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Travell Thomas managed to sneak into Event #10 just before registration closed. Thomas missed all of the previous WNY Poker Challenge events while in St. Louis for the World Series of Poker Circuit, but he'll be here for the remainder of the series.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 |
Registration is officially closed here in Event #10. We'll have payout information posted as soon as it is available.
Level: 5
Blinds: 150/300
Ante: 25
Rick Block didn't want to be stuck with his 6,000-chip stack at the end of the level, so he decided to start moving in blind. If he busted, he could re-enter. If he doubled, he could try to get back to his starting stack of 20,000.
Block says he's been "running like God" all week, and it didn't stop now.
First, Block shoved blind for 5,925 preflop with the 
and received a call from a player holding the 
. The board ran out 
, giving Block a pair of fives on the river and a double-up.
On the next hand, Aaron Olshan opened to 400 from middle position and Block shoved blind for around 12,000. Another player called from the button, as did Olshan.
Block: 
Olshan: 
Button: 
The 
gave Olshan top pair, but Block picked up a flush draw. The 
on the turn completed Block's flush, and he picked up another pot to increase his stack to around 38,000
Block won another all-in on the very next hand, too. We didn't see it go down, but he told us he busted a player with 
against 
. Block is up to around 50,000, multiplying his stack by nearly 10 times in a matter of minutes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
50,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
Players are exiting the tournament area for the first break of the day. Registration is open until the next level begins in 10 minutes.
Several players have taken advantage of the late registration today. We've also seen Art Demmerley take a seat at a new table after busting and re-entering.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000
13,500
|
13,500 |
|
20,000 | |
|
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 |
Level: 4
Blinds: 100/200
Ante:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
38,000 |
We walked up to Table 19 to find Art Demmerley with all of his chips in the middle of the pot and the 
in front of him. He was up against another player's
on a board of 
, and according to the PokerNews Odds Calculator he was a 58% favorite to win a pot worth more than 30,000. However, the 
on the river gave the other player a straight flush, leaving Demmerley with only 6,500 in chips.
Before the Western New York Poker Challenge kicked off last week, we put together a list of players to watch for the 16-tournament series. Some of them have already found success; Rick Block and Randy Pfeifer finished second and third in Event#2, respectively, and Jason Nablo made the final table in each of the first two events on the schedule.
Event #10 is the first we've seen of Johannes Mueller, another player who made our list. According to the Hendon Mob, Mueller has made the final table in 11 of his 21 career live tournament cashes, including the Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event last November (he finished fourth for $14,558). Mueller's first tournament win came a month later at the SuperStacks Hold'em Series at Turning Stone, and he kept the momentum going by winning a side event at the Borgata Winter Poker Open in January. Last month he placed seventh in a $1,100 Fallsview Poker Classic event for $18,134. That tournament was eventually won by Mike Leah.
