Steve Cantatore Takes Down Final Event Western New York Poker Challenge Warm-Up
The winner of the final event in the Western New York Poker Challenge Warm-Up series is Steve Cantatore for $6,484, defeating Arthur Gates outright for the title, money and trophy!
The final hand was a standard one, with Gates getting it in with ace-high and Cantatore calling with king-jack suited. The flop was king high and Gates was unable to catch up, finishing as the runner up and pocketing $4,015 as a consolation prize.
Gates steamrolled his way through the final table as Cantatore patiently sat back and picked his spots. The turning point was when he was all in with pocket eights and ran into Gates' pocket jacks. There was an eight on the flop and the river, giving him quads. Cantatore never really looked back and chipped away at Gates before finally securing the win.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Cantatore | $6,484 |
| 2 | Arthur Gates | $4,015 |
| 3 | Marcy Jo Phillips | $2,893 |
| 4 | Bob Markek | $2,120 |
| 5 | Allison Schultz | $1,571 |
| 6 | Matt Miceli | $1,222 |
| 7 | Kyle Gay | $923 |
| 8 | Dave Berkley | $723 |
| 9 | Matt D | $574 |
| 10 | Dietrich Kuhlmann | $474 |
A full list of results is available under the Payouts tab above.
After the elimination of James Miller in 11th place ($474) on the final table bubble, Dietrich Kuhlmann was the first to go in tenth place ($474) after he ran his ace-queen suited into Mike Miceli's pocket kings. The flop was queen-high but he was unable to improve and was the first casualty at the final table.
The next player to go was a short-stacked Matt D. He put his chips in the middle with jack-nine off-suit but ran into Arthur Gates' queen-jack of hearts. Gates flopped top pair and a flush draw and rivered a flush for good measure, sending Matt home with $574 in ninth place.
The eighth place finisher was Dave Berkley. He was nursing a short stack and finally got his chips in the middle with ace-seven. Miceli woke up to pocket queens in the big blind and made the easy call, sending Berkley home with $723 for his finish today.
Next to go was Kyle Gay in seventh place ($923). Gay lost a flip with ace-king and was unable to catch up against Gates' pocket jacks. The sixth place finisher was Miceli ($1,222) who turned two pair but couldn't fade the river that gave Gates a wheel, sending him to the rail right after Gay.
Gates just eliminated two players in back-to-back hands and decided to go for a third one. Allison Schultz got her last few chips in the middle with pocket fives but couldn't improve against Gates' pocket nines, sending her home with $1,571. In fourth place, Bob Markek got it in with the best hand in poker, pocket aces, but Phillips turned a set of tens and the dream was over. Markek pocketed $2,120 for his deep run today.
Three-handed play went on for a while and Phillips took the lead for a bit before doubling Gates up in a boat-over-boat cooler. Steve Cantatore made quads to double up and plans to chop up the remaining prize pool were halted. Phillips was next to go in third place after she lost a flip with pocket nines against Cantatore's ace-king, sending her home with $2,893.
That's a wrap for the Warm-Up series and for PokerNews' coverage. Come back and follow along again at the end of March when the Western New York Poker Challenge begins. Congratulations to all of the winners this weekend!