Joe Ciffa Wins Back-to-Back Titles at Summer Slam Series in Niagara Falls
Joe Ciffa is going to need a new shelf for all the hardware he’s collecting in Niagara Falls this week.
For the second straight day, Ciffa claimed victory in the Seneca Niagara Summer Slam series. On Saturday he won Event #2 outright for more than $10,000, and on Sunday he pocketed another $4,000 by chopping Event #3 three ways and going on to win his second trophy in as many days.
Bruce Pace and Aaron Obstein were also part of the even three-handed deal. The three players agreed that the title would go to whomever had the chip lead at the end of Level 20, and moments later Ciffa won a massive three-way all in for 95% of the chips in play. He wisely folded out the rest of the level to secure the win.
Summer Slam Event #3 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Ciffa | $ 4,078* |
| 2 | Bruce Pace | $4,078* |
| 3 | Aaron Obstein | $4,078* |
| 4 | Jim Burkett | $1,978 |
| 5 | Scott Hosbach | $1,439 |
| 6 | Pierre Gautreau | $1,100 |
| 7 | Brian Bowen | $846 |
| 8 | Jonathan Revere | $656 |
| 9 | Maurice Sessum | $529 |
| 10 | Travell Thomas | $434 |
*Denotes three-handed deal
Event #3 was a $200 no-limit hold’em event which attracted 131 total entries, creating a prize pool of $21,157. The top 15 spots were guaranteed a payday, and today’s money bubble certainly created some excitement between two of the bigger stacks in the room.
On a flop of 6♠10♣9♥ Peter Raimondi led out for 12,000 and Pierre Gautreau called to see the 10♥ on the turn. Raimondi led again, this time for 17,000, and Gautreau called. The river was the K♥ and Raimondi bet 70,000. Gautreau moved all in and Raimondi snap called, saying he had the nuts with Kx10x for a full house.
But he didn't have the nuts — Gautreau tabled the Q♥J♥ for a straight flush to win a massive pot and send Raimondi to the rail just short of the money.
From there, Scott Aitchison, Cameron Bartolotta, Jason Nablo, Dave Olshan and Ken Lilley hit the rail to create the ten-handed final table. Travell Thomas, who locked up his third top 20 finish of the series, failed to finish in the top nine again when he lost a flip to chip leader Scott Hosbach.
Thomas’ friend Maurice Sessum busted to Hosbach in ninth, and then Ciffa got active when he eliminated Jonathan Revere (8th place), Brian Bowen (7th place) and Geatreau (6th place).
It was during that time that Hosbach’s stack began dwindling and the rest of it went to Pace. After losing a big pot when Pace two-outted him on the river, Hosbach completed from the small blind and Pace raised to 40,000 from the big blind. Hosbach moved all in and Pace went into the tank.
"You've got me steaming," Hosbach said from across the table.
"Well I have a big hand," said Pace. "I call."
Pace: K♠Q♣
Hosbach: A♦6♦
Hosbach had the lead but Pace came from behind when the board ran out 3♥Q♥2♥J♣K♦.
Jim Burkett was severely short stack and was eliminated by Ciffa a short time later, leaving the final three competing for a $6,000 top prize. They eventually agreed on an even split and Ciffa went on to claim the title.
Coming up on Monday at the Summer Slam is Event #5, a $125 buy-in no-limit hold'em event with six starting flights and a $50,000 prize pool. We’ll be covering each flight from start to finish, so be sure to follow PokerNews for complete coverage of the 2014 Summer Slam series in Niagara Falls!
