Final 23 Chop at Foxwoods World Poker Finals

Card Player has contacted representatives at Foxwoods Resort Casino and here is their official response to the article: “Foxwoods Resort Casino would never allow any chop in a poker tournament without the complete consent of every player involved. Any objection by any player would result in continuation of play.” — Terry Chiaradio, Director of Poker, Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Editor’s Note: After initial reports, Card Player has learned additional information from representatives on-site that contradicts our initial reporting.

When 29 players remained a chop was proposed, and one player disagreed (that player was not Armen Hejinian), so tournament staff continued play. Soon after the one player who disagreed to the chop was eliminated the field went on a 10-minute break. During that break the final 23 players agreed to the chop that was reported in the article, with the top four players receiving $12,000, and the others receiving $10,091.

The tournament staff left this entire process and decision completely up to the players like it would at any tournament. After the decision for the chop was made officials verified that the four large stacks in the tournament were all OK with the decision and they said yes (this included Armen Hejinian). After that the same official went table-by-table through the rest of the field and asked them, “Is there anyone who disagrees with this?” Once again everyone agreed and no one voiced a complaint with the decision.

Card Player understands that chops are a common occurrence in tournament poker and this chop was handled professionally by Foxwoods tournament staff. The quotes below represent one player’s view.

Last Wednesday, with one of the biggest stacks in the room at one of the final three tables in a $400 no-limit hold’em Foxwoods World Poker Finals event, 29-year-old Armen Hejinian started hearing rumblings of the unthinkable — a 33-way chop.

The idea started to spread when the 956-player field was nearing its end and the money jumps were increasing. The notion quickly became a serious proposal, and an effort was made to chop the remaining prize pool evenly among the surviving players.

While the tournament was paused, and players were debating, Hejinian made his thoughts vocal.

“I kept saying no,” said Hejinian, who had about 35 big blinds at the time. “I didn’t think it made sense. Why would someone with about three big blinds get the same amount as someone with a big stack? I was the only one who was saying something. I had a bunch of friends sweating me, and they all thought the chop idea was ludicrous too. They were on my side.”

Even when Hejinian was adamant about his decision to decline the massive chop, the remaining players debated after every elimination and refused to accept the one dissenting vote.

“It was pretty chaotic,” Hejinian said. “The atmosphere was uncomfortable for me because a lot of people got on me as to why I wouldn’t want to chop. They were trying to persuade me into doing so. A couple people even berated me because I felt like it was a bad deal. They kept saying that I only invested $400. They kept asking, ‘You don’t want X amount of dollars? It’s such a good payday.’ But I was thinking differently than them.”

As the knockouts slowly continued, pressure mounted in the room for Hejinian. Eventually the field had dwindled to just 23 players, and the Boston native had heard enough. He finally agreed to a deal.

“I was second in chips when we chopped,” Hejinian said. “I still didn’t want to do it, but they persuaded me. I didn’t appreciate how the tournament staff didn’t protect me. I said no multiple times and the floor knew that. I would have played the whole thing through, but I feel like I was pressured into it ultimately.”

The final agreement awarded Hejinian, along with three other players with top chip counts, $12,000, while everyone else took home slightly more than $10,000. Even though Hejinian wasn’t pleased with how the tournament ended, the $12,000 in prize money was still his largest career score.

“I have been on a pretty massive downswing, and the $12,000 sounded great at the time,” said Hejinian, who plays as high as $5-$10 no-limit hold’em cash games. “I was also considering the fact that if I caught a cold run of cards or got coolered I could have just made a few thousand. I ran pretty lucky to get to where I was, so I eventually figured I shouldn’t be too greedy.”

Although the blinds were high relative to the stack sizes deep in the event, Hejinian’s aggressive style of play was well-suited for the soft field. There is regret looking back at the decision to chop and not play for the almost $70,000 first-place prize, Hejinian said.

“I should have gone around the tables and found out how many short stacks there were,” Hejinian said. “I found out later that there were a few people that were sitting on about a big blind and a half. I had an epiphany during this tournament: The fields are so soft and tournaments are a lot more lucrative than I originally thought. Also, the fact that all these players wanted to chop shows that they are scared. It helps me as an aggressive player in a field like this. In the future I know that I can abuse these players that are just trying to hold on. I want to try and exploit them in the future.”

Here is a look at the final results:

1 John Agelakis — $12,000
2. Armen Hejinian — $12,000
3. Kent Bowley — $12,000
4. Fabrizio Sarra — $12,000
5. Alex Ortizgomez — $10,091
6. Nicole Defrancesco — $10,091
7. Robert Koerber — $10,091
8. Hal Parker — $10,091
9. Alex Loyer — $10,091
10. Brian Hartley — $10,091
11. Brian Grogan — $10,091
12. Michael Nieliwocki — $10,091
13. Frank Giaramida — $10,091
14. David Messenger — $10,091
15. Laryy Coleman — $10,091
16. Gustavo Galvao — $10,091
17. Charles Simmons — $10,091
18. Melvin Lising — $10,091
19. Daniel Plourde — $10,091
20. David Binder — $10,091
21. Rene Charland — $10,091
22. Eddie Torres — $10,091
23. Frank Meaney — $10,091

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