Event 14 Recap

$1000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
The best birthday ever for Vinny Pahuja who outlasted Alex Rocha in a four-hour heads-up duel for the $43,648 top spot. Alex stuffed pocket Aces on the river and Vinny snapped having hit two pair with J-9.

The two-day journey/celebration would have been cut short if on Day-1 Vinny failed to smash a 9 on the river after 4-betting all-in at-risk with A-9 vs. A-Q. Another key hand was when Vinny flopped two clubs and his opponent flopped the wheel. Again he was all-in at-risk and received an early birthday present on the river with the life-saving flush.

Vinny acknowledged how stiff his competition was and complimented the play of Alex Rocha. Alex was the 2011 Borgata Winter Poker Open, $500 NL, 1st place winner for $150k. He adds another $24,008 to his career earnings.

Vinny Pahuja has captured over $1 million in lifetime earnings but had never won any Borgata Open titles. He really wanted this win and was very happy to take it down in front of his supportive rail, and on his actual birthday.

Dan Buzgon is getting more and more recognized after his 2011 WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship TV table where he finished 3rd for $335,433. Dan has two cashes in this series in addition to his third place finish tonight ($13,823).

Manh Nguyen (Munhall, PA) is also having a magnificent 2012 Borgata Spring Poker Open, having won event 2 ($350 Black Chip Bounty for $30k) and finishing 4th in event 5 ($700 NL for $8,800) and now making his third final table of the series today, finishing 5th for $8,730.

Mark Wahba, (Cleveland, OH) who finished 16th ($2,183) currently sits atop the Borgata Leaderboard with over 460 points. He already has a win and a second place finish in this series.

Yesterday 150 entered generating a total prize pool of $150,000.  Some heavy hitters who played but failed to cash include Matt Matros (2 WSOP bracelets); Brock Parker (2 WSOP bracelets); Bill Gazes ($2.3 million lifetime); Dwyte Pilgrim (2010 Borgata Poker Open Champion); and Mike Leah ($1.4 million lifetime).

But once again, congratulations and Borgata birthday wishes go out to Vinny Pahuja who played some terrific poker and now can cut into $43,648 worth of b-day cake.

Final Table Results
1. Vinny Pahuja (Hicksville, NY) $43,648
2. Alex Rocha (S. Setauket, NY) $24,008
3. Dan Buzgon (Marlton, NJ) $13,823
4. Jay Nair (Redmond, WA) $11,640
5. Manh Nguyen (Munhall, PA) $8,730
6. Alex Smith (Highland Park, NJ) $7,275
7. Mohamed Elkerdawy (Brigantine, NJ) $5,820
8. 'Action' Bob Hwang (Barnegat, NJ) $4,365
9.  Laura Camuso (Woburne, MA) $2,910
10. James Boyle (Havre de Grace, MD) $3,274