The Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, has done something that has only been done a few times in poker history. In the $1,600 Parx Big Stax XXIV 1500 tournament, it awarded first-place titles to not one, but two players, resulting in both of them being crowned as champions of the event.
Anthony Garofalo and Greg Weber found themselves going heads-up with almost identical chip stacks in the tournament before they made a deal to chop the pot. The agreement was accepted by the tournament officials; however, Weber will be the recorded winner on the books since he took $104,000 to Garofalo’s $97,000. The victory is the second for Weber in the past six month, having taken second place and $471,059 in the WPT Borgata Poker Open $3,500 Main Event last September.
The 10-man final table saw some impressive action, starting with an all-in preflop by Greg Himmelbrand. He pushed in with a stack of 11 big blinds holding ace magnets that held up to their name. An A-J combo held by Joe Reddick found its match on the flop, sending Himmelbrand to the rail with $8,316.
Scott Blumstein, who took down the 2017 WSOP Main Event, was then sent packing in ninth place. His 20 big-blind push with A-4 didn’t stand a chance against Christian Harder’s pocket rockets, and Blumstein was forced to step away from the table. For his efforts, Blumstein took home a little more than $10,000.
Weber continued his winning streak, first eliminating Aaron Overton in eighth place for $12,473 before taking out Justin Liberto in seventh. The sixth-place finisher, Jasone Deane, also fell to the champ, losing with a suited K-Q to Weber’s A-K. Deane’s consolation prize was a little over $21,000.
After Reddick and Harder were eliminated, Weber found himself against Garofalo and Joe Palma. Palma turned the tables somewhat on the eventual leader, before Weber found his game again and took back the lead. Weber’s pocket aces held up against Palma’s pocket Jacks, sending Palma to the sidelines with $51,043.
The recorded second-place win was the largest for Garofalo. Despite a live tournament career that dates back to the first half of 2011, he has racked up only $188,593. Weber, on the other hand, has seen lady luck pay him a few more visits. He first came on the poker scene in February of 2011, and to date has built a bank worth around $993,000.
