Event 14 was a $300 + $30 NL Hold’em Mega Stack Turbo, with a hefty 50K starting stack. 147 players joined in, contributing to a $42,777.00 prize pool, and 15 players got paid tonight. The biggest cash prize was claimed by Andrew Johnson, who eliminated Nick the terminator after a tough heads-up match.

A deal was discussed when the tournament was 4-handed, but dismissed. Then again heads-up, after the stacks had evened out somewhat between the two players. This time they chose to drop $750.00 from the first prize down to the second, reducing the difference by $1,500.00, thus playing for a $1,003.00 bump, as well as the Champion’s Trophy.

Nick Nickoletopoulos pretty much destroyed the final table, taking out most of the finalists, but Andrew Johnson managed to stay afloat, even growing a few stacks along the way. Johnson then took out Rishi Makkar on a brutal bad beat, which bloated his stack and gave him a fighting chance against Nickoletopoulos. They battled for about 20 minutes, during which stacks stayed mostly even, sometimes bumping up to a 3-to-2 lead for one player or the other. Johnson finally took advantage when the lead was on his side, and took down a big pot without showdown. Then the final hand happened.

Nick Nickoletopoulos cautiously limped in from the button, completing the 200K big blind. Johnson made it 500K to go, and Nickoletopoulos obliged. The flop was checked by both players, and Johnson then led the turn with another 500K bet. Nickoletopoulos did not take long before calling. On the river, seeing that his opponent had been prone to splash chips in some pots, Johnson shoved his stack in the middle. Nick pondered for about 15 seconds, and elected to call, putting his tournament life at risk.

Andrew Johnson:
Nick Nickoletopoulos:

Board:

Johnson’s check on the flop allowed for Nick to catch up by making top pair on the turn, and that check earned him the Champion’s Trophy! Congratulations!

Event 14 Champion: Andrew Johnson – $9,500.00 and the Champion’s Trophy

Runner-up: Nick Nickoletopoulos – $8,497.00

Last hand of play:

 

In a rare multi-action hand, Nick Nickoletopoulos raised to 325K, and Rishi Makkar made it 825K to go. Andrew Johnson asked for a count and thought for a while, counting his own stack, muttering numbers. He finally went all-in for 2.025M. Nickoletopoulos quickly folded, and Makkar called even faster.

Rishi Makkar:  
Andrew Johnson:

The board started with a dull flop, but the turn came with a bang:

Ouch. Makkar ceded a 5M pot to Johnson, and made his way to the cashier, shaken and perplexed. He takes 3rd place, and a $5,820.00 payout.

Congratulations!

Andrew Hansen, after chopping a pot where his set saw the board completing a straight, was taken out by Andrew Johnson. Hansen raised all-in to about 750K, or 6 big blinds, with . Johnson called him with .

The board did not help Hansen, and he left with the 4th place money, $4,380.00

Congratulations on a nice run!

After Alex Keo and Richard Sysko’s eliminations in 6th and 5th place, the remaining 4 players asked for the tournament to be paused in order to discuss a deal. After much deliberations, however, they decided to leave the payouts untouched. Play resumes now, with half the chips in front of Nick Nickoletopoulos.

6th place: Alex Keo – $2,490.00
5th place: Richard Sysko – $3,300.00

Congratulations!

It seems like Nickoletopoulos’ heater has no end! He won hand after hand since the formation of the final table, doubling up on Maria Ho, then taking her out, and finally, with a 2M stack, win a 3-way all-in.

Nick Nickoletopoulos:
Brian R Iseman:
Behrooz Salemi:

Board:

Nickoletopoulos makes a straight on the river, feeding his stack another million!

10th place: Silvio La Palerma – $800.00
9th place: Maria Ho – $1,070.00
8th place: Brian R Iseman – $1,410.00
7th place: Behrooz Salemi – $1,870.00

After the bubble burst, 4 of the smallest stacks vanished in 5 minutes. Then it took about 10 minutes for Robineault to allow the final table to form.

• 15th – Gaetan Laperrière – $680.00
• 14th – Samuel Guillen      – $680.00
• 13th – Charan Malhotra   – $740.00
• 12th – Joe Gualtieri           – $740.00
• 11th – Jason Robineault   – $800.00

Congratulations to all! See the final table seating chart below the photos.

2 players have over a million going into the final table, and those are Maria Ho and Andrew Johnson.

First Name | Prénom	Last Name | Nom	Seat | Siège
Andrew	Hansen	Seat 01
Andrew	Johnson	Seat 02
Maria	Ho	Seat 03
Nick	Nickoletopoulos	Seat 04
Rishi	Makkar	Seat 05
Brian R	Iseman	Seat 06
Silvio	La Palerma	Seat 07
Richard	Sysko	Seat 08
Alex	Keo	Seat 09
Behrooz	Salemi	Seat 10