Event 4: Recap

$350 + 50 Big Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

It was just two short months ago that Adilbek Karaguishiyez (New York, NY) was holding up the Borgata Spring Poker Open trophy for the $350 PLO Event ($9,387).  Adilbek told us about his job at Bloomberg, and how poker is just a recreational hobby for him.  After winning his second Borgata Poker Open trophy in as the span of a few short months months (for just over $46,000 in winnings), he still insists there is no career change in his future.  Karaguishiyez bested Raul Munoz (Galloway, NJ) heads up after coming in with an almost three to one chip deficit. 

Karaguishiyez would double up from behind as he hit a three-outer on the river only two hands into heads up play.  He would follow that up with another double only a few hands later, flopping a set of fours, and taking a commanding ten to one chip lead.  Raul Munoz then managed one double before racing for his tournament life with a pair of three against two overs (A 9).  Munoz would watch as a nine hit the flop, and Munoz, ever classy in defeat, shook Karaguishiyez's hand and told him how well he played.

The $100,000 guarantee for this event was surpassed, as the 553 entries would almost double that number ($193,550 total buy-in).   There were many notables in the field for this event, including: Alyson Parker, Alan Kraut, Lana O'Brien, and Neville Darrell (none of which would cash).

We watched as Melad Marji (winner of the 2012 Borgata Summer Poker Open $2,500 Championship event) took the chip lead with eighteen players remaining all the way to the final table.  The final table was a mix of seasoned tournament grinders, casual players, and a past Borgata championship event winner.  Marji would be knocked out in sixth place ($8,636) after a roller coaster final table which saw him hold the chip lead, the short stack, and the chip lead once again (before trending steadily downward).  It was Ivan Loh (Rockville, MD) who would jump close to $10,000 in pay, after we watched a three way all-in only two hands into the final table.  It was Loh holding A-K against the 9-9 of Ravi Patel, and the A-A of Raul Munoz.  Munoz had both players covered and it looked like we would have two players gone in a blink of an eye.  The board ran out 2-3-5-6-4 and the three players would end up chopping up the blinds and antes.  Loh took that good fortune and ran with it, finishing in third place for $16,897.

In the end it was Karaguishiyez, who has put himself in some great company, becoming one of the players who hold two Borgata Poker Open trophies.  Bloomberg will be holding onto to him, and may even keep him from making it to any more tournaments throughout the series.  He said he wanted to defend his PLO win from April, so we will look out for him in the field.

FINAL RESULTS