Hot Start in the Cold Weather

Our Winter 2026 Season kicked off on Saturday January 10th with a $65 buy-in event. We had 65 players come out and take a shot at an early season victory. 23 of these players fired a second bullet, giving us a total of 88 entries and the top 11 finishers making the money. The tournament moved quickly and we went to hand for hand play with six players left at our two remaining tables.

After missing the entire Fall 2025 season, Horacio Vic. made a nice run in his return but fell just short and finished as the bubble boy this week. Regular play resumed and Steve Joh. (Windsor, NY) exited in 11th place. This is Steve’s second cash in his 4th event at 607poker.com. Steve picked up $110 for his finish. Newcomer Randy Aug. (Hornell, NY) bubbled the final table, finishing in 10th place and taking home $130.

After a redraw for the final table, action continued on a furious pace. The first hand of final table play saw Jason Sho. (Arkansas) bow out in 9th place, taking home $155. The second hand of final table play saw DB Lin. (Binghamton, NY) head to the rail in 8th place. This is DB’s second cash in only his 3rd event at 607poker.com, collecting $180 for his 8th place finish. The third hand of final table play saw Mike Bra. (Elmira, NY) continue the trend and finish in 7th place. Mike pocketed $205 for his 7th place finish.

Breaking the trend, we did not have another elimination until the 5th hand of final table play. Corey Chm. (Greene, NY) had an impressive debut performance, finishing in 6th place and taking home $240. 607poker.com regular Jeff Smi. (Marathon, NY) had a quiet Fall 2025 Season but started the Winter 2026 Season strong, recording a 5th place finish and a $295 payday. Our top finishing newcomer was our 4th place finisher. Gabe Mer. (Newark Valley, NY) built a big stack early and cruised to his 4th place finish in his first live poker tournament. This impressive debut earned Gabe a $400 payday.

With three players left, eliminations slowed. Paul Ste. (Port Crane, NY) came into three handed play as the big stack, followed by Rob McL. (Binghamton, NY) and Mark Gra. (Vestal, NY) as the short stack. Rob won a monster pot when his AK ran into Paul’s AQ, setting Rob up as a massive chip leader. Paul and Mark continued to chip away and after an extended battle, Rob exited in 3rd place, collecting $575. This was Rob’s second consecutive cash as he looks forward to a successful Winter 2026 Season.

Heads up play began with Mark in a serious chip deficit that he was unable to overcome. Mark took home $880 for his second place finish, leaving Paul as our Event #1 Champion. Paul’s impressive performance and his first cash at 607poker.com earned him $1,230 and set him up as the early season points leader.

Event #2 is scheduled for January 17th at 4 PM and we expect another big crowd. Hustle down and take your shot at a big payday and a championship picture!!