Try requiring PLACE to be between 24 and 80 counters.
For the vertex cuts, try requiring max(abs(VERTX),abs(VERTY)) < 40 inches. This way, the outermost vertex in either the X or Y direction determines whether the event makes it into the final sample. The detector is 60 inches long in X and Y, so this cut requires events to start 20 inches from the edge of the detector.