When Matt Glantz and the The folks at The Parx Poker Room decided they wanted to host a new poker series, they coined it “a tournament for the players, by the players !” The idea was to attract large player fields consisting of both recreational and professional players.

But how does one do this ?

By offering affordable buy-ins, with “truly” deep stacks, that will attract players from all levels, and result in large fields, and big prize pools !

The Parx Poker Room answer was to offer a series that consisted of THREE Main Events, all with truly DEEP Stacks, and un-limited re-entry throughout multiple day 1′s ! The idea was to offer players at all levels a true, deep stacked, “plenty of play” tournament – at all Buy In Levels !

They called the series BigStax, and offered three MAIN EVENTS !

BigStax 300 – $300+$30 BI,$150kGTD,30k Starting Stack
BigStax 500 – $500+$50 BI, 40k Starting Stack
BigStax 1,500 – $1,500+$100 BI,$500kGTD, 50k Starting Stack

All three tournaments would include;
-Multiple day1′s, with un-limited-re-entry
-All Day 1′s start at 50/100 with with 45 minute levels !
-All Day 2 & 3 blind levels at 90 minutes
-Ability to play multiple day 1′s and bring your largest chip stack to day 2
-ALL events to conclude in 3 days

Sound good ?

Apparently it did, as players from all walks of life showed up ready to play some poker !

The result – The series attracted 2,259 entries, creating a total prize pool of $1,374,300 over the three events !

Field Sizes:

BigStax300(150k GTD) – 1,361 entries, prize pool = $408,300 (707 unique players + 654 re-entries)
BigStax500 -(no GTD) – 381 entries, prize pool = $190,500
BigStax1,500(500k GTD) – 517 entries, prize pool = $775,500

Winners:

BigStax300 – Jason Rivkin (@jayriv2) for $73,161
BigStax500 – Joe Cappuccio (@poochpoker) for $40,818
BigStax1,500 – Robert Boyko & Patrick Halter (@jiggybluff) Chop for $134,269 each

Interesting tid-bits:

Day 3 began at 1pm with the Final 14 players, and after a 12 hour long battle, Patrick Halter (@jiggybluff), and NY Police Officer Robert Boyko chopped up the prize money for $134,269 each !

Michael Dentale (@Mikunbelievable), was the CLEAR virtual rail bird favorite throughout the final day, and finished 4th for a nice cash of $52,656 !

Internet sensation, Kevin Mathers (@KevMath) was brought in to assist with the Day 3 Final 14 Blog !

Matt Glantz (@MattGlantz) hung around to the whee hours of the morning to ensure a successful completion of the series !

Last Lady Standing in the 1,500BigStax, Nancy Martin (@TheReader23) also ran deep in the $300BigStax cashing in 37th/1,361 !

Kori Hunter (@korihunter) ran deep in both the BigStax1,500 (13th) and The BigStax500 (8th) !

Alex Rocha (@THE_ALEX_ROCHA), was voted BEST DRESSED PLAYER of the tournament (beating out Olivier Busquet (@olivierbusquet) !

By all accounts, the series was a great success ! Congrats to the ParxPoker Room, and all who participated ! Below is a complete list of results for the Main Events.

Complete Results List:

BigStax 1,500 – $500,000 Guarantee
Entries: 517
Prize Pool: $775,500
Spots Paid: 45

1. Robert Boyko (Yonkers,NY) $134,269
2. Patrick Halter (Nacberth,PA) $134,269
3. Vinny Napolitano (WillistonPark,NY) $71,086
4. Michael Dentale (Brooklyn,NY) $52,656
5. Melad Marji (Canastota,NY) $39,492
6. James Anderson (Pittsburgh,PA) $31,594
7. Barry Dehlin (Dresher,PA) $26,328
8. Viny Ha (Brooklyn,NY) $21,063
9. Mark Wahba (Cleveland, OH) $15,797
10. Andrew Rosskamm (Gates Mill, OH) $11,509
11. Carl Restifo (Waretown,NJ) $11,509
12. Abraham Faroni (Philadelphia,Pa) $11,509
13. Kori Hunter (Columbia,MD) $9,403
14. David Novak (Philadelphi,PA) $9,403
15. Bill Brindise (Rumson, NJ) $9,403
16. Matt Maccaroni (Hamilton Square, NJ) $8,049
17. Joe Loscialo (Freehold, NJ) $8,049
18. Allie Prescott (Memphis, TN) $8,049
19. Jason Andrews (Pittsburgh, PA) $7,071
20. Tony Tran (Charlotte, NC) $7,071
21. Bob Brady (South Hampton, PA) $7,071
22. Alex Rocha (New York, NY) $6,319
23.Jack Schanbacher (Pittsburgh, PA) $6,319
24.Aaron Frese (Phoenixville, PA) $6,319
25.Coury Mascagni (Louisville, KY) $5,567
26. Sung Kim (New York, NY) $5,567
27. Carlos Chadha (Washington DC) $5,567
28. Michael Marder (Sewell, NJ) $4,890
29. Brett Richey (New York, NY) $4,890
30. Olivier Busquet (New York, NY) $4,890
31. Adam Cook (Baltimore, MD) $4,890
32. Gajan Jeganathan (Monmouth Junction, NJ) $4,890
33. Sammy Wu (New York, NY) $4,890
34. James Gilbert (Bensalem, PA) $4,890
35. Darius Studdard (Medford, NY) $4,890
36. Joseph McKeehen (North Wales, PA) $4,890
37. Seunghwan Lee (Albertson, NY) $4,213
38. Matthew Croker (Mays Landing, NJ) $4,213
39. Scott Baumstein (New York, NY) $4,213
40. Paul Volpe (West Chester, PA) $4,213
41. Andrew Hippler (Annapolis, MD) $4,213
42. Alex Zaverkha (Newtown, PA) $4,213
43. Tom Pschar (Ringoes, NJ) $4,213
44. Pierre Deissler (Mt. Laurel, NJ) $4,213
45. Chun Lin Mo (Brooklyn, NY) $4,213

Big Stax 500
Entries: 381
Prize Pool: $190,500
Spots Paid: 36

1. Joseph Cappuccio (Hammonton, NJ) $40,818
2. David Black (Robbinsville, NJ) $28,642
3. Kevin Lutz (Belmar, NJ) $18,423
4. Mike Sandler (New York, NY) $13,637
5. Gordon Eng (Cliffside Park, NJ) $10,237
6. Tim Pinkham (Trevose, PA) $8,186
7. D’Wayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA) $6,800
8. Kori Hunter (Columbia, MD) $5,451
9. Joel Frank (Princeton, NJ) $4,084
10. Dan DaConti (Mt. Laurel, NJ) $2,975
11.Pramudya Rizal (New York, NY) $2,975
12. David Saposnik (Rockaway, NJ) $2,975
13. Alyson Parker (Plainsboro, NJ) $2,439
14. Pascoe Eades (Philadelphia, PA) $2,439
15. Greg Fishberg (Huntington Valley) $2,439
16. Kyle Bowker (Walton, NY) $2,088
17. Christine Brewer (Port Monmouth, NJ) $2,088
18. Wesley Ismay (Vale SD) $2,088
19. Joseph Kent (Plymouth Meeting, PA) $1,829
20. Taylor Honkofsky (Mt. Airy, MD) $1,829
21. Matt Kalinowski (West Hampton, PA) $1,829
22. David Datashvili (Forest Hills) $1,626
23. Alexander Berdichersky (Huntington Valley) $1,626
24. David Pone (Souderton, PA) $1,626
25. Mike Garaufis (Bayside, NY) Mike Garaufis (Bayside, NY) $1,441
26. Lee Childs (Reston, VA) $1,441
27. Alan Kraut (Doylestown, PA) $1,441
28. Feming Chan (New Jersey) $1,257
29. Chris Markunas (Philadelphia, PA) $1,257
30. Chris Larrea (Philadelphia, PA) $1,257
31. Rizqallah Abusiam (Atlantic City, NJ) $1,257
32. Paul Greim (Helmetta, NJ) $1,257
33. David Clarke (Basking Ridge, NJ) $1,257
34. Dan Corbett (Syracuse. NY) $1,257
35. Jin Li (Furlong, PA) $1,257
36. Alan Lubin (Watchung, NJ) $1,257

Big Stax 300 – $150,000 Guarantee
Entries: 1,361
Prize Pool: $408,300
Spots Paid: 81 *

1st Jason Rivkin (Eatontown, NJ) – $73,161
2nd Brian Hayes (Moorestown, NJ) – $51,289
3rd Sachin Ramrakhani (New York City, NY) – $33,070
4th Bryan Trischetta (Scranton, PA) – $24,436
5th Hua Wei (Edison, NJ) – $18,298
6th Peter D’Angelo (Delran, NJ) – $14,773
7th Andrew Mullen (Newtown, PA) 7th Place- $12,238
8th Jose Melendez (Putnam, CT) – $9,743
9th Michael Borovetz (PIttsburgh, PA) – $7,327
10th Steve “Alphabet Soup” V (Staten Island, NY) – $5,386
11. Josh Gilkerson (Huntington, WV) $5,386
12. Joe Digrado (Langhorne, PA) $5,386
13. Nissim Benjamin (Brooklyn, NY) $4,357
14. DeeAngelo Seng (Sicklerville, NJ) $4,357
15. Ray Ross (Maple Glenn PA) $4,357
16. William Nicholas (Lowell, MA) $3,762
17. Eric Rivkin (East Hampton, NY) $3,762
18. Michael Marder (Washington Twp., NJ) $3,762
19. Asher Conniff (Bronx, NY) $3,287
20. Benjamin Rickert (Washington Twp., NJ) $3,287
21. Rocco Luciano (Philadelphia, PA) $3,287
22. Kevin Grabel (South Hampton, PA) $2,931
23. Michael Gonzalez (Delran, NJ) $2,931
24th Place – Chalie Hook (Philadelphia, PA) $2,931
25th Place – Leonardo Palermo (Toms River, NJ) $2,574
26th Place – John Del Rossi (Mantua, NJ) $2,574
27th Place – Justin Liberto (Baltimore, MD) $2,574
28th Place – Igor Rabinovich (Ricboro, PA) $2,257
29th Place – Don Proctor (Laurel, MD) $2,257
31st Place – Braden Edwards (Chalfont, PA) $2,257
30th Place – Richard Herbert (Wilmington, DE) $2,257
32nd Place – Leon Mot0la (East Windsor, NJ) $2,257
33rd Place – Kristopher Gmerek (Hackensack, NJ) $2,257
34th Place – Artyem Perlov (Ft. Lee, NJ) $2,257
35th Place – Lana O’Brien (Englishtown, NJ) $2,257
36th Place – Thomas Brooks (Bensalem, PA) $2,257
37. Nancy Martin (Washington Crossing, PA) $1,941
38. John Wellendorf (Youngstown, OH)$1,941
39. Rizqallah Abusiam (Atlantic City, NJ) $1,941
40. Greg Walsh (Prince Edward Island, CA) $1,941
41. Paul Danielle (Staten Island, NY) $1,941
42. Chris Ferrara (Philadelphia, PA) $1,941
43. Elliot Melamed (Holland, PA) $1,941
44. Mohammad Farrah (Bensalem, PA) $1,941
45. Joe Egan (Philadelphia, PA) $1,941
46. Vincent Pistorino (Bronx, NY )$1,663
47. Alex Berdichevskiy (Huntingdon Valley, PA) $1,663
48. Kyle Bowker (Walken, NY) $1,663
49. Benjamin Coren (Landsdale, PA) $1,663
50. Eduardo Juarez (North Wales, PA) $1,663
51. Albert Borys (Hazlet, NJ) $1,663
52. David Novak (Philadelphia, PA) $1,663
53. Joe Simmons (Philadelphia, PA) $1,663
54. Daniel Assicon (Ardmore, PA) $1,663
55. Joe Taylor (Bensalem, PA) $1,386
56. Matt Glantz (Lafayette Hills, PA) $1,386
57. Seth Zimmerman (New York, NY) $1,386
58. Mitchell Friedberg (Cherry Hill, NJ) $1,386
59. Nick Bilotti (North Wales, PA) $1,386
60. Peter Brickman (Philadelphia, PA) $1,386
61. Deon Nossel (New York, NY) $1,386
62. David Pollack (Levittown, PA) $1,386
63. Erinc Sen (Lawrenceville, NJ) $1,386
64. Maureen McCarthy (Ontario, CA) $1,188
65. Keith Crowder (Philadelphia, PA) $1,188
66. Caleb Meyer (Malvern, PA) $1,188
67. Josh Rosengarten (Marlboro, NJ) $1,188
68. Jin Li (Furlong, PA) $1,188
69. Eileen Kustafik (Doylestown, PA) $1,188
70. Joseph Kent (Bridgeport, PA) $1,188
71. Frank Ferrigno (Wayne, NJ) $1,188
72. Michael Schoult (Arlington, VA) $1,188
73. Feming Chan (New Jersey) $990
74. Peter Ippolito (East Meadow, NY) $990
75. Matt Graham (Parkingsburg, WV) $990
76. Pierre Deissler (Mt. Laurel, NJ) $990
77. Matt Funkhouser (Harrisburg, PA) $990
78. Alyson Parker (Plainsboro, NJ) $990
79. Brian Melloy (Philadelphia, PA) $990
80. Mike Tauch (Philadelphia, PA) $990
81. Eric Eisgrau (Jamison, PA) $990

*Event payout capped at 81 players (top 6% of entries eligible for prize money vs. top 10%) due to higher than expected turnout and PA Gaming Commission Issues. Next event, issue to be resolved.

Big Stax – Omaha Hi/Lo
Entries: 144
Prize Pool: $28,800
Spots Paid: 15

1. Peter Chan – $7,486
2. Neal Levin – $5,244
3. Robert Renner – $3,372
4. William Buckley – $2,497
5. Michael Oar – $1,872
6. Craig Hammerman – $1,497
7. Joseph Simmons – $1,246
8. Steve Henne – $997
9. Stephen Bent – $749
10. Ronald Braverman – $545
11. Michael Lincoln – $545
12. Gloria Lorusso – $545
13. Ian Mautner – $447
14. Paul Zelikov – $447
15. Timothy Brown – $447

Entries: 517
Prize Pool: $775,500

1. Robert Boyko (Yonkers,NY) $134,269
2. Patrick Halter (Nacberth,PA) $134,269
3. Vinny Napolitano (WillistonPark,NY) $71,086
4. Michael Dentale (Brooklyn,NY) $52,656
5. Melad Marji (Canastota,NY) $39,492
6. James Anderson (Pittsburgh,PA) $31,594
7. Barry Dehlin (Dresher,PA) $26,328
8. Viny Ha (Brooklyn,NY) $21,063
9. Mark Wahba (Cleveland, OH) $15,797
10. Andrew Rosskamm (Gates Mill, OH) $11,509
11. Carl Restifo (Waretown,NJ) $11,509
12. Abraham Faroni (Philadelphia,Pa) $11,509
13. Kori Hunter (Columbia,MD) $9,403
14. David Novak (Philadelphi,PA) $9,403
15. Bill Brindise (Rumson, NJ) $9,403
16. Matt Maccaroni (Hamilton Square, NJ) $8,049
17. Joe Loscialo (Freehold, NJ) $8,049
18. Allie Prescott (Memphis, TN) $8,049
19. Jason Andrews (Pittsburgh, PA) $7,071
20. Tony Tran (Charlotte, NC) $7,071
21. Bob Brady (South Hampton, PA) $7,071
22. Alex Rocha (New York, NY) $6,319
23.Jack Schanbacher (Pittsburgh, PA) $6,319
24.Aaron Frese (Phoenixville, PA) $6,319
25.Coury Mascagni (Louisville, KY) $5,567
26. Sung Kim (New York, NY) $5,567
27. Carlos Chadha (Washington DC) $5,567
28. Michael Marder (Sewell, NJ) $4,890
29. Brett Richey (New York, NY) $4,890
30. Olivier Busquet (New York, NY) $4,890
31. Adam Cook (Baltimore, MD) $4,890
32. Gajan Jeganathan (Monmouth Junction, NJ) $4,890
33. Sammy Wu (New York, NY) $4,890
34. James Gilbert (Bensalem, PA) $4,890
35. Darius Studdard (Medford, NY) $4,890
36. Joseph McKeehen (North Wales, PA) $4,890
37. Seunghwan Lee (Albertson, NY) $4,213
38. Matthew Croker (Mays Landing, NJ) $4,213
39. Scott Baumstein (New York, NY) $4,213
40. Paul Volpe (West Chester, PA) $4,213
41. Andrew Hippler (Annapolis, MD) $4,213
42. Alex Zaverkha (Newtown, PA) $4,213
43. Tom Pschar (Ringoes, NJ) $4,213
44. Pierre Deissler (Mt. Laurel, NJ) $4,213
45. Chun Lin Mo (Brooklyn, NY) $4,213

Chip Counts – Final 14:
Melad Marji (Canastota,NY) 4,100,000
Robert Boyko (Yonkers,NY) 3,900,000
James Anderson (Pittsburgh,PA) 2,996,000
Viny Ha (Brooklyn,NY) 2,779,000
Patrick Halter (Nacberth,PA) 2,185,000
Andrew Rosskamm (Gates Mill,OH) 2,034,000
Mark Wahba (Cleavland,OH) 1,900,000
David Novak (Philadelphi,PA) 1,323,000
Michael Dentale (Brooklyn,NY) 1,200,000
Barry Dehlin (Dresher,PA) 1,023,000
Vinny Napolitano (WillistonPark,NY) 880,000
Abraham Faroni (Philadelphia,Pa) 693,000
Kori Hunter (Columbia,MD) 583,000
Carl Restifo (Waretown,NJ) 350,000

Play resumes at Level 24 (15,000/30,000/5,000)

Remaining Payouts:
1 $157,959
2 $110,579
3 $71,086
4 $52,656
5 $39,492
6 $31,594
7 $26,328
8 $21,063
9 $15,797
10 $11,509
11 $11,509
12 $11,509
13 $9,403
14 $9,403

Payout Results – 15th-45th:
15. Bill Brindise (Rumson, NJ) $9,403
16. Matt Maccaroni (Hamilton Square, NJ) $8,049
17. Joe Loscialo (Freehold, NJ) $8,049
18. Allie Prescott (Memphis, TN) $8,049
19. Jason Andrews (Pittsburgh, PA) $7,071
20. Tony Tran (Charlotte, NC) $7,071
21. Bob Brady (South Hampton, PA) $7,071
22. Alex Rocha (New York, NY) $6,319
23.Jack Schanbacher (Pittsburgh, PA) $6,319
24.Aaron Frese (Phoenixville, PA) $6,319
25.Coury Mascagni (Louisville, KY) $5,567
26. Sung Kim (New York, NY) $5,567
27. Carlos Chadha (Washington DC) $5,567
28. Michael Marder (Sewell, NJ) $4,890
29. Brett Richey (New York, NY) $4,890
30. Olivier Busquet (New York, NY) $4,890
31. Adam Cook (Baltimore, MD) $4,890
32. Gajan Jeganathan (Monmouth Junction, NJ) $4,890
33. Sammy Wu (New York, NY) $4,890
34. James Gilbert (Bensalem, PA) $4,890
35. Darius Studdard (Medford, NY) $4,890
36. Joseph McKeehen (North Wales, PA) $4,890
37. Seunghwan Lee (Albertson, NY) $4,213
38. Matthew Croker (Mays Landing, NJ) $4,213
39. Scott Baumstein (New York, NY) $4,213
40. Paul Volpe (West Chester, PA) $4,213
41. Andrew Hippler (Annapolis, MD) $4,213
42. Alex Zaverkha (Newtown, PA) $4,213
43. Tom Pschar (Ringoes, NJ) $4,213
44. Pierre Deissler (Mt. Laurel, NJ) $4,213
45. Chun Lin Mo (Brooklyn, NY) $4,213