Maxcy Wins HPO Toledo Regional Main Event ($37,465)
After about a half hour negotiating period, the final six players in the Hollywood Poker Open Toledo Regional Main Event, a tournament that attracted 288 entries, reached an agreeable deal to chop up the remaining prize pool. Charles Maxcy, a local player from Toledo, earned the title of champion and a $37,465 payday, while Trevor Renner (officially sixth), Kenny Zuspan (fifth), Joka Boyi (fourth), Emad Alabsi (third), and Ken Foster (runner-up) all received $30,465 as part of the deal.
According to a venue official, Maxcy plays in local tournaments five nights a week. The long hours stood out to Maxcy, who is used to the shorter nightly tournaments.
"I'm getting old," Maxcy said after the win. "I can't handle these hours. But, it's the most I've ever won."
Day 2 of the tournament kicked off with 53 runners from the two Day 1 flights, but only 27 would make the money. The structure allowed for plenty of play, so it took four hours before the bubble burst. Some formidable names looked poised to make final tables runs — such as Nick Pupillo, Michael Hahn, Tom Midena — but all fell short. Midena's demise in 10th place came after check-shoving a six-high board with jacks only to run in Boyi's set of sixes.
When the final nine combined, Maxcy sat in second in chips with just over 1 million at Level 22 (8,000/16,000/2,000). Neil Coughlin, who had been active showing down bluffs throughout the day, including running a big one on Maxcy early on, got tricky one time too many and was snapped off on a bluff early in the final table, busting in ninth.
Eight-handed play lasted another hour before Foster scored a monster double knockout to pare the field down to six. Freddy Hamad jammed his ten big blinds in with the 
, and Foster called holding the 
in the small blind before Wayne Smith shoved for about the same amount in the big blind. Foster put Smith and his 
at risk, though an ace-high flop looked great for Smith. However, Hamad was the only one left with outs after an 
turn. He missed on the 
river, and the last six players battled for about another hour.
The survivors talked intermittently about a chop, and shortly after the blinds went up to Level 24 (12,000/24,000/4,000), talks got serious and play stalled until a suitable deal was reached.
As part of the agreement, Maxcy also won a $2,500 seat into the Hollywood Poker Open at the M Resort in Las Vegas this coming June. He stipulated that he would take the seat as part of the negotiations and said he's excited for the opportunity.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Maxcy | $37,465* |
| 2 | Ken Foster | $30,465* |
| 3 | Emad Alabsi | $30,465* |
| 4 | Joka Boyi | $30,465* |
| 5 | Kenny Zuspan | $30,465* |
| 6 | Trevor Renner | $30,465* |
| 7 | Wayne Smith | $10,800 |
| 8 | Freddy Hamad | $9,072 |
| 9 | Neil Coughlin | $7,488 |
*Denotes six-handed deal
The Hollywood Poker Open will next visit Tunica from Feb. 26 through March 8, 2015. Of course the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand to capture all the action from the stop's Main Event.