Wednesday, September 18, 2013

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

    Event 22: 5 Hands Before Bag & Tag

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

    Level 15: Blinds 1,200/2,400/400 ante

    Torres (left) and Queen (right)

    Edwin Torres (Bartow, FL) says, "you're not going to believe where I started," as he sits behind heaps of chips, "way at the bottom."

    Torres was 551st of 591returning players (bottom 7%) with 16k (27 bb) when play began and now he has ~525k. "I don't know, I can't count that high."

    Borgata trophy holder Alex Queen (Bethelehem, PA) gives Torres a fist bump as the clock winds to less than 15 minutes of play.

    "My mom's mad at you," laughs Queen, laughs the 2010 Borgata Spring Poker Open Champion ($356,000). "she hasn't seen any updates on me."

    This update is for mama Queen, your soon is doing fine and is right at the chip average of 198k (83 bb).

    Another table is down and we're at 180 players remaining with five hands to play for the night.

    Championship: Twitter Updates

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

    Level 15: Blinds 1,200/2,400/400 ante

    Kevin Saul, Kevin Lutz and John Allan Hinds are the latest players to tweet their departures, while Tyler Patterson tweets that he's doubled to 280k+

    196 players remain with an average stack of 182k (76 bb) with less than 30 minutes to play for the night.

    Championship: Adams Doubles Through Baldy

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

    Baldy Cringes Before Calling Adams All in

    We pick up the action with the board showing 7♠ 9 8 8 K♠ and Ken Adams (Washington DC) all in for 74k.  Eric "Base Baldy" Baldwin (Henderson, NV) is in the tank and says, "I don't know if I believe you."

    After a few minutes, Baldwin makes the call and says, "nooo," as Adams turns over J♠ 10 for the flopped straight.

    Baldwin mucks as he drops to 115k, while Adams gets the double up to more than 200k.

    Event 22: 9th place McEvoy

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

    Blinds 8K/16K Ante 2K

    Mike McEvoy re-raised chip leader Trevor Deeter over half of his stack prompting Deeter to say "you aren't folding are you." McEvoy laughed as Deeter made the call. The flop came J-T-9 and McEvoy moved all in. Deeter called. McEvoy held A-K while Deeter had queens. The turn and river would miss McEvoy and he would be the first player eliminated from the final table.


    Mike McEvoy (Ryebrook, NY) - $1,698

    Event 22: Final Nine underway

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

    Blinds 8K/16K Ante 2K

    There is no ten handed final table as there was a big all in confrontation right after the 11th place finisher busted between former WPT winner Sean Cunix and Trevor Deeter. Cunix held A-J and Deeter had pocket 7's which ended up being the winning hand by the time all the cards were dealt. The final nine is 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

    Championship: 500k Club

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

    Level 15: Blinds 1,200/2,400/400 ante

     Mahadevappa & Volpe

    Several players are in the 500k range and two of them are side-by-side. 

    Rajen Mahadevappa (Fords, NJ) and Paul Volpe (West Chester, PA) are both at the half mill mark and among the leaders. Volpe has position as they jockey for position during the last level of the night.

    Tuesday, September 17, 2013

    Championship: Last Break, Last Level

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

    Blinds 1,200/2,400/400 ante

    216 players are back from break with an average stack of 165k (69 bb). This is the last 90 minute of the night with play ending at ~1:05 pm.

    Tweet Counts

    Frank Valgenti 432k
    Justin Zaki 412k
    Cliff Josephy 282k
    Cherish Andrews 240k
    Jonathan Little 220k
    Artyem Perlov 185k
    Brian Lemke 165k
    Tyler Patterson 145k
    Jesse Cohen 140k
    Matt Salsberg 128k
    Matt Affleck 100k
    Ken Adams 95k
    Kevin Saul 64k
    Kevin Lutz 52k

    Recently Busted

    Manh Nguyen
    Mike Gagliano
    Rob Brown

    Championship: Busto Tweets

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

    Event 22: Almost final table time

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

    Blinds 6K/12K Ante 2K

    There are 13 players remaining with an average stack of 288K (24 big blinds). Final table should be soon. We will be there to provide coverage from start to finish once it does start.

    Event 22: 11 am Results & Remaining Prize Pool

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

    Entries: 250
    Total Buy-In: $87,500

    Place-Name-Amount

    1st $23,763
    2nd $14,004
    3rd $8,063
    4th $6,535
    5th $5,093
    6th $4,244
    7th $3,395
    8th $2,546
    9th $1,698
    10th $1,103
    11th Joe Cumia (Port Jefferson Station, NY) $1,103
    12th Robert Pellegrino $1,103
    13th  Kavita Agraharapu $934
    14th  Elan Chabi $934
    15th John Whitworth $934
    16th Matthew Nicholson $849
    17th  Larry Wolf $849
    18th Mike Holm  (Naperville, IL) $849
    19th  Howie Eintracht (Paia, HI) $764
    20th Mark Giordano (Lindenhurst, NY) $764
    21st William Oliver (Charlotte, NC) $764
    22nd Elia Ahmadian (Chantilly, VA) $764
    23rd Lance Funston (Penn Valley, PA) $764
    24th Marc Remmes (Montauk, NY) $764
    25th Johannes Mueller (Pittsford, NY) $764
    26th No Report
    27th Stephanie Hubbard (Hazlet, NJ) $764

    Championship: A little luck never hurts...

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

    Blinds 1K/2K Ante 300

    Daniel Buzgon was in the big blind facing a raise from Jonathan Little from the cutoff. Buzgon three bet it 11.7K. Little made it 26K. Buzgon moves all in and Little snap calls with Aces. Buzgon has jacks. A player at the table announces it as soon as he sees it "Jack ball" - a jack on the flop and Buzgon survives and wins a nice pot in the process. He's up over 275K.


    Daniel Buzgon making sure he gets his full double up


    At another table, Cherish Andrews took out two short stacks in a three way all in confrontation. Her A-Q bested a pair of 8's and 6's when a queen flopped. She said after the hand "I win the pots I need to." She is up to 130K after the hand.


    Cherish Andrews after winning a nice pot

    Championship: All Poker All the Time

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

    Level 14: Blinds 1k/2k/300 ante 

     Patterson (left) Checks Out ESPN in Between Hands

    "This hand is so weird," says Tyler Patterson (Everett, WA), "I don't know why he didn't just nuke the turn," as he and Mike Gagliano (Rockaway, NJ) analyze the hand in progress.

    Commenting on a current hand is a big no-no, but tonight in the Event Center it's happening all over the room.  Players have one eye on the big screens and are reacting to ESPN's coverage of the this year's WSOP Main Event.

    "This (tv) for sure," says Patterson when asked if he's paying more attention to the poker on tv or the action at his table.

    Chris Lindh (Brooklyn, NY), who is still in the Championship Event, is particularly glued to the screens.
    He finished in 16th place this summer for $358,000 tweets:

    Championship: Lucky Ladies

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

    Blinds 1K/2K Ante 300

    There is a very strong female presence left in the field - over 5% of the remaining field. Among those seen playing:

    Katayon Khaterzai 370K
    Amanda Musumeci 260K
    Vanessa Selbst 200K
    Melissa Burr 140K
    Grace Sun 125K
    Kara Scott 120K
    Ebony Kenney 100K
    Nancy Martin 100K
    Cherish Andrews 85K
    Jamie Kerstetter 85K
    Ronit Chamani 85K
    Christina Lindley 75K
    Danielle Andersen 60K

    Musumeci was down to 15K yesterday and got it up to 60K by the end of the day. She had run it up to over 300K before recently losing a decent sized pot with Kings:


    Event 22 Update

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

    Blinds 4K/8K Ante 1K

    There are 20 players remaining with an average stack of 188K (23 big blinds). We'll expand our coverage once they get down to the final table.

    Championship: Stacks building

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

    Blinds 1000/2000 Ante 300 

    Players have just gone on a break after the completion of level 13. When they return, they will be playing 1K/2K with a 300 ante. There are 261 players remaining. Some big stacks are building with the following approximate chip counts:

    Frank Valgenti 475K
    Justin Zaki 400K
    Jonathan Little 395K
    Paul Volpe 375K
    Amanda Musumeci 325K

    November Niner Ryan Riess is sitting pretty at over 250K and is staring up at the big screen watching the WSOP Main Event coverage. I asked him when he'll start showing up in the coverage and he said he thinks next week. Ironically, one table over Kara Scott, hostess of the coverage is also watching it saying "you all should watch this, I hear it's great." 

    A few recent Twitter updates:



    Championship: Borgata Babes

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

    Level 14: Blinds 1k/2k/300 ante

     (l-r) Khazanova, Khait & Vlasova

    Anna Khait (Brooklyn, NY) didn't satellite into the Championship Event, but still has a rooting interest.  Several players are pledging a portion of their winnings to the AMA Animal Rescue in New York, a nonprofit she and her friends Anna Khazanova & Mariya Vlasova founded.

    With ~250 players remaining, Anthony Zinno, Joe Liberta and Greg Rudolph are three players who are hoping to make the money and donate to the cause.

    "I rescued a cat," says Rudolph, "so it's something that's personal for me."

    Rudolph is at 85k (43 bb) and side-by-side with Zinno who is at 285k (143k).

    Khait isn't just another pretty face, but a serious player who donates as well.  She gave 20% of her
    winnings (~$600 of $3,035 earnings) from Event 1 when she finished in 110th place out of nearly 4,500 entries.

    Khait has played many events throughout the series, but is taking tonight off to celebrate her birthday and sweat the Championship Event.

    Rudolph & Zinno

    Event 22: In the money

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

    Blinds 2.5K/5K Ante 500

    They are in the money - it only took one hand to burst the bubble and it took only two more hands before we lost two more players including Stephanie Hubbard who ran jacks into kings to finish in 27th place. 25 players remain making the average chip stack 150K (30 big blinds). Sean Cunix still looks to be leading the way.


    Championship: This Time Tomorrow....

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

    Level 13, Blinds 800/1,600/200 ante

    ...we will be in the money, meaning ~2/3 of the players (315) returning from dinner break will walk away with nothing more than memories and experience.

    In 2012 the bubble broke just before 5 pm on Day 3 as documented here and we expect a similar time frame tomorrow.

    The field plays three more levels tonight with Day 2 bag and tag at ~1 am.

    Event 22: 11 am Payouts

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

    Entries: 250
    Total Buy-In: $87,500

    Place - Amount

    1st $23,763
    2nd $14,004
    3rd $8,063
    4th $6,535
    5th $5,093
    6th $4,244
    7th $3,395
    8th $2,546
    9th $1,698
    10-12 $1,103
    13-15 $934
    16-18 $849
    19-27 $764

    Event 22: 11 am Dinner Break & Bubble Time

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

    Dinner Break, Play Resumes 8:35 pm

    Cunix with Chips

    While the bubble won't break in the Championship Event until Wednesday afternoon, we're only two spots from the money in the 11 am trophy event.

    29 players remain with an average stack of 129k (26 bb) with 27 making the money.

    Former chip leader Jeremy Costa (Atlanta, GA) says he busted with pocket 10s right before dinner break when he shipped his last 75k to WPT Champion Sean Cunix (Galena, OH) who had pocket Aces.

    Cunix is up to 290k (58 bb).

    Championship: Dinner Break Tweets

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

    Championship: Dinner Break Tweet Counts

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

    Jonathan Little 365k
    Frank Valgenti 345k
    Brian Lemke 325k
    Amanda Musumeci 275k
    Cliff Josephy 250k
    Justin Zaki 200k
    Jared Jaffee 175k
    Matt Affleck 175k
    Robert Buckenmayer 162k
    John Allan Hinds 158k
    Matt Salsberg 135k
    Jamie Kerstetter 130k
    Alex Rocha 124k
    Kara Scott 120k
    Mike Gagliano 119k
    Tony Sinishtaj 104k
    Ralph Massey 101k
    D.J. MacKinnon 94k
    Robert Hwang 83k
    Kevin McColgan 78k
    Tyler Patterson 75k
    James Schafer 75k
    Jason Deutsch 70k
    Tom Wang 62k
    Kevin Saul 61k
    Melissa Burr 60k
    Cherish Andrews 55k
    Rob Brown 30k
    Matt Brady 27k
    James Campbell 15k

    Recently Busted  

    James Woods
    Pierre Deissler
    Lee Childs
    Justin Levy
    Peter Ippolito
    Anthony Cicali III 

    Championship: Dinner Break

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

    315 players remain with an average stack of 113k (71 bb) with play resuming at 8:05 pm.

    The chip leaders are between 350 and 400k and includes Tyler Gaston (Westerville, OH), WPT Champion Jonathan Little (Las Vegas, NV) and Paul Volpe (West Chester, PA).

    Championship: Day Two Photo Slideshow


    May not work on mobile devices.

    Championship: Woods Drawing Dead, Exits Main

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

    Level 12: Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante 

    Woods Tables his Final Hand

    After surviving his first all in with a chopped pot, actor James Woods isn't as lucky on his final hand.

    "I'm drawing dead," says the academy award nominee and poker enthusiast after John Racener, the 2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up, turns over a set of Queens.

    Woods tables A-8 with one card to go and says, "good game everyone."  Then with some quick wit he says, "wait I have a flush," as Woods rearranges the board and grabs Racener's Queen of hearts to make his Ace suited.

    Woods was down to 6k, losing 2/3 of his stack on a previous table, explaining that his pocket 10s were bested by A♣ 10♣ when his opponent hit runner-runner flush.  The hand, which took Woods from 60k (50 bb) to less than 20k, is notable because on the deal the opponent's second card flashed and the 9 was replaced.

    After discussing the hand with Tournament Director Tab Duchateau, Woods' is satisfied that the card was properly removed from play because multiple players said it flashed.  "Good that makes me feel better," as he heads out the Event Center door.

    Despite not cashing in this event, Woods' stay at Borgata was profitable after finishing runner-up in Event 20 for $17,214. 

    Woods Discusses the Flashed Card with Duchateau (right) and Will Failla

    Championship: Tweet-Outs Before Dinner

    $3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH

    Level 12:  Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante 

    End of level 12 and time for dinner!  Players have been dispatched on a 75 minute dinner break.

    Play will resume at 8:05pm.

    These folks Tweeted their departures before the end of the level:

    Lee Childs ‏@leechilds 48s
    Get in 22 BB AK<JJ. Out. :( Thx @BorgataPoker for another stellar tournament for the players. GL to the cool kids still in.

    Peter Ippolito ‏@peter_ippolito 48m
    Finally busted borgata main. Kinda surprised by it

    matt berkey ‏@berkey11 12m
    Uneventful day 2, as the Borgata claims another small piece of my soul. Ran AK into KK to bust. #HomewardBound

    Justin Levy ‏@Roothlus2 1m
    Busto


    Championship: Every Move Counts

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

    Level 12: Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante 

    Lemke & Wisiak

    Long levels, deep stacks and nearly $3.8 million in the prize pool means every Day 2 decision is carefully considered.

    On table 4, Borgata trophy holder and WSOP bracelet winner Brian Lemke (Norristown, PA) and Bobby "Wiz" Wisiak (Freash Meadows, NY) tread lightly in a recent pot.

    Lemke (UTG) raises preflop to 3k with Wisak and third player coming along.

    Flop: 7 A♠ 2

    Lemke c-bets to 4,200, Wisak reraises to 8,500, the third player gets out of the way, Lemke calls.

    Turn: 3♠

    Lemke check-calls a 10,200 bet.

    River: 8♣

    Both players check the river and Lemke tables AJ with Wisiak saying, "smaller Ace," while tossing his hand into the muck.  "I knew I couldn't get you off the hand."

    Each decision was made with caution as the pursuit continues with Lemke up to 225k (188 bb), while Wisak drops to 95k (59 bb).

    Championship: New Chip Leaders

     $3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH

    Level 12:  Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante 

    Tyler Gaston

    Tyler Gaston (Westerville, OH) is up to 350k and appears to be leading the field.

    Frank Valgenti

    Frank Valgenti (Manasquan, NJ) is close behind with 340k.

    Jonathan Little

    Jonathan Little (Las Vegas, NV) is also hovering around 340k.

    38 tables remain.  That's about 340 players, averaging 105k.

    Championship: Sun Burns Arieh

    $3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH

    Level 12:  Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante

     Josh Arieh's All-In Moment Against Grace Sun, as David Kim Looks On

    Josh Arieh (Marietta, GA) got his last chips in with AK off, but ran into Grace Sun's (Absecon, NJ) pocket Kings. 

    The board ran out T 2 2 J 8 and was no help to Josh.  He hit the rail.

    Grace chipped up to about 170k.

    Event 22: 11 am Chip Leader - Costa

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

    Blinds 800/1,600/200 ante

    Jeremy Costa 
    Chip Leader

    Jeremy Costa (Atlanta, GA) wins a 150k chip pot when his pocket Aces hold against pocket 8s to take his chip count to 200k.

    70 players remain with an average stack of 54k (34 bb).

    Championship: Recent Departures

     $3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH

    Level 12:  Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante

    Vinny Pahuja (Hicksville, NY) got his last chips in with AK suited and ran into BOTH pocket Queens and pocket Aces.  He's departed this event.

     Dearly Departed:  John Holley, Loni Harwood, Aaron Massey, & Ari Engel

    Also gone:

    John Holley
    Loni Harwood
    Aaron Massey
    Ari Engel

    Championship: Break Time Chip Chirps

    $3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH

    Level 12:  Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante   

    Players are back from their third break.  43 tables remain.  About 385 players.  Average is ~93k.

    Break Time Chip Chirps:

    Frank Valgenti - 305k
    Jonathan Little - 300k
    Justin Zaki - 227k
    Cliff Josephy - 162k
    Robert Buckenmayer - 142k
    Artyem Perlov - 130k
    Ryan Olisar - 127k
    Kevin Lutz - 125k
    James Schafer - 123k
    Jason Deutsch - 120k
    Mike Gagliano - 120k
    Matt Salsberg - 100k
    Tom Wang - 96k
    >>>>>> Average stack - 93k
    Kevin Saul - 86k
    Jamie Kerstetter - 85k
    Matt Affleck - 83k
    Sheddy88 - 82k
    Kevin McColgan - 80k
    Tyler Patterson - 55k
    Jarrod Ludemann - 42k
    Cherish Andrews - 40k
    >>>>>> Starting stack - 30k
    Robert Hwang - 29k
    Lee Childs - 24k
    Rob Brown - 21k
    David Stefanski - 16,600
    John Holley - 12k

    Championship: More Goners

    $3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH

    Level 11:  Blinds 500/1,000/100 ante 

     Joe McKeehen

    Joe McKeehen (North Wales, PA) shoved on the flop of A 5 4 holding AK for top/top.  Unfortunately for Joe, his opponent held pocket 4s and had flopped a set.  Joe's toast.

    More Tweet-Outs:

    Cathy Dever ‏@CathyDever 40m
    Out of the Borgata main 666/JJJ flop. Heartbroken :(

    Orson Young ‏@YoungOrson 37m
    Busto.Open 3callers I shove BB w 18bbs w 99, 2nd caller isos 35bbs w KQ, 3rd caller calls and covers w AA. Fun board ofJ 73 turn 9 riv T lol

    Orson Young ‏@YoungOrson 36m
    Great tournament as always, GL to friends still in! Hoping a Borg reg goes deep.

    Zo Karim ‏@PakmanMMA 13m
    Open black AA to 2k with 27k to start. Bb calls. J72dd he leads 3k I shove he calls q7o n turn q

    Zo Karim ‏@PakmanMMA 2m
    So, prob gonna eat a lot of ice cream since I busted Borgata main. Anyone in want any? #mytreat

    Steve Tabb ‏@Tabb_City 12m
    Out of the main after KK < AJ and KQ vs Ac3c on Kc54c board. The experience was worth $3500 though. #joke

    Borgata & WPT Expand Relationship

    Adam Pliska, WPT President, made a huge announcement here in the Event Center a short while ago.

    The World Poker Tour and Borgata are expanding their relationship. 

    First, starting in 2014, the Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship will once again become a televised WPT event.

    Then the really big news:  for the first time in WPT history, the Season XII WPT World Championship will leave Las Vegas and be held here at Borgata in the Spring of 2014.

    That means that in Season XII there will be not one, not two, but THREE televised WPT events held here at Borgata!


    Event 22: 11 am Plugging Along

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

    Level 10: Blinds 600/1,200/200 ante 

    The 11 am trophy event is running side-by-side the Championship Event and the field is down to 110 of ~250 entries.

    Familiar Faces Still Grinding

    Mike Holm
    Stephanie Hubbard
    Sean Cunix
    Jordan Ludwig
    Toby Kasser
    "G.I. Joe Boatwright
    Jason LaTourette

    Championship: November Niner Leads

    $3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH

    Level 11:  Blinds 500/1,000/100 ante  

    Ryan Riess - November Niner

    Ryan Riess (Port Austin, MI) is the new chip leader with ~310k.  He's also a member of the 2013 WSOP November Nine. 

    At 23 years old, he is the youngest player remaining in the WSOP Main Event and is the middle of the pack chips-wise, with four players ahead of him and four players with fewer chips.

    Ryan has a business degree from Michigan State.

    Championship: Break Time Chip Chirps

    $3300 + $200 Championship Deep Stack Double Play NLH

    Level 11:  Blinds 500/1,000/100 ante 

    50 tables remain.  450 players active.  Average stack 79k.

    Keep those Tweets coming!  #BPO

    Never too late to check the Tweets.  Here are the latest chip chirps:

    Jonathan Little - 280k
    Frank Valgenti - 250k
    Justin Zaki - 218k
    Kevin Lutz - 110k
    Mike Gagliano - 110k
    Ryan Olisar - 110k
    Ken Adams - 98k
    Sheddy88 - 92k
    Kevin Saul - 90.8k
    Tom Wang - 90k
    Andy Frankenberger - 90k
    Tyler Patterson - 82k
    Steve Scales - 80k
    Kara Scott - 80k
    >>>>>> Average stack - 79k
    Robert Buckenmayer - 78k
    Amanda Musumeci - 75k
    James Campbell - 70k
    John Lakatosh - 66k
    Zo Karim - 65k
    Lee Childs - 60l
    Jarod Ludemann - 60k
    Mike Summers - 55k
    Matt Affleck - 50k
    Ari Engel - 48k
    Bob Hwang - 46
    John Holley - 41k
    Matt Salsberg - 40k
    Artyem Perlov - 40k
    Joe McKeehen - 39,500
    >>>>>> Starting stack - 30k
    Rob Brown - 21k
    Jesse Cohen - 19k
    Allison Schultz - 14k
    Mike Hahn - 13k
    Justin Levy - 10k