Sunday, September 15, 2013

Championship: End of day tweets

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Blinds 250/500 Ante 50

A slew of updates from Twitterland at the end of play today:


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Championship: Done for the day

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Blinds 250/500 Ante 50

We have finished play for the day. The tournament clock shows 189 players remaining out of the original 376 entrants meaning we lost almost exactly half of the field - there are probably a few less than that but that's an approximate number.

Cong Pham (Naples, FL) is the end of day chip leader with 191,500 and receives a $5,000 bonus. Besnik Ziba (Albania) is 2nd in chips with 183,375 and receives a $3,500 bonus. Just missing out on the bonuses in 3rd place is Thomas Campbell with 181,025. Tayfun Akbasli rounds out the top four, also just missing, with 180,075. Those choosing to return will resume play on Tuesday at noon. Day 1B will get underway tomorrow at 11 a.m.


Cong Pham (Naples, FL) - End of Day 1A Chip Leader - 191,500


Besnik Ziba (Albania) - Day 1A 2nd in chips - 183,375


 Thomas Campbell (Arlington, TX) - Day 1A 3rd in chips - 181,025


Tayfun Akbasli - Day 1A 4th in chips - 180,075
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Championship: I clicked auto muck

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Blinds 250/500 Ante 50

There are 207 players remaining and there is some action going on... at one table, three players got it all in on a 9♣5♦4♣ flop. The hands were pocket 9's for a flopped set, pocket 10's for an overpair, and T♣8♣ for a flush draw. The turn was the Q♦ adding a gutshot straight draw to the flush draw. The river was a meaningless 2♦ and the player with the set of 9's won the pot and eliminated the other two players.

Cherish Andrews has everyone scared at her table. Well maybe not everyone but she at least has Blake Slade intimidated. The two were in a hand on the river and Slade was first to act. He looked at Andrews and said "you scare me, here" and mucked his hand without even giving Andrews the opportunity to act. Slade said "her facial expression is so menacing I clicked auto muck." Andrews is doing well today and is up to 130K.

 Blake Slade (L) auto mucking to Cherish Andrews (R)

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Championship: Aces vs Kings

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Blinds 200/400 Ante 50




One of the best feelings in poker is getting pocket aces when someone has a big hand and getting paid for it. One of the worst feelings is getting pocket kings when someone has pocket aces. Especially in a big buy-in tournament. That recently happened at a table as two players got it all pre-flop for an effective 65,150 (163 big blinds). Peter Vitantonio from Cleveland, Ohio was the player holding aces. Peter flopped a set of aces. His opponent picked up the nut flush draw on the turn to give him some life but the river would give him a set of kings, which was no good. Peter was able to breathe a sigh or relief and is above 130K now and is among the chip leaders.


Peter Vitantonio (Cleveland, OH) after winning with aces against kings

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Championship: Back from dinner break

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Blinds 200/400 Ante 50

Vanessa Selbst doesn't usually need much help but she gets it sometimes. On a flop of 4-4-3 with 5 players seeing the flop and 2450 in the pot, she led out for 900 from the big blind and was raised to 2300 by one opponent. Everyone else folded and Selbst made the call. The turn was another 4, putting three of them out there. Selbst checked, as did her opponent. The river was a king and they both checked again. Selbst turned over 7-3 offsuit. She had gotten lucky with the third four on the turn as her opponent had flopped a full house with pocket 3's. They chopped the pot.

Johnson Nguyen is playing today and is sitting at 73K. Johnson recently won Event 8 and $111,360 and said his goal is to get up to 150K by the end of the day. 376 was the final number of registrations for today, two more than last year. This in thanks in no small part to Phil Laak who is on at least bullet number three (could be more).



Johnson Nguyen playing in the Championship Event



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Championship: Dinner Break Tweets

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)




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Championship: Tweet Counts

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Day 1A players posting their chips counts via Twitter include:

Cherish Andrews 100k
Tyler Patterson 70k
Cliff Josephy 67k
Justin Zaki 66k
Jarod Ludemann 58k
Jamie Kerstetter 56k
Joe McKeehen 45k
Lee Childs 43k
Joe Verrecchia 43k
Mike Gagliano 40k
Eric Rappaport 40k
John Zentner 26k
Stephanie Hubbard 21k
Jack Schanbacher 21k
Esther Taylor-Brady 15k
Matt Affleck 15k
Rich Rodrigo 14k
Kevin Saul 13k
Todd Terry 11k
Peter Ippolito 8k

Busted

Edward Pham
Zo Karim
Amanda Musumeci
Loni Harwood
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Championship: Dinner Break, Registration Open Until 8:18 pm

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

The 75 minute dinner break continues with registration open until play resumes at 8:18 pm.

At least one player is considering forfeiting his stack so he can have a fresh 30k after dinner (with another $3,500 buy-in of course).

Once registration close, the next wave of entrants arrive 11 am Monday at the Event Center for Day 1B.
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Championship: Last Hand Before Dinner

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 6: Blinds 150/300/50 ante

After his opponent jammed on the turn, Mike Dentale (Brooklyn, NY) tanked for several minutes into the dinner break.

The board read K J 5 8 with three spades.  The pot was over 30k and it was going to cost Mike about 14k to call.

Mike eventually made the call.  His opponent showed KQ of diamonds for top pair.  Mike showed KJ  offsuit (no spade) for top two pair.

River was NOT a Queen and Mike took the pot, sending his opponent to the rail.

The remaining players are on dinner break until about 8:20 pm.
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Championship: Big Cheese Melted

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

 Wayne's World, Not Today

Wayne Anastasia (Wall Twp. NJ) loves cheese and loves Borgata poker, so his recent win in the Cabot Cheese tournament was the perfect storm.

"You don't get a body like this without eating cheese," quips Anastasia while playing Day 1A. "I love cheese and I love Cabot cheese."

Anastasia won his seat into the WPT Championship Event as a bonus for winning the 5th annual Put a Bad Beat on Hunger charity poker tournament held in August. The event was sponsored by Vermont's Cabot Creamery Cooperative and the money raised from the event was donated to the Food Bank of Southern New Jersey.

"Its great that they (Cabot) do it," says Anastasia, a retired carpenter, "and it helps such a great cause."

Unfortunately Anastasia's Championship Event doesn't last long as he's out before the dinner break.

"I got no cards all day. It was a slow precipitous decline from Jump Street," says the Borgata regular who's always looking forward to the next sit-n-go and his next piece of Cabot cheese.
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Championship: Failla doubles, Laak doesn't

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Blinds 150/300 Ante 50

On a flop of K♥T♠9♠, Will Failla got the last of his 21.5K chips in the middle. His opponent held T♥9♥ for bottom two but Failla held the stone cold nuts with a massive redraw with the Q♠J♠. The turn and river bricked out and Failla doubled up to approximately 45K. "I thought a ten or nine was coming," said Failla. Tablemate Eric Baldwin chimed in, "I was thinking running straight flush hearts." Failla laughed... "That's sadistic dude."

While roaming the tournament area, I had seen Phil Laak rebuy into the tournament. Five minutes later, he was leaving the tournament area. I walked over to his table and some players at the table said that he bluffed his stack off with king high. Laak will probably be back tomorrow, no doubt.

Players are about to go on a 75 minute dinner break in five minutes. There are 371 paid registrations thus far, just three from what we had on Day 1A last year. We'll resume coverage when they return.
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Championship: Ins and Outs

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 6: Blinds 150/300/50 ante.

Some players are taking advantage of the opportunity to re-enter following early misfortune.

Alex Queen & Curt Kohlberg

Alex Queen and Curt Kohlberg were a couple of players that were seen returning with fresh 30k stacks.

Pierre Deissler has busted out and plans to take the rest of the day off, then play again tomorrow.

Ilya E tweeted that he's busted out and 'running like a dog'.  Not sure if he plans to re-enter.

Ditto for Joe Kuether.
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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
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Event 19 1st Place - Salsberg

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

Matt Salsberg (Studio City, CA) 
$47,360

Three handed play comes to an abrupt end and it's Matt Salsberg left holding the trophy, just ahead of Jesse Yaginuma and Jay Nair.

"It's great," says Salsberg who picks up $47,360 for the win, "I won a couple of flips and really had to grind a short stack."

Salsberg is the reigning WPT Player of the Year and anxious to jump into Day 1A of the Championship Event.  "I hope I'm not too burned out from all the poker I've played the last few days," he adds while heading to the cage before hitting the registration desk.

In addition to the trophy and the cash, Salsberg gets a framed winner's photo from IMPDI.
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Event 19: 2nd Place - Yaginuma

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

 Jesse Yaginuma (Silver Spring, MD) 
$25,710

Jesse Yaginuma finishes runner-up, behind Matt Salsberg and just ahead of Jay Nair.

"It's always great to go deep in a tournament," says the two-time Borgata trophy holder. "I haven't been back to Borgata for a few years, so it's great to be back and do well."

Yaginuma won his first title in the 2009 Borgata Poker Open Heads Up tournament, followed by his second trophy in the $1K event of the 2011 Spring Open.

Yaginuma moved to California two years ago and continues to play poker full time. He's jumping into Day 1A of the Championship Event and says, "hopefully this (2nd place) will translate into the Main"
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Event 19: 3rd Place - Nair

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

Jay Nair (Redmond, WA)
$16,238

It's a near win for Jay Nair, who finishes third just behind Jesse Yaginuma and winner Matt Salsberg.

"It feels amazing," says Nair who earns $16,238. "I'm very grateful for all the support from my family."

Nair highlights his wife Athira and mom Omana as his two biggest fans.

This is Nair's 7th Borgata cash and 4th final table, this his highest finish. He's now playing in a satellite qualifier and says if he doesn't win his seat tonight, he'll be in the Day 1B field one way or another.
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Championship: Unfamiliar Faces

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 5: Blinds 100/200/25 ante.

This event and its $3 Million Guarantee has brought out some players were rarely see here at Borgata.

 Phil Laak & Prahlad Friedman

Phil Laak and Prahlad Friedman arrived together, but aren't seated together.  These West Coast guys have come a long way to take a shot at this monster prize pool.

Phil Laak has more than $3 million in lifetime tournament earnings and a WSOP-Europe bracelet.  Prahlad has more than $2.4 million in lifetime tournament earnings and one WSOP bracelet.  They both have one WPT title, also.


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Event 19: 4th Place - Melkersen

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

Blinds 8k/16k/2k


Mike Melkersen (New Market, VA) 
$12,178

Mike Melkersen and Matt Salsberg see a flop of K-10-J.

Melkersen checks, Salsberg bets 100k, Melkersen moves all in and Salsberg snap calls.

Melkersen: K 10 (two pairs)
Salsberg: JJ (set)

A Queen on the turn gives Melkersen chop outs, but the river's a brick and Salsberg wins the hand.

"Puke," says Melkersen who finishes in 4th place for $12,178.

Earlier in the level Melkersen shipped a double-up to Salsberg when his AK didn't improve against pocket 9s.  "That's the secret to winning a WPT Championship," he laughs, "you have to win flips. But, seriously, he's a really good player."

Final 3 Chip Counts

Jesse Yaginuma 855k
Matt Salsberg 560k
Jay Nair 441k
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Borgata Poker Open Leaderboard Update (9/15)

Borgata Poker Open Leaderboard
By participating in any Borgata Poker Open event (September 3-20, 2013), players earn points based upon the Borgata Poker Tournament Leaderboard Formula.

Below are the top scores for the 2013 Borgata Poker Open Leaderboard*
(Final Results: main events: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20
  secondary events: 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)

498.250:  ILYA VASSERMAN
463.750:  ARTUR ZAIKANSKY
407.025:  KHALED ALWAN
405.640:  STEPHEN MOY
405.550:  ANDREW JEFFREY
393.875:  EMANUEL FAILLA
391.175:  TIMOTHY LITTLE
382.575:  THOMAS HOGLUND
369.400:  KEVIN SAUL
368.825:  JASON ROSENBERG
362.675:  ERIC RAPPAPORT
362.275:  BRIAN ODONOGHUE
357.113:  JOSEPH GRODOWSKI
353.650:  JOSEPH PALMA
353.088:  JOHN HOLLEY
350.000:  MAKSIM ROZENFELD

Read more »
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Event 19: Final Four

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

On Break, Next Blinds: 8k/16k/2k ante

(l-r) Saltsberg, Yaginuma, Nair & Melkersen

A big hand before the break has three players seeing a flop after Jesse Yaginuma raises the button with Jay Nair and Mike Melkersen calling from the blinds.

 All three players check the flop of 8♠ 3♥ 4♥ and see the A♠ on the turn.

 Nair and Melkersen both check, Yaginuma bets 39k, Nair makes it 100k, Melkersen folds and Yaginuma calls.

River: 2♠

 Nair bets 160k (360k behind), Yaginuma moves all in and Nair folds.

The hand helps Yaginuma jump up to the 1 million chip mark as he has more than half the chips in play.

Chip Counts

Jesse Yaginuma 1 million
Mike Melkersen 310k
Jay Nair 285k
Matt Salsberg 210k
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Championship: Pham Triples

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 5: Blinds 100/200/25 ante.

Cong Pham

On a flop of 8 8 5, three players get all their chips in the middle.

Seat 1 was the shortest stack and he had Q8 for trip 8s.

Cong Pham (Naples, FL) had pocket 5 for the full boat, and was covered by seat 10.

Seat 10 had K8 for trips with a bigger kicker.

The last two fell 7 4 and changed nothing.  Cong Pham has seat 1 covered slightly, so he tripled up to ~140k.  Seat 1 was busted in the process.
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Championship: Time To Check The Tweets

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 5: Blinds 100/200/25 ante.

 Cliff Josephy busted out before the break (again) so he's firing bullet #3, according to Twitter:


Players are back from break, so lets check the chip chirps:

 Tony Sinishtaj - 128k
Ryan @OlyDaJew - 79k
Dan Buzgon - 50k 
James Campbell - 50k
John Holley - 44k
Lee Childs - 41k
Eric Rappaport - 40k
Ari Engel - 38.5k
Mike Gagliano - 34k
John Zentner - 34k
Jamie Kerstetter - 31k
>>>> Starting Stack - 30k
Joe Verrecchia - 29.1k
Pierre Deissler - 28k
Esther Taylor-Brady - 25k
Joe McKeehen - 25,428
Jonathan Little - 23k
Todd Terry - 9,575
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Championship: Early Chip Leader

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

End of Level 4

Players are taking their second break of the day.


Besnik Ziba

Besnik Ziba has jumped into an early chip lead with about 138k.  He's originally from Albania, but lives in New York City now.

He's sharing felt with Loni Harwood, Joe Gibbons, Len Vizirov, and Miguel Borrero.
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Event 19: Melkersen Doubles Through Yaginuma

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

Blinds 6k/12k/2k ante

Mike Melkersen and Jesse Yaginuma get into a preflop bidding war and when the chips are all in it's Melkersen who's at risk.

Melkersen: KK
Yaginuma: QQ

Melkersen gets the 352k double-up, while the cooler drops Yaginuma to 225k.
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Event 19: 5th Place - Gagliano

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

Blinds 5k/10k/1k ante

Mike Gagliano (Rockaway, NJ)
$9,472

After getting a double-up through Jesse Yaginuma (J8 vs AK, Jack on the river), Mike Gagliano is all in again vs Yaginuma.  This time Gagliano doesn't connect, as his K 10 is dominated by KQ and he loses his last 100k.

Gagliano finishes in 5th place for $9,472.
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Championship: Day 1A Photo Slideshow

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 4: Blinds 100/200

Lots of familiar faces in the field today and too many to put in the blog, so here's a slideshow.

May not work on mobile devices.
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Event 19: 6th Place - Lussier

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

Blinds 5k/20k/1k ante

 Roger Lussier (East Islip, NY) 
$8,119

Roger Lussier has just enough time to enjoy his sandwich after returning from break to double-up through Matt Salsberg, but the chips aren't very filling. 

A few hands later, he's all in with AQ against the pocket 7s of chip leader Mike Melkersen for 130k. There's no help on the board and Melkersen jumps up to 900k.

Lussier earns $8,119 for finish in 6th place.
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Championship: Blinds Up, Players In

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 4: Blinds 100/200

Thirty-two tables are up and running with plenty of room for more.  The player count is already north of 280 and climbing with re-entry and late registration available for three more levels. 

Some late arrivals:

Dan Wach
Dan Buzgon
Ray Quartomy
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Event 19: Break Time Chip Counts

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

Blinds 5k/10k/1k ante

Mike Melkersen (New Market, VA) 804k
Jesse Yaginuma (Silver Spring, MD) 572k
Jay Nair (Redmond, WA) 173k
Matt Salsberg (Studio City, CA) 120k
Mike Gagliano (Rockaway, NJ) 117k
Roger Lussier (East Islip, NY) 68k
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Event 19: 7th Place - Iraj

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

Blinds 4k/8k/1k ante

 John Iraj (Garden City, NY)
$6,766

Just before the break John Iraj moves all in for 60k and chip leader Mike Melkersen makes the call.

Iraj: K 10
Melkersen: 9 7

Flop: A 10 7 (Iraj still leads)

Turn: A (no change)

River: 7

Melkersen hits trip 7s, which turns out to be a one outer as Matt Salsberg says he folded K 7. Melkersen is up to 800k and says, "I was getting four to one on my money, I had to call. Really it was three to one, but four sounds better."

John Iraj earns $6,766 for his 7th place finish.
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Event 19: Salsberg Doubles

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

Level 19:  Blinds 4k/8k/1k ante 

Matt Salsberg (button) got all-in holding pocket Tens.

Mike Gagliano looked him up with KQ suited.

The board fell J 3 2 8 3 and changed nothing.

Matt doubled up to ~205k, leaving Mike with ~160k.
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Event 19: 8th Place - Hoglund

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

Level 19:  Blinds 4k/8k/1k ante  

 Thomas Hoglund (New Bedford, MA)
$5,413

Thomas Hoglund got all-in holding A7 suited against the AJ of Jesse Yaginuma.

The better Ace held up and Jesse took the pot.

Thomas took 8th place and $5,413.
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Championship: Blinds Up, Bax Down

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 3: Blinds 75/150

Players are back from break and settling in for two more levels.

Cliff Josephy

Cliff 'JohnnyBax' Josephy busted on the last hand of level 2 and is re-entering, so he'll be getting a new table and seat assignment.

Keep those Tweets coming!  #BPO

Here are some chip chirps from the break:

Tyler Patterson - 58k
Kevin Saul - 40k
Ryan @OlyDaJew - 44k
John Holley - 34k
John Zentner - 30k
>>>>>> Starting Stack - 30k
Jonathan Little - 29k
Lee Childs - 23k
Amanda Musumeci - 18k
Todd Terry - 16,600
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Championship: First Break

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

End of level 2 and players are taking their first break of the day.

Some players didn't make it this far.  Kara Scott, ESPN sideline reporter for the WSOP, was making her BPO debut and tweeted about it:

Apparently she's not going to re-enter today, but will play again tomorrow.
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Event 19: 9th Place - Aldridge

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

Level 18:  Blinds 3k/6k/500 ante 

 Ken 'Teach' Aldridge (Pleasant Garden, NC)
$4,059

Ken Aldridge was on the button and got all-in holding pocket 2s.

Thomas Hoglund was in the big blind and looked him up with AT.

The board gave Thomas trip Tens and the pot.

Ken busted out in 9th place, earning $4,059.
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Event 19: 10th Place - Malm

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

Level 17:  Blinds 2,500/5,000/500 ante

Michael Malm (Missisauga, Canada)
$0

Michael Malm got all-in against Jesse Yaginuma (again).  This time Jesse's pocket Kings had Michael's pocket Tens crushed.

No help from the board and Michael became this event's bubble-boy, earning $0.
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Event 19: Malm Doubles

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

Level 17:  Blinds 2,500/5,000/500 ante

Michael Malm (Missisauga, Canada) got his short stack in early without getting called.

On the next hand, he was all-in again and got looked up by Jesse Yaginuma.

Michael: 87 suited
Jesse: AQ

The board ran dry until the river when a 7 fell, giving Michael a pair and the double-up.
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Event 19: Day Two Underway

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

Level 17:  Blinds 2,500/5,000/500 ante

Day Two is underway.

Ten players remain -- only nine get paid, so they're still on the bubble.

Here's what's at stake:

PAYOUTS:
1:        $47,360
2:        $25,710
3:        $16,238
4:        $12,178
5:        $9,472
6:        $8,119
7:         $6,766
8:         $5,413
9:         $4,059
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Championship: One Year Ago

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)
$3 MILLION GUARANTEED

Level 1: Blinds 25/50

Ben Hamett - Defending Champion

At last year's WPT / BPO Championship, Ben Hamnett (Pittsburgh, PA) walked away with $818,847 after outlasting the field of 1,181 entrants.

He's back today to begin his title defense. 
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Championship: Patterson Doubles Early

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)

 Tyler Patterson

In one of the first hands dealt, Tyler Patterson (Everett, WA) doubled up and busted his opponent.

On a flop of Q 7 2, they got all the chips in the middle.

Tyler had pocket 7s and had flopped a set to crack his opponent's pocket Kings.

Tyler's up to ~60k and no word on whether or not his opponent plans to re-enter.

Tyler made the final table of this event last year, finishing 3rd for $298,950.
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Championship: Day 1A Underway

$3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)
$3 MILLION GUARANTEED

Level 1: Blinds 25/50

Today kicks off the WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship event.  Day 1A will is the first of two starting days, so we'll do this all over again tomorrow.

Players began with 30,000 chips and levels are 75 minutes long (Day 2 they go to 90 minute levels).

Late registration and re-entry are available through level six.

They'll play six levels, take a dinner break, then return for two more levels before bagging for the night.

The order to "Shuffle Up & Deal!" has been given.
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Event 19 - Day 2 Seat Assignments & Chip Counts

Borgata Poker Open
Event 19: $1500 + $150 No Limit Hold'em
September 14-15, 2013

Entries:  93
Total Buy-In:  $139,500

Players Remaining:  10
Average Chip Stack:  186,000

START OF DAY 2 SEAT ASSIGNMENTS & CHIP COUNTS:
T1 | S1 -  MATTHEW SALSBERG:  99,000
T1 | S2 -  MICHAEL GAGLIANO:  335,000
T1 | S3 -  JESSE YAGINUMA:  338,500
T1 | S4 -  KENNETH ALDRIDGE:  114,500
T1 | S5 -  JAYAKRISHNAN NAIR:  435,500
T1 | S6 -  MICHAEL MALM:  34,500
T1 | S7 -  THOMAS HOGLUND:  102,500
T1 | S8 -  MICHAEL MELKERSEN:  135,000
T1 | S9 -  ROGER LUSSIER:  138,500
T1 | S10 -  JOHN IRAJ:  130,500
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Event 20 Recap

2013 Borgata Poker Open $350 Buy-In + $50 Entry No Limit Hold'Em (Re-Entry)
Entrants: 338
Prize pool: $114,751



A 34 year old mortgage banker from Newtown, Pennsylvania, Ed Walsh woke up Saturday probably thinking Event 20 of the Borgata Poker Open would be a good warm-up for the WPT Championship Event that started the following day. Little did he know that 16 hours later he would be thrust into the limelight in a heads up battle with noted Hollywood actor and poker enthusiast James Woods. Overcoming a significant chip disadvantage, Walsh was able to turn a key kings against queens hand into a tournament win. A slightly disappointed Woods gave Walsh a hug and congratulated him on the victory. For defeating a field of 338 participants, Walsh took home a $30,988 first place prize, a stunning Borgata Poker Open trophy and a unique, custom framed photograph provided by IMPDI.


Ed Walsh (L), Winner Event #20, and James Woods (R), Runner Up Event #20


When the final ten started, our seating assignments and chip counts were as follows:

Seat One: Satish Gorrela, Sterling, VA 530K
Seat Two: Divakar Marella, McLean, VA 225K
Seat Three: Jeffrey Cole, Manahawkin, NJ 225K
Seat Four: Ed Walsh, Newtown, PA 1.3 million
Seat Five: Warren Wiggins, Randallstown, MD 875K
Seat Six: James Woods, Los Angeles, CA 1.125 million
Seat Seven: Chris Cornell, Clarksville, TN 865K
Seat Eight: Ken Severinsen, Long Island, NY 560K
Seat Nine: Frank Ingardia, Monroe Township, NJ 345K
Seat Ten: Jaroslaw Tumidajski, Yonkers, NY 445K 


 Event 20 Final Table



 With James Woods a part of the final table, there was some entertainment and laughs for all. Some of the more notable moments:

Question directed to Woods: "You ever win a tournament?"
Woods response: "That's all I ever f***ing do dude."

Woods after he moved all in against an opponent to Eric Harkins, IMPDI photographer: "Get a picture of us together, because he's going out."

One table over from the final table, a group of energetic and loud poker professionals led by Alex Rocha, are asked by Woods if they can move a table or two over. "I don' mean to be a douche," Woods says. Rocha laughs and says "you play the part well" which elicits a laugh from Woods and the rest of the table.

The players are discussing the $30,988 first place prize and to reiterate a point that the money isn't an issue to him Woods says "If I go to the bathroom on a movie set, I make $30,000." What Woods wanted, and it was obvious... was the trophy.

The key hand of the tournament was when it was heads up between Woods and eventual winner Ed Walsh. With the blinds at 25K/50K, Woods raised to 150K and was re-raised to 250K by Walsh which Woods called. The flop came J♥3♣2♦ and Ed bed 325K. Woods raised to 925K and Walsh didn't wast much time before announcing that he was all in. James was just as quick to call, turning over pocket queens. Walsh, however, had him beaten with pocket kings. "Ohhhh," Woods said. "So unlucky." The turn and river are 8♦8♠ and Ed took over the chip lead by a 4 million to 2.6 million advantage.
After the hand, a shocked Woods said "wow, that was a cooler." Walsh responded by saying "now we have a game. You want that trophy on your resume don't you?" Woods nodded... "it'd be nice." Walsh agrees "me too. You're a movie star, I'm just Joe Shmoe." The two would battle it out for a few more hands and in the end it would be Walsh who would get the best of Woods to win the event.

The order of finish and payouts were as follows:

1st: Ed Walsh $30,988
2nd: James Woods $17,214
3rd: Chris Cornell $10,706
4th: Satish Gorrela $8,606
5th: Jaroslaw Tumidajski $6,770
6th: Frank Ingardia $5,565
7th: Ken Severinsen $4,475
8th: Warren Wiggins $3,385
9th: Jeffrey Cole $2,295
10th: Divikar Marella $1,492

After the win, an ecstatic Walsh talked about his experience playing with Woods. "It was amazing. One of the coolest things ever. It's something I'll always be able to share with my kids and grandkids." Walsh, who has significant online tournament experience including a 72K score stated that this was his biggest live win. Ed only has a few hours before he will be getting up to take part in the Championship Event that gets underway at 11 a.m. At least he'll sleep well knowing that no matter what, he's in the black.


 Ed Walsh (Newtown, PA) - Winner, Event #20 - $30,988

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Event 20 - 1st place Walsh

$350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Ed Walsh faced two significant disadvantages when he started heads up play. One, he was down by an over two to one margin. Two, he was going up against notable Hollywood actor James Woods and was not the fan favorite so to speak. Despite those obstacles, Walsh played brilliantly heads up to surge past him and eventually take the title. The key hand was when he doubled up with pocket kings when Woods held queens. The final hand saw Walsh pick up another big hand in pocket queens and he was able to best the K-3 that Woods held to win the title.

Walsh, a 34 year old mortgage banker, said that it "was amazing, one of the coolest things ever" to play with Woods and that it is something he'll be able to share with his kids and grandkids. Walsh has scored a 72K win online previously but this is his biggest live win. He's planning on playing the Championship Event and was looking towards the exit so he could get some sleep before the 11 a.m. start. At least he's freerolling now!

Congratulations on your victory Ed!

 Ed Walsh (Newtown, PA) - $30,988

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Event 20 - 2nd place Woods

$350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Blinds 25K/50K Ante 5K

With a 2.5 to 1 chip lead starting heads up play, James Woods opened the action for 150K. Ed Walsh made a minimum re-raise to 250K and Woods called. The flop came J♥3♣2♦ and Ed leads out for 325K. Woods raises to 925K and Walsh doesn't waste much time before he announces that he is all in. Woods makes a quick call and turns over pocket queens. Walsh, however, has him beaten by a pip with pocket kings. "Ohhhh," Woods said. "So unlucky." The turn and river are 8♦8♠ and Ed took over the chip lead by a 4 million to 2.6 million advantage.

Woods lost another 800K to Walsh when Woods topped top pair but ended up paying off Walsh and his flopped top two pair. After limp re-raising Walsh and facing an all in re-raise Woods decides to try and get lucky with K-3. Unfortunately for him, he is up against queens and while he is able to hit a 3 on the flop, nothing else would arrive to keep him from being felted. An admirable performance from the veteran Hollywood actor who was friendly with all and took the time to pose for numerous photos with the people he played with.


James Woods (Los Angeles, CA) - $17,214
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Sunday, September 15

TODAY'S EVENTS (EVENT CENTER)

11AM: Event 21A - $3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)
$3 MILLION GUARANTEED
  • Players start with 30,000 in tournament chips 
  • Day 1 Levels: will last 75 minutes each
    Day 2+ Levels:  will last 90 minutes each
  • Players that bust within the first 6 Levels may Re-Enter (unlimited re-entries) 
  • 5-Day event with two starting days
  • $5,000 will be awarded to the chipleader at the end of Day 1A and Day 1B;
    $3,500 will be awarded to the player finishing second behind the chipleader at the end of Day 1A and Day 1B

 12PM: Event 47 - $350 + $50 Championship Qualifier No Limit Hold'em
  • Players start with 12,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels will last 25 minutes each
  • Approximately 1 in 10 will win entry into WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship (Sep 15-20, 2013) 
  • 1-Day event
4 PM: Event 48 - $700 + $50 Championship Qualifier No Limit Hold'em
  • Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-10:  will last 30 minutes each | Levels 11+:  will last 40 minutes each
  • Approximately 1 in 5 will win entry into WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship (Sep 15-20, 2013) 
  • 1-Day event

8 PM: Event 49 - $500 + $50 Championship Qualifier No Limit Hold'em
  • Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-10:  will last 15 minutes each | Levels 11+: will last 30 minutes each
  • Approximately 1 in 7 will win entry into WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship (Sep 15-20, 2013) 
  • 1-Day event
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    Event 20 - 3rd place Cornell

    $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)


    Chris Cornell (Clarksville, TN) - $10,706
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    Event 20 - 4th place Gorrela

    $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)


    Satish Gorrela (Sterling, VA) - $8,606
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    Event 20 - 5th place Tumidajski

    $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)



    Jaroslaw Tumidajski (Yonkers, NY) - $6,770
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    Event 20 - 6th place Ingardia

    $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)


    Frank Ingardia (Monroe Township, NJ) - $5,565
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    Event 20 - 7th place Severinsen

    $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)


    Ken Severinsen ((Long Island, NY) - $4,475
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    Event 20 - 8th place Wiggins

    $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)


    Warren Wiggins (Randallstown, MD) - $3,385


    Warren Wiggins (L) and James Woods (R)
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    Event 19 - Top three photos

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

    Here are photos of the top three in chips heading into day two:





     Jay Nair (Redmond, WA), Chip Leader - 435,500


    Jesse Yaginuma (Los Angeles, CA), 2nd in chips - 338,500




    Michael Gagliano (Glen Gardner, NJ), 3rd in chips - 335,000
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    Event 20 - 9th place Cole

    $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

    Blinds 20K/40K Ante 4K

    With only three big blinds in his stack, Jeffrey Cole moved all in first to act with K-2 and was called by Ken Severinsen with A♥6♥. The board provided no help to Cole and he is our 9th place finisher. In the meantime, James Woods has assumed the chip lead with over 1.8 million in chips.


    Jeffrey Cole (Manahawkin, NJ) - $2,295
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