Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Event 23 Update

$200 + $30  Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Blinds 10K/20K Ante 3K

41 players left, 457K (23 big blinds) average stack, and Lee Childs is still the chip leader with 1.8 million (90 big blinds).

Championship: 4 High Bluff Goes Bad

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

5k/10k/1k ante

Cong Pham, Chip Leader

On a board of 3-A-6-K-6, a crowd forms around the table where Joe Opie (Fair Haven, NJ)  is all in for 794k and Cong Pham (Naples, FL) in the tank.

Pham makes the call and Opie tables 2-4, four-high, sending 1 million chip gift to Pham who has A 9 and the winning two pairs, Aces & 6s.

Cliff Josephy, who's at the table and many of the bystanders are stunned at how it goes down. With many saying, "nice call."

Pham is now the chip leader with 2.4 million, while Opie is out in 48th place, earning $10,988.

47 players remain with an average stack of 759k (76 bb) as the field heads to break.

Borgata Poker Open Leaderboard Update (9/18)

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, 19, 20, 22
  secondary events: 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)

551.650:  ILYA VASSERMAN
529.750:  ARTUR ZAIKANSKY
465.400:  KEVIN SAUL
444.813:  MICHAEL HOLM
434.835:  THOMAS HOGLUND
434.025:  KHALED ALWAN
432.275:  EMANUEL FAILLA
427.440:  STEPHEN MOY
427.175:  TIMOTHY LITTLE
407.600:  MAKSIM ROZENFELD
405.550:  ANDREW JEFFREY
400.675:  BRIAN ODONOGHUE

Championship: A little luck never hurt...

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

Blinds 5K/10K Ante 1K



Runner runner to stay alive!


There are 49 players remaining with an average stack of 728K (73 big blinds). Among the recently departed is Tyler Patterson who lost most of his stack with a suited AQ against pocket kings. Paul Volpe looked as if he was going to be joining Tyler on the rail when he got his short stack in, also with AQ, against pocket jacks and the flop came A♣J♣6. A miracle runner runner in the form of the Q♣A though gave Volpe a bigger full house to keep him alive at 320K.


Alex Rocha's stack keeps fluctuating but he's able to add to his stack by picking up big hands at the right time. Case in point, he three bets Johnson Nguyen's opening raise only looking at one card... an ace. The player to his immediate left moved all in. "Ooooh, let's wake up one time," Rocha told me is what he was thinking after Nguyen folded. Wake up indeed. His other card was an ace.

A late exit tweet from Chainsaw:




Championship: Twitter Bursts

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

Blinds 5k/10k/1k ante 

Justin Zaki



Tyler Patterson

Championship: 55th - 63rd Places ($9,662)

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

Blinds 5k/10k/1k ante

Michael Murphy

Place-Name

55 - Michael Murphy  (Wilkes Barre, PA)
56 - Karl Lau (Chatham, NJ)        
57 - Nikolaos Alafogiannis (North York, Canada)
58 - Anthony Hill (Egg Harbor City, NJ)
59 - Jonathan Little (Las Vegas, NV)
60 - Dan Buzgon (Marlton, NJ)
61 - Derek Chin (Wellesley, MA)
62 - David Diaz (Bartlett, TN)
63 - Allen Kessler (Las Vegas, NV)

Derek Chin

Championship: Selbst with a Sick Hand

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

Blinds 5k/10k/1k ante

Shortly after knocking out two-time WPT winner Jonathan Little, Vanessa Selbst picks up more chips in a hand with Adam Agaev.

Selbst smooth calls Agaev's preflop raise.

On the turn, with the board showing A 7♠ 4♣ A, Selbst bets 68k.  Agaev slides out a tall stack of blue (5k) chips and Selbst asks for a count on the raise (82k more) and makes the call.

River: Q

Selbst checks and Agaev reluctantly checks.

Slebst turns over A♣ A♠ and the table is stunned that she has quads.  "I thought about raising the turn, but think I got the most I could on the hand."

Agaev can't believe in how bad a shape he was and asks, "what do you think I was raising with?"

"I have no idea what you were raising with," says Selbst.

Selbst is up to 1.5 million, while Agaev is at 300k.

Event 23 Update

$200 + $30  Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Blinds 8K/16K Ante 2K

There are 63 players remaining with an average stack of 297K (19 big blinds). They are on break and will be returning to blind of 8K/16K with a 2K ante. More extensive coverage later when they make the final table.

Championship: The set up works

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

Blinds 5K/10K Ante 1K

There are 58 players remaining with an average stack of 615K (61 big blinds). One of the recently departed is Jonathan Little who got into a leveling war with Vanessa Selbst and picked the wrong time to do so. The action started with Little opening from the button to 20K. Selbst thought for a moment before putting out a re-raise. Little studied Selbst and then announced that he was all in, an action that got a quick call from Selbst as if she had been expecting Little to do precisely that. Little turned over Q5 while Selbst had pocket 9's. The board ran out T-6-5-A-K and Selbst added Little's chips to her stack which now stands at approximately 1.35 million. Selbst said after the hand "it costs me a lot of money to get people to do that." She went on to talk about how Jonathan Duhamel always seemed to have her number but joked "I'm that guy for a lot of people."



Jonathan Little right before moving all in against Vanessa Selbst

Championship: Three of a Kind

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

Blinds 4k/8k/1k ante

Kessler (63rd), Diaz (62nd) & Buzgon (60th)

The last few minutes of the level are unkind to some of the more recognizable names.

"I hate when that happens," says one member of the media who wishes to remain anonymous, "I'd rather
see no-names bust."

The carnage includes Allen Kessler (Las Vegas, NV), David Diaz (Bartlett, TN) and Dan Buzgon (Marlton, NJ).

Buzgon is the last elimination before break when his pocket 7s run into the pocket 8s of Tyler Gaston (Westerville, OH).

59 players remain with an average stack of 605k (61 bb) as they head on a 15 minute break.

Event 23: In the money and for a good cause...

$200 + $30  Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Blinds 5K/10K Ante 1K

The bubble has burst thanks to Lee Childs spiking a queen with A-Q against his opponent's A-K. His opponent was all in for 183K and Childs had over 500K to start the hand. With that pot Childs has moved above 700K and is in great shape for a deep run.

Also in the money is Patti Haggerty who is donating 20% of her winnings today to a good cause (Lee has also committed 5% of his winnings to the same cause) - let's hope they go 1-2!


Championship: Nguyen still winning, Rocha stacking

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

Blinds 4K/8K Ante 1K

Johnson Nguyen is turning his win for over 100K in an earlier Borgata Poker Open event into another deep run. He's currently sitting with 1.3 million in chips and told me "I'm going to get it to two million by the end of the day." It's good to have confidence. Even better to be running hot. Nguyen has both going for him right now.

After losing a pot with queens against a weak ace, Alex Rocha had fallen below the one million chip mark. He's up above that again thanks to pocket aces and an opponent willing to call him down on a Q-T-6-5-8 board. We are down to 64 players with a 557K (72 big blinds) average stack.


Alex Rocha contemplating how much to bet on the river

 

Championship: 64th - 72nd Places ($8,828)

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

Blinds 4k/8k/1k ante

Jarred Jaffee

Place - Name

64 - Jarred Jaffee (Brooklyn, NY)
65 - Robert Sembler (Staten Island, NY)
66 - Neville Darrell (Sarasota, FL)
67 - Yadong Pan (New Hypde Park, NY)
68 - Ryan Riess (Port Austin, MI)
69 - David Licht (Los Angeles, CA)
70 - Ronit Chamani (Johannesburg, SAF)
71 - Jeffrey Einsidler (Bedford, NY)
72 - Jeff Fielder (Waukee, IA)

  Jeff Fielder
      

Championship: 73rd to 81st Places ($8,146)

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

Blinds 4k/8k/1k ante

Eric Baldwin

Place-Name

73 - Mike Devinsky (Middletown, NJ)    
74 - Gregory Rudolph (Oceanside, NY)
75 - Charles Carriker (Arlington, VA)
76 - Richard Devivo (Forked River, NJ)
77 - James Shirley (Huntington, NY)
78 - Eric Baldwin (Henderson, NV)
79 - William Tonking (Flemington, NJ)
80 - Victor Ramdin (Bronx, NY)
81 - Joshua Hay (New York, NY)

Victor Ramdin

Championship: Falling Fast

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

Blinds 4k/8k/1k ante

Frank Walker
$7,502

"What are you going to do," says Frank Walker (Rockaway Park NY), who busts in 82nd place, just missing the next pay jump. "You never like getting knocked out, but it is what it is."

The all ins have been fast and furious as we lose nine players in 15 minutes to go from 86 to 79 players remaining.

****Update****

"72", says Andrew, one of poker floor managers who updates the players remaining, "that's 14 (eliminations) in 29 minutes. It's crazy."

Championship: 82nd - 90th Places ($7,502)

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

Blinds 4k/8k/1k ante

Place-Name

82 - Frank Walker (Rockaway Park, NY)
83 - Ken Adams (Washington, DC)
84 - Thomas Campbell (Arlington, TX)
85 - Vincenzo Tronu (Brigantine, NJ)
86 - Gregory Miller (Corning, NY)
87 - Panayote Alafoyannis (London, Ontario, Canada)
88 - Denis Cyr (Quebec, Canada)
89 - Marc Manin (Cherry Hill, NJ)
90 - Peter Mendelsohn (New York, NY)

Championship: Tweets as Play Resumes

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

Blinds 4k/8k/1k 
 
86 players remain with an average stack of 415k (52 BB)

Top 5 Stacks

Dan Howe 1,690,000
Edwin Torres 1,580,000
Richard Tatalovich 1,295,000
Alex  Rocha 1,100,000
Vanessa Selbst  1,070,000


Event 23: Dinner Time

$200 + $30  Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

End of level 17 and time for dinner.

Players get one hour.  Play will resume at 8:55pm with level 18, blinds 4k/8k/1k ante.

126 players remain.  Average stack is 149k.


Championship: Day Three Photo Slideshow


May not work on mobile devices.

Championship: Big & Little

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

Big Stacks for Torres

While Edwin Torres (Bartow, FL) needs his fingers and toes to keep track of all his stacks, Robert Sembler (Staten Island, NY) is happy to hold just one stack of mostly blue (5k) chips.

Sembler, who began the day 173rd of 174 returning stacks with 22k (7 bb) has managed to make the money following in Torres' footsteps.

"He's doing what I did," as Torres offers a fist bump. Torres was a short stack to start Day 2 (551 of 591) and at night's end he bagged the third biggest stack at 545k. 

Torres still has heaps as he's second in chips with 1.6 million.  Sembler has less than 100k and is thrilled to still be playing.

 Sembler Savors Making the Money, but He's Not Done Yet

Championship: Friendly Foes

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

Dinner Break, Play Resumes at 8:10 pm

 Vohra & Howe

Minutes before the dinner break Raj Vohra (Lakeworth, FL) and Dan Howe (Brigantine, NJ) voluntarily pose behind together behind their big stacks.

"Take a picture of the day 2 chip leaders," say Vohra with a smile.

Vohra started the day as the chip leader and is still a top 10 stack with 725k, but it's Howe who's the leader on dinner break with nearly 1.7 million.

Championship: Dinner Break

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

End of level 19 and time for dinner.  Play will resume at about 8:10pm.

The purple 500 chips are being colored up and removed from play.

They will return to level 20, blinds 4k/8k/1k ante.

86 players remain.  Average stack is 415k.

Championship: 90th - 87th Places

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

Level 19: Blinds 3k/6k/500 ante   

About 15 minutes remain until dinner break and the pace of departures has slowed somewhat.  Here are the latest:

Earning $7,502
90 - Peter Mendelsohn (New York, NY)
89 - Marc Manin (Cherry Hill, NJ)
88 - Denis Cyr (Quebec, Canada)
87 - Panayote Alafoyannis (London, Ontario, Canada)

86 players remain.  Average stack is 415k.

Event 23: 11 am Payouts

$200 + $30  Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Entries: 937
Total Buy-In: $187,400

Place - Amount

1st $40,905
2nd $24,086
3rd $14,542
4th $12,179
5th $9,998
6th $8,089
7th $6,453
8th $4,908
9th $3,363
10-12 $2,181
13-15 $1,636
16-18 $1,036
19-27 $854
28-36 $745
37-45 $673
46-54 $600
55-63 $545
64-72 $491
73-81 $436
82-90 $400

Championship: 100th - 91st Places

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

Level 19: Blinds 3k/6k/500 ante   

Jamie Kerstetter got her last chips in with pocket Aces against two opponents.  On the river with a board of T 7 5 K 6, Dan Heimiller (bb) showed 98 for the straight.  He sent Jamie to the rail in 94th place.

Players are wasting no time getting out of here.  Ten more are gone:

Earning $7,313
100 - Tony Campagna (Manorville, NY)
99 - Douglas Bohl (Hatboro, PA)
98 - Jair Beltran (North York, Canada)
97 - Justin Luninpack (New York, NY)
96 - Ryan Olisar (Naperville, IL)
95 - Scott Seiver (Cold Spring, NY)
94 - Jamie Kerstetter (Monroe Twp, NJ)
93 - Jason Siegel (N Charleroi, PA)
92 - Nick Frangos (Mays Landing, NJ)
91 - Natale Kuey (Bronx, NY)

Event 23: 11 am Quarter Pole

$200 + $30  Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Blinds: 2k/4k/400 ante

Approximately 1/4 of the field remains with 240 players grinding away of the 937 entries.

90 players will make the money with top prize a whopping $40,905; min cash is $400.

Championship: 110th - 101st Places

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

Level 19: Blinds 3k/6k/500 ante  

At the end of this level, they will take a dinner break.

These players have already made their exits:

Earning $7,123
110 - Andjelko Andrejevic (Pinecrest, FL)
109 - Mohammad 'Sheddy' Siddiqui (Pembroke Pine, FL)
108 - Jesse Cohen (Ardmore, PA)
107 - Ilya Lemberg (Bethesda, MD)
106 - Pat Carney (Scranton, PA)
105 - Nicholas Kamen (Scarsdale, NY)
104 - David Jones (York, PA)
103 - Michael Del Vecchio (Las Vegas, NV)
102 - Dennis Stevermer (St. Paul, MN)
101 - Melissa Burr (Mullica Hill, NJ)

Championship: Break Time Tweets

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

Level 19: Blinds 3k/6k/500 ante 

Play has resumed, still in level 19.

The final 110 players are celebrating their success and settling in for a long night and they play down to 27 players.

Here's what's buzzing on Twitter:

Tyler Patterson ‏@TylerPoker 1m
331k at 3k/6k. ITM. Cashed for at least $7100. Now it's time to get to work.

Jerry Payne ‏@sandler1860 18m
294k at 3k 6k on the exact bubble @borgatapoker $3500 main. fold to cash baby!

Jared Jaffee ‏@jaredjaffee21 13m
We are in the $$$$.....110 left.... Got 500k... Now we crush #smiles&giggles

Cliff Josephy ‏@JohnnyBaxPoker 12m
We are in the $. I'm up to 682k playing 3k-6k/500. Love the @BorgataPoker structure #WPTBorgata

Justin Zaki ‏@Justin_Zaki 11m
In the $. 600k

alex rocha ‏@THE_ALEX_ROCHA 8m
In the money of WPT Borgata. Hovering around 900k going to 6k big blind. #IWontMillion

Frank Valgenti ‏@FrankValgenti 8m
Wake up with aces 2away from $$. Dbl up against KK. 320k #bpo

Daniel Buzgon ‏@WiLDmAn_75 7m
In the money. But short. Haven't won a hand in a whole. Have 25b.

Sheddy♣♦ ‏@Sheddy88 3m
Now that we got that back to back cashes out of the way, time to get to work. #UnfinishedBusiness #BPO

matt salsberg ‏@msalsberg 2m
In the money of WPT Borgata just under 300k @6k.

paul volpe ‏@paulgees81 1m
In the money have something close to 600.

Jerry Wong ‏@HumLun 2m
ITM #BPO @BorgataPoker @wpt. Got caught with my pants down 3b 63o during bubble. 380k at 3/6k


Allen Kessler ‏@AllenKessler 3m
Fought my way into my 19th @WPT main event cash. Now tied with @RealKidPoker @LuckBoxJuanda Hoyt Corkins for 3rd on the all time cashes list

Championship: Bubble Burst

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

Level 19: Blinds 3k/6k/500 ante

Only ten minutes into the new level, it appeared the bubble burst without any hand-for-hand play. 

Players were sent on a 15 minute break so the floor could verify the count. 

Cherish Andrews

Cherish Andrews (Chambersberg, PA) was one of the unfortunate ones.  She got in with pocket 7s, but ran into pocket Queens, busting in 112th place.

Joshua Levkov - Bubble Boy

Dan Howe (Brigantine, NJ) caught a gutshot to bust Joshua Levkov (New York, NY) in 111th place on the stone-cold bubble.

110 players remain and are all in the money, guaranteed to leave with at least $7,123.

Championship: Blinds Up, No Break

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

Level 19: Blinds 3k/6k/500 ante

Blinds have gone up without a break.  112 players remain and it was announced that they will continue play until the bubble bursts, then take a break.  They will go hand-for-hand when one more is eliminated.

 A couple of players have picked up some much-needed double-ups.

Alex Queen (Bethlehem, PA) doubled through Raj Vohra (Lakeworth, FL) when his AK out-ran Raj's pocket Tens.

Richard Devivo's (Forked River, NJ) pocket Aces held up against Neville Darrell's (Sarasota, FL) pocket Queens and he doubled up.

 Edwin Torres

Edwin Torres (Bartow, FL) has taken the chip lead.  That Lucky hat is really working for him as he's up to 1.2 million.

Championship: Bubble Looms

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

Level 18: Blinds 2,500/5,000/500 ante

Down to 113 players and with only 110 getting paid, the field is very aware of how close they are.

Mickey Woll

Mickey Woll (Manahawkin, NJ) won't be bubble-boy, since he's already gone.  He got his last chips in with AK, but ran into the pocket Aces of Tony 'muscles' Campagna (Manorville, NY).

Championship: Big Stack, Double, Bust, Double

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

Level 18: Blinds 2,500/5,000/500 ante  

David Randall

Looks like David Randall is the chip leader with over 1 million chips.  
  
Melissa Burr

Melissa Burr's (Mullica Hill, NJ) Aces were good for a double-up through Raj Vohra (Lakeworth, FL).

Danielle Andersen

Daniell Andersen (New Ulm, MN) was not so lucky with her pocket Kings.  She was involved in a three-way all-in against AK and pocket 8s and came up empty.  She missed the money by 8 spots. 

Before the break, Matt Salsberg (Studio City, CA) had pocket Aces and they brought him a double-up.

Championship: Break Time Tweets

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

Level 18: Blinds 2,500/5,000/500 ante 

Here are the latest Tweets from the field:

Jonathan Little ‏@JonathanLittle 21m
At 560k going to 2500/5000-500. I could have got in a ton of trouble but found folds each time. 😄 121 remain, 110 pay.

Sheddy♣♦ ‏@Sheddy88 20m
161,500 Like 15 from the bubble #BPO

Jared Jaffee ‏@jaredjaffee21 19m
Have 260k with 121 left....11 from the $$$... Nothing's been easy today but #fightingthegoodfight

Jesse Cohen ‏@JCohen130 17m
lost an 85k flip 66<ATs, got 85k @ 5k, 121 left

Justin Zaki ‏@Justin_Zaki 16m
805k goin to 2500-5k. 120 left

Allen Kessler ‏@AllenKessler 15m
Battled back to 91k heading to 2500-5000 500 @BorgataPoker @wpt main event. 121 left of 1189. 110 paid. @IveyPoker #teamivey

Tyler Patterson ‏@TylerPoker 14m
225k going to 2.5k/5k. 120ish left. Should be in the money next level.

Jamie Kerstetter ‏@Chippupotamus 13m
Got 125k going to 5k, 11 away from money

Vanessa Selbst ‏@VanessaSelbst 12m
I have 360k, just above average with 121 left at WPT borgata on day 3. 110 make the money

Cliff Josephy ‏@JohnnyBaxPoker 11m
Came back strong. Won a nice one when I 5bet allin and took it down pre. Have 496k on break, probably about 13 to the $ #WPTBorgata

matt salsberg ‏@msalsberg 10m
Just got a full double plus AA vs KK. 383k going to 5k.

Ebony Kenney ‏@Ebony_Kenney 2m
420k in day 3 of @WPT #Borgata. Playing well and looking like a gangsta Pink Lady. 😎🙋 #poker #letsgooo #pinkladies

Ken Adams ‏@dckid13 1m
End of level 17. I have 273K. 121 players remain. Avg stack is 295K

Championship: Break Time Payout Reminder

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

End of level 17 and the remaining 121 players are on break.  Average stack is 295k.

Only 110 get paid.  Here's a reminder what they're playing for:

1st: $825,099
2nd: $492,569
3rd: $301,225
4th: $251,968
5th: $208,394
6th: $168,610
7th: $132,615
8th: $98,514
9th: $69,528
10th-12th: $45,278
13th-15th: $30,312
16th-18th: $20,271
19th-27th: $17,050
28th-36th: $14,777
37th-45th: $12,883
46th-54th: $10,988
55th-63rd: $9,662
64th-72nd: $8,828
73rd-81st: $8,146
82nd-90th: $7,502
91st-100th: $7,313
101st-110th: $7,123


Championship: More Departures

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

Level 17: Blinds 2k/4k/500 ante 

Jason Loehrs (Drexel Hill, PA) ran his pocket Queens into pocket Kings and has departed.

'Action' Bob Hwang (Barnegat, NJ) got all his chips in the middle with pocket 6s, but ran into pocket Tens.  No more action for Bob.

Also gone:

Liam He
Corrie Pranevich
John Borzio
Anthony Snyder
David Novak
Will 'the Thrill' Failla

Championship: Girl on Girl Action

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

Level 17: Blinds 2k/4k/500 ante  

 Amanda Musumeci

Amanda Musumeci (Philadelphia, PA) got her last chips in with pocket Tens and was racing against Jamie Kerstetter's (Monroe Twp, NJ) AK.

The ubiquitous "Ace on the River" sent the pot to Jamie and sent Amanda to the rail.

Championship: Non-Stop Action

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

Level 17: Blinds 2k/4k/500 ante 

'Action' Bob Hwang got all-in with pocket Queens against Tyler Patterson's AT.   Tyler flopped Broadway, but a Queen on the river gave Bob Quad Queens and the double-up.

Vitor Coelho got all in on the river with a board of A T 8 2 4 against Raj Vohra.  Raj showed pocket Tens for a set and Vitor mucked his hand, heading for the rail.

Also gone:

Ray Shackelford
Erik Cajelais
Matthew Silberzweig
Tayfun Akbasli
Edward Shelmerdine
Brian Green
Michael Conoran
Michael Hack


Championship: Kessler Holding On

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

Level 17: Blinds 2k/4k/500 ante 

Allen Kessler & Michael Devinsky

On the river with a board of K♣ Q♣ A38, Allen Kessler (Las Vegas, NV) somehow managed to not go broke holding A♣ K♠.  Michael Devinsky (bb) defended with K7 and rivered a flush.  Allen is still in, but short-stacked.

Championship: Break Time Tweets

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

Level 17: Blinds 2k/4k/500 ante

Players have returned to play after the break.  Here's what they're tweeting about:

Jonathan Little ‏@JonathanLittle 17m
At 510k going to 2k/4k-500. I didn't fold middle pair then won a flip against a short stacked kid [Jason Deutsch] with 88 vs AQ. pic.twitter.com/KKzgk6VTm7

Jason Deutsch ‏@MrPerfekt 14m
Busted, lost a flip to the $37mm man  [Jonathan Little]

Cliff Josephy ‏@JohnnyBaxPoker 14m
Got over 500k with no sweat, but just lost 300k pot AK to 88 allin on KQ8dd. Have 330k on break #WPTBorgata

Sheddy♣♦ ‏@Sheddy88 12m
192k #BPO

Cherish Andrews ‏@CherishAndrews 11m
120k on break. Rough start yet again to the day. Still feeling good :)

Ryan ‏@OlyDaJew 11m
Not a great start. Down to 187k goin into 4kbb. 142 left avg 251k

Jesse Cohen ‏@JCohen130 10m
lost a couple hands got 135k @ 4k, 140 left 110 cash

Alex Queen ‏@ArgentinaBoy 10m
Unbearable level straight down to 100k going to 2/4k, literally couldn’t buy a pot

Frank Valgenti ‏@FrankValgenti 8m
Breaktime and colorup. Holding at 440k. Slept good, nice bfast and great friends. What more do I need. #bpo

Tyler Patterson ‏@TylerPoker 7m
296k going to 2k/4k.

matt salsberg ‏@msalsberg 7m
115k going to 4k. Rivered twice for some key hands. 142 left. Bubble fun. #OnLockdownNow #OriginalGrinderMode

Robert Hwang ‏@ActionBobNJ 4m
72k on break. Coming up to 2k-4k.

Ebony Kenney ‏@Ebony_Kenney 3m
Just lost massive pot w top set vs flopped flush. How he didn't get it all is beyond me. Still have 340k @wpt #borgata #letsgooo

paul volpe ‏@paulgees81 1m
Just won jj to Aj for about 250k. Prolly have around 500

Jamie Kerstetter ‏@Chippupotamus 3m
9bbs. Got one shove through end of level. Not a single spot to go with.

Ken Adams ‏@dckid13 3m
End of level 16. Won a few small pots. Back up to 250k. 142 players left. Avg stack is 251K.

Championship: First Break

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

Level 16 is done and players are getting their first break of the day.

The black 100 chips are being colored up and removed from play.

Despite arriving late and starting with a big stack, Rajen Mahadevappa (Fords, NJ) has already busted out.  His chips are now sitting in front of Justin Zaki.

Also gone:

Paul Spitzberg
Jason Deutsch
Paul Petraglia

Championship: Tweet Action

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

Level 16: Blinds 1,500/3,000/400 ante

Keep those Tweets coming!  #BPO

There's too much going on at too many tables to keep up, so thank goodness for Twitter!  Here's the latest news:

Allen Kessler ‏@AllenKessler 13m
Grinding 30bb day 3 @BorgataPoker @WPT main event. Around 150 remain from 1189. 110 paid. @IveyPoker #teamivey

Frank Valgenti ‏@FrankValgenti 11m
Nice table draw. Won a couple of pots. 440,000 #bpo

Jamie Kerstetter ‏@Chippupotamus 9m
Folded 88 w a withered stack after utg raised and it was 3bet before me. Would've been crushed vs QQ and AK 40k @ bb3k

Mukul Pahuja ‏@MukulPahuja 7m
Out. Tried to bluff the unbluffable. Gl friends still in #WPTBorgata

Justin Zaki ‏@Justin_Zaki 4m
Just won a monster pot. Guy puts in like 280k on turn drawing stone dead. Got like 800k

Brent Roberts ‏@Astrolux85 3m
Out before the money, lost 475k flip to lefty in kind of standard ish spot. Even though he was basically flipping at best

Amanda Musumeci ‏@TheReaLMander 31s
Lost massiveee pot w aces up vs a set :( FML. Went from 350k to 80k at 1500/3k.... lotta work to do. #futurewptchampstillll

Championship: Canacho Rivers Furey

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

Level 16: Blinds 1,500/3,000/400 ante

On a flop of A J 5, Norberto Camacho (Medford, NY) got all his chips in the middle against Charles Furey (Bridgewater, NJ).

Norberto:  A6 (top pair)
Charles: A5 (two pair)

Turn was an Ace, improving Charles to Aces-full of 5s and giving Norberto trip Aces.

River was a 6, giving Norberto Aces-full of 6s and a bigger full house.  Norberto doubled his short-stack.

Championship: Early Departures

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

Level 16: Blinds 1,500/3,000/400 ante

These players have reported to the rail in early action:

Abraham Korotki
Ryan Deroo
Jack Barnes
Chris Karambinis
Mark Amabile
Gregg Fishberg
Brian Green
Michel Bittan
Chancellor Strickland
Michael Loukas

Championship: No Shows?

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

Level 16: Blinds 1,500/3,000/400 ante

A couple of the big stacks have apparently decided to sleep in today.

Ebony Kenney

Ebony Kenney (Estero, FL) and Rajen Mahadevappa (Fords, NJ) have yet to arrive and un-bag their chips.  They are being blinded off, but have plenty of chips to survive for quite a while,

Ebony began the day fourth in chips with 480,200.  Rajen was 15th in chips with 376,700.

Championship: Day Three Underway

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

Level 16: Blinds 1,500/3,000/400 ante

Tab Duchateau, tournament director for the Season XII WPT World Championship, has given the order to shuffle up and deal!

Day three is underway.


Championship: Twitter Buzz

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

174 players are returning for day 3.  They'll play down to 27, which will make this a loooooong day.

Players are buzzing about the Championship early.  Here's what they're thinking as they get ready for a long day on the felt:

Jonathan Little ‏@JonathanLittle 1h
I love how the blackout curtains at borgata magically allow me to sleep all night with no problems. Day 3 of the @WPT starts soon.

Paul Spitzberg ‏@PaulTheGrayAceS 54m
Going into battle on this day 3 of the wpt main event with a short stack today that can allow me to play only one level.

Paul Spitzberg ‏@PaulTheGrayAceS 53m
I am owed cards. Past 2 days no AA no KK no QQ. 4 x JJ won 2 and lost 2. Lets hope day 3 is nice early or there will be no later.

Jake Schwartz ‏@Jake11291 47m
Got the magnificently handsome @jaredjaffee21 to my immediate right today.

Justin Zaki ‏@Justin_Zaki 29m
Day 3 of Borgata. Got 462k at 1500-3k. 174 left..

Jared Jaffee ‏@jaredjaffee21 24m
Down to 174 out of 1198 in borgata main...playin down to 27 today. Ready to get saucy..Updates on http://wpt.com  #dontstopbelievin

Sheddy♣♦ ‏@Sheddy88 14m
Day 3 Borgata main… 161k 174 remain #OneChipAtATime #LetsGitIt #BPO

Mike Murphy ‏@mik3murph 9m
132k to start day 3 at 12 #stillnopanda


Daniel Buzgon ‏@WiLDmAn_75 2m
Day 3 of @borgatapoker @wpt about to start. Have 314k at 3k bb. 174 left. 110 pay. Avg is 205k. Have @Justin_Zaki and @MukulPahuja here.

Event 23: One Year Ago

$200 + $30  Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)     

Level 2:  Blinds 50/100

Tom Colamaria - Last Year's Winner

Last year this event drew 1,104 entries for total buy-ins of $220,800, more than doubling the $100,000 guarantee.  A similar number is expected today when all the late registrations and re-entries are counted.

Two Borgata regulars battled for the title in 2012.  Tom Colamaria (Brooklyn, NY) finally got his big score.  He beat Joseph McKeehen (North Wales, PA) heads up and earned $46,650, the largest payday of his career.  The win came after about 21 hours of play.

Event 23: Underway

$200 + $30  Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
             $100,000 GUARANTEED

Level 1:  Blinds 25/50

Today's post-liminary main event carries a $100,000 guarantee, and that always brings players out in droves.

They began with a 20,000 chip Big Stack and levels 1-10 are 25 minutes long.  After that, they go to 30 minutes for the duration of this one day event.

Late registration and re-entry are available through level 8 (about 2:50pm).

This is a one day event, so they'll play all night until a winner is determined.

Cards are in the air!

Championship - Start of Day 3 Table Assignments & Chip Counts

WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship
$3,300 + $200 Deep Stack Double Play No Limit Hold'em
September 15-20, 2013

Entries:  1,189
Total Buy-In:  $3,923,700

Players Remaining:  174
Average Chip Stack:  205,000

START OF DAY 3 TABLE ASSIGNMENTS & CHIP COUNTS:
T01 | S01 -  THOMAS SHEETS (NORFOLK, VA):  375,500
T01 | S02 -  JONATHAN LITTLE (LAS VEGAS, NV):  260,500
T01 | S03 -  JACKDUYPH DUONG (SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ):  354,900
T01 | S04 -  PETER VITANTONIO (WICKLIFFE, OH):  178,000
T01 | S05 -  ANNAND RAMDIN (BRONX, NY):  244,000
T01 | S06 -  RYAN OLISAR (NAPERVILLE, IL):  280,100
T01 | S07 -  TYLER PATTERSON (EVERETT, WA):  265,400
T01 | S08 -  ROBERT HWANG (BARNEGAT, NJ):  84,100
T01 | S09 -  JASON DEUTSCH (STATEN ISLAND, NY):  74,400

T02 | S01 -  MARK ROSE (ORLANDO, FL):  271,600
T02 | S02 -  MUKUL PAHUJA (NORTH LAUDERDALE, FL):  245,600
T02 | S03 -  RAJEN MAHADEVAPPA (FORDS, NJ):  376,700
T02 | S04 -  YADONG PAN (NEW HYDE PARK, NY):  297,400
T02 | S05 -  JUSTIN ZAKI (TIERRA VERDE, FL):  462,000
T02 | S06 -  MICHAEL GROSS (PYLESVILLE, MD):  151,400
T02 | S07 -  DANIEL BUZGON (MARLTON, NJ):  314,300
T02 | S08 -  VINCENT MOSCATI (VERPLANCK, NY):  218,000

T03 | S01 -  MOHAMMAD SIDDIQUI (PEMBROKE PINE, FL):  161,700
T03 | S02 -  JEFFREY FIELDER (WAUKEE, IA):  249,600
T03 | S03 -  RAY SHACKELFORD (FREDERICKSBURG, VA):  73,800
T03 | S04 -  VICTOR FIGUEROA (MIAMI BEACH, FL):  340,400
T03 | S05 -  DAVID RANDALL (WESTERVILLE, OH):  286,400
T03 | S06 -  RALPH MASSEY (CHICAGO, IL):  236,500
T03 | S07 -  ABRAHAM KOROTKI (OCEAN VIEW, DE):  270,700
T03 | S08 -  DAVID JOHNSTON (BRIGANTINE, NJ):  275,900

T04 | S01 -  JAIR BELTRAN (NORTH YORK, CAN):  352,200
T04 | S02 -  NEVILLE DARRELL (SARASOTA, FL):  283,000
T04 | S03 -  RICHARD DEVIVO (FORKED RIVER, NJ):  291,000
T04 | S04 -  SCOTT SEIVER (COLD SPRING, NY):  304,500
T04 | S05 -  LUIS NARGENTINO (FLORAL PARK, NY):  79,300
T04 | S06 -  MICHAEL HACK (LAS VEGAS, NV):  159,200
T04 | S07 -  PETER MENDELSOHN (NEW YORK, NY):  128,400
T04 | S08 -  LENARD ADAMS (MARKHAM, IL):  126,000
T04 | S09 -  KARL LAU (CHATHAM, NJ):  64,500

T05 | S01 -  VITALY KOVYAZIN (BROOKLYN, NY):  346,300
T05 | S02 -  RYAN DEROO (MARGATE, NJ):  67,700
T05 | S03 -  CHARLES CARRIKER (ARLINGTON, VA):  229,900
T05 | S04 -  JACK BARNES (BRICKTOWN, NJ):  19,400
T05 | S05 -  DONALD HIMPELE (MAHWAH, NJ):  70,200
T05 | S06 -  MICHAEL DEVINSKY (MIDDLETOWN, NJ):  264,900
T05 | S07 -  KATAYON KHATERZAI (LEVITTOWN, NY):  548,000
T05 | S08 -  DAVID LICHT (LOS ANGELES, CA):  196,600

Wednesday, September 18

TODAY'S EVENTS (EVENT CENTER)

11AM: Event 23 - $200 + $30  Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
             $100,000 GUARANTEED 
  • Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-10: will last 25 minutes each | Levels 11+:  will last 30 minutes each
  • Players that bust within the first 8 Levels may Re-Enter (unlimited re-entries) 
  • 1-Day event


12PM: Event 21 - $3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH (Re-Entry)
$3 MILLION GUARANTEED - Day 3
  • Day 2+ Levels:  will last 90 minutes each
  • Day 3 ends at 27 players
  • 5-Day event with two starting days

6 PM: Event 53 - $100 + $20 + $25 Green Chip Bounty NLH (Re-Entry)
  • Players start with 12,000 in tournament chips 
  • This is a Bounty tournament.  Players must have their Bounty chip clearly displayed on table in order to remain active in tournament.
  • Levels will last 20 minutes each
  • Players that bust within the first 6 Levels may Re-Enter (unlimited re-entries) 
  • 1-Day event

    Event 22: Photo Slideshow


    May not work on mobiles devices.

    Event 22 Recap

    2013 Borgata Poker Open $350 Buy-In + $50 Entry No Limit Hold'Em (Re-Entry)
    Entrants: 250
    Prize pool: $84,875


    FINAL RESULTS

    Trevor Deeter is a tournament circuit grinder with several big wins to his credit. He took 1st in a Venetian Deep Stack event for over 45K and a 1st in a WSOP Circuit event for 10K. He can now add a $23,763 payday and Borgata Poker Open win to his poker resume. After winning a key hand against former WPT Champion Sean Cunix when there were 10 players remaining, Deeter came to the final table with the chip lead and never looked back. The final hand saw him knock out his heads up opponent, Pablo Alvarez-Montoy, when his AJ was able to hold on against Pablo's A♣T♣. In addition to the prize money, Deeter wins a beautiful Borgata Poker Open trophy and a unique, custom framed photograph provided by IMPDI.
     



    Trevor Deeter, Winner, Event #22


    The final nine, their seating assignments and approximate chip counts were as follows:
    Seat 1: Mitchell Mantin (Atlantic City, NJ) - 180K
    Seat 2: Mike McEvoy (Ryebrook, NY) - 210K
    Seat 3: Brad McClure (Roanoke, VA) - 285K
    Seat 4: Darryl Ien (Newark, NJ) - 260K
    Seat 5: Zeke McCurdy (Charlotte, NC) - 520K
    Seat 6: Trevor Deeter (Langhorne, PA) - 925K
    Seat 7: Dale Hartzell (Leavittsborg, OH) - 300K
    Seat 8: Joseph "Mush" Galazzo (Union, NJ) - 490K
    Seat 9: Pablo Alvarez-Montoy (Queens, NY) - 500K 


    Chip leader Trevor Deeter got off to a hot start. First, Mike McEvoy re-raised Deeter, committing a significant amount of his stack. This prompted Deeter to say to McEvoy "you aren't folding" which was able to draw a smile from McEvoy. The flop came J-T-9 and McEvoy moved all in. "I call," Deeter said without hesitation, turning over pocket queens. McEvoy had A-K and when the turn and river did not improve his hand he was the first player eliminated from the final table.


    Mike McEvoy (Ryebrook, NY) finished in 9th place winning $1,698


    Deeter would win another sizable pot when he re-raised with jacks and induced his opponent to fold. "I'm running hot," an almost sheepish Deeter said as he added to his chip lead. It wasn't all about Deeter though. Mitchell Mantin sucked out on Brad McClure when he got it all in pre-flop with A-Q against McClure's kings and was able to hit an ace. Mantin apologized to McClure and then added "that it was all skill." The good natured McClure shook it off and was ready to play some more poker.

    One of the biggest pots of the night then took place. With the blinds at 10K/20K/3K, Joe Galazzo opened the action for 40K. Pablo Alvarez-Montoy made it 130K to go. Mitchell Mantin then moved all in for 397K. Joe, after some thought, also moved all in. Pablo's eyes lit up like a kid coming downstairs on Christmas morning. He quickly placed his stack in the middle indicating that he too was all in. The hands:

    Mitchell Mantin AK
    Joe Galazzo J-J
    Pablo Alvarez-Montoy Aces

    The board would run out T♣7♣59♠5♠ to give the triple up to Pablo as he was the shortest stack. Galazzo won the side pot with Mantin, and having him covered that meant Mantin was done for the day. After the hand Pablo was up over a million, trailing only the 1.4 million that Deeter had.


    Mitchell Mantin (Atlantic City, NJ) finished in 8th place winning $2,546


    Crippled after that loss to Pablo, Joe Galazzo looked down at pocket tens and decided they were good enough to go with and moved all in for his last 120K with the blinds at 10K/20K with a 3K ante. He was called by Brad McClure who held A-J. The flop came 4-3-2 giving McClure a gutshot straight draw and it would be that gutshot that would deliver the knockout blow to Galazzo as an ace hit the river. "Straight? Oh my gosh," said McClure. "I put my glasses on just in time to see it.". Galazzo caps off another fine evening to go with his 2nd place finish earlier this week. And with that, we were down to six.


    Joseph "Mush" Galazzo (Union, NJ) finishes in 7th place winning $3,395.


    Dale Hartzell had been aggressive throughout the final table, often moving in either first to act or over the top of his foes. After having just moved all in over the the top of a McCurdy opening raise, Hartzell continued his aggressive ways. He opened for 40K and had two callers, one of them being McCurdy. The flop came 9-4-2 and the two callers checked to Hartzell who proceeded to move all in for 173K. McCurdy studied Hartzell carefully and decided he had the best of it. "I call," he said and turned over J-9 for top pair. Hartzell would need some hope to remain alive as all he had was Q-J. The turn was another deuce and the river was a ten and Hartzell was eliminated.


    Dale Hartzell (Leavittsborg, OH) finished in 6th place winning $4,244


    With the blinds at 12K/24K with a 3K ante, Zeke McCurdy open raised to 55K. Trevor Deeter re-raised to 120K and Zeke made the call. The flop came A♠K2♣ prompting a check from Zeke. Deeter bet 79K and McCurdy check raised to 200K. A quiet Deeter shuffles chips in his right hand, peeks back at his cards, takes a quick glance at McCurdy and announces that he is all in. Zeke doesn't call immediately. His hand is over his mouth as he replays the hand in his head. He looks intently at Trevor and says "I call." Zeke has a made a good call, a key one, as he holds AT♣, while Trevor only has KJ♠. The turn is the 3 and the river is the 8♠ leaving Trevor to shake his head twice, and then looks up into the bright lights as if he is searching for answers to what just happened. That double up put McCurdy over a million in chips. After the tournament was over, Trevor explained that he was a bit confused by McCurdy's play in the hand and that was what led him to moving all in. "I didn't think he would flat my three bet there with Ace Ten," Deeter said. "That and there were two other short stacks who would bust before him so I thought he would play a little more conservatively if his tournament life was on the line."

    Darryl Ien had bided his time patiently but with only five big blinds in his stack he knew he had to make a move and make it soon. He did just that by moving all in with K-3. One person, Pablo, called. Pablo held A-4 and was ahead of Darryl's K-3. At least Darryl was live and he would hit one of his hole cards when a king flopped. The river is a cruel, sadistic mistress, however, and that ace that came would be enough to send Ien packing.


    Darryl Ien (Newark, NJ) finished in 5th place winning $5,093


    It was a battle of the blinds that would do Brad McClure in. With the blinds at 15K/30K, McClure moved all in from the big blind after Pablo Alvarez-Montoy opened from the small blind. Pablo made the call, showing A-Q, which put McClure in terrible shape since he held K-Q. No cards came to save McClure's day and we were now three handed.


    Brad McClure (Roanoke, VA) finished in 4th place winning $6,535


    Over the course of the final table, Trevor Deeter had handed over the chip lead to Pablo Alvarez-Montoy due in large part to Pablo's big triple up with aces and Deeter losing that big pot with second pair when Zeke McCurdy called with top pair. That would change when Deeter and Pablo would tangle in an all in pre-flop confrontation that saw Deeter's AQ going up against the pocket 9's of Pablo. The flop came K72 giving Deeter a flush draw to go with his two overs. The turn was the 2♣ and Pablo was one card away from knocking out Trevor and holding a massive chip lead heading into heads up play. The oh so cruel river did it again though... the A♠ and Deeter scored a massive double up to over 1.7 million.

    Pablo would get some of those chips back from Zeke McCurdy when he moved all in over the top of Zeke's 80K opener with the blinds at 20K/40K with a 4K ante. Zeke decided to look him up for the additional 477K with deuces, which were actually ahead. Pablo held A-J that would hit a jack on the flop to take him up over a million in chips.

    After scoring a double up to bring his stack to 800K, Zeke and Trevor got it all in pre-flop for a 1.6 million chip pot that saw Zeke crushing Trevor with A-T against A-9. The domination didn't last long, however, as a 9 flopped and another 9 came on the turn leading to a big sigh from Zeke as he knew his tournament was over.


    Zeke McCurdy (Charlotte, NC) finished in 3rd place winning $8,063


    Going into heads up action, Trevor held a comfortable 2.5:1 chip lead over Pablo. The two would go back and forth for over fifteen minutes, with no big swings in chip position. On the tournament's final hand, Pablo would open the action leading to a Deeter all in. Pablo made the call with a very strong hand, A♣T♣, but it wasn't quite strong enough as Deeter held AJ. The jack kicker would end up playing on the A-Q-8-5-7 board and the tournament was over! Deeter had won...


     Pablo Alvarez-Montoy (Queens, NY) finished in 2nd place winning $14,004

    Trevor Deeter is the winner of Event #22! "It's always a great feeling to win a tournament," said Deeter who added that he loves coming to Borgata. "I always tell people that Borgata run's the best tournaments across the country. The structures are good, there are a lot of events, and the venue is fantastic." Deeter had failed in his attempt in the WPT Championship event, busting earlier in the day but decided to use that as motivation to enter this event. Now he can end his trip knowing it was a good one.


     Trevor Deeter (Langhorne, PA) wins the tournament and $23,763

    Event 22: 1st place Deeter

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

    Blinds 25K/50K Ante 5K

    Trevor Deeter is a tournament circuit grinder with several big wins to his credit. He took 1st in a Venetian Deep Stack event for over 45K and a 1st in a WSOP Circuit event for 10K. He can now add a $23,763 payday and Borgata Poker Open win to his poker resume. After winning a key hand against former WPT Champion Sean Cunix when there were 10 players remaining, Deeter came to the final table with the chip lead and never looked back. The final hand saw him knock out his heads up opponent, Pablo Alvarez-Montoy, when his AJ was able to hold on against Pablo's A♣T♣. In addition to the prize money, Deeter wins a beautiful Borgata Poker Open trophy and a customized 16 x 20 framed photo with Borgata chip and event information plaque.

    "It's always a great feeling to win a tournament," said Deeter who added that he loves coming to Borgata. "I always tell people that Borgata run's the best tournaments across the country. The structures are good, there are a lot of events, and the venue is fantastic." Deeter had failed in his attempt in the WPT Championship event, busting earlier in the day but decided to use that as motivation to enter this event. Now he can end his trip knowing it was a good one.

    Congratulations on your win Trevor!



    Trevor Deeter (Langhorne, PA) - $23,763

    Event 22: 2nd place Alvarez-Montoy

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

    Blinds 25K/50K Ante 5K

    After battling back and forth for nearly half an hour with no big chip swing in either direction, we finally got a big hand vs big hand confrontation. The action started with Pablo Alvarez-Montoy opening the action for a raise. Trevor Deeter re-raised all in and Pablo made the call. Alvarez-Montoy had a strong heads up hand with A♣T♣ but he was trailing the AJ that Deeter held. The flop came AQ♠8 keeping Deeter in the lead. The turn was the 5♠ and Pablo would need a ten on the river or he would be the tournament runner up. The river was the 7 and Deeter was our winner with Alvarez-Montoy finishing in 2nd.


    Pablo Alvarez-Montoy (Queens, NY) - $14,004

    Event 22: 3rd place McCurdy

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

    Blinds 25K/50K Ante 5K

    Zeke McCurdy moved all in for 800K with A♠T and was called by the big stack of Trevor Deeter who was one notch below McCurdy with A9. Deeter was not behind for long, however, as the flop came K♠95♣ and another nine, the 9♠, on the turn meant McCurdy was drawing dead. Heads up play is now commencing with Deeter holding a 2.5:1 chip lead over Pablo Alvarez-Montoy.


    Zeke McCurdy (Charlotte, NC) - $8,063

    Championship: Day 2 Recap / Day 3 Preview

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

     Vohra (standing) Watches a Hand involving Selbst (right)

    On one of the final hands of the night, Raj Vohra (Lakeworth, FL) won a 400k chip pot to take the chip lead at the end of Day 2 of the Borgata Poker Open with 581k.

    "I was very happy with how I played," said Vohra, "I was patient most of the day." 

    Vohra is ahead of Katayon Khaterzai (Levittown, NY), who bagged 548k, and Edwin Torres (Bartow, FL) who finished with 545k. Both began the day well below the average returning stack (60k), inclucing Torres who was 551st of 591 returning players with 16k.

    "I was lucky on my first double-up," said Torres who was dominated with A5 vs AK, but spiked a 5 on the river to stay alive.  "Once I got going, I played key hands at the right time."

    For Khaterzai the path was more smooth and said, "every hand was a good hand," as she chipped up from 34k throughout the day. 

    Recognizable faces still in the running for the $825,099 top prize includes 2011 WPT Borgata Poker Open winner Bobby Oboodi, five-time Borgata trophy holder Will "TheThrill" Failla, two-time WPT Champion Jonathan Little and two-time WSOP bracelet holder Vanessa Selbst.

    174 players remain with average stack of 205k (68 bb) with blinds resuming at 1,500/3,000/400 ante.

    The chase for the $3.8 million prize pool continues at noon Wednesday in the Event Center.

    Top 10 Stacks  

    Torres & Khaterzai

    Raj Vohra  580,700
    Katayon Khaterzai 548,000
    Edwin Torres 544,900
    Ebony Kenney 480,200
    Justin Zaki 462,000
    Alex Rocha 447,500
    Jerry Wong 445,000
    Jeremy Kottler 418,600
    Cong Pham 416,600
    Cliff Josephy 401,400

    Matt Silberzweig (93k) & Amanda Musumeci (309) 
    Day 2 Bag & Tag

    Championship: Raj Wins 400k Chip Pot to Take Lead

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

    Blinds 1,200/2,400/400 ante

    On the third to last hand of the night Raj Vohra (Lakeworth, FL) and Kunal Patel (Friendswood, TX) are in a huge hand that gives Vohra the end of Day 2 chip lead. On a board of 8♣ 6♣ 2 ♠, there's a 4-bet all in and Patel's all in and at risk for his last 190k.

    Vohra: A♣ 9♣ (over card, flush draw)
    Patel: Q Q ♠ (over pair)

    Turn: 7♣ 

    Vohra hits his flush before the meaningless river card and finishes the night with the chip lead at 580,700.

    "I knew if I lost, I'd still have an average stack," says Vohra after knocking out Patel, who takes the beat in stride. Vohra would have been left with ~180k had he lost the hand.

    Vohra is no stranger to the WPT and is looking for redemption. "I've had the lead a couple of times on Day 1 or Day 2, but have never made a final table. We'll see if we can change that," he says.

    Vohra deepest run in a WPT Main Event is a 14th place finish in April as part of his $500,000 in career tournament earnings.

    Event 22: 4th place McClure

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

    Blinds 15K/30K Ante 4K

    Brad McClure picked the wrong time to defend his big blind against the small blind raise of Pablo Alvarez-Montoy. The cards were turned over and McClure's K-Q was crushed by Pablo's A-Q. The board came out 9-5-3-6-J and Pablo knocked out another opponent and we're three handed.


    Brad McClure (Roanoke, VA) - $6,535

    Event 22: 5th place Ien

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

    Blinds 12K/24K Ante 3K

    A short stacked Darryl Ien moved all in for his last 122K and was called by Pablo Alvarez-Montoy. Ien had K3 while Pablo held A♠4♣. Ien would flop a king and was looking good to double up but on the river he would see the last card he would ever want to see... an ace... and just like that we are down to four players.


    Darryl Ien (Newark, NJ) - $5,093

    Event 22: 6th place Hartzell

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

    Blinds 10K/20K Ante 3K

    Dale Hartzell min-raised under the gun for 40K and found two callers, one of them being Zeke McCurdy. The flop came 9♣42 and both callers checked to Hartzell who moved all in for his last 173K. McCurdy thought it over for a moment and ultimately made the call with J9. "Good call," said a surprised Hartzell as he turned over Q-J. The turn was the 2♣ and Hartzell was drawing to a queen. The river was the T♠ and that was the end of the tournament for Hartzell.



     Dale Hartzell (Leavittsborg, OH) - $4,244

    Event 22: 7th place Galazzo

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

    Blinds 10K/20K Ante 3K

    Down to 121K Joseph Galazzo moved all in and was called by Brad McClure. Galazzo held pocket 10's and McClure A♠J♠. The flop came 43♠2 keeping Galazzo in the lead but giving McClure a gutshot to go with his two overs. It would be that gutshot that would hit on the river when the 5 came prompting McClure to say "Oh my gosh. I had to put my glasses on just to see it." Galazzo was wishing he could put blinders on to not see it as he was eliminated on the hand.


    Joseph Galazzo (Union, NJ) - $3,395

    Event 22: 8th place Mantin

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

    Blinds 10K/20K Ante 3K

    Joe Galazzo opened the action for 40K. Pablo one seat to his left made it 130K to go. Mitchell Mantin, one seat to Pablo's left, moved all in for 397K total. It got back to Joe who after a moment declared that he was all in as well. Pablo didn't hesitate, pushing his chips in the middle, and we had a three way all in pot. The hands:

    Joe: Jacks
    Mitchell: AK
    Pablo: Aces

    Pablo had picked up a perfect time to get aces but could he survive two opponents? The flop came T♣7♣5 keeping him well ahead of the others. The turn was the 9♠ giving Joe six outs now instead of two. The river was the 5♠. Pablo was the shortest stack so he won the one million chip main pot while Joe had more chips and the better hand than Mitchell to win a very small (approximately 125K) side pot.


    Mitchell Mantin (Atlantic City, NJ) - $2,546