The 2016 Coco Poker Spring Series ran April 20-May 2 at the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek in Coconut Creek, Fla. The 13-tournament series boasted more than $475,000 in guarantees and saw Hector Pacheco nab the title in the premier event — a $350 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed event.

Pacheco bested 934 entries to earn $63,000. Joining him as a series headliner were James Newcomb and Andrew Bennis. While Newcomb won two events, it was Bennis who took the top spot on the points leaderboard and earned a bonus payout of $1,000.

Thanks to all who played the 2016 Coco Poker Spring Series! We hope to see you again for the Coco Poker Open this September!

Series champions:

Dale Phillips defeated 38 entries in Event #1 ($140 Omaha Hi/Lo) for $1,800

Javier Sarache defeated 260 entries in Event #2 ($130 NLH) for $7,531

Andrew Turzak defeated 841 entries in Event #3 ($130 NLH) for $14,729

 James Krangle defeated 87 entries ($80 NLH Deep Stack Turbo Bounty) for $757

Jermaine Phang defeated 68 entries ($200 NLH Double Green Chip Bounty) for $3,019

Arkady Goldshteyn defeated 313 entries ($130 NLH Deep Stack) for $6,729

James Newcomb defeated 45 entries ($80 NLH) for $600

Rudy Vazquez defeated 98 entries ($94 NLH) for $2,700

Stanley Oremland defeated 58 entries ($140 Omaha High/Low) for $2,169

Hector Pacheco defeated 934 entries ($350 NLH) for $63,000

William Swicicki defeated 104 entries ($80 Deep Stack Turbo Bounty) for $1,372

James Newcomb defeated 72 entries ($240 Black Chip Bounty) for $1,710

Cesar Fuentes defeated 350 entries ($130 Deep Stack) for $9,000

The Coco Spring series boasted a points leaderboard taking into account each of the series’ 13 events. The top 10 earners were sent home with a bonus payday topping out in the $1,000 winner’s share.

Over the course of 13 days, it was Andre Bennis who stood above the rest to claim the four-figure bonus prize. Here’s a look at each of the top 10 points earners, their prize and points earned.

1 . ANDREW BENNIS – $1,000 (456.548)
2 . ROBERT KESSLER – $500 (404.327)
3 . JERMAINE PHANG – $350 (383.923)
4 . MICHAEL RIZZUTO – $199 (375.502)
5 . ELLIOTT ZAYDMAN – $199 (353.679)
6 . NANCY BIRNBAUM – $199 (318.127)
7 . HOWARD MASH – $199 (317.669)
8 . CARLOS LOVING – $199 (312.826)
9 . DANIEL GENACHTE – $199 (292.205)
10 . DAVID FLEISCHER – $199 (283.413)

Thanks to all for playing the Coco Spring Series!

2016 Coco Spring Series
Seminole Casino Coconut Creek
Event #10
$350 No Limit Hold’em ($250,000 Guaranteed)
Entries: 934
Prize Pool: $280,200
April 27-May 1, 2016

Davie, Fla. resident overcomes 934-entry field to earn $63,000 following three way chop.

Coconut Creek, Fla. (May 1, 2016) — The Coco Poker Spring Series continued Sunday with the headline event of the 13-tournament festival. A $350 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed tournament, Event 10 took place over the course of five consecutive days including seven starting flights and the Day 2 restart. After all was said and done, Hector Pacheco of Davie, Fla. earned the $63,000 top prize following a three way chop with Michael Grabelsky and Michael Rizzuto.

“I thank God that I won,” Pacheco said. “It was a struggle. It was a tough field. They have a lot of good poker players here at Coconut Creek.”

The Event 10 Day 2 restart boasted a field bursting with talent. World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner Loni Harwood, reigning Seminole Hard Rock Poker Player of the Year Ory Hen, as well as Adam Leavy and Abbey Daniels were among those still in contention on the tournament’s final day. With all of the restart field in the money, it was Hen who bested the aforementioned group lasting the longest before finishing 12th.

It wasn’t long after Hen’s departure that the tournament consolidated to the 10-handed final table. Pacheco, who took the chip lead shortly after the 27-player redraw, retained his lead and never looked back. Stu Paterson, who won the Coco Poker Showdown Championship earlier this year, busted seventh, followed by traveling poker tournament supervisor Shawn Lytle in sixth. It wasn’t until Steve Leahy’s departure fourth that the remaining three agreed to a deal. Pacheco, who held the chip lead, took $63,000 while Grabelsky nabbed $36,433 and Rizzuto took home $36,432.

“I loved it,” Pacheco said of his dominating his performance. “This game is something that I really enjoy.”

Event 10 drew a field of 934 entries that generated a prize of pool of $280,200 comfortably exceeding the $250,000 guarantee. Pacheco’s win marked his first major tournament victory and was by far his most notable score. He is a 53-year-old computer engineer from Davie, Fla. He says he keeps quite busy with work, but makes time for poker whenever possible.

The Coco Poker Spring Series began Wednesday, April 20 and concludes Monday, May 2.The 13-day event boasted nearly $500,000 in guarantees.

Event 10 final results:

1st: Hector Pacheco – $63,000
2nd: Michael Grabelsky – $36,433
3rd: Michael Rizzuto – $36,432
4th: Steve Leahy – $17,845
5th: Austin Kempa – $12,381
6th: Shawn Lytle – $9,579
7th: Stu Paterson – $7,338
8th: Jason Sugarman – $5,376
9th: Jacob Snider – $3,793
10th: Rob Kessler – $2,728
11th: Marc Sacheli – $2,728
12th: Ory Hen – $2,728
13th: Abbey Daniels – $2,151
14th: Adial Khan – $2,151
15th: Willie Wiggins – $2,151
16th: Gregory Barker – $1,814
17th: Unclaimed – $1,814
18th: Sheldon Gross – $1,814
19th: Jose Parra – $1,534
20th: Tony Nguyen – $1,534
21st: Butchie Mitchell – $1,534
22nd: Lahcen Imkhaoun – $1,534
23rd: John Palace – $1,534
24th: Eric Martin – $1,534
25th: Maria Garrido – $1,534
26th: Benjamin Sriqui –    $1,534
27th: Eric Polirer – $1,534
28th: Leonard Benitez –    $1,310
29th: Steven McKoy – $1,310
30th: Matthew Vetstein – $1,310
31st: Victor Papeo, Jr. – $1,310
32nd: Steven Bennett –    $1,310
33rd: Michael Tait – $1,310
34th: Javier Sarache –    $1,310
35th: Michael Abitbol –    $1,310
36th: Miguel Martinez – $1,310
37th: Jorge Gomez – $1,103
38th: Howard Darnold, Jr. – $1,103
39th: Howard Mash – $1,103
40th: Martin Carnero – $1,103
41st: David Poces – $1,103
42nd: Michael Ortiz – $1,103
43rd: Andrew Bennis – $1,103
44th: Michael McCombs – $1,103
45th: Taylor Dean-Lipson – $1,103
46th: Greg Rosen – $963
47th: Pedro Palacio – $963
48th: Drew Epstein – $963
49th: David Barbieri – $963
50th: Robert Midgette – $963
51st: John Bastarache –    $963
52nd: Christopher Dibari – $963
53rd: Kobi Ribak – $963
54th: David Shmuel – $963
55th: Michelle Macatee – $851
56th: Roy Cohen – $851
57th: Devon Shalmi – $851
58th: Aris Gomez Lopez – $851
59th: Craig Witz – $851
60th: Carl Pipitone – $851
61st: George Hortelano – $851
62nd: Emmanuel Santos – $851
63rd: Loni Harwood – $851
64th: Paulius Bikus – $750
65th: Brett Bader – $750
66th: Jeffrey Cohen – $750
67th: Issa Gary – $750
68th: Carlos Guerrero – $750
69th: Arthur Tamasi – $750
70th: Elias Nassif – $750
71st: Travis Holloway – $750
72nd: Walter Pietrzak – $750
73rd: Otis James – $665
74th: Fredric White – $665
75th: Daniel Pearlman – $665
76th: Juan Narajno – $665
77th: Frisner St. Cyr –    $665
78th: Steven Pollack – $665
79th: Evan Teitelbaum – $665
80th: Debra Dorcy – $665
81st: Joshua Wasserman – $665
82nd: Adam Levy – $560
83rd: Claudio Kalili – $560
84th: Pasquale Calabria – $560
85th: Mark Nahama – $560
86th: Lewis Lurie – $560
87th: Elliott Zaydman –    $560

$350 No Limit Hold’em ($250,000 Guaranteed)
Level 29: 60,000/120,000/20,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 3/934

The remaining three players came to a deal that sees Hector Pacheco of Davie, Fla. take home an even $63,000 and the title. Michael Grabelsky is set to go down as the runner up and pocket $36,433 while Michael Rizzuto takes third for $36,432.

More on the tournament will be posted shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look at the 10-handed final table results:

4th: Steve Leahy – $17,845
5th: Austin Kempa – $12,381
6th: Shawn Lytle – $9,579
7th: Stu Paterson – $7,338
8th: Jason Sugarman – $5,376
9th: Jacob Snider – $3,793
10th: Rob Kessler – $2,728

Additional results are available in the posts below.

$350 No Limit Hold’em ($250,000 Guaranteed)
Level 28: 50,000/100,000/15,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 6/934

There was a slight pause in the action following Stuart Paterson’s 7th-place elimination. The remaining six players talked chop, but couldn’t come to an agreement. Cards are now back in the air with the tournament’s $69,040 first prize in limbo.

Updated chip counts with seat assignments;

Seat 1: Steve Leahy – 1,095,000
Seat 2: Austin Kempa – 825,000
Seat 3: Michael Grabelsky – 2,255,000
Seat 4: Michael Rizzuto – 2,290,000
Seat 5: Hector Pacheco – 7,915,000
Seat 6: Shawn Lytle – 755,000

Remaining payouts:

1st – $69,040
2nd – $40,153
3rd – $26,672
4th – $17,845
5th – $12,381
6th – $9,579

$350 No Limit Hold’em ($250,000 Guaranteed)
Level 28: 50,000/100,000/15,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 6/934

Level 28 is freshly underway bringing with it a 50,000 small blind, a 100,000 big blind and a 15,000 ante. With six players remaining, there’s a difference of nearly $60,000 between sixth and first. As has become normal during the late stages of the event, Hector Pacheco has a stranglehold in the chip department claiming about 8,000,000 of the 14,944,000 in play.

Here’s a look at the unofficial final table eliminations to this point:

$350 No Limit Hold’em ($250,000 Guaranteed)
Level 25: 25,000/50,000/5,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 10/934

Following dinner, it took about 25 minutes of play in the 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante level for the field to shear itself of three players. With Abbey Daniels, Ory Hen and Marc Sacheli now on the rail, the restart is now down to the final 10 and combined to one table.

The Hector Pacheco show continues as the Davie, Fla. resident holds 2,880,000 chips to lead the way. The only other stacks at 2,000,000 or over belong to Michael Grabelsky (2,065,000) and Michael Rizzuto (2,000,000). Traveling poker tournament supervisor Shawn Lytle is hot on the leaders’ trail with 1,930,000.

Here’s a look at the final table seating assignments, chip counts, remaining payouts and updated results:

Seat 1: Steve Leahy – 1,100,000
Seat 2: Jason Sugarman – 1,180,000
Seat 3: Stuart Paterson – 615,000
Seat 4: Rob Kessler – 380,000
Seat 5: Jacob Snider – 935,0000
Seat 6: Austin Kempa – 900,000
Seat 7: Michael Grabelsky – 2,065,000
Seat 8: Michael Rizzuto – 2,000,000
Seat 9: Hector Pacheco – 2,880,000
Seat 10: Shawn Lytle – 1,930,000

1st – $69,040
2nd – $40,153
3rd – $26,672
4th – $17,845
5th – $12,381
6th – $9,579
7th – $7,338
8th – $5,376
9th – $3,793
10th – $2,728

11th: Marc Sacheli – $2,728
12th: Ory Hen – $2,728
13th: Abbey Daniels – $2,151
14th: Adial Khan – $2,151
15th: Willie Wiggins – $2,151
16th: Gregory Barker – $1,814
17th: Unclaimed – $1,814
18th: Sheldon Gross – $1,814
19th: Jose Parra – $1,534

Additional results are available in the posts below.

$350 No Limit Hold’em ($250,000 Guaranteed)
Heading to Level 25: 25,000/50,000/5,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 13/934

The remaining 13 players in the $350 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed event are on a 45-minute dinner break. Cards go back in the air at at about 7:15 p.m. with all players assured a payout of at least $2,151.

Notable counts:

• Hector Pacheco – 2,875,000
• Shawn Lytle – 1,795,000
• Ory Hen – 855,000
• Stu Paterson – 820,000
• Abbey Daniels – 760,000
• Stephen Leahy – 525,000

$350 No Limit Hold’em ($250,000 Guaranteed)
Level 24: 20,000/40,000/5,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 19/934

Hector Pacheco’s lead continues to grow as he now sits at 2,290,000 chips with 19 players remaining. With the final table right around the corner, the average stack is 786,526 good for 19 big blinds.

Here’s a look at the remaining payouts followed by eliminations 20th-35th:

1st – $69,040
2nd – $40,153
3rd – $26,672
4th – $17,845
5th – $12,381
6th – $9,579
7th – $7,338
8th – $5,376
9th – $3,793
10th-12th – $2,728
13th-15th – $2,151
16th-18th – $1,814
19th – 1,534

20th: Tony Nguyen – $1,534
21st: Butchie Mitchell – $1,534
22nd: Lahcen Imkhaoun – $1,534
23rd: John Palace – $1,534
24th: Eric Martin – $1,534
25th: Maria Garrido – $1,534
26th: Benjamin Sriqui –    $1,534
27th: Eric Polirer – $1,534
28th: Leonard Benitez –    $1,310
29th: Steven McKoy – $1,310
30th: Matthew Vetstein – $1,310
31st: Victor Papeo, Jr. – $1,310
32nd: Steven Bennett –    $1,310
33rd: Michael Tait – $1,310
34th: Javier Sarache –    $1,310
35th: Michael Abitbol –    $1,310

Additional results are available in the posts below.

$350 No Limit Hold’em ($250,000 Guaranteed)
Level 22: 12,000/24,000/3,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 23/934

When cards went back in the air following break, Hector Pacheco sat second in the counts to Stephen Leahy. His runner-up slot was short lived as he won a couple meaningful pots, most notably one that eliminated Javier Sarache.

Sarache had shoved all in preflop and Pacheco reshoved having Sarache covered. The remaining players folded and Pacheco was in good shape holding against the of Sarache. The flop brought an eight, but Pacheco improved to a flush on the river to eliminate Sarache. The pot moved him comfortably over 1,000,000 and gave him the chip lead which he retains to this moment.

Hector Pacheco – 1,350,000