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A champion will be crowned in the 2017 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main Event today.
After two starting flights Friday and Saturday drew a field of 414 entries, creating a guarantee-crushing $220,869 prizepool, just 88 players remain in the hunt for that title and the $51,904 first-place prize it comes with.
First comes the fight for the money, as only the top 45 finishers will get paid. Then, a battle for seats at the final table, where the top nine will guarantee themselves close to $5,000 each. After that, it's time to ladder up, with the top five looking at five-figure scores and more than just Seneca poker glory awaiting the winner.
Play will begin at 11 a.m. local time with skyrocketing blinds already at 2000/4000 with a 500 ante.
Fairport, NY’s Scott Hosbach ran hotter than the Bethlehem Steel fire at the end of the second starting flight, putting over 500,000 in the bag once the smoke plume cleared. He'll take a massive lead into play today with no one even within 100,000.
However, there is a group of former Seneca champs and local standouts sitting over 200,000, and within one double of contention, including no less than Chris Meyers, William Liang, Hayden Glassman, Vince Palma, Jason Clark, Bruce Pace, Adam Foster, James DiPasquale, and, of course, Blake Napierala.
Plus, the list of names in the remaining 88 looks like local who's who with several Seneca winners and local legends among them.
No matter how big it gets, no chip lead is ever safe, or anything but a massive prizepool guaranteed inside the Niagara Falls Poker Room, and so the 2017 Seneca Niagara Summer Slam Main Event is up for grabs on this sunny summer Sunday, just blocks from the eighth wonder of the world.
Stay tuned to PokerNews to find out who will claim this crown.