Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Last Lady Standing

Level 24 (Blinds 15,000/30,000/5,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 34

Sophie Chen (Absecon, NJ)

She may not have the biggest stack of those remaining, but Sophie Chen (Absecon, NJ) is the last woman left in this field.  She has less than ten big blinds (200,000), and is hoping to find a spot soon to double.

Being able to survive with this short stack may not be as difficult as it sounds, being that she came into the day with only 64,000.  That was just over ten blinds to start the day, and she's managed to navigate herself to this point.

Players are close to their first re-draw of the tournament, which will happen when 27 remain.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Final Break Of The Night

Level 24 (Blinds 15,000/30,000/5,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 35

Players are exiting the tournament area for the final (15) minute break of the night, while the tournament floor colors off the orange (1,000) chips.  Players will return to Level 24 and blinds of 15,000/30,000/5,000 (chip average of 1,400,000).  Regardless of how many players remain (unless we somehow reach the final table), the clock will be paused with 10:00 minutes remaining, and a randomly drawn amount of hands will be played before bagging.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): 37th-45th Places ($2,070)

Level 23 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/4,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 35

The following players have cashed in the Big Stax 300 for $2,070:

37. John Wickizer (Philadelphia, PA)
38. Greg Fishberg (Huntington Valley, PA)
39. Aaron Mermelstein (Philadelphia, PA)
40. Michael Pszczola (Staten Island, NY)
41. Matt Doyle (Litchfield Park, AZ)
42. John Stillatano (Trenton, NJ)
43. Jonathan Rinko (Robbinsville, NJ)
44. Andrew Weinstein (Basking Ridge, NJ)
45. Matt Glantz (Lafayette Hills, PA)

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Csik At It Again

Level 23 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/4,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 39

Aaron Mermelstein shoved in late position for 350,000, and got flatted on the button by Jonathan Borenstein.  Chris Csik was in the big blind, and he re-shoved for a total of 752,000, with Jonathan folding after a few moments.  The two players hands would be exposed with Mermelstein at risk:

Mermelstein: A♠ 10♠
Csik: J♦ J♣

Runout: 4♥ J♠ 9♥ 6♥ 8♦

Aaron was drawing dead on the turn, and Csik has gone from (5) big blinds to over 1,000,000 in a span of ten minutes.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Csik Grinds Down, Then Triples

Level 23 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/4,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 40

Chris Csik (Hoboken, NJ)

Chris Csik (Hoboken, NJ) wasn't going to recapture his Big Stax magic with a stack less than ten bigs, but that's where he was at, shoving his last 162,000 on the cutoff when action folded to him.  The button would fold, and Matt Doyle called out of the small blind.  Kevin O'Brien was in the big blind, and he would re-shove, putting Doyle at a decision for his tournament life.  Matt would make the call and the three hands would be tabled, with Doyle and Csik at risk:

Csik: Q♣ Q♦
Doyle: 2♦ 2♣
O'Brien: 8♣ 8♦

Runout: A♥ 9♣ 7♥ K♦ 4♦

The board would runout clean for Csik's pocket queens, and he would more than triple up to 500,000.  Doyle was eliminated in the hand, while O'Brien would be left with 900,000 after collecting the side pot.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Updated Chip Counts

Level 23 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/4,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 42

"Princeton" Jim Tesone

Many of the players and dealers that are here at Parx on a daily basis will most definitely know "Princeton" Jim Tesone.  Tesone is primarily a cash game player (2/5 NL), but chose not to miss out on this event because of the great value.  It's looking like a good decision at the moment for Jim, as he sits with a top five stack with (42) players remaining:

Mike Menzer - 3,700,000
Bill Miller - 3,300,000
Jim Tesone - 2,800,000
Chris Kostoulis - 2,700,000
John Johnston - 2,500,000
Jonathan Borenstein - 1,700,000

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): 46th-54th Places ($1,741)

Level 23 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/4,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 45

The following players have cashed in the Big Stax 300 for $1,741:

46. Jason Ramsear (Philadelphia, PA)
47. Anthony Mastragostino (New Jersey)
48. Chris Horter (Brigantine, NJ)
49. Moshe Dahan (Brooklyn, NY)
50. Richard Milo (Franklin Square, NY)
51. Thomas Coan (Smithtown, NY)
52. Anirban Roy (Bethlehem, PA)
53. Joe Black (Bronx, NY)
54. Dhaval Joshi (Hoboken, NY)

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Taking A Break

Level 23 (Blinds 12,000/24,000/4,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 47

Players are heading on the second to last break of Day 2 (15 minutes), and they will return to Level 23 and blinds of 12,000/24,000/4,000.  While the field lost a lot of notables since returning from dinner (Rocha, Leong, Horter, Diznezo, Hubbard), there are some new names making some noise with monstrous stacks.  Once the players exit the tournament area, it will give us an opportunity to collect some accurate chips counts to publish.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Zambanini Cleaning Up

Level 22 (Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 51

Matthew Zambanini (Wilmington, DE)

He might not be the chip leader, but it's gotta feel like heaps in front of him after eliminating Thomas Coan.  The two got it in on the flop for a pot worth over 2,000,000:

Flop: J♥ 6♣ 8♣

Coan: A♣ J♣
Zambanini: J♦ J♠

Turn: 2♠
River: A♠

Thomas couldn't believe what had happened once the hands were exposed, as he flopped what seem like the world.  He would end up seeing that only his flush draw was live for him, and the runout would not be kind.  Matthew is now top ten in chips, only trailing a few players: Bill Miller (3,100,000), Mike Menzer (2,400,000), Chris Kostoulas (2,200,000), Matthew Zambanini (2,200,000), Jim Tesone (2,000,000).

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): 55th-63rd Places ($1,459)

Level 22 (Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 53

The following players have cashed in the Big Stax 300 for $1,459:

55. Michael Dimaiuta (Centereach, NY)
56. Katayon Khaterzai (Levittown, NY)
57. Stephen Faulkner (Bethlehem, PA)
58. Dan Dizenzo (Sussex, NJ)
59. Michael Drabot (Riverside, NJ)
60. Michael Moores (Somerdale, NJ)
61. Joseph Katcher (Dover, DE)
62. Stephanie Hubbard (Tinton Falls, NJ)
63. Alex Rocha (Brigantine, NJ)

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): 64th-72nd Places ($1,176)

Level 22 (Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 59

The following players have cashed in the Big Stax 300 for $1,176:

64. Daniel Mulhall (Little Neck, NY)
65. Richard Kates (Metuchen, NJ)
66. Chris Leong (New York, NY)
67. Hua Wei (Edison, NJ)
68. Greg Himmelbrand (Oakland Gardens, NY)
69. Jeffrey Pulkowski (Warminster, PA)
70. Kevin Darouvar (Upper Brookville, NY)
71. Ryan Hohner (South Plainfeild, NJ)
72. Antonio Lombardi (Brooklyn, NY)

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): It's Farah Time

Level 22 (Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remain: 65

Mohammed Farah (Bensalem, PA)

There may not be any "Worm Time" remaining in this event, but it's "Farah Time" now as Mohammed Farah (Bensalem, PA) doubles through Daniel Mulhall to reach 1,000,000 for the first time this tournament.

During one of the Day 1 flights, Farah informed us that he had cashes under a misspelled name on Hendon Mob.  Those cashes added to his correct resume would tie him with Joe Palma for most all-time Parx cashes.  Farah decided to email The Hendon Mob, and after the correction, he now sits atop the list (tied with Palma).

Farah does have a Big Stax win in his pocket, but it came in a side event during the Big Stax V series.  He won a $200 NLH Deep Stack Turbo for just over $7,500.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): The Ever Changing Landscape Of Tournament Poker

Level 22 (Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 67

Michael Hollenberg (Rockaway, NJ)

Most of the people reading these updates understand the intricacies of tournament poker, so it's no surprise the fortune (or un-fortune) that players go through during the span of five days.  Michael Hollenberg was sitting with about 200,000 in front of him, and got his remaining chips in on the flop of Q♦ 2♥ 6♦ with A♦ 4♦.  His flush draw was live, but he'd be behind the 6♦ 9♦ of Katayon Khaterzai.  The turn brought a blank, but the A♣ on the river gave Hollenberg the pot and a double to 460,000.

Only three hands later, he would hold with top pair against the all-in bet of Greg Himmelbrand (flush draw).  Himmelbrand would be eliminated, and Hollenberg would chip up to 900,000. So in a span of only (10) minutes, Michael went from one foot out the door, to almost double chip average.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Levels Getting Longer

Level 22 (Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 69

Tournament supervisor Brian Henryk has just announced the beginning of Level 22, with blinds going up to 10,000/20,000/3,000.  It's also the point where levels transition to (90) minutes in length, and will stay this way until the tournaments conclusion.

We would be remiss to not continue the list of notables still in contention for this title:

Katayon Khaterzai
Hua Wei
Matt Glantz
Joe Galazzo
Bill Miller
Daniel Mulhall
Igor Rabinovich
Stephanie Hubbard

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): 73rd- 81st Places ($988)

Level 21 (Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 72

The following players have cashed in the Big Stax 300 for $1,176:

73. Daniel Petit (Hatboro, PA)
74. Wayne Griffin (Camp Springs, MD)
75. Antoine White (Baltimore, MD)
76. Paul Shedaker (Croyden, PA)
77. Randall Pfeifer (Cheek Towaga, NY)
78. Karen Perez (Philadelphia, PA)
79. Thomas McMahon (Plainview, NY)
80. Carl Enigholz (Bethpage, NY)
81. Matt Fitzgerald (Flushing, NY)

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Back From Dinners...Notables Abound

Level 21 (Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 76

Players have returned from dinner, and the cards are about to get in the air once again.  There is just over (10) minutes remaining in Level 21, with the level transitioning afterwards without another break.  There are a bunch of notables still alive in the field, including:

Mohammed Farah
Christopher Horter
Greg Fishberg
Alex Rocha
Aaron Mermelstein
Dan Dizenzo
Scott Blackman
Jim Tesone
Kevin Lutz
Jonathan Borenstein
Chris Leong
Ray Ross

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Dinner Break

Level 21 (Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 77

Players are now going on their (75) minute dinner break, which will last from 6:30-7:45pm.  They will return with 14:00 remaining in this level (21), before transitioning to Level 22 and blinds of 10,000/20,000/3,000.  We should also remind you that the final three levels of the night (and the rest of the way out) will last (90) minutes in length.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Chip Counts Before Dinner

Level 21 (Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000)

Total Entries: 1,651

Players Remaining: 77

With players heading on dinner in less than (15) minutes, we wanted to leave you with some of the updated chip counts from the field:

John Wickizer - 2,500,000

Mike Menzer - 2,300,000

"Princeton" Jim - 2,000,000

Justin Lennon - 1,600,000

Ray Ross - 1,600,000

Joe Santoro - 1,400,000

James McKeon - 1,300,000

Joe Black - 1,200,000

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): 82nd-90th Places ($894)

Level 21 (Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 81

The following players have cashed in the Big Stax 300 for $894:

82. Salvatore Busacca (Colts Neck, NJ)
83. Adam Larkin (Niskayuna, NY)
84. Hee Im (Flushing, NY)
85. Tim Bryan (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
86. Joe McKeehen (North Wales, PA)
87. Anthony Caruso (Medford, NJ)
88. Justin Medenilka (Cranbury, NJ)
89. Sean Wallace (Horsham, PA)
90. DJ MacKinnon (East Amherst, NY)

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Wickizer Getting Cagey

Level 21 (Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 87

We approached Table 51 with action on Matt Glantz pre-flop.  Glantz opened to 25,000, with Tim Bryan shoving for 153,000, and action on John Wickizer.  Wickizer flatted the amount, and waited as Glantz thought about his next move for about two minutes.  The dealer fanned out a flop of 8♦ 4♠ 2♥, and Wickizer led out for 100,000, with Glantz folding after a few moments of thought.  Wickizer was quick to turn over A♦ A♥, which had Bryan's K♠ J♣ in really bad shape.  The hand would be over on the turn, and Wickizer becomes the first player to cross the 2,000,000 mark.

Level 21 started just moments ago, with blinds going up to 8,000/16,000/2,000.  Dinner break is scheduled for 6:30pm, and players will exit the tournament area at tat time, regardless of how much time remains in the level.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): 91st-108th Places ($800)

Level 20 (Blinds 6,000/12,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 87

The following players have cashed in the Big Stax 300 for $800:

91. Lung Chan (East Patchouge, NY)
92. Robert Klein (Niskayuna, NY)
93. Scott Blumstein (Morristown, NJ)
94. Michael Kemeter (Allentown, PA)
95. Peter McGinnis (North Brunswick, NJ)
96. Dominick Christiano (Swoyersville, PA)
97. Jake Ross (Warrington, PA)
98. Stephen Ricchini (Philadelphia, PA)
99. Richard DeVivo (Phoenixville, PA)
100. Ching Poon (Queens, NY)
101. Ken Moyer (Hatfield, PA)
102. Tomasz Tylek (Marlboro, NJ)
103. Wayne Kaufman (Smithtown, NY)
104. Jay Johnson (Philadelphia, PA)
105. Jonathan Kramer (Forest Hills, NY)
106. Sean Byars (Reston, VA)
107. Marthen Bone (Evansville, IN)
108. Steven Sarmiento (Queens, NY)

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): New Names Chipping Up, Blackman's Dream Still Alive

Level 20 (Blinds 6,000/12,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 89

Scott Blackman (Little Egg Harbor, NJ)

There are a lot of big stacks popping up across the room now, with a familiar name grabbing the chip lead once again.  John Wickizer bagged the Day 1A chip lead, and although others entered Day 2 with higher numbers, he now leads the way with 1,800,000.

Scott Blackman is the defending champion of this event, taking it down in August to earn himself over $100,000.  Not only is he still alive, Scott is pretty healthy with over 900,000 (almost double the chip average).  Other big stacks to note:

James McKeon - 1,500,000
Justin Lennon - 1,400,000

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Up And Down Day For White, But Still Alive

Level 20 (Blinds 6,000/12,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 95

Antoine White (Baltimore, MD)

Antoine White (Baltimore, MD) came into the day with 321,500, and before you could blink, he was up over 600,000.  He then doubled up Stephen Faulkner running queens into kings, and he'd drop back down to 400,000.

Just now at Table 54, White was all-in and at risk for his final 124,000 against Dan Dizenzo (pre-flop):

White: A♥ J♣
Dizenzo: 6♦ 6♥

Flop: 8♦ 7♦ J♦
Turn: K♠
River: 8♠

Antoine would outflop Dizenzo, but it would end without a sweat, as Dan flopped extra diamond outs.  White is still in, and closing in on the amount he started the day with.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Mush No More

Level 20 (Blinds 6,000/12,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 98

Joe Galazzo (Union, NJ)

We are now below (100) players remaining, with one of those active getting a large monkey off his back.  Joe Galazzo (Union, NJ) has over $195,000 in lifetime tournament earnings, but he never cashed in a tournament here at Parx (in over 15 tries).

Galazzo actually gave himself a Twitter ban, saying that he would not update anything on the social media outlet until he finally cashed in an event.  We haven't yet seen any action on his account, but he's now free to tweet as much as he wants.

We are once again drawing close to another pay jump, and once we hit that number, a post will be made publishing those that finished in that group.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Break Time

Level 20 (Blinds 6,000/12,000/2,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 105

Players are once again exiting the tournament area to go on break, and will return to Level 20 and blinds of 6,000/12,000/2,000.  The chip average amongst the (105) players remaining is currently 485,000, which equates to (40) big blinds.  There is still a lot of play remaining in the day, as Day 2 is scheduled to end at the conclusion of Level 24 (or if the final table is reached).

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): 109th-143rd Places ($753)

Level 19 (Blinds 5,000/10,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 110

The following players have cashed in the Big Stax 300 for $753:

109. Kyle Norton (Stony Point, NY)
110. Jeff Gross (Wall, NJ)
111. Antonio Payne (Hazlet, NJ)
112. Ian Hodges (Bryn Mawr, PA)
113. Craig Bateman (Royers Ford, PA)
114. Cary Poulous (Feasterville, PA)
115. Sergio Loureiro (Wayne, NJ)
116. Eric Ornstein (Centereach, NY)
117. Mark Maniizas (New York, NY)
118. Ashok Muniganti (Owings Mill, MD)
119. Cory Ward (Jefferson, MD)
120. Norman Michalek (Westfield, NJ)
121. Martin Labriola (North Wales, PA)
122. Bob Brady (Southampton, PA)
123. Ramano Paladino (Lodi, NJ)
124. Mark Perry (Cheshire, CT)
125. Aileen Friefeld (Philadelphia, PA)
126. Joseph Giomarra (Stepentown, NY)
127. Jasen Incidis (Lodi, NJ)
128. Steven Thorton (Springfield, PA)
129. Charles Cronk (Parlin, NJ)
130. Sandeep Patel (Parsippany, NJ)
131. Eric Rappaport (Lansdale, PA)
132. Mike Lavenburg (Montville, NJ)
133. Eugene Harmon (Springfield, NJ)
134. Robert Boyko (Yonkers, NY)
135. Reggie Lopez (Bronx, NY)
136. Joseph Miceli (New York, NY)
137. A. Nonymous (Parts Unknown, USA)
138. Matthew Itkin (Oceanside, NY)
139. John Allan Hinds (Brigantine, NJ)
140. Susan Giosso (Philadelphia, PA)
141. Joseph Mancini (Philadelphia, PA)
142. Keith Woernle (Rahway, NJ)
143. Michael Judge (Bensalem, PA)

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): The Millionaires Club

Level 19 (Blinds 5,000/10,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 114

Mike Menzer (East Brunswick, NJ)

Joe Reddick was the initial member of the "millionaires club," followed by a bunch of other players shortly thereafter.  Mike Menzer (East Brunswick, NJ) leads the way at the moment with over 1,600,000, followed by:

Matt Doyle - 1,400,000
"Princeton" Jim - 1,300,000
Bill Miller - 1,200,000
John Stillatano - 1,100,000
Greg Joslyn - 1,000,000
Joe Black - 1,000,000

We have almost reached the first pay jump of the day, and once that happens, the list of those who have min-cashed this event will be posted.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Black Is The First To Cross 1,000,000

Level 19 (Blinds 5,000/10,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 129

Joe Black (New York, NY)

We have already seen over ten players bust since the bubble burst (10) minutes ago, including Michael Judge, who just snuck into the money after buying in this morning for the six bigs.

The field also has it's first players above the 1,000,000 mark, as Joe Black sits with over 1,100,000 in front of him.  Black in no stranger to deep runs in these Big Stax events, with numerous cashes to his name.  His largest lifetime score of the $212,000 on his resume came when he chopped the Big Stax VI 500 event.

Black is just one of many notables that are alive in the field, including Parx Poker Room Ambassador Matt Glantz.  Some others still alive: Joe McKeehen, Alex Rocha, Antoine White, Antonio Payne, DJ MacKinnon, Norman Michalek, Greg Fishberg, Scott Blumstein, Dominic Christiano, Ryan Norton, and Chris Csik.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Dimaiuta Sends The Field Into The Money

Level 18 (Blinds 4,000/8,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 142

Mike Dimaiuta (Centereach, NY)

Who wants to deal with hand-for-hand play?  Not this Big Stax 300 field.  Just as the 145th place player was leaving the tournament area, we would have an all-in at Table 52 with Tham Nguyen at risk.  Nguyen check-raised his remaining stack again Mike Dimaiuta on a flop of A♠ A♣ 8♠.

Mike would think for a few moments before making the call, and he'd be in supreme shape.  Nguyen held K♥ 8♣ against Dimaiuta's A♦ 10♠, and it would be all over on the turn.  Players would have to wait for hands at all of the tables to be done before the announcement would be made official, but nobody else would be eliminated.

Tham Nguyen ends up the Big Stax VIII 300 bubble boy, and everyone remaining is now eligible for their share of the prize pool.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Big Stax On The Bubble

Level 18 (Blinds 4,000/8,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 145

We are now three eliminations away from the money, with hand-for-hand play beginning after the next bustout.  The clock will be paused, and two minutes will be taken off for each hand played during that process.  Once the bubble bursts, we will bring you all of details surrounding that crucial hand.  Everyone who makes it past that point will be assured $753, but once players are in the money, their eyes are on the $99,563 first place prize.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Sarmiento Off To A Hot Start

Level 18 (Blinds 4,000/8,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 159

Steven Sarmiento (Queens, NY)

Steven Sarmiento (Queens, NY) started Day 2 with 143,000, but after two levels of play, he is now one of the chip leaders with over 800,000.  Four of Sarmiento's last five cashes have come during Big Stax trophy events, including a third place finish in the Big Stax IV 300.

That tournament would end in a three way chop between Sarmiento, Ray Ross, and Alfredo Sosa.  Steven earned just under $40,000 for his share of the deal, which is still his largest lifetime score to date.

We are almost (10) spots away from the money, with hand-for-hand play to begin on the bubble.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Twitter Updates From Break

Level 18 (Blinds 4,000/8,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 171

Players are seated once again, and the cards are back in the air for Level 18.  We are only (28) eliminations away from the money, which could possibly happen during this level.  The Twitter-verse was a little light during break, but we did capture a few updates:

226k at bb 8k. 171 left, 143 pay, 100k up top. Let's go
— Chris Leong (@ChrisLeongPoker) October 5, 2014

After level 17 got 316k @parxpokerroom Day 2 Event 1. $99,000 for winner. 171 left of 1,651. Top 143 in $ #TeamBSO
— Antonio Payne (@Anthony_1Payne) October 5, 2014

760k going to 4/8k parx opener 171/1651 left 100k ftw
— Dan DiZenzo (@dazedace) October 5, 2014

Cooled off a bit, floating arnd 500k. 1k ante 4k- 8k blinds. 171 left/1651. 143 ITM. #ParxBigStax

— Antoine White (@421favorite) October 5, 2014

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Updated Counts Before Break

Level 17 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 180

Players are about to go on their first break of the day (15 minutes), and will return to blinds of 4,000/8,000/1,000 in Level 18.  More stories of players that bought in with the (6) big blinds are beginning to pop up, and the inaugural Big Stax 300 winner Jason Rivkin has the 30,000 starting stack above 180,000.

The chip average heading to break is right above 273,000 (34 big blinds), with the money bubble soon approaching.  Here are some updated chip counts taken just before players exited the tournament area:

Ray Ross - 710,000
Katayon Khaterzai - 710,000
John Wickizer - 690,000
"Princeton" Jim - 670,000
Steven Sarmiento - 660,000
Bill Miller - 640,000
Greg Fishberg - 605,000
Dan Dizenzo - 580,000

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Kaufmann Laxxed With Kings

Level 17 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 189

Approaching Table 75, we would see Wayne Kaufmann (Smithtown, NY) all-in with two players to act, but he really didn't mind at all.  While He Im and Antoine White were thinking about their decisions, Kaufmann was leaning back in his chair, talking to the dealer, and talking to other players at the table.  Im thought about his decision for about three minutes before folding, and after Antoine White got the exact count of Wayne's all-in (138,000), he made the call:

Kaufmann: K♠ K♦
White: Q♦ Q♠

Runout: J♦ 10♥ 8♠ 2♣ 5♣

White was in bad shape when the cards were turned over, but he did gain more outs to a straight on the flop.  The turn and river would be exactly what Wayne wanted to see though, and he would double up to over 290,000.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): How The Big Stacks Are Faring

Level 17 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 216

One may think that bagging a huge stack would mean coasting into the money, but out of the top four stacks, only one has seen an increase in his count.  Here are the top four players coming into the day, and their updated counts through a level and a half:

Matt Doyle: Came into day with 733,000, now has 540,000
Pradeep Deshpande: Came into day with 715,000, now has 170,000
Kyle Norton: Came into day with 599,000, now has 450,000
John Wickizer: Came into day with 593,500, now has 700,000

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Nobody Judge-ing His Move Now

Level 17 (Blinds 3,000/6,000/1,000)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 225

Michael Judge (New Hyde Park, NY)

It's become a trend for one of these stories to pop up on Day 2 of these events, as another player has bought in with (6) big blinds and built up a stack.  Michael Judge (Bensalem, PA) has close to 200,000 in front of, managing to turn that 30,000 starting stack into over (30) big blinds.

We will surely keep an eye on him to see if he can follow in the footsteps of players like Jose Montes, Ryan Eriquezzo, and Jonas Wexler...all players to turn the dream into a reality.

The first level of the day is now in the books, and blinds have gone up to 3,000/6,000/1,000.  The most recent notable to be seen leaving the tournament area was Anthony Garofalo.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Doyle Doesn't Rule Anymore

Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 234

Matt Doyle (Phoenix, AZ) came into the day as the field chip leader (733,000), but has been slipping over this first level of the day.  He'd be on the river of a hand versus Joe Black, with a board that read 3♠ K♦ A♣ 3♣ 9♠.  With about 80,000 in the pot, Black put out a bet of 35,000 across the line.  Doyle quickly grabbed a full stack of grey chips (100,000), and put in a raise.  Joe quickly made the call and Matt turned over K♣ 9♣.  While he may have made two pair on the river, Joe just needed to turn over an ace for the win, which is exactly what he did (A♠ 10♦).  After absorbing the loss, Doyle drops down to 585,000, while Black chips up to 570,000.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Early Departures

Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 243

Now that everything has been made official, we are now (100) eliminations from the money.  While that seems like it may be a while away, consider the fact that we have already lost (18) players in just thirty minutes.  A few players that were seen leaving the tournament area in the first half hour of play were Vincent Teutonico, Joe Palma, Justin Liberto, and Michael Marder.  While we weren't witness for each of those players final hands, it's been confirmed that Liberto got it in with pocket eights against pocket sevens, but his opponent flopped a set to knock him out.  Michael Marder's bustout was captured via Twitter:

Guess not :/ 77<TT aip to bust #ParxBigStax GL friends
— Michael Marder (@MMarder86) October 5, 2014

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Payouts

Level 16 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)
Total Entries: 1,651
Players Remaining: 255

Here are the official payouts for the Big Stax 300:

Big Stax 300 
$300 + 30 No Limit Hold'em
October 1-6, 2014

Total Entries: 1,651
Total Prize Fund: $470,535

Payouts:

1. $99,563
2. $59,758
3. $31,996
4. $22,115
5. $16,939
6. $13,175
7. $10,352
8. $7,999
9. $6,117

10-12. $4,611

13-15. $4,188

16-18. $3,764

19-21. $3,388

22-24. $3,058

25-27. $2,729

28-36. $2,400

37-45. $2,070

46-54. $1,741

55-63. $1,459

64-72. $1,176

73-81. $988

82-90. $894

91-108. $800

109-143. $753

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Cards Are In The Air!!

Level 15 (Blinds 2,500/5,000/500)
Total Entries: 1,649
Players Remaining: 261

There were (10) brave souls to buy-in this morning, but now that the "shuffle up and deal" announcement has been made, registration is closed for the Big Stax 300.  A few players are still filing in late, but most of the field is already seated and in action.  The levels have transitioned to (60) minutes in length for Levels 16-21, and will then be (90) minutes from Level 22 on.  We've already seen a few bustouts in the first few moments of the day, which included Parx regular Chris McNally and Lyle Diamond.

Big Stax 300 (Day 2): Day 2 Table Draw

Level 15 (Blinds 2,000/4,000/500)
Total Day 1D Entries: 1,639

First Name	Last Name	Chip	Table #	Seat #
Tyreem	Williams	60,000	45	1
Michael	Pszczola	148,500	45	2
Jonathan	Sondej	39,000	45	3
Joe	Graci	197,500	45	4
Aileen	Freifeld	90,500	45	5
Megan	Milburn	187,000	45	6
William	Daloisi	150,500	45	7
Ian	Hodges	298,500	45	8
Gregory	Joslyn	195,000	45	9
Rhand	Feinstein	62,000	46	1
Justin	Medenilla	137,000	46	2
James	Tesone	310,500	46	3
Joseph	Miceli	240,000	46	4
Gregory	Morrison	174,000	46	5
Charles	Sears	228,000	46	6
Andrew	Wu	230,500	46	7
Adam	Larkin	192,000	46	8
Timothy	Ward	118,500	46	9
Joseph	McKeehen	377,000	47	1
Ryan	Pochedly	286,000	47	2
Joshua	Hertz	213,500	47	3
Carl	Emigholz	164,500	47	4
Vernon "Uncle"	Bludson	334,000	47	5
Mohammad	Farah	306,000	47	6
Jeffrey	Pulkowski	76,500	47	7
Eric	Orstein	82,000	47	8
Craig	Bateman II	101,500	47	9
Ben	Levine	232,000	48	1
Ramona	Paladino	180,000	48	2
EMPTY			48	3
Eugene	Harmon	198,000	48	4
Derek	Eldridge	128,500	48	5
Patrick	Whitman	75,500	48	6
Kevin	Darouvar	258,500	48	7
Naga	Obillaneni	97,500	48	8
Gregory	Fishberg	288,500	48	9
Ching	Poon	269,500	49	1
Michael	Roberts	121,500	49	2
EMPTY			49	3
Ryan	Eriquezzo	201,500	49	4
Justin	Lennon	318,500	49	5
Sardor	Gaziev	111,500	49	6
Ray	Ross	252,500	49	7
Jason	Incidis	95,000	49	8
Keith	Woernle	268,500	49	9
Mark	Perry	200,000	50	1
Kevin	Crombie	92,000	50	2
EMPTY			50	3
Marthen	Bone	415,000	50	4
Sean	Wallace	124,000	50	5
Aaron	Mermelstein	92,500	50	6
Haratio	Hu	208,500	50	7
Rich	Kates	142,000	50	8
Tyler	Bowker	411,500	50	9
Ashok	Muniganti	143,000	51	1
Dave	Chace	205,500	51	2
EMPTY			51	3
Joseph	Katcher	220,500	51	4
Steve	Ricchini	364,500	51	5
Daniel	Bak	211,000	51	6
John	Johnston	120,000	51	7
Robert	Mustari	159,500	51	8
Eric	Hayes	113,500	51	9
Jason	Ramseur	250,000	52	1
Anthony	Caruso	432,500	52	2
EMPTY			52	3
Michael	Dimaiuta	323,500	52	4
Richard	Rodrigo	131,500	52	5
Kyle	Gentile	63,000	52	6
Vemkata	Potluoi	239,000	52	7
Dilip	Ravindran	246,500	52	8
Jonathan	Kramer	207,500	52	9
Pradeep	Deshpande	715,000	53	1
Joe	Beachnau	62,500	53	2
EMPTY			53	3
Matthew	Zambanini	186,000	53	4
Stephanie	Hubbard	141,000	53	5
Evan	Lash	132,500	53	6
Dan	Pettit	192,000	53	7
Joel	Hola	96,000	53	8
Kyle	Torriero	40,000	53	9
James	McKeon	290,500	54	1
Hua	Wei	178,500	54	2
EMPTY			54	3
John Allan	Hinds	178,500	54	4
Fritz	Stoner	93,500	54	5
Jonathan	Pike	144,000	54	6
Cary	Poulos	58,500	54	7
Joseph	Giomarra	113,500	54	8
Joseph	Pochedly	195,000	54	9
Devin	Christie	111,000	55	1
William	Miller	314,500	55	2
EMPTY			55	3
Donald	Shimazu	129,000	55	4
Geoffrey	Lewit	95,500	55	5
Martin	Shapiro	140,000	55	6
Brian	Pagano	136,500	55	7
Ryan	Hohner	139,000	55	8
Justin	Liberto	214,000	55	9
Wayne	Griffin	374,500	56	1
Vincent	Teutonico	77,500	56	2
EMPTY			56	3
John	Kroetz	136,000	56	4
Joe	Palma	27,500	56	5
Trenayne	Jerrigan	310,000	56	6
Mike	Kemeter	172,500	56	7
Richard	Wible	101,500	56	8
Kevin	O'Brien	196,000	56	9
Derek	Blenman	168,000	63	1
Tony	Cheng	152,000	63	2
EMPTY			63	3
William	Kirschner	259,000	63	4
Mike	Menzer	407,000	63	5
Dj	Mackinnon	325,000	63	6
Joseph	Santoro	291,000	63	7
Marty	Mirkovic	119,500	63	8
Michael	Brown	125,000	63	9
Tam	Nguyen	309,500	64	1
Sophie	Chen	67,000	64	2
EMPTY			64	3
Karen	Perez	77,000	64	4
Joey	Mancini	149,000	64	5
Craig	Mason	108,500	64	6
Anthony	Mastragostino	378,000	64	7
Pete	McGinnis	95,500	64	8
Giuseppe	Pizzolato	331,000	64	9
Eric	Rappaport	405,500	65	1
Robert	Sembler	90,500	65	2
EMPTY			65	3
Chad	Smith	138,500	65	4
Moshe	Dahan	102,000	65	5
Matt	Fitzgerald	342,000	65	6
Robert	Klein	331,500	65	7
Antonio	Payne	358,000	65	8
Chris	Kostoulas	265,000	65	9
Tomasz	Gliniecki	289,500	66	1
Daniel	Mulhall	270,500	66	2
EMPTY			66	3
Landon	Allmendinger	77,500	66	4
Aristides	Santana	85,000	66	5
Alex	Rocha	268,000	66	6
Robert	Boyko	189,000	66	7
Giuseppe	Palmiero	53,000	66	8
Steven	Sarmiento	143,500	66	9
Michael	Hollenberg	141,500	67	1
Antonio	Walker	163,500	67	2
EMPTY			67	3
Antonio	Lombardi	238,500	67	4
David	Rittmeyer	134,500	67	5
Kyle	Norton	599,000	67	6
Chuck	Cronk	206,500	67	7
Richard	DeVivo	177,500	67	8
Frank	Ficadenti	154,000	67	9
Sean	Byars	305,000	68	1
Jonathan	Borenstein	191,500	68	2
EMPTY			68	3
Kevin	Johnson	196,500	68	4
William	Pappas	207,000	68	5
Ed	Walsh	200,500	68	6
Rajesh	Desai	106,500	68	7
Igor	Rabinovich	340,000	68	8
Martin	Labriola	206,500	68	9
Ryan	Connors	285,500	69	1
James	Silecchin	72,000	69	2
EMPTY			69	3
Prince	Stephens	211,500	69	4
Katayon	Khaterzai	358,500	69	5
Jon	Rinko	280,500	69	6
Scott	Blumstein	203,500	69	7
Andrew	Weinstein	104,500	69	8
Jay	Johnson	108,500	69	9
Leonard	Wychunas	85,500	70	1
Kevin	Lutz	175,500	70	2
EMPTY			70	3
Mark	Manitzas	393,000	70	4
Jared	Strauss	35,500	70	5
Ari	Buchman	123,500	70	6
Anirban	Roy	57,500	70	7
Chris	Horter	406,500	70	8
Michael	Briggs	50,500	70	9
John	Wickizer	593,500	71	1
Paul	Silva	66,000	71	2
EMPTY			71	3
Michael	Pempin	146,500	71	4
Paul	Tong	120,000	71	5
Richard	Milo	368,500	71	6
Robert	Harding	60,500	71	7
Sandeep	Patel	204,500	71	8
Timothy	Bryan	243,500	71	9
Stephen	Faulkner	278,500	72	1
Joe	Shinn	156,000	72	2
EMPTY			72	3
Robert	Fabianski	67,000	72	4
Norman	Michalek	84,500	72	5
Nunzio	Russo	233,500	72	6
Dan	DiZenzo	397,000	72	7
Eugene	Sung	182,500	72	8
Chris	Csik	249,000	72	9
Joe "Black"	Reddick	354,000	73	1
Michael	Marder	79,000	73	2
EMPTY			73	3
Sergio	Loureiro	399,500	73	4
Harold	Siroka	146,000	73	5
Matt	Doyle	733,000	73	6
Scarlett	Dumpernickle	85,500	73	7
Lung	Chan	97,000	73	8
Viral	Mehta	83,500	73	9
Ken	Moyer	165,500	74	1
Jerry	Callahan	89,500	74	2
EMPTY			74	3
Christopher	Leong	249,000	74	4
Dominick	Christiano	319,500	74	5
Matt	Itkin	159,000	74	6
John	Kelley	135,500	74	7
Ilya	Dyment	161,000	74	8
Jose Ivan	Montes	48,000	74	9
Travis	Greenawalt	246,000	75	1
Tom	Tylek	243,000	75	2
EMPTY			75	3
Jeff	Gross	79,000	75	4
Wayne	Kaufmann	99,500	75	5
Joseph	Galazzo	232,500	75	6
He Joong	Im	224,000	75	7
Jesus	Pahmeron	282,000	75	8
Antoine	White	321,500	75	9
Gerald	Liu	54,000	76	1
Scott	Blackman	107,000	76	2
EMPTY			76	3
Mike	Lovenburg	204,500	76	4
Susan	Giosso	341,000	76	5
Brian	Kim	201,500	76	6
Nichelas	Spence	193,000	76	7
Kyle	Carey	146,000	76	8
John	Stillitano	396,500	76	9
Tom	Coan	268,500	77	1
Greg	Himmelbrand	415,000	77	2
EMPTY			77	3
Michael	Drabot	86,500	77	4
Ahmad	Fayazi-Azid	108,000	77	5
Ricardo	Matco	76,000	77	6
Vincent	Masino	137,500	77	7
Gretchen	Sonne	125,000	77	8
Paul	Shedaker	286,500	77	9
Toby	Spragne	233,000	78	1
Jake	Ross	211,000	78	2
EMPTY			78	3
Michael	Azzaro	117,500	78	4
Todd	Mullin	95,000	78	5
Daniel	Friedman	221,500	78	6
Geoff	Cudd	193,500	78	7
Earnest	Whistler	446,000	78	8
John	Critelli	92,000	78	9
Sal	Busacca	111,500	79	1
Thomas	McMahon	77000	79	2
EMPTY			79	3
Freddy	Ferrell	229,000	79	4
William	Pastorick	76,000	79	5
Chris	Cheung	255,000	79	6
Trveor	Deeter	194,000	79	7
Lyle	Diamond	68,500	79	8
Anonymous	Anoymous	266,500	79	9
Marvin	Siegel	137,000	80	1
Anthony	Garofalo	158,500	80	2
EMPTY			80	3
Matt	Glantz	322,000	80	4
William	Pappaconstantinou	108,500	80	5
Mike	Moore	255,000	80	6
Matt	Fox	155,000	80	7
Frank	Williams III	166,500	80	8
Dhaual	Joshi	479,000	80	9
Christopher	Senape	212,000	81	1
Vlad	Goncharov	86,500	81	2
EMPTY			81	3
Cody	Ward	252,000	81	4
Frank	Ingardia	79,500	81	5
Michael	Gillespie	261,500	81	6
Steven	Thornton	387,000	81	7
Chris	Binsley	140,000	81	8
Sean	Carlson	92,000	81	9