Peter Kaemmerlen Wins 2019 Card Player Poker Tour Seneca Fall Poker Classic Main Event

Peter Kaemmerlen emerged victorious from a field of 247 total entries to win the 2019 Card Player Poker Tour Seneca Fall Poker Classic $1,000 no-limit hold’em main event. The IT manager from Fairport, New York earned $53,419 and his spot on the cover of an upcoming issue of Card Player magazine as the champion of this event. The score was the second largest of Kaemmerlen’s career, behind only his sixth-place showing in the 2012 World Poker Tour Montreal main event for $113,792. This win in the CPPT main event at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Resort brought his lifetime live tournament earnings to $418,848.

In addition to the title and the money, Kaemmerlen also secured 432 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion. This was his first POY-qualified score of 2019, and it was also his first recorded live tournament victory.

Kaemmerlen entered the final day in third chip position among the four remaining players, with play having continued past making the final table late on day 2. When day 3 resumed, Tom Babiarz and Veerab Zakarian were both ahead of Kaemmerlen in the chip counts. Henry Zou began the day as the short stack, and it didn’t take long for him to get all-in. His final hand saw him at risk with pocket sixes up against the ace-king of Tom Babiarz. An ace on the river gave Babiarz the pot, eliminating Zou in fourth place. The Saginaw, Michigan resident earned $17,878 for his strong showing in this event.

Babiarz extended his lead with that knockout, but Kaemmerlen managed to close the gap somewhat by winning a key all-in against Veerab Zakarian, who won the Mid-States Poker Tour main event held at Seneca Niagara Casino & Resort in 2018. Kaemmerlen called a shove from Zakarian holding pocket deuces. He was up against A-3 offsuit for Zakarian. The deuces were the best hand by the end, making trips when another deuce hit the river. Kaemmerlen chipped up to 3,500,000 after the hand, while Zakarian hit the rail in third place ($24,201).

Heads-up play began with Babiarz in the lead with 3,900,000, but Kaemmerlen was quickly able to fight his way to the top of the counts. In the final hand of the tournament, Kaemmerlen flopped two pair and got all of the chips in against the nut flush draw of Babiarz. Kaemmerlen hit a full house on the turn to leave Babiarz drawing dead, securing the pot and the title in the process. Babiarz was awarded $33,576 as the runner-up finisher.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY awarded to the full final table of nine:

The Seneca Gaming and Entertainment poker room is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the first floor of the Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel. The 23-table room features 13 big screen televisions, free WiFi, free drinks, free parking, player rewards and spreads a large selection of hold’em, stud and Omaha games. The gaming floor offers roughly 4,000 slot machines, table games and keno.

The world-class gaming facility opened in 2002 as the result of an $80 million remodel of the Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center into a full-service casino. The property also features fine dining, star-studded entertainment, a health & wellness spa and many other premium guest amenities. For more information, or to book a room, call 1-877-873-6322 or visit the casino homepage.

To learn more about the CPPT and see other upcoming tour stops, visit the tour’s homepage.

Photo and information provided by Seneca’s Legends of the Fall Poker Blog.

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