2024 Maryland State Poker Championship

Maryland LIVE! Highlights
Day: all

Getting to Know the Players

Timothy Faro
Timothy Faro

Day 1a in the Main Event is now well underway with 69 recorded entries. Timothy Faro is one of the hopefuls to have hopped into the fray as he seeks to cap off a successful series with another win. Faro has already taken down two tournaments at this year's Maryland State Poker Championship. First, he topped a 53 strong field in Event #5: PLO Black Chip Bounty for $3,884 before following that up with another title in Event #9: PLO, this time beating out 42 other competitors to scoop $6,942.

Faro is a staple on the east coast tournament circuit and has managed to amass $588,703 in live earnings. His biggest single cash, however, occurred in Las Vegas in the 2023 WSOP Main Event, where he finished 110th for $67,000. While Faro has cashes dating back to 2011, most of his volume has taken place from 2019 onwards. In that time frame, he managed to secure a WSOP gold bracelet and $50,864 after winning a 2022 WSOP online event. More recently, Faro final tabled the main event at the WSOP circuit stop in Choctow this past July, where he finished in 8th place for $25,754.

Brandon Mueller
Brandon Mueller

Brandon Mueller is another player in the mix, though at last count he was one of the shorter stacks in the room. Still, with $470,515 in live earnings to his name, Mueller is not someone to be counted out at any stage. Another American grinder hailing from Pennsylvania, Mueller's best cash for $79,005 came courtesy of winning the $5,000 The Grand High Roller in June 2022. Emerging victorious in that event could not have been easy seeing as Mueller had to get past the likes of Leonard Maue, Nikita Kuznetsov, Andrew Lichtenberger and Leon Sturm at a truly stacked final table.

Other career highlights include a victory in a $550 event at the Borgata Winter Poker Open in January 2024 for $29,451 as well as five WSOP circuit ring triumphs.

As the field grows, PokerNews will continue to put a spotlight on selected players, providing some small insight into the vibrant east coast poker scene.

Tags: Andrew LichtenbergerBrandon MuellerLeon SturmLeonard MaueNikita KuznetsovTimothy Faro

Welcome Back to Coverage of the Maryland State Poker Championship

Maryland Live
Maryland Live

The 2024 Maryland State Poker Championship got underway on July 31st with the $600 Kickoff Event. Nick Kocman of Pennsylvania ended up coming out on top of a 892 entry field to claim $77,869. Another big winner from that event was 9th place finisher Daniel Bellis who, as the last qualifier standing, took home a coveted North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Gold Pass worth $10,000 in addition to the $7,787 payout.

As a reminder, the NAPT Gold Pass awards an entry into the $5,300 NAPT Main Event at Resorts World in Las Vegas as well as $2,900 for hotel accommodation and $1,800 to cover other expenses.

Since the Kickoff Event, the Maryland State Poker Championship has crowned 14 winners in side events. Full results can be found below.

Maryland State Poker Championship Winners so Far

EVENTENTRANTSPRIZE POOLWINNERHOMETOWNPRIZE (IN USD)
HORSETBD$26,286Eric LucasHavre De Grace, MD$ 8,972
Kickoff892$456,704Nick KocmanYork, PA$ 77,869
Limit Omaha 840$20,000William FidelOdenton, MD$ 7,800
Pot Limit Omaha 855$20,000Donovan BatesWoodbridge, VA$ 7,400
5-Card PLO Black Chip Bounty53$20,000Timothy FaroGlen Burnie, MD$ 3,884
Ladies NLH52$12,584Jenny ChangEllicott City, MD$ 4,657
6-Max215$71,810Marshall TarzyIjamsvile, MD$ 11,823
Seniors159$53,106Joseph MalebrancheBaltimore, MD$ 10,034
PLO42$20,000Tim FaroGlen Burnie, MD$ 6,942
NLH Multi Flight243$80,676Justin ArnwineUpper Marlboro, MD$ 17,956
Big O67$22,378Matthew RiebelSavage, MD$ 7,832
Super Seniors65$21,710Steven HalperinEllicott City, MD$ 5,283
Heads Up NLH14$14,000Maxwell SchrackGlen Burnie, MD$ 7,000
PLO Purple Chip Bounty36$54,288Anthony LuongSterling, VA$ 14,878

Today's schedule sees the start of the much anticipated $2,200 Main Event. Flight A is already underway with the second final Day 1 taking place tomorrow before the field combines for Day 2 on Sunday, August 11th. At the time of writing, 54 players have registered and full updates of play can be found courtesy of the PokerNews live reporting team here.

Last year saw Isiah Ditoto take down a $5,300 version of the Main Event for a career best $221,853 after striking a heads-up deal with James Anderson. That tournament garnered 172 entries, thus failing to surpass the $1,000,000 guarantee. Those numbers are likely the reason the buy in for 2024 has been slashed by more than 50% and the guarantee cut down to just $500,000. Still, with the lower buy in, expect to see a larger field this year as the best of the best from the Maryland poker scene seek to etch their names in the state's poker history books.

While the Main Event is the marquee tournament, there are still plenty of other events set to take place over the next few days. Details of the remaining schedule can be found below.

Maryland State Poker Championship Schedule

eventDateTimeBuy-inGtd!Tournament
Main Event09-Aug11:15 AM$2,200$500,000The Main Event Flight A
Main Event10-Aug11:15 AM$2,200$500,000The Main Event Flight B
1610-Aug6:15 PM$400$20,000Black Chip Bounty Turbo
Main Event11-Aug12:15 PM  Main Event Day 2
1711-Aug2:15 PM$1,100$50,000Live! Stacks Championship
1812-Aug11:15 AM$400/team Tag Team Championship
Main Event12-Aug2:15 PM  Main Event Day 3 (If Necessary)

Be sure to stay tuned as PokerNews continues to provide periodic highlight updates from the Maryland State Poker Championship in addition to the traditional live reporting of the Main Event.

Tags: Anthony LuongDaniel BellisDonovan BatesEric LucasIsiah DitotoJames AndersonJenny ChangJoseph MalebrancheJustin ArnwineMarshall TarzyMatthew RiebelMaxwell SchrackNick KocmanSteven HalperinTim FaroTimothy FaroWilliam Fidel

Stay Tuned for More Coverage of the Maryland State Poker Championship

Winner Nick Kocman
Winner Nick Kocman

With the completion of the $600 Kickoff event that saw Nick Kocman steamrolling a final table and splashing his chips around in his winner's photo, PokerNews coverage of the PokerStars 2024 Maryland State Poker Championship will take a pause.

It's been an exciting week at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland with a half-dozen winners crowned, four PokerStars ambassadors KO'd and two Gold Passes claimed.

Congratulations to briefcase specialist Christian Harder and last online qualifier standing Daniel Bellis for winning the $10,000 packages to NAPT Las Vegas in November.

Daniel Bellis
Daniel Bellis

Here are a few highlights from this week's coverage:

PokerNews will be back on-site for the upcoming $500,000 Main Event to provide live updates and more, so stay tuned for that coverage.

Maryland State Poker Championship Winners so Far

EVENTENTRANTSPRIZE POOLWINNERHOMETOWNPRIZE (IN USD)
HORSETBD$26,286Eric LucasHavre De Grace, Maryland$ 8,972
Kickoff892$456,704Nick KocmanYork, PA$ 77,869
Limit Omaha 840$20,000William FidelOdenton, MD$ 7,800
Pot Limit Omaha 855$20,000Donovan BatesWoodbridge, VA$ 7,400
5-Card PLO Black Chip Bounty53$20,000Timothy FaroGlen Burnie, MD$ 3,884
Ladies NLH52$12,584Jenny ChangEllicott City, MD$ 4,657
6-Max215$71,810Marshall TarzyIjamsvile, MD$ 11,823

Win Your Way to Las Vegas with the PokerStars Path to NAPT!

Tags: Christian HarderDaniel BellisDonovan BatesEric LucasGlen BurnieJenny ChangMarshall TarzyMarylandMore CoverageNick KocmanPokerStarsTimothy FaroWilliam Fidel

Christian Harder Chooses Right Briefcase to Win Gold Pass

Maryland Mystery Bounty
Maryland Mystery Bounty

With Maria Konnikova still hanging around in the 6-Max Championship, a decision was made for the three bounty winners to choose and open their mystery bounty briefcases.

Christian Rose and Gilson De Oliviera had the first choice of briefcases before longtime pro Christian Harder had to choose between Briefcases #1 and #4. He chose #1.

Maryland Mystery Bounty
Gilson De Oliviera

It was the right choice as it soon after popped open to reveal a Gold Pass package to NAPT Las Vegas valued at $10,000.

Many cheered for Harder, though there were a few light-hearted boos.

"Of course Charter won the $10k!" someone said.

Harder has had plenty of luck in this poker room. Ten years ago, he took down the Maryland Live! Summer Series of Poker Main Event for $84,270.

Maryland Mystery Bounty
Christian Harder, Christian Rose & Gilson De Oliviera

Tags: Christian HarderChristian RoseGilson De OlivieraGold PassMaria KonnikovaSummer Series

Maryland Banter

Some light-hearted banter was overheard in the 6-Max Championships as two players discussed tomorrow's Pot-Limit Omaha event.

"So what do you say, is this PLO bird tomorrow gonna be big?" one player asked.

“I hope so," said the other.

“I’m going to drop the kids off at the mall or something," the first player joked.

“Why don’t you just leave them in the car like you usually do?” chimed another.

The first player wasn't finished with the bit: “If you throw the valet guy an extra $40, it’s fine."

Win Your Way to Las Vegas with the PokerStars Path to NAPT!

Maria Konnikova Is the Final Bounty

Maria Konnikova
Maria Konnikova

Three down, one to go. The fight is on for the final ambassador bounty in the 6-Max Championship as Maria Konnikova looks to fend off those who are after the golden slip sitting next to her chips.

Arlie Shaban was the first to go before Jen Shahade lost a flip with queen-jack to a set of sevens to surrender her Gold Pass. Action slowed down from there before David Kaye fell to Christian Harder.

Jen Shahade
Jen Shahade

“Do I get a prize for being the last person?” she joked.

Konnikova found herself at risk moments ago before cracking queens by making aces full of fives.

Win Your Way to Las Vegas with the PokerStars Path to NAPT!

Tags: Arlie ShabanChristian HarderDavid KayeGold PassJennifer ShahadeMaria Konnikova

Win Your Way to Las Vegas with the PokerStars Path to NAPT!

Path to NAPT
Path to NAPT

With the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) returning to Las Vegas this fall, PokerStars have released information about the new 'Path to NAPT', offering players the chance to win their way to Vegas for as little as $0.50.

Two $600 buy-in NAPT Regional events have also been announced, taking place in Maryland and Philadelphia later this summer. Don't miss the opportunity to get involved in some incredible PokerStars Live events.

PokerStars NAPT Returning to Resorts World Las Vegas November 1-10

Win a Gold Pass to NAPT Main Event

Last year Sami Bechahed defeated Jonathan Borenstein heads-up to win the 2023 NAPT Las Vegas Main Event and $268,945. He topped a 1,095-player field to win the first NAPT Main Event title in 12 years.

Want to be part of the next one? Well here's your chance! PokerStars is planning on offering 100 chances to secure a Gold Pass worth $10,000 to the Las Vegas NAPT Main Event.

These coveted passes will offer:

  • $5,300 Buy-In: Entry to the Main Event of the NAPT.
  • $2,900 Hotel Accommodation: Ensuring a luxurious stay during the tournament.
  • $1,800 Expenses: Additional funds to cover travel and other costs.

Path to NAPT

The easiest way to get your hands on a Gold Pass is through the newly-announced 'Path to NAPT'. This offers players the chance to win their way from $0.50 and parlaying smaller wins into larger prizes — and ultimately a Gold Pass to the NAPT Main Event.

How Does the Path to NAPT Work?

Players who log into the PokerStars client will earn a $0.50 Step 1 ticket. These can then be used to enter tournaments that will lead to winning Gold Passes. If you don't have an account, be sure to take advantage of the PokerStars sign up bonus.

Players will also be able to win Silver Passes that will be redeemable for NAPT Regional events and bi-weekly $1,000 satellites to the NAPT.

NAPT Regionals

As for NAPT regionals, two $600 buy-in events have been announced that will take place between July and August.

The first, taking place at Maryland Live!, will run from July 31-August 12. The second runs from August 22-September 8 at Philly Live!

Both events will have six starting flights, with the winners of each Main Event awarded a Gold Pass to the NAPT Main Event in Las Vegas this November.

Win Your Way to Las Vegas with the PokerStars Path to NAPT!

Tags: MarylandPokerStarsPhilly LiveSami BechahedGold Pass

Tim Faro Takes Down 5-Card PLO Black Chip Bounty for $3,884

Tim Faro
Tim Faro

Tim Faro is the latest winner at the PokerStars 2024 Maryland State Poker Championship as the business owner and bracelet winner took down the 5-Card PLO Black Chip Bounty event for $3,884 after a four-handed deal.

Others at the final table included Gregory Eversmeyer (2nd - $3,616), Melissa Dease (3rd- $2,468) and Christopher McCoy (4th - $2,085).

PLACEPLAYERHOMETOWNPRIZE (IN USD)
1Tim FaroGlen Burnie, MD$3,884*
2Gregory EversmeyerTysons Corner, VA$3,616*
3Melissa DeaseCockeysville, MD$2,468*
4Derrick TriceMiddle River, MD$2,085*
5Christopher McCoyMaryland$1,103
6Charles ThompsonMiddletown, CT$882
7Anthonie NolinRichmond, VA$662

*Denotes four-handed deal

Win Your Way to Las Vegas with the PokerStars Path to NAPT!

*Lead image courtesy Live! Poker Room

Tags: PokerStarsTim FaroTimothy Faro