The 2016 Coco Poker Open ran September 21st-October 2nd at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek in Coconut Creek, Florida. In that time, 15 players became South Florida champions with Ian O’Hara taking the headline as the Championship winner. O’Hara outlasted 331 players in the $2,500 event to earn $212,830 along with a $5,250 seat in next summer’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in Hollywood.
Ian O’Hara
Joining O’Hara as a series headliner was Stu Paterson. Paterson, who won the Coco Poker Showdown Championship in January of this year, bested 769 entries in the $350 buy-in, $250,000 guarantee event to earn $38,941 following an eight-way chop.
Stu Paterson
Here’s a look at all 15 Coco Poker Open primary event winners:
2016 Coco Poker Open Seminole Casino Coconut Creek Coconut Creek, FL Event #15 $140 No Limit Hold’em Survivor (Re-Entry) Entries: 59 Prize Pool: $10,000 October 2, 2016
Event 15 winners
The last tournament on the 2016 Coco Poker Open schedule was a nice Survivor tournament to end the series on a Sunday afternoon/evening. The tournament drew 59 entrants with the last ten players dividing up the $10,000 prize pool.
The tournament quickly played down to the last two tables when things stalled as they neared the money. It played very much like a satellite where everyone was aiming for the same prize. There was little cause to mix it up with speculative hands with the deep, slow structure.
They approached the bubble after nearly six hours of play and they reached the money when Jonathan Rosa moved all-in with after the flop, then hit his flush on the turn to best . His opponent was eliminated, the final ten players were in the money, and Rosa had the biggest stack at the end.
That hand concluded the 2016 Coco Poker Open, a great series with big money and incredible players.
Event 13 Results:
1st: David Coughlin – $1,000 2nd: Scott Krautman – $1,000 3rd: Rickey Barger – $1,000 4th: Oneil McCalla – $1,000 5th: Roger Andreu – $1,000 6th: John DiPietro – $1,000 7th: Paul Steiner – $1,000 8th: Evan Dollinger – $1,000 9th: Anthony Vulpis – $1,000 10th: Jonathan Rosa – $1,000
2016 Coco Poker Open Seminole Casino Coconut Creek Coconut Creek, FL Event #13 $350 No Limit Hold’em Entries: 769 Prize Pool: $250,000 September 29-October 2, 2016
Stuart Paterson, Event 13 Champion
The biggest tournament outside the Coco Poker Open Championship was the $250,000 Guaranteed Event 13 No Limit Hold’em tournament on the last weekend of the series. It drew 769 entrants over multiple starting days and it was popular local pro Stuart Paterson outlasting them all to earn the title.
Event 13 had six starting flights spread over three days and the biggest crowd came out on Saturday evening. Each flight played down to 9% of its starting field to make the money and surviving players returned for Day 2.
There were 73 players back on Sunday with Phil Hernz as the big leader. He would not play a part in the latter parts of the tournament as Paterson asserted his skills early to build the biggest stack in the room.
The tournament quickly dropped down to 12 players at the dinner break and two quick eliminations afterward set the final table. SHRP regulars Michael Newman and Nancy Birnbaum went out in 10th and 9th place respectively and the last eight decided to negotiate a deal to chop up the remaining prize pool.
It took some effort but they eventually worked it out. Paterson was declared the champion with his huge chip lead while the other seven players earned a little extra money based on their position.
$140 No Limit Hold’em Survivor (Re-Entry) Level 9: 600/1,200/200 Ante Players Remaining: 17 of 59
While the Event 13 field was playing down to a winner, registration closed on the final event of the 2016 Coco Poker Open. The $140 No Limit Hold’em Survivor tournament drew 59 entrants so the final table ten will each split the $10,000 prize pool.
2016 Coco Poker Open Seminole Casino Coconut Creek Coconut Creek, FL Event #15 $140 No Limit Hold’em Survivor (Re-Entry) Entries: 59 Prize Pool: $10,000 October 2, 2016
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed Level 26: 30,000/60,000/10,000 Ante Players Remaining: 8 of 769
Stuart Paterson, Event 13 Champion
It took a little negotiating, but the last eight players in Event 13 came to an agreement to chop up the remaining prize pool. With the average stack about to hit 15 big blinds, they worked everything out and SHRP regular and Coco Poker Showdown champion Stu Paterson was declared the winner courtesy of his chip lead.
Full details on the deal:
1st: Stuart Paterson – $38,941 2nd: John Spadavecchia – $27,305 3rd: Jeff Charlton – $20,795 4th: Vlad Grach – $18,422 5th: Andrew Martin – $17,811 6th: David Maslowski – $16,711 7th: Elliott Zaydman – $15,746 8th: Andrew Bennis – $15,684
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed Level 26: 30,000/60,000/10,000 Ante Players Remaining: 8 of 769
Nancy Birnbaum
Jeff Charlton opened for 140,000. It folded around to Nancy Birnbaum on the button and she jammed for 435,000. It folded all the way back around to Charlton and he called. Birnbaum was at risk.
Birnbaum: Charlton:
Runout:
Charlton improved to a pair of queens and eliminated Birnbaum in 9th place. Immediately following the bustout, the remaining eight players began talking chop. Stay tuned!
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed Level 26: 30,000/60,000/10,000 Ante Players Remaining: 9 of 769
Michael Newman
John Spadavecchia opened to 160,000 from under the gun and Michael Newman moved all-in for 625,000 from the small blind. Spadavecchia called and it was another race to stay in the game.
Newman: Spadavecchia:
Newman was ahead but Spadavecchia took over on the flop. It only got worse for Newman as the rest of the board finished up a full house to send him out in tenth place.
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed Returning to Level 25: 25,000/50,000/5,000 Ante Players Remaining: 12 of 769
Stu Paterson
We ran the numbers on the twelve remaining players and Stu Paterson will return with the chip with Vladislav Grach, John Spadavecchia, and Andrew Martin the only players with seven-digit stacks.
With the last hand elimination, the tables will be balanced once players return from dinner.
2016 Coco Poker Open Seminole Casino Coconut Creek Coconut Creek, FL Event #14 $100 Deep Stack Turbo Bounty Entries: 52 Prize Pool: $3,700 October 2, 2016
Marc Amarante won the 14th primary event of the 2016 Coco Poker Open Sunday night at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. The tournament was a $100 buy-in Deep Stack Turbo Bounty and drew 52 entries. Amarante took home the top prize following a four-way chop that saw him pocket $1,100.
The tournament kicked off at 12pm. With 15-minute levels and 16,000-chip starting stacks, action was fast throughout. It took just five and a half hours from kickoff to Steve Touitou’s 5th-place elimination. It was then that Amarante along with Rick Kalgstein, George Duffield and Steven Swaim agreed to an ICM chop.
Amarante is 24 years old and resides in Miami. The victory marks his first major tournament score.
Event 14 final results:
1st: Marc Amarante – $1,100 2nd: Rick Kalgstein – $851 3rd: George Duffield – $670 4th: Steven Swaim – $561 5th: Steven Touitou – $296 6th: Gregg Weiss – $222
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed End of Level 24: 20,000/40,000/5,000 Ante Players Remaining: 12 of 769
Lawrence Kiang got the last of his stack on the final hand before the 45-minute dinner break. Kiang held and was flipping with Andrew Martin’s .
The flop brought the and the turn was the . Kiang improved to trips, but still needed to fade a 10 on the river. He couldn’t, as it fell the spiking a fullhouse for Martin. Kiang was covered and busted in 13th place earning $1,994.
Players are now on a 45-minute dinner break. Cards go back in the air at about 7:20pm. Complete chip counts with seat assignments will be posted shortly.
Andrew Martin – 1,390,000 Lawrence Kiang – Eliminated in 13th place ($1,994)
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed Level 24: 20,000/40,000/5,000 Ante Players Remaining: 15 of 769
Rava Mahtani (right) and John Spadavecchia (left)
John Spadavaecchia opened from under the gun for 85,000 and Rava Mahtani shoved for 359,000 more from his direct left. The remaining players in the hand folded and Mahtani was at risk in a classic race.
Mahtani: Spadavecchia:
Runout:
The runout couldn’t have hit Spadavecchia any harder. He improved to a fullhouse and scored the bustout. Mahtani was eliminated in 16th place earning $1,694.
John Spadavecchia – 850,000 Rava Mahtani – Eliminated in 16th place ($1,694)
$140 No Limit Hold’em Survivor (Re-Entry) Level 1: 50/100
It’s almost time to put a bow on the 2016 Coco Poker Open as the last tournament on the schedule gets ready to kick off. We’ve run 14 events so far with one more chance to pick up some Coco cash.
Event 15 will give entrants plenty of room to play with some big guaranteed money waiting for the final table. The tournament has a $140 buy-in and will run with a Survivor format, locking up a $1,000 payout for at least the last ten players.
Players will start with 10,000 stacks and the event will run 30-minute levels throughout. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 7 around 9:15pm and they won’t stop (other than breaks) until everyone remaining is making some money.
Cards are about to fly and we’ll have updates along the way.
$10,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Players begin with 10,000 in tournament chips and 30-minute levels
Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
1 in 10 paid, final 10 players guaranteed $1,000 each
This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
$100 Deep Stack Turbo Bounty (Re-Entry) Level 21: 10,000/20,000/1,000 Ante Players Remaining: 4 of 52
Marc Amarante won Event 14 of the Coco Poker Open — today’s 12pm $100 Deep Stack Turbo Bounty — following a four-way chop. A a more complete report will be posted later this evening. In the meantime, here’s a look at the final results:
1st: Marc Amarante – $1,100 2nd: Rick Kalgstein – $851 3rd: George Duffield – $670 4th: Steven Swaim – $561 5th: Steven Touitou – $296 6th: Gregg Weiss – $222
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed Level 21: 10,000/20,000/2,000 Ante Players Remaining: 20 of 769
Nancy Birnbaum (left) and Bob Mather
In a blind-versus-blind battle, Nancy Birnbaum was in the small against Bob Mather in the big. The flop was . Birnbaum checked and Mather bet 25,000. Birnbaum called.
Fourth street was the and both players checked.
Birnbaum lead the river for 50,000 and Mather folded.
Birnbaum has been pretty quiet today, but she now sits with 592,000.
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed Level 21: 10,000/20,000/2,000 Ante Players Remaining: 22 of 769
With a 20,000 big blind, a flurry of bustouts accompanied the start of Level 21. Here’s a look at the most recent eliminations:
Greg Marcus
23rd: Phil Hernz – $1,466 24th: Kevin Curran – $1,466 25th: Jason Gooch – $1,466 26th: Edward Medoff – $1,466 27th: Greg Marcus – $1,466 28th: Yves Fequire – $1,244 29th: Lawrence Gradus – $1,244
Additional results are available in the posts below.
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed Level 21: 10,000/20,000/2,000 Ante Players Remaining: 26 of 769
Here’s a look at some of the notable chip counts following the second break of the day:
Stu Paterson – 1,575,000 John Spadavecchia – 1,312,000 Nancy Birnbaum – 596,000 Andrew Bennis – 596,000 Elliott Zaydman – 505,000 Bob Mather – 339,000 Phil Hernz – 305,000 Jason Gooch – 208,000 Scott Zakheim – 203,000 Nick Visconti – 112,000
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed Level 20: 8,000/16,000/2,000 Ante Players Remaining: 27 of 769
John Spadavecchia
The final 27 players just redrew to three tables. Stu Paterson leads with 1,538,000, but John Spadavecchia is hot on his trail with 1,235,000. The leaders are the only two above the 1,000,000 mark and they’re looking to keep the rungood coming late in the event.
$100 Deep Stack Turbo Bounty (Re-Entry) Level 15: 2,500/5,000/500 Ante Players Remaining: 16 of 52
Registration is closed in today’s 12pm $100 Deep Stack Turbo Bounty and the prize pool is finalized. The tournament drew 52 entries and the $3,700 prize pool — which meets the $5,000 guarantee after you factor in the $1,300 in bounties — pays the top six players. A min-cash earns $222 while the tournament’s champion pockets $1,443 along with any bounties accumulated.
Payout details:
2016 Coco Poker Open Seminole Casino Coconut Creek Coconut Creek, FL Event #14 $100 Deep Stack Turbo Bounty Entries:52 Prize Pool: $3,700 October 2, 2016
The clock shows 16 players remaining and among them are Lisa Teebagy and Daniel Genachte. Both these players made Day 2 in the $250,000 guarantee, busted and late registered the bounty.
We’ll provide another update when the tournament concludes.
$350 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $250,000 Guaranteed Level 19: 6,000/12,000/1,000 Ante Players Remaining: 36 of 769
Andrew Martin
Seminole regular Michael Newman was on the button and raised. It folded to Andrew Martin the big blind and he called.
Flop: — Both players checked.
Turn: — Martin lead for 22,000. Newman called.
River: — Martin lead for 45,000. Newman calmly but quickly announced “Call”. Martin turned over for a fullhouse and Newman’s trips was second best. Martin won the pot.