Eliano Mesquita Wins the $200 NL Hold'em PokerStars Open for $4,782
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The PokerStars Festival New Jersey $200 NL Hold'em PokerStars Open drew 157 players over four starting flights, creating a $30,458 prize pool.
A total of 32 players pushed through to Day 2 Sunday and after seven hours of play, Eliano Mesquita was crowned the event's champion.
A deal was reached three-handed giving Brett Gordon $3,559, Eliano Mesquita $4,082, and Ryan Meese $4,597.
They originally left $1,300 and the trophy to play for, but Meese and Mesquita chopped that heads up, meaning Meese took second for $5,197 total, and Mesquita earned $4,782 and the trophy.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eliano Mesquita | USA | $4,682** |
| 2 | Ryan Meese | USA | $5,197** |
| 3 | Brett Gordon | USA | $3,559* |
| 4 | Tom Pschar | USA | $2,467 |
| 5 | Darren Maglio | USA | $1,830 |
| 6 | Marina Lios | USA | $1,358 |
| 7 | Samuel Warren | USA | $1,008 |
| 8 | Bradley Snider | USA | $748 |
Play moved quickly to the final table and just as fast once they reached it, with Mesquita busting Garrett Smith ninth, flopping a set of fours against Smith's fives and holding on. Bradley Snider took eighth running tens into queens and Samuel Warren was sent home seventh losing a race to Meese. Gordon took care of last-woman-standing Marina Lios sixth with his pair holding against Broadway cards and Darren Maglio took fifth when Mesquita turned suited garbage into a flush to bust him.
Meese soon moved over the one-million-chip mark and sent Tom Pschar home fourth, jammming queen-high from the small blind. Pschar called with jack-high and made a pair, only to see Meese get there, making a one-card straight on the river.
They struck the deal three-handed and it wasn't long before Gordon ripped it in with queens and Mesquita called with king-ten, finding a magical king on the flop to rail Gordon third. Meese doubled into a big lead heads up, but after Mesquita doubled back into it and inched ahead, the deal was struck to give him the win.