Event 19 Recap

$1500 + $150 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Two champions squared off at this final table of the Borgata Poker Open and when the dust settled it's Matt Salsberg (Studio City, CA) who held the trophy.  The WPT Champion finished just ahead of runner-up Jesse Yaginuma (Silver Spring, MD) and Jay Nair (Redmond, WA) to take the title and $47,360 first prize.

"It's great," said Salsberg who is also the reigning WPT Player of the Year, "I won a couple of flips and really had to grind a short stack."

This is Salsberg's first Borgata title which prevented Yaginuma from claiming his third trophy.

"It's always great to go deep in a tournament," said Yaginuma who won titles in 2009 and 2011. "I haven't been back to Borgata for a few years, so it's great to be back and do well."

It was also another deep run for Nair who finished third, his highest Borgata finish of his four final tables.

Ten players returned for Day 2 as play resumed on the bubble, one spot from the money.  Michael Malm (Missisauga, Canada) was the unfortunate bubble boy when his pocket 10s were crushed by Yaginuma's pocket Kings.

The remaining nine players then grabbed their piece of the $139,500 total buy-ins created by the 93 entries.

Recognizable faces that played, but failed to cash included Matt Affleck, Kevin Saul and Lee Childs.  Borgata regulars who made the money included Mike Melkersen (4th place), Mike Gagliano (5th) and Thomas Hoglund (8th).

"I hope I'm not too burned out from all the poker I've played the last few days," said Salsberg who immediately jumped in and played Day 1A of the WPT Borgata Championship Event.

Final Table Results

Entries: 93
Total Buy-In: $139,500

Place-Amount

1st Matt Salsberg (Studio City, CA) $47,360
2nd Jesse Yaginuma (Silver Spring, MD) $25,710
3rd Jay Nair (Redmond, WA) $16,238
4th Mike Melkersen (New Market, VA) $12,178
5th Mike Gagliano (Rockaway, NJ) $9,472
6th Roger Lussier (East Islip, NY) $8,119
7th John Iraj (Garden City, NY) $6,766
8th Thomas Hoglund (New Bedford, MA) $5,413
9th Ken 'Teach' Aldridge (Pleasant Garden, NC) $4,059

FINAL RESULTS