Fort Lauderdale’s Blaine McRae Wins Coco Poker Open Event 2

Final report for Event 2 which finished Thursday just before 4am

2016 Coco Poker Open
Seminole Casino Coconut Creek
Coconut Creek, FL
Event #2
$130 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack
Entries: 302
Prize Pool: $30,200
September 21, 2016

Blain McRae - Event 2 winner

McRae earns $5,355 following four-way chop, Rob Brown finishes third following second final table appearance of the day.

Blaine McRae of nearby Fort Lauderdale is the most recent champion at the Coco Poker Open. McRae came out on top of a 302-entry field in Event 2, a $130 deep stack tournament, to earn $5,355 following a four-way chop at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. With 20-minute levels and 16,000-chip starting stacks, the event began at 6pm and concluded just before 4am. It would have wrapped earlier were it not for the persistence of poker professional Rob Brown.

When play narrowed to the nine-handed final table, there was a move to chop lead by Mark Nahama. With the blinds climbing as fast as the early morning hours, stacks were shallow and there wasn’t much play. Brown, who was in the midst of his second final table appearance of the day following an 8th-place finish in Event 1, was short stacked and opted to play it out. Chop talk continued, but play went on. By the time four players remained, Barry Sisselman’s chip lead had shifted to McRae. The big blind was 60,000 leaving the average stack at roughly 20 big blinds. Remaining players calculated a chip chop and Brown negotiated for a few hundred more dollars from there. Outside of McRae, the other payouts were as follows; Sisselman ($4,820), Brown ($4,423) and Nahama ($3,744).

McRae owns just two prior tournament cashes, both coming at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. The $5,355 score marks his largest win to date.

With the conclusion of Event 2, all eyes are on the $2,500 Championship and its $1,000,000 guarantee. The first of two starting flights begins Friday at noon.

Event 2 final results:

1st: Blain McRae – $5,355
2nd: Barry Sisselman – $4,820
3rd: Rob Brown – $4,423
4th: Mark Nahama – $3,744
5th: Paul Oken – $1,616
6th: Aaron Klausman – $1,284
7th: Edgardo Rosario – $982
8th: Adam Romer – $710
9th: Alfred Cotton  – $513
10th: Jeff Burdeen – $393
11th: Jeffrey Berry – $393
12th: Robert Miller – $393
13th: Aldring Gomez Torres – $317
14th: Brian Breen – $317
15th: Neal Corcoran – $317
16th: Marc Roth – $272
17th: Garrett Rogers – $272
18th: Chris Lee – $272
19th: Albert Barney – $227
20th: Anthony Bianculli – $227
21st: Thomas Millward – $227
22nd: Scott Rubin – $227
23rd: Nancy Birnbaum – $227
24th: Scott Loiselle – $227
25th: Bienvenido Santiago – $227
26th: Tracy White – $227
27th: Edward Medoff – $227
28th: Steven Moreno – $196
29th: David McCord – $196
30th: Paul Humphrey – $196
31st: Stephen Greenstein – $196
32nd: Lewis Lurie – $196
33rd: Nicholas Bazos – $196
34th: Richard Coppola – $196
35th: Robert Williams – $196
36th: Robert Kessler – $196

Event 2: We Have a Four-Way Deal; Blaine McRae Wins Deep Stack ($5,355)

$130 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack (Re-Entry)
Level 26: 30,000/60,000/10,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 4/302

Blain McRae - Event 2 winner
Blaine McRae – Event 2 winner

The final four players agreed to a deal. Chip leader Blaine McRae pocketed $5,355 while Barry Sisselman scored $4,820, Rob Brown $4,423 and Mark Nahama $3,744.

A full report will be posted Thursday afternoon. In the meantime, here’s a look at the tournament’s unofficial results:

1st: Blaine McRae – $5,355
2nd: Barry Sisselman – $4,820
3rd: Rob Brown – $4,423
4th: Mark Nahama – $3,744
5th: Paul Oken – $1,616
6th: Aaron Klausman – $1,284
7th: Edgardo Rosario – $982
8th: Adam Romer – $710
9th: Alfred Cotton  – $513
10th: Jeff Burdeen – $393
11th: Jeffrey Berry – $393
12th: Robert Miller – $393
13th: Aldring Gomez Torres – $317
14th: Brian Breen – $317
15th: Neal Corcoran – $317
16th: Marc Roth – $272
17th: Garrett Rogers – $272
18th: Chri Lee – $272
19th: Albert Barney – $227
20th: Anthony Bianculli – $227
21st: Thomas Millward – $227
22nd: Scott Rubin – $227
23rd: Nancy Birnbaum – $227
24th: Scott Loiselle – $227
25th: Bienvenido Santiago – $227
26th: Tracy White – $227
27th: Edward Medoff – $227
28th: Steven Moreno – $196
29th: David McCord – $196
30th: Paul Humphrey – $196
31st: Stephen Greenstein – $196
32nd: Lewis Lurie – $196
33rd: Nicholas Bazos – $196
34th: Richard Coppola – $196
35th: Robert Williams – $196
36th: Robert Kessler – $196

Event 2: Down to 10; Barry Sisselman Leads with Over 1,000,000

$130 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack (Re-Entry)
Level 21: 10,000/20,000/2,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 10/302

2016-coco-poker-open-09276
Barry Sisselman

Barry Sisselman has a comfortable edge over the field in tonight’s 6pm $130 deep stack. With 10 remaining, he holds 1,500,000 of the 4,832,000 chips in play. If he’s to hang on for the title, he’ll have to make his way through Rob Brown (who’s in the midst of his second final table appearance today) and others.

Here’s a look at the seating assignments with chip counts followed by the remaining payouts:

2016-coco-poker-open-09279

Seat 1: Blaine McRae – 534,000
Seat 2: Mark Nahama – 560,000
Seat 3: Aaron Klausman – 340,000
Seat 4: Rob Brown – 428,000
Seat 5: Barry Sisselman – 1,500,000
Seat 6: Jeff Burdeen 375,000
Seat 7: Edgardo Rosario – 476,000
Seat 8: Alfred Cotton – 292,000
Seat 9: Adam Romer – 154,000
Seat 10: Paul Oken – 112,000

1st – $8,149
2nd – $4,832
3rd – $3,171
4th – $2,190
5th – $1,616
6th – $1,284
7th – $982
8th – $710
9th – $513

Play is moving fast and the next update will be provided once a winner has been crowned.

Event 2: McRae Leads Final Two Tables; Eliminations 18th-27th

$130 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack (Re-Entry)
Level 19: 6,000/12,000/1,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 17/302

Blaine McRae
Blaine McRae

Blaine McRae of Fort Lauderdale leads the final 18 players with a stack of 635,000. That figure puts him more than double average which is currently 268,444 good for 22 big blinds.

Play is moving fast and the 10-handed final table is rapidly approaching.

Here’s another round of tournament eliminations:

18th: Chris Lee – $272
19th: Albert Barney – $227
20th: Anthony Bianculli – $227
21st: Thomas Millward – $227
22nd: Scott Rubin – $227
23rd: Nancy Birnbaum – $227
24th: Scott Loiselle – $227
25th: Bienvenido Santiago – $227
26th: Tracy White – $227
27th: Edward Medoff – $227

Additional results are available in the posts below.

Event 2: They’re in the Money

$130 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack (Re-Entry)
Level 16: 3,000/6,000/500 Ante
Players Remaining: 36/302

2016-coco-poker-open-09265

Hand-for-hand play wasn’t necessary as a few rapid bustouts midway through Level 16 left the field at the final 36 players. Each remaining is assured $196 with the tournament’s champion pocketing $8,149. Complete payouts are available one post below.

Nancy Birnbaum
Nancy Birnbaum

Nancy Birnbaum of nearby Fort Lauderdale is one of the more accomplished players still remaining. Birnbaum owns three World Series of Poker Circuit gold rings and more than $620,000 in reported tournament earnings. She’s in good shape in Coco Poker Open Event 2 with a pile of orange 1,000 chips and a stack of gray 5,000’s good for an above holdings.

Event 2: Field Stands at 302 Entries; Winner to Earn $8,149

$130 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack (Re-Entry)
Level 15: 2,500/5,000/500 Ante
Players Remaining: 54/302

After a slight delay, the prize pool has been finalized in tonight’s 6pm $130 deep stack. The event drew a field of 302 entries just creeping over the $30,000 guarantee before topping the prize pool out at $30,200. The top 36 players finish in the money with the 36th-place finisher earning $196. Payouts increase from there and climax in the form of an $8,149 first prize.

Full payouts:

Event #2
$130 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack
Entries: 302
Prize Pool: $30,200
September 21, 2016

prize_pool

Level 15 is freshly underway and the clock shows 54 players remaining.

Event 2: $130 Deep Stack, $30K Guaranteed Underway

$130 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack (Re-Entry)
Level 1: 50/100
Entries: 70

2016-coco-poker-open-09179

The 6pm, $130 buy-in deep stack event is off and running in the Pavilion at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. The event features 16,000-chip starting stacks and 20-minute levels.

6PM: Event 2 – $130 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack (Re-Entry)

  • $30,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 16,000 in tournament chips and 20-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 10
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 2 Structure Sheet

This is the second of 15 primary events on the Coco Poker Open schedule and it’s expected to wrap some time well after midnight.

Good luck, players!