The online community for blackjack tournament players.
The final table of the Niagara Fallsview tournament has 21 hands, played with a bankroll of $5000 in non-negotiable chips. Betting limits are $100 to $2500 in increments of $100.
Finalists, starting in seat 1 were Sandio Campoli (Ausosa, Canada), Set Paylozyan (San Rafael, CA), Vince Costa (Arizona), Carman Ursomarzo (North York, Wild Card), Gemma Kappel (New York), Greg Omkian (Ontario), Nglm Van Tram (Toronto).
We'll pick up the action on hand 17, with 5 hands to go.
| Seat | Player | Bankroll | Bet | Cards | Value | Win/Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand 17 | |||||||
| 1 | Campoli | $5000 | $500 | 4 Q K | Bust | $-500 | |
| 2 | Paylozyan | $5200 | $700 | 5 K 9 | Bust | $-700 | |
| 3 | ==> | Costa | $4450 | $400 | J 7 | 17 | $400 |
| 4 | Ursomarzo | $0 | $ | $ | |||
| 5 | Kappel | $5050 | $200 | 8 6 J | Bust | $-200 | |
| 6 | Omkian | $6500 | $200 | 6 5 A 9 | 21 | $200 | |
| 7 | Van Tram | $7200 | $100 | 4 9 5 | 18 | $100 | |
| Dealer | Upcard Q | Q 5 Q | Bust | ||||
| Hand 18 | |||||||
| 1 | Campoli | $4500 | $500 + $500 | 6 4 K / 6 T | 20/16 | $1000 | |
| 2 | Paylozyan | $4500 | $1500 | 3 9 | 12 | $1500 | |
| 3 | Costa | $4850 | $2500 | 2 Q | 12 | $2500 | |
| 4 | Ursomarzo | $0 | $ | $ | |||
| 5 | ==> | Kappel | $4850 | $100 | 7 3 Dbl 8 | 18 | $200 |
| 6 | Omkian | $6700 | $100 | 2 5 Dbl 7 | 14 | $200 | |
| 7 | Van Tram | $7300 | $200 | 9 6 2 A 8 | Bust | $-200 | |
| Dealer | Upcard 5 | 5 5 6 9 | Bust | ||||
| Hand 19 | |||||||
| 1 | Campoli | $5500 | $700 | K T | 20 | $700 | |
| 2 | Paylozyan | $6000 | $1300 | 6 7 | 13 | $1300 | |
| 3 | Costa | $7350 | $1000 | 9 3 3 | 15 | $1000 | |
| 4 | Ursomarzo | $0 | $ | $ | |||
| 5 | Kappel | $5050 | $600 + $600 | 5 A Dbl 2 | 18 | $1200 | |
| 6 | ==> | Omkian | $6900 | $300 | J 5 | 15 | $300 |
| 7 | Van Tram | $7100 | $1500 | 3 4 K | 17 | $1500 | |
| Dealer | Upcard 3 | 3 J 9 | Bust | ||||
| Hand 20 | |||||||
| 1 | Campoli | $6200 | $1300 + $1300 | 6 4 Dbl 3 | 13 | $2600 | |
| 2 | Paylozyan | $7300 | $100 | 3 Q | 13 | $100 | |
| 3 | Costa | $8350 | $1000 + $1000 | A 8 Dbl 6 | 15 | $2000 | |
| 4 | Ursomarzo | $0 | $ | $ | |||
| 5 | Kappel | $6250 | $1200 | K A | BJ | $1800 | |
| 6 | Omkian | $7200 | $1500 | 5 J | 15 | $1500 | |
| 7 | ==> | Van Tram | $8600 | $1200 | K 9 | 19 | $1200 |
| Dealer | Upcard 5 | 5 K 9 | Bust | ||||
| Hand 21 | |||||||
| 1 | ==> | Campoli | $8800 | $1500 + $1500 | 2 8 Dbl 3 | 13 | $-3000 |
| 2 | Paylozyan | $7400 | $2500 | 4 9 J | Bust | $-2500 | |
| 3 | Costa | $10350 | $2500 + $2500 | K 2 Dbl 9 | 21 | $5000 | |
| 4 | Ursomarzo | $0 | $ | $ | |||
| 5 | Kappel | $8050 | $2000 + $2000 | 7 4 Dbl T | 21 | $4000 | |
| 6 | Omkian | $8700 | $2500 + $2500 | K 6 / J J | 16/20 | $0 | |
| 7 | Van Tram | $9800 | $2500 | 2 3 9 8 | Bust | $-2500 | |
| Dealer | Upcard 6 | 6 A | 17 | ||||
| Final Standings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Final Bankroll | Place | Prize Money |
| Vince Costa | $15,350 | 1st | $100,000 CDN |
| Gemma Kappel | $12,050 | 2nd | $25,000 CDN |
| Greg Omkian | $8700 | 3rd | $10,000 CDN |
| Nglm Van Tram | $7300 | 4th | $7,500 CDN |
| Sandio Campoli | $5800 | 5th | $5,000 CDN |
| Set Paylozyan | $4900 | 6th | $1,500 CDN |
| Carman Ursomarzo | $0 | 7th | $1,000 CDN |
Note that the dealer busted on hands 17 to 20, and made only a 17 on the final hand. Costa was in last place going into hand 17, but turned his $4450 into more than $15,000 to win the event. A more remarkable feat is the fact that he won this very same event a year earlier. Back to back $100K wins!
Other notes: Ursomarzo went out on hand 16. Tram's play on hand 18 is not a typo. He hit 18.