Russ Campanella Triumphs at 2016 Seneca Niagara Falls

The 2016 Seneca Niagara Falls Summer Slam Main Event attracted a total of 475 competitors to create a $252,106 prize pool. Two days later, and it would be 42-year-old Chiropractor Russ Campanella who would eventually triumph over the field to collect the biggest score of his career, and push his live earnings to $152,093.
While Campanella would have been expected to collect somewhere between 25% to 50% of the total prize pool for his impressive victory, the last seven players at the final table agreed to split the prize money with $26,000 going to the top four chip counts, and the rest taking home $20,000 a piece.
Day 2 of the $600 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event saw 86 players return to the Seneca Niagara Falls Casino, with Campanella eventually entering the final table as the chip leader. Campanella (10-10) then eliminated Jason Kanel (3-3) in 9th, before picking up pocket tens once again and doing likewise to Jason Nablo (A-Q) in 6th.
Campanella subsequently took care of Shawn Edinger in 4th, and Ray LaRouech in 3rd with remaining opponent Chris Harker subsequently agreeing to split the remaining prize pool $26,500 each, and awarding Campanella the title.
Final Table Results:
1: Russ Campanella – $26,500
2: Chris Harker – $26,500
3: Ray LaRouech – $26,000
4: Shawn Edinger – $26,000
5: Matt Fergenbaum – $20,000
6: Jason Nablo – $20,000
7: Kurtis Boutelle – $20,000
8: Julie Billiteri – $6,807
9: Jason Kanel – $5,546
In other tournament related news, the WPT Choctaw event in Oklahoma which attracted a total of 1,066 entries is currently down to just a final table of six players, all with their sights now firmy set on taking down the event’s $681,758 first place prize. The remaining hopefuls will play down to an ultimate champion later today, with hopefuls still in contention including German pro Bastian Fischer, 2015 Aria WPT500 winner Craig Varnell, 2007 WSOP bracelet winner James Mackey, and 2015 WSOP bracelet winner Benjamin Zamani.
Chip Counts:
Bastian Fischer – 8,780,000
Craig Varnell – 7,495,000
James Mackey – 6,315,000
Jack Duong – 3,750,000
Benjamin Zamani – 3,300,000
Matthew Smith – 2,330,000