Event 17: Day 1B End of Night Chips

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Steve Saklad (Hartsdale, NY) - 241,900
Day 1B - Chip Leader

Place......Player.................Chip Count

1. Steve Saklad..................... 241,900
2. Shiraz Hasan................... 224,500
3. Nick Petrangelo............... 193,000
4. Brian Hak........................ 186,200
5. Omar Smeed.................... 179,300
6. Jonathan Benster............ 177,100
7. Louis Lazzinnaro............. 172,000
8. Nick Bennett.................... 159,509
9. Ruslan Dykshteyn............ 157,100
10. Phong "VIP" Nugyen...... 144,700
11. Larry Abrams................... 144,200
12. William Parker................ 138,700
13. Rob Anderson.................. 135,500
14. Brian England.................. 130,800
15. Rocco Luciano.................. 126,500
16. Roslyn Quarto................... 125,800
17. Ian Palomo........................ 125,700
18. Jerry Payne....................... 124,800
19. Francis Cipriano................ 124,600
20. Mike Meskin...................... 124,200
21. Neville Darrell.................... 119,000
22. Cliff Josephy....................... 112,600
23. Paul Spitzberg..................... 107,000
24. Zhu Yue............................... 105,800
25. Robert Aaronson................. 105,200
26. Ali Tabatabai....................... 104,100

As the tournament closed out for the day it was a battle between Shiraz Hasan and Steve Saklad but nobody knew it. We all thought Shiraz had the 3K locked up. Apparently at the buzzer Steve sneaked across the finish line with the win.

"I'm excited to be freerolling however realize we still have a long way to go for potentially a big payday" said Steve Saklab.

Check back after 9am for all 172 Player chip counts for those finishing today.

Tomorrow at noon in the Signature Room, 54 from Day 1A will combine with 172 from Day 1B giving us 226 total players.

Also check back after 9am for seat assignments.

Have a great night!

Event 17: Cathy Dever - Royal Flush

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Cathy Dever - Royalty

Table 1 has been on fire. In the very first hand of the day someone there flopped quad two's.

Later in the day another Opponent flopped quads again.

And now Cathy Dever just got a royal flush. She was all smiles and the other players congratulated her on the hand.

Dever held Q♣ 10♣ and saw a flop of K♣ J♣ Q♥ .

Turn bricked out but the A♣ hit the river for the very rare Royal.

Cathy has 60,000 after betting 5,000 on the river and getting paid off.

Four more hands until the end of Level 10.

Event 17: Teach Gets Sabbatical

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Ken "Teach" Aldridge (Pleasant Garden, NC) hits an early summer vacation after limping with JJ and getting caught by Brian Hak's 6-6.

Hak flops a set of sixes, goes all in, and is called by Aldridge.

"Hindsight is 20/20" says Teach who now regrets not shoving his 58,000 pre-flop.

Brian is now up to 185,000.

Looks like he's second in chips but still in striking distance for the 3K.

At the same table (13) is Richard Marshall (Raleigh, NC) and Gavin Smith.

Gavin won the last longer bet vs. Matt Stout and should make it to bag and tag time.

Event 17: No More Mo

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Poker Pro - Maurice Hawkins (Coral Springs, FL) is pretty upset and rightfully so.

First Mike Borovetz cracked his KK holding 77 and now another Opponent (holding 6-9 off) cracked his KK again. Flop fell 6-6-8 sending Hawkins to the rail.

Maurice couldn't believe the player called his 10,000 pre-flop raise, especially since he only had another 50,000 behind.

Event 17: The Big Saklad

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Steve Saklad (Hartsdale, NY) - 170,000

Steve Saklad (Hartsdale, NY) wins two big hands and jets up to being among the chip leaders.

In hand number 1 - Steve gets in with 2-3 suited and flops a wheel. Opponent came along for the ride after flopping a set of fives. Turn and river bricked out.

In hand number 2 - Steve shipped with KK and got called by J-9. Saklad had to sweat an open-ended draw on the flop. Table explained the pot as Steve collecting a 45,000 gift.

Steve became a poker pro four years ago and is looking to add to his career earnings with a top spot finish here in the Championship.

Event 17: Manh Down

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Manh Nguyen (Munhall, PA) moves his short stack all in on a flop of 9♥ 9♣ K♥ and Rob Shortway (St. Petersburg, FL) calls.

Nguyen: A♥ 2♥ (nut flush draw)
Shortway: 9♦ 6♦ (trip 9s)

Turn: 10♥ (Nguyen hits flush)

River: 6♥ (Shorway full house)

Nguyen only had 10k to start the hand and is out of the Borgata Poker Open Championship Event.

Less than 225 players remain on 17 tables in the Signature Room Eight tables, with eight more in the Poker Room.  The average stack is 50k (83 BB) with blinds at 300/600, 75 ante.

Event 17: Boro-Sets

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Michael Borovets (Pittsburgh, PA) more than doubles up after cracking KK with 77 after spiking a 7 on the flop. Thanks to the tournament saving set, he's got North of 100,000.

"Finally some good luck" exclaims Mike after hitting his man. He also knocked out a player holding A-8.

Board ran: 3-2-7-Q-4.

Also at Table 2 is Paul Spitzberg (Tenafly, NJ) who supports a friend and helps out in a poker venture called POSITION POKER. Paul is ready for on-line poker to return so he can implement his new gaming device/venture.

Like Mike, Paul is also right around 100,000. He only had KK once and with that one good hand was able to somehow sustain his stack.

Event 17: Bennett Busts Two

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Nick Bennett (Bennington, VT) turns a straight with Q 10 and gets his opponent to call of his remaining chips for a 120k chip pot.  Two hands later Bennett takes out a short stack with KJ vs K9 and now has 166k.

"I guess all you have to do is stop playing poker for six months," says the recent college graduate, who quit his job a week ago to play poker.

After graduating from Castleton State College of Vermont, Bennett tried working, but figured he'd put his mathematics degree to work at the poker tables.

Event 17: Ruslan Radar

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Dykshteyn Ruslan (Brooklyn, NY) - 115,000

Dykshteyn looks around the room with his eye on the other big stacks. He's ready to make a push and take down the 3K bonus at the end of the night.

When asked about it Ruslan responded with a smile, "I'm trying".

26 tables remain. Ave. chips 48,076

Kathy Liebert was getting short. She shoved with K-Q and was called by A-10.

Board ran clean and Liebert calls it a night.

Event 17: Chip Leader

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

 Middletown Man with Middle Pair

Shiraz Hasan (Middletown, DE) is the big stack with 169k and is 30k clear of the next closest player. He says his biggest pot came when he and his opponent both thought the other was on a flush draw.

Hasan makes a 45k river bet and the opponent tank calls. Hasan's middle pair is best against bottom pair and he takes down a 100k+ pot.

Hasan, who only has one recorded tournament cash for $4,000 at Borgata, is well aware of the $3,000 bonus for the end of night Day 1B chip leader.

Event 17: Stout vs. Smith

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Poker Pros Matt Stout and Gavin Smith just made a last longer bet since both have about the same amount in chips.

Gavin's table broke up so he gets a new zipcode.

Matt has 21,600 after winning a couple hands and tripling up. After the scoop he sounds off, "One more and we call it a winning street" quoting the classic movie "Major League".

Gavin has 19,500 and is confident he's got plenty to do some damage.

Event 17: Blinds Up, Dwyte Down

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Dwyte Pilgrim, the 2010 Borgata Poker Open Champion, is out after his opponent gets him twice.  First the player turns a set against DP's top two pairs. 

A short time later Pilgrim's all in with 99 against the players AK.  DP loses the races, is on the rail, and won't be around to see level 9 (300/600, 75 ante) which is underway.

Event 17: Roman Wins Some Numerals

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Roman Valerstein - 111,000

Roman Valerstein (Newtown Square, PA) felts a foe after flopping a full house.

Roman had wired sevens in the hole and loved the 3-7-3 flop.

Turn card brought another 3 which gave Opponent's JJ a smaller boat.

Event 17: Back To Business

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Hopefully everyone is well rested, well fed, and ready to 3-bet, c-bet, jam, stuff, ship, and suck out until Level 10 ends tonight.

With a $1,300,000 Total Buy-In, once again Borgata makes the guarantee for the Championship.

Level 9: 300 / 600 with 75 antes.

Event 17: Nancin With The Stars

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Nancy Martin Still Dancing With 24,000

Nancy Martin (Washington Crossing, PA) was all set to go to dinner and swore she wasn't going to play the final hand. She quickly looked at her two cards, prepared to muck, but then saw she got A-K. Nancy has been dealt Big Slick ten times today and hasn't connected on any of them.

Sure enough, with four callers in the pot, Nancy hits a King high on the flop and gets a short stack to shove against her holding A-Q.

A-Q off goes on to suck out runner-runner for the flush.
So Nancy was pretty angry heading out to dinner dropping from 40,000 down to 24,000.

She arrived early to decompress and relax to Dancing With The Stars.
If you follow the show (and who doesn't), Martin is rooting for Maria & Derek.

Event 17: Payouts

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Entries: 520
Total Buy-In: $1,300,000

Place - Amount

1st $312,483
2nd $175,700
3rd $112,950
4th $89,733
5th $70,280
6th $57,730
7th $45,808
8th $35,768
9th $25,100
10-12 $16,315
13-15 $12,550
16-18 $9,413
19-27 $6,903
28-36 $6,275
37-45 $5,648
46-54 $5,020

Event 17: Dinner Break Numbers

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Number of Entries Day 1B: 375
Players Remaining Day 1B: 244

Average Stack: 46k (92 BB)
Big Stack: 169k (338 BB)

Blinds: 250/500, 50 ante

Total Buy-In: $1,300,000
First Prize: $312,483
Places Paid: 54

Note: 54 players remain from Day 1A; the chip leader bagged 295k.

Event 17: Eat'n & Tweet'n

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Manh Nguyen
On dinner break with 15k. Looking for a few triple ups when I come back

Vinny Pahuja
30k at dinner and ecstatic about it. We play half level of 250/500, 3/600 and bag and tag after 4/800. Reconvene in an hour.

Mike Leah
Day 1 going smooooth, 74k on dinner break coming back to 300/600

Danny Rohde
Up to 85k spring open main event near dinner break

"Action" Bob Hwang
Dinner break 65k.

Alex Queen
Dinner break with right around 30k just lost qq to ak aipf for a hefty amount two and a half more levels tonight

Adam Lippert
Crippled before dinner break got 2200 going to 300-600

Event 17: Dinner Bell Rings

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Entire tournament is enjoying an extended 75 minute dinner break.

Action resumes at 8:45 in the Signature Room and Poker Room.

Average stack is 43,103 with 29 tables remaining.

Top stack after Level 10 gets a $3,000 bonus prize on the spot.

Event 17: Dirty Stack

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Justin Liberto - (Baltimore, MD)

I might call...can I get a count? This stack is a dealer's nightmare.

Reminds me of a pack of Fruit Stripe gum back in the day.

Justin is seated at the same table as Borgata regular and Poker Pro - Matt Glantz who is in seat one. Matt is known throughout as both an excellent high stakes cash game player and tournament player.

On a different table, Ian Palomo sees a full house with A-J and knocks a player out holding 88. Ian is up to around 100,000.

Bad Beat Jackpot

Cash Tables Looking for the BBJ

In addition to the Championship tables and the 6 pm Yellow Chip Bounty Tournament, there are plenty of cash game players with their eye on the big prize, the $515,350 Bad Beat Jackpot.

The BBJ has everyone playing those suited connectors and pocket pairs. Even though it's a long shot, players are putting in extra chips with 3♦ 5♦ for a chance to crack quad 10s and take home a nice windfall.

Here's the breakdown if the BBJ hit right now (quad 10+ loses):

Losing Hand: $206,140
Winning Hand: $103,070
Table Share $12,884 (8 player split)

The small BBJ (quad 2-9 loses) is at $50,000

Bad Beat Jackpot

Event 17: Bermuda Brawl

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Neville Darrell (Bermuda) played yesterday and busted so he's back for another shot today.

Ironically he's in the exact table and seat from yesterday's draw.

Things are looking better today after scooping a pot with three players involved.

In the end Neville's A-5 flops a wheel and holds up. He is above average with 50,000.

Board: 4-3-2-8-9

Pocket 6-6 called off all his chips on the turn.

The third Player involved tanked the turn holding A-8 of spades with two spades on board and finally made a great fold.

New 60 minute level is underway: Level 8: Blinds - 250 / 500 with 50 antes.

Dinner break is at 7:30PM

Event 17: Who Want's Three Grand?

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Don't forget $3,000 is up for grabs for whoever has the most chips at the end of the night.

Last night Matt Woodward pocketed the same amount after bagging 294,000.

Play ends at the conclusion of Level 10.

Event 17: Hatrick For Patrick

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Patrick Brosnan (Simsbury, CT)

Patrick Brosnan normally plays cash but he likes to make appearances in big major tournaments.

It's his first time at Borgata and of course he's enjoying his stay and treatment.

Third table change in the last 20 minutes for Brosnan who recently doubled up on a dominating draw that came through in spades (Pun intended).

His AJ of spades vs. Opponent's Q9 of spades on a spade heavy flop.

Some people complain about being moved, if the chips keep pushin' his way, he's okay with continual movement up until the final table.

Patrick also says hi to his friends in Simsbury following the blog.

Event 17: Harry Potter & The Mad Dog's Bone

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Sardor Gaziev & Mike "Mad Dog" Shasho

Mike "Mad Dog" Shasho & nephew Harry Potter are in the same tournament just one table away.

Mike having fun and Sador of course is a good sport.

These guys are playing for a ton of money but the atmosphere is still loose and fun in the Signature Room.

We'll see if Sardor Gaziev (N. Brunswick, NJ) can conjure up some more chips.

270 remain on 30 tables.

Average stack: 41,666

Event 17: This Guy's A Hak

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Brian Hak - 110,000

Brian Hak (Washington, D.C.) takes down a juicy pot on table-13 and is now one of the chip leaders.

When the dust settled, Brian turned a flush holding K♠ 10♠ and his Opponent flopped Broadway with K♥ Q♦.

All the chips got in on the flop. No knock-out.

Board: 10♦ J♠ A♠ 2♠ A♥

Event 17: Tweet Chips

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Players are back from a 15 minute break as blinds are now 200/400 with a 50 ante.

Tweeted Chip Counts

Cliff Josephy - 75k
Steve Ryan - 72k
Joe Cappuccio - 58k
Rob Lederer - 52k
Bob Hwang - 51k
Jerry Payne - 49k
Jerry Callahan - 45k
David Zeitlin - 42k
Lee Childs - 37k
Cherish Andrews 30k
Dan Buzgon - 27k
Steve Scales - 26k
Larry Sharp - 25k
Adam Lippert - 24k
Vinny Pahuja - 23k
Chris Tryba 22k
Christian Harder - 21k
Mark Scellato - 12k
Alex Rocha - Bust

Event 17: Nguyen-er Every Hand

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Two of the more friendly and popular players at Borgata share the last name of Nguyen (pronounced "win," in case the headline doesn't make sense!) and both are at the same table.

Manh Nguyen (Munhall, PA) and Phong "VIP" Nguyen (Fairfax, VA) each have made at least one final table during the Borgata Spring Poker Open including Manh's win in Event 2 ($30,159).

On a hand before break, VIP (99) doubles through Manh (KK) who ships 15k across the table.  Manh is now down to 12k, while VIP wins or "Nguyen's" this round.

Event 17: Tough Table 23

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)   

Tables 26 and 25 have broken in the Signature Room.  24 Tables remain in here.

Table 23 has buffed up since I last visited back there.

Ryan D'Angelo has taken the 1 seat, sharing the felt with Jared Jaffee, Maurice Hawkins, Rocco Luciano, and Karthik (winner of event 5).

Event 17: Spade on the River

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Rob Shows Player Short-way to the Rail

Rob Shortway (St. Petersburg, FL) moves all in after a flop of 8♠ 5♠ J♥ and his opponent is at risk after making the call.

Shortway: 7♠ 10♠ (flush draw, gutshot straight draw)

Opponent: 10 10

Shortway hits the 8♠ on the river for the flush, the 40k pot and the knockout; he now has 72k.

Event 17: McKenzie Ships a Double

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)   

Blinds: 150/300, 25 ante

With 2k already committed to the pot, Ray McKenzie (sb) called a shove from middle position for 25k+.

Ray's AQ suited was up against pocket Kings.  He flopped a flush draw, but didn't get there and the Queen on the river was too little, too late.  Ray was left with less than 3k.

** Update:  Ray busted out soon after this hand.

Event 17: Hook'ed by Quads

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)   

Blinds Up: 150/300, 25 ante

During the previous level, Chalie Hook (Philadelphia, PA) flopped a full house with pocket 66s on a flop of 6 2 2.  Unfortunately for Chalie, Shankar Pillai (New York, NY) had pocket 2s for quads.

After shipping the double, Chalie was left with only about 2k.

Matt Iles (Atco, NJ) got all-in pre-flop holding AK, but ran into Aces.  He's toast.

Event 17: 100k Man

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Several player are approaching the 100k mark and Akiva Pearlman (New York, NY) is past it after turning a full house.  On a board of 2 7 3 2 9 he bets 13k to put his opponent all in.

After a minute the player makes the call and is out when Pearlman shows pocket 3s for a boat, 3s full of 2s.

No more re-entry so all eliminations are permanent from the Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship Event.

Event 17: Late Arrivals

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)  

These folks have arrived late or just been spotted in the field:

Paul Darden
Freddy Rouhani
Christian Harder (arrived during previous level -- at table with Dwyte Pilgrim)
Mike Marder
Ara Melikian
Michael Shasho
Amnon Filippi

Event 17: Poker Posers

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Travell Thomas, Tony "Muscles" Campagna & 
Paul "Grey Aces" Spitzberg

Event 17: Chip Count Tweets

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)  

Here are some chip counts that were Tweeted during the last break:

Mike Wolf - 92k
Steve Ryan - 80k
Rob Lederer - 73k
Cliff Josephy - 60k
Jerry Payne - 56.6k
Bob Hwang - 56k
Mark Sykes - 56k
Joe Cappuccio - 48k
David Zeitlin - 42k
Lee Childs - 30.7k
Mark Scellato - 28k
Steve Scales - 27.5k
Matt 'muffins' Mazzeo - 25k
Vinny Pahuja - 23k
Matt Iles - 22k
Ronnie Bardah - 22k
Larry Sharp - 20.5k
Jerry Callahan - 15.6k
Dan Buzgon - 15k
Adam Lippert - 7.5k

Event 17: Last Ditch Effort

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Somma (right) Doubles Up

Paul Volpe (Turnersville, NJ) is looking to re-enter and puts his last 5200 into the pot. Mike Somma (Middle Village, NY) moves in for 16k on top and a third player makes the call giving Volpe a chance to triple-up.

Volpe: A♣ 6♠
Somma: A♥ A♠
Mr X: J♣ J♠

Flop: J♥ 2♥ 6♥ (Mr. X set of jacks, Somma nut flush draw)

Turn: K♥ (Somma flush)

River: 3♦

Somma wins with the flush and more than doubles to 40k, while his opponent drops to 15k. Volpe is back in the re-entry line for a fresh 30k.

Event 17: Ante, Ante, Ante!

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)   

Blinds Up:  100/200, 25 ante

Late registration and re-entry is now closed. 

This is the first level with antes, so the dealers are having to ask multiple times.  Get used to it folks, from now on, you will have to ante every hand for the rest of the tournament!

Alex Rocha busted out at the end of level 4 and has re-entered.  His Tweets on the topic:

alex rocha ‏ @THE_ALEX_ROCHA

- Out. Lol

- Can't seem to ever get anything going in these main events and bust in silly fashion. Oh well! Good luck to all my vatos locos still in

- Just kidding. Still in. #ReEntry

Event 17: More Friendly Faces

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)  

Poker Room

Jay Nair
Anthony Caruso
John Del Rossi
Danny Rohde
Mike Summers
Alex "Jedi" Nepomnyaschiy
Paul Volpe
Travell Thomas
Paul Volpe
Mike Somma
Leonard Cortelino
Munh Nguyen
Brett Richey
Larry Sharpe
Brian Muldrow
Tony Behbahani
Al Grimes
Abe Korotki
Mike Devinsky
Wade Woelfel
Billy Pilossoph

Event 17: More Interesting Tables

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)   

Level 4 is done and players are on break.  Here are some tables not yet mentioned:

Table 19
Joe Liberta
Greg Fishberg

Table 21
Cliff Josephy
Mark Scellato
Joe Wertz
Anthony Zinno
Sam Bernstein

Table 23
Jared Jaffee
Rocco Luciano
Karthik
Allan Vrooman (was here, busted out & re-entered)

Table 25
Brian Haveson
Nancy Martin
Jimmy Wong (after busting and re-entering)
Mike Omelchuk

Event 17: Re-Entries Nearly Done

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)  

Lee Childs got off to a rough start when he sat down at table 18 with David Zeitlin on his right.

Then his pocket Aces got cracked by pocket 9s.

Then the last of his chips went in with pocket 8s, racing against QJ.  He lost that race when a Queen flopped.

Lee has re-entered and landed at table 16 with Jamie Kerstetter & Joanne Monteavaro.

Borgata Leaderboard points leader Mark Wahba has also busted out and re-entered.  He's now at table nine with Natale Kuey, Cherish Andrews, and Feming Chan.

This is the last level for re-entires and late registration.

Event 17: Dirty Dozen

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

There are now 12 tables in the Poker Room and Table 34 has some heavy hitters with Stephen Rodriguez, Steve Dannenmann and Phong "VIP" Nguyen.

Other Poker (Room) Faces 

Miguel Borerro
Mickey Woll
Dave Fox
Patty Barsanti-Chou
Mike Leah
Tony "Muscles" Campagna
Chalie Hook

Event 17: Table Spotting

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)  

Vladimir Peck was on table 16, along with Jamie Kerstetter and Joanne Monteavaro.

Now after busting out and re-entering, he's landed on table 6 with Jesse Cohen, Adam Lippert, and Steve Ryan.

Table 14
Alex Queen
Dennis Gnidash

Table 15
Scott Wardell
Mike Linster
Adam Agaev

Table 18
David Zeitlin
Lee Childs
Carless 'Joe' Boatwright
Leo G

Event 17: Wolf Takes Out David

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Blinds Up:  100/200

During the previous level (75/150) I see Nick David (Manchester, NH) stand up from table one and put on his jacket, then head for the door.  Then the dealer pushes all his chips over to Mike Wolf (NY).

Mike then Tweets: 

Oops put in a lot of chips with a drawing hand and I beat a made hand.

Sounded interesting, so I went over to get the full story.  Wasn't as bad as he makes it sound.  Nick was down to only 20 big blinds and they got all-in pre-flop.

Nick had pocket Kings and Mike had AK and caught an Ace on the board.  Happens all the time.

Mike's up to ~70k.

Event 17: Excuses, Excuses

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Borgata regular Tony Antonious (Reddington Shores, FL) is back for another shot today.  When I asked what happened yesterday, he told me he "wanted to go to church" so he donked off his chips.

That's a new one --never heard that from a poker player before.  That excuse won't work again today, Tony.

Tony's back on table four with Barry Leventhal.

Event 17: McKenzie Representing

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)  

Ray McKenzie

Ray McKenzie (Eastern Shore, MD) is here playing in his first live main event at the young age of 60.

He won his seat at the VFW and he's here representing them and playing for 20 people.

Currently in level three and he's still got about 30,000, which is what they started with.  There's still a lot of poker to be played so best of luck to Ray and a shout-out to the folks at the VFW!

Familiar faces on Ray's table (5) are Roman Valerstein and Wazir Baksh.

Event 17: Break Time Tweets

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry) 

Blinds Up:  75/150

Players are back from break.

The Twitter-verse is abuzz with news of this event.  Here's a sampling from the break:

Cherish Andrews ‏ @CherishAndrews
22k coming back to 75/150.

Joe Cappuccio ‏ @poochpoker
49K 75/150

christopher tryba ‏ @christryba
30k at 1st brk...took a stinky 1, then 99<1010 :(

Mark Sykes ‏ @breakforhippies
36500 at first break borgata spring open ME

Robert Hwang ‏ @ActionBobNJ
Borgata main event day 1b. Much better start today. Up to 53k from 30k start at first break.

Matt Iles ‏ @mattyiles
Still @ 30k going into 75 150

Cliff Josephy ‏ @JohnnyBaxPoker
Lost 10k pot to @mscell w/97s turned top 2 v his flopped str8. Bad riv p/o. Got there w/FD v @bdbeatslayer's mdl set. 52k from 30k after 2

Rob Lederer ‏ @KramerTM
Stacked the rest of the chips from the same guy. Got all in preflop. My AA held vs his QQ. Over 60K at first break.

Jerry Payne ‏ @sandler1860
23,375 1st break down from 30k start. could be worse, lost 3 pots where i flopped pair/fd.

adam lippert ‏ @lippypoker
42k 1st break flopped set turned boat and got guy to hero river.

David Zeitlin ‏ @SugDpoker
30k ---> 38.5k at first break. Very good table draw today.

Mark Scellato ‏ @mscell
37K after 2 levels. 15 min break then 75/150 when we resume.

Jerry Callahan ‏ @callahanja911
29k after first two levels. 75/150 after break #BSO2012

Daniel Buzgon ‏ @WiLDmAn_75
About to go on first break. I'm playing a solid 7/5/0 over the first 2 levels. Have 29.5 of my 30k left. #mildmanisback #nitswithtricks


Keep those Tweets coming!  #BSO2012

Event 17: More Fine Tables

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

End of level two and players are on their first break of the day.

Here are some of the interesting tables that are filling up in the Signature Room:

Table Six
Jesse Cohen
Adam Lippert
Steve Ryan

Table Ten
Chris Bell
Wooyang Lin
Miami John Cernuto

Table Eleven
Matt Glantz
Jerry Payne
Jerry Callahan
Ronnie Bardah

Table Twelve
Cornel Cimpan
Action Bob Hwang
Vinny Pahuja
Joe Pitti
Leonid Lerner
Matt Stout

Event 17: Kathy 'pokerkat' Liebert

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Kathy Liebert

Kathy Liebert is here, one table over from Gavin Smith.  Kathy's got one WSOP bracelet, over $5.8 million in lifetime earnings, 6 WPT final tables, and would have one WPT title if it weren't for a bad beat she took from Steve Brecher heads-up in the 2009 Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship.

Kathy Liebert is also experiencing some deja vu.  She played day 1A yesterday, but did not survive the action, so she's back for another shot today.

She's sharing table 24 with another WSOP bracelet holder, Ken 'Teach' Aldridge, another player suffering from deja vu, after a bad run on day 1A.


These two are sharing the felt with Borgata regulars John Lakatosh and Grace Sun.

Kathy is known on Twitter as @pokerkat.

Event 17: Poker Room Checks In

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Tables 1-26 are in the Signature Room and the overflow tables 27-30 are over in the Poker Room.

Among the smiling faces over there, I spotted these:
James Boyle
Leonardo Palermo
Stephen Reynolds
Dan Buzgon
Alex Smith
Roland Israelashvilli
Dan Fischer

Event 17: Gavin @OleGSmith

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Gavin Smith

Blinds Up:  50/100

Gavin Smith is in the house.  His poker resume is long and varied, with over $5.7 million in earnings, lifetime.  He has one WSOP bracelet, one WPT title, and was the WPT POY that year.

He can also be entertaining at the table, if he's in the mood, and on Twitter at @olegsmith.

He's currently seated on table 20 with Andrew Barta, Randy Pfeifer, and Barbara Rogers.   These players can give him a run for his money.

Event 17: Tough Tables

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Table One
Wike Wolf
Steve Scales
Nick David
Russell Crane
Roz Quarto
John Hinds

Table Two
Eric Doerr
Brian Mooney
Michael Borovetz

Table Three
Mark Sykes
Eric Miller
Joe Loguidice
Rick Austin

Table Nine
Natale Kuey
Cherish Andrews
Feming Chan

Event 17: Online Contest Winner

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

Bill Server - Online Contest Winner

Yes, it really works!  Bill Server (Harleysville, PA) entered the BorgataPokerBlog.com online contest and his name was the one randomly selected for a free entry into this event. 

Bill makes his living working in retail and only plays poker occasionally.

His table draw is not so lucky, however.  Bill is sharing the felt with these experienced players:
Chris Tryba
Paul Spitzberg
Cathy Dever
Jimmy Wong

Event 17: Deja Vu, All Over Again

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)

These champions were in their seats early yesterday and they're back again today (meaning yesterday didn't go so well for them).

Dwyte Pilgrim - 2010 Borgata Poker Open Champion
Alex Queen - 2010 Borgata Spring Poker Open Champion
Cornel Cimpan - 2-time WPT winner
Miami John Cernuto - 3 WSOP Bracelets

All 26 tables in the Signature Room are active with extra tables in use over in the Poker Room.

Event 17: Championship Underway

$2500 + $200 Championship NLH Double Play (Re-Entry)
$1 Million Guaranteed Prize Pool

Level 1:  Blinds 25/50

Day 1B of the Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship Event is underway!

Players began with 30,000 chips and 60-minute levels.

Players can register through level 4.  Players who bust out can re-enter through level 4 (until about 3:30pm).

Cards are in the air!  They'll play ten levels today, then call it a night.

There is also a $3,000 bonus for the chip leaders at the end of today.

Championship Event - Day 1A Chip Leaders

Borgata Spring Poker Open
Event 17 - $2500 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em
April 15 - 19, 2012

DAY 1A CHIP LEADERS:
MATTHEW WOODWARD (WATERBORO, ME):  294,700

DANIEL CURRIE (CLIFTON, VA):  209,400

JEFFREY PAPOLA (MONMOUTH BEACH, NJ):  179,000

ERIC LADNY (MERCERVILLE, NJ):  158,600

MICHAEL DENTALE (BROOKLYN, NY):  153,325

MORGAN LITWIN (BROOKFIELD, CT):  145,300

JOEL GOLA (PHILADELPHIA, PA):  142,000

JOSEPH NEIMAN (HACKENSACK, NJ):  140,000

ORSON YOUNG (OCEANPORT, NJ):  135,900

RALPH PORTER (WOODINVILLE, WA):  117,700

ANTHONY COUSINEAU (DAYTONA BCH, FL):  111,000

DAVID CLARKE (BASKING RIDGE, NJ):  110,800

TONY SINISHTAJ (FLUSHING, NY):  108,300

JOHN PARKER (SILER SPRING, MD):  108,100

CAMERON CORNELL (BURLINGTON, VT):  105,300

EDWARD COTTER (RIVER VALE, NJ):  100,700

April 16

TODAY'S EVENTS (THE SIGNATURE ROOM & POKER ROOM)
REGISTER IN POKER ROOM


11AM: Event 17B - $2500 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em
                                                             Double Play (Re-Entry)
$1 Million Guaranteed Prize Pool

• Players start with 30,000 in tournament chips 
• Day 1 Levels: will last 60 minutes each | Day 2, 3, 4 Levels: will last 75 minutes each 
• Players may Re-Enter tournament if they bust out prior to the end of Level 4
• If player entered into Day 1A and has been eliminated from tournament or forfeits his/her chips, player may register for Day 1B.
• $3,000 will be subtracted from the prize pool and awarded to the chip leader at the end of Day 1A; and $3,000 will be subtracted from the prize pool and awarded to the chip leader at the end of Day 1B
• 4-Day event with two starting days

6 PM:  Event 42 - $150 + $30 + $20 Yellow Chip Bounty NLH

• Players start with 12,000 in tournament chips
• Levels will last 20 minutes each
• This is a Bounty tournament. Players must have their Bounty Chip clearly displayed on the table in order to remain active in tournament
• 1-Day event

Event 16 Recap

$1000 + $90 Six-Max NL (Re-Entry)

For the second straight tournament it's a heads up marathon session to determine a winner at the Borgata Spring Poker Open.  This time it's Mickey Woll who outlasted Mike Leah to take home the title, the trophy and the $42,373 first prize.

"I've been playing the best poker of my life," said Woll after 2 1/2 hours of heads up play. "I've been running great and playing great."

Woll overcame a 2 to 1 chip lead heads up and won the tournament
with 9♣ 9♦.

The long dual comes on the heels of Vinny Pahuja's 4 hour heads up session against Alex Rocha on his way to the Event 14 ($1,000 + $90) title.

Day 2 started with all 18 returning players in the money as the field was quickly thinned.

Notables who cashed included the early exits of Travis Greenawalt (18th), Jamie Kerstetter (17th) and David Kim (16th) who all earned $1,513.  Two others Borgata regulars, Ted Geier (12th/$2,118) and Harry Korotki (8th/$4,540), were knocked out before the final table.

Leah and Woll were joined at the final by WSOP Main Event runner-up Steve Dannenmann, who finished second to Joe Hachem in 2005. Dannenmann was cruising until his 10 10 was beaten by Leah's set of 8s, propelling Leah into the final two, while Dannenmann finished 6th for $8,323.

Early in the one-on-one battle, Leah had Woll on the ropes, but a chopped pot kept Woll alive. Woll then used a better kicker to win a more than one million chip pot that flipped the chip lead into his favor.

Heads up was set up when the final two tagged teamed third place finisher Lenny Lerner, as Leah crippled the Borgata regular, who earned $19,293, and Woll finished him off.

Anthony Maio, another Borgata regular, began Day 2 with the chip lead, but settled for 5th place and $11,727.  Also at the final table were Brian Schmidt (7th/$6,431) and Richard Corley (4th/$15,132).

The tournament started with 156 players for a total buy-in of $156,000.

Recognizable names that failed to cash included Event 8 Winner Mike Dentale ($31,716), the last two Borgata Spring Poker Open Champions in Russell Crane (2011/$277,000) and Alex Queen (2010/$355,000), and three-time Borgata trophy winner Bill Blanda.

And after playing this marathon, there's no rest for the weary as both Leah and Woll are headed into Day 1B of the Championship Event later this morning.

Final Table Results
1st Mickey Woll (Manahawkin, NJ)$42,373
2nd Mike Leah (Las Vegas, NV) $25,043
3rd Lenny Lerner (Brooklyn, NY) $19,293
4th Richard Corley (Brooklyn, NY) $15,132
5th Anthony Maio (Jamison, PA) $11,727
6th Steve Dannenmann (Severn, MD) $6,431
7th Brian Schmidt (Philadelphia, PA) $6,431

Event 16: 1st Place - Woll

$1000 + $90 Six-Max NL (Re-Entry)

Mickey & Stacey Woll

$42,373

After overcoming a 2 to 1 chip lead, Mickey Woll puts the finishing touches on his title with 9♣ 9♦.

On a flop of 5♦ 3♥ 2♠, Woll and Leah are all in and Leah tables 7♣ 5♣ for a pair of fives.  Leah doesn't get any help from the turn (A♦) or river (8♠) and Woll is the champion.  

With the win Woll earns $42,373 and takes home the Borgata Spring Poker Open trophy.

Event 16: 2nd Place - Leah

$1000 + $90 Six-Max NL (Re-Entry)

Mike Leah (Las Vegas, NV)

$25,043

Mike Leah and Mickey Woll played heads up for 2 1/2 hours before Woll finally wins the title with pocket 9s.  

Leah has 7♣ 5♣ and puts his last 500k in the middle with top pair on a five high flop. The pro who hails from Canada didn't get any help from the turn and river and finishes in second place.

Mike Leah, who when he's not playing is a poker instructor, is the runner-up and earns $25,043.

Event 16: Ace High is Good

$1000 + $90 Six-Max NL (Re-Entry)

Mike Leah makes a 450k river bet which puts Mickey Woll in the tank.  Woll eventually makes the call and shows AK which is good against Leah's KJ.

Ace high is good and Woll now has 2.5 million of the 3.1 million chips in play.

Event 16: Woll Wins Nice Pot

$1000 + $90 Six-Max NL (Re-Entry)

On a board of 3♠ 8c 10♥ 8♠ 2♦, Mike Leah bets 200k.  Mickey Woll raises to 450k, Leah tanks and calls.

Woll: A♣ 10♠
Leah: 10♣ X

Leah only shows the 10 and says he mucked a king as Woll takes down a big pot with the better kicker.

Woll now has a 2 to 1 advantage as he's flipped the chip lead on Leah.