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[toc]Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady held its first major poker tournament over Memorial Day Weekend. Based on the results, the Capital Region Classic won’t be the last event the New York casino will host.
Rivers Schenectady slapped an impressive $100,000 guarantee on the tournament. But when all was said and done, 1,095 entries from seven US states and Canada generated a prize pool of $272,655, obliterating the guarantee.
According to a press release from Rivers, Robert Saladin defeated Schenectady native Gerald Edwards to win the trophy and the lion’s share of the prize money — $46,034.
Don’t feel too bad for Edwards; he took home $32,258 for his runner-up showing.
#WINNER💰: We want to give a shout-out to Rob Saladin; the last man standing in the biggest poker tournament EVER at #RiversCasino. pic.twitter.com/HPd9uUPCen
— Rivers Casino & Resort (@RiversCasino_NY) May 29, 2017
“We had a fantastic turnout for the Capital Region Classic, and we heard a lot of positive feedback from players who have been looking for big poker tournaments in this area for years,” said Rivers Casino & Resort General Manager Mary Cheeks. “We’re eager to keep delivering for those players, and look forward to announcing our next big event.”
Rivers may be outgrowing poker room already
The success of the tournament is quite astounding. I doubt even the most optimistic Rivers staffers expected to nearly triple the guarantee.
Schenectady isn’t exactly a tourist destination. Plus, considering the youth of the casino — Rivers Schenectady opened in February — and the humble 16-table poker room it possesses, attracting more than 1,000 entries is a testament to all involved.
It also bodes well for future poker events at the property. The poker room may even need expansion. Cheeks alluded to the idea earlier this month when the Capital Region Classic was first announced. In the announcement, Cheeks noted how busy the poker room has been since the property opened.
“Our poker room has seen nonstop action since we opened the doors, and our players know there’s nothing quite like the excitement of a big poker tournament. There are a lot of reasons to make a trip to Rivers, and for poker players, we just added at least 100,000 more.”
With the success of the inaugural poker tournament, an encore event would have a difficult time measuring up. However, the property will soon have a 165-room hotel. This just gives poker players even more reasons to head to Schenectady instead of across state lines to casinos in New Jersey or Pennsylvania casinos.
Rivers Schenectady establishing itself as NY casino destination
Since it opened, the casino and its poker room have received high praise. The Capital Region Classic was no exception.
Awesome job @DGRUBB27 and @RiversPokerNY tournament was great, casino was super nice, look forward to seeing you for the next one. #welldone
— Joe Palma (@theworm67) May 29, 2017
Nice to see @RiversPokerNY killing the 100k guarantee in there 1st major tournament & what an amazing job @shaundeeb has done as ambassador!
— Johnny Rodrigues (@JohnnyRods15) May 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/Mikunbelievable/status/868508094682324992
Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady features a 50,000-square-foot gaming floor with 1,150 slot titles, 67 table games, the 16-table poker room, and as noted, will soon boast a 165-room hotel.
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