Event 1: 1st Place - Lemke

$500 + $60 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)          

Brian Lemke (Norristown, PA)

$111,076

Brian Lemke dominated this Deep Stack event almost from the beginning.  He was first recognized as the chip leader during level 11 and only surrendered that lead briefly a couple of times on day one.

He started heads-up play with a more than 6-to-1 chip lead and it only took a few hands.  On the final hand, he was way ahead with pocket Ten versus pocket 3s.  He caught another Ten on the river, which was just overkill.

He'll be collecting $111,076 for his two-days work here in the 2012 Borgata Spring Open kickoff event.

Brian is best known for the WSOP bracelet he won in 2009 in the $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Event ($692k).  He's racked up over $1 million in reported lifetime tournament earnings and now he's added a Borgata title to his poker resume.

Brian wrapped up his tournament with a "Go Terps!"  One of his sons plays for Maryland Lacrosse and they have a game tomorrow, which will take Brian's attention away from poker for a bit.  We'll be seeing him again later in the series, though.