2500 will be open for registration for three more hours starting at 1 PM Tuesday. Blog coverage will be available for the duration of that event and Day 2 chip counts and seating are posted below.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 1500 Main Event and congratulations to all of our winners.

1	ANTHONY	GAROFALO	$104,233.00
2	GREGORY	WEBER	$97,521.00
3	JOSEPH	PALMA	$51,043.00
4	CHRISTIAN	HARDER	$37,311.00
5	JOE	REDDICK	$27,956.00
6	JASON	DEANE	$21,063.00
7	JUSTIN	LIBERTO	$16,194.00
8	AARON	OVERTON	$12,473.00
9	SCOTT	BLUMSTEIN	$10,012.00
10	GREG	HIMMELBRAND	$8,316.00
11	PETER	BESHAY,	$8,316.00
12	GUOLIANG	CHEN	$8,316.00
13	MALIK	SAUNDERS	$6,839.00
14	BAITAI	LI	$6,839.00
15	ROBERT	GOLDBAUM	$6,839.00
16	EMANUEL	FAILLA JR	$5,690.00
17	AARON	MERMELSTEIN	$5,690.00
18	DAVID	COLEMAN	$5,690.00

 

• Big Stax XXIV 1500 Main Event 1:30 AM
• Level 31 (75000/150000/25000)
• Total Entries: 376
• Players Left: 2
• Next Payout: $78,287

 

Joe Palma was left short in a hand against Greg Weber. Weber opened the button to 325k and Palma defended his big blind.

Flop: 5♠Q♣7♠ Pot: 800k

Check/check.

Turn: 7♦

Palma bet 450k and was called.

River: 6♣ Pot: 1.7M

Palma checked. Weber bet 1.4M and was called.

Weber showed 10♥7♥ and Palma mucked his hand. Palma was left with ~1.2M and managed to get in a couple steals before finding a cooler spot against Anthony Garofalo.

Garofalo limped his small blind and Palma moved all-in for 1.5M. Garofalo instantly called and Palma would quickly see the bad news.

Garofalo A♦A♠ vs Palma J♠J♥ Pot: ~3.1M

Board: A♣7♠A♥5♣Q♣

There was absolutely no sweat as Garofalo flops Quads and it was all over for Palma. The two players immediately stopped play to discuss a potential chop.

Greg Weber 10.825M

Anthony Garofalo 8.025M

Joe Palma was eliminated in 3rd place for $51,043.

• Big Stax XXIV 2500 Main Event
• Total Entries: 78
• Total Bagged: 44

Day 2 starts with a 2400 big blind and 60-minute levels. Registration will remain open until the end of Level 15. Head to parxcasino.com/bigstax for the schedule and structure.

TAJESH	PATEL	410,000
BRANDON	VAYSMAN	398,900
CHENG	LEE	368,900
JULIAN	SACKS	341,200
SEAN	FEENEY	328,400
WEN	ZHANG	306,200
AARON	MERMELSTEIN	302,000
THAI	HA	265,700
JUSTIN	LIBERTO	256,300
JEFFREY	GROSS	235,200
DONALD	HIMPELE JR	214,700
SCOTT	FITZ-GERALD	213,100
MICHAEL	LINSTER	203,600
DOUGLAS	SHIRK	194,600
DANIEL	DACONTI	193,900
RONALD	SMITH	181,000
D	BAGDASAROV	178,100
TSINIS	ARKADIY	177,400
ERNEST	GOZMAN	169,400
DANIEL	SEWNIG	167,700
RICHARD	AUSTIN	166,800
DAVID	COLEMAN	166,400
JEFFREY	CHANG	159,300
BRETT	APTER	146,700
RYAN	ERIQUEZZO	144,300
ERIC	RILEY	137,200
KEITH	MORROW JR	135,000
RONALD	SIMS	134,900
ALEXANDER	ZAVERUKHA	132,400
JONATHAN	ZARIN	126,300
JACKDUYPH	DUONG	123,400
OLIVIER	BUSQUET	114,300
JOSEPH	MCKEEHEN	114,300
RYAN	POCHEDLY	112,500
PETER	BESHAY,	109,400
NEAL	GAY	94,600
GREGORY	FISHBERG	94,400
RYAN	TAMANINI	94,000
PHILIP	SARACINO	88,800
AARON	SHAPIRO	80,200
MATTHEW	KUSTAFIK	68,400
TRAVIS	HUNDT	66,700
RYAN	HOHNER	46,300
RYAN	MCKNIGHT	37,000

 

EMPTY
RYAN	MCKNIGHT	37,000
NEAL	GAY	94,600
RYAN	POCHEDLY	112,500
RYAN	HOHNER	46,300
ERNEST	GOZMAN	169,400
DAVID	COLEMAN	166,400
DONALD	HIMPELE JR	214,700
EMPTY
EMPTY
RONALD	SIMS	134,900
JEFFREY	GROSS	235,200
JACKDUYPH	DUONG	123,400
JULIAN	SACKS	341,200
SEAN	FEENEY	328,400
OLIVIER	BUSQUET	114,300
BRETT	APTER	146,700
EMPTY
EMPTY
BRANDON	VAYSMAN	398,900
MATTHEW	KUSTAFIK	68,400
WEN	ZHANG	306,200
DANIEL	DACONTI	193,900
KEITH	MORROW JR	135,000
SCOTT	FITZ-GERALD	213,100
JONATHAN	ZARIN	126,300
EMPTY
EMPTY
JUSTIN	LIBERTO	256,300
RYAN	ERIQUEZZO	144,300
GREGORY	FISHBERG	94,400
D	BAGDASAROV	178,100
DANIEL	SEWNIG	167,700
PETER	BESHAY,	109,400
RICHARD	AUSTIN	166,800
EMPTY
EMPTY
TSINIS	ARKADIY	177,400
JOSEPH	MCKEEHEN	114,300
THAI	HA	265,700
TAJESH	PATEL	410,000
MICHAEL	LINSTER	203,600
AARON	MERMELSTEIN	302,000
JEFFREY	CHANG	159,300
ERIC	RILEY	137,200
EMPTY
AARON	SHAPIRO	80,200
RONALD	SMITH	181,000
CHENG	LEE	368,900
RYAN	TAMANINI	94,000
PHILIP	SARACINO	88,800
TRAVIS	HUNDT	66,700
DOUGLAS	SHIRK	194,600
ALEXANDER	ZAVERUKHA	132,400

• Big Stax XXIV 1500 Main Event 12:30 AM
• Level 31 (75000/150000/25000)
• Total Entries: 376
• Players Left: 3
• Next Payout: $51,043

On the last hand of Level 30, Palma won a key pot off of Weber to shake up the standings.

Palma completed the small blind and Weber raised to 250k. Palma called.

Flop: K♥9♠Q♥ Pot: 560k

Check/check.

Turn: 7♦

Palma checked. Weber bet 300k. Palma raised to 950k and was called.

River: 8♠ Pot: 2.46M

Palma led for 1.3M and was called. He showed Ks9h and received a muck from Weber and collected 5.06M from the middle.

Here are the counts heading into the 150k big blind:

ANTHONY	GAROFALO	8,855,000
JOSEPH	PALMA	5,955,000
GREGORY	WEBER	3,825,000