Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Event 1: Early End to 1A

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

With only 64 players remaining, they pumped the brakes near the end of level 17, directing all tables to play three more hands.

Four players busted out during those last three hands, leaving 60 players (average 190k).

Chad 'Pinky Power' Power - Chip Leader

On the last hand of play, Chad Power (Atlantic City, NJ) won a pot that propelled him into the lead.  Chad bagged 534,000, good for the chip lead and the $2,000 bonus.  Chad busted out once today (before he got his pinky painted pink) and now he's free-rolling on his second entry.


 Richard Leach with his wife, Shelrese

Richard Leach, (Washington, DC) who held the chip lead a good portion of the day, wound up finishing second in chips with 527,500.  He earned a $1,000 bonus and he's free-rolling after buying in once and paying his wife's buy-in.  Shelrese Leach survived the day also, bagging about 150,000.

They'll both be working tomorrow (he's a property manager and she's an attorney) before returning Thursday at noon for day two.

Jerry Stecher (Elmhurst, NY) just missed out on the bonus money, finishing third and bagging 502,500.

They were the only three players with over 500k.

Other stacks of mention:

Dylan Smith - 495,500
David Burt - 359,000
Kalid Ali - 348,000

All the chip counts will be posted in the blog in the morning.

Day 1B gets underway at 11am Wednesday.

That's it for day one of the 2013 Borgata Summer Poker Open!

Event 1: New Contender

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

On a ten-high flop, a player was all-in against Roland Rollins (Wilmington, DE).

After giving a couple of seconds of thought, Roland called, showing pocket 7s. 

Roland Rollins

His opponent had KT for top pair and the lead.

The turn was a brick, then the third 7 landed on the river, giving Roland a set and the pot, sending his opponent to the rail.

With that pot, Roland chipped up to ~405k, putting him in second place in the chip lead race.


Although it didn't work for Nancy Martin (Washington Crossing, PA) today, the 'Pinky Power' is working for Chad Power (Atlantic City, NJ).  After letting Nancy paint his right pinky nail bright pink during the break after level 12, Chad has chipped up from 25k to about 275k.


Down to seven tables with 70 players remaining and just a few minutes left in level 17. 

One more 40 minute level to go or ten more players to go to reach the end of play for tonight and find out who will collect the chip lead bonuses.

Event 1: Back From Break

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

At the end of level 16, the 78 remaining players took a break while the staff colored up the black 100 chips.

Shortly before the break, Richard Leach cemented his chip lead when he busted another player.  Richard chipped up to ~580k and is more than 200k ahead of his closest competitors.

David Burt is still second, albeit a distant second, with 340k.

Kalid Ali is up to ~320k, good for third place.


Play resumed with Level 17, Blinds 2,500/5,000 with 500 ante.

Play will halt at the end of level 18, or when they get down to 60 players, whichever comes first.

Event 1: Leaders and Goners

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

Richard Leach has grown his stack to about 385k and still appears to be in the lead.

David Burt is sticking to his heels with about 360k.


Perennial Borgata favorite Nancy Martin has busted out.

Also gone are these Borgata regulars:

MickeyWoll
Neville Darrell
Scott Wardell
Leonardo Palermo

I expect we will see most, if not all of them, again tomorrow for day 1B.

79 players remain.  Average stack is ~145k.

Event 1: Ali Puts Wach to the Test

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

Level 16: Blinds 2k/4k with 400 ante.

Kalid Ali (Silver Spring, MD) and Dan Wach (Boonton, NJ) take it to the river with a board of AT♣5K9♠.

Kalid moved all-in for about 155k, sending Dan (button) into the tank.

Dan Wach, deep in the tank, contemplating Kalid's all-in

"Did you miss a flush draw?" muttered Dan, who really seemed to be struggling with the decision.

After a couple of minutes, Dan mucked his hand.

An all-in Kalid Ali sits motionless

Kalid tossed his pocket Aces face up on the table as he collected the pot, chipping up to about 350k.

Just a few hands later, Kalid turned a straight, but his opponent rivered a full house that cost him 120k, dropping his stack to about 230k.

Event 1: Three-Way Pre-Flop All-In

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

Three players got all their chips in the middle pre-flop:

Khoi Ta - AA
Seat 9 - KK
Seat 4 - AK offsuit

The board ran out 9-high with four spades and Khoi Ta (Greenbelt Pg, MD) had the prettiest card in the deck, the A♠, for the flush (not that he needed it; his overpair would have been good, since no one else was holding a spade).

Khoi Ta

Khoi chipped up to ~330k and joined the big stacks in the room fighting for the end of night chip lead bonuses.

Event 1: Blinds Up; Players Down

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

Level 15:  Blinds 1,500/3,000 with 400 ante.

During the previous level, Jason Warriner (Absecon, NJ) got his last few chips in dark and got two callers.

On the flop of J♠9♠6♣, seat 6 bet, folding the third player.

Jason said "I don't know what I have" as he rolled over 8♣4♠.  His opponent had pocket Queens and Jason was in bad shape.

Then the T♠ fell on the turn giving Jason a glimmer of hope with an open-ended straight draw, but the river was another spade, putting four spades on the board.  Seat 6 had the Q♠ for the flush to take the pot, sending Jason to the rail.


Scott Blackman (Egg Harbor Twp, NJ) has also busted out.  They both have the option to try again tomorrow on day 1B.


Eleven tables (110 players) remain.  Average stack is ~104k.

Event 1: Dinner Time Tweets

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

Not a lot of active Tweeters yet, but got a few updates during the dinner break:

Mike Altbaum ‏@Michael_Altbaum 1h
60k at dinner break. Differnent guy from the first flopped an an open ended st flush draw. He QJhh board K108hhx.

Michael Marder ‏@MMarder86 1h
33,700 on dinner. Coming back to 2400/300 and the BB. #BSPO1


Clayton Crotty ‏@ClaytonCrotty 1h
87k on dinner break of borgata 300k gtd. coming back to 1200/2400



Keep those Tweets coming!  #BSPO

Event 1: Back in Action

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

Level 14:  Blinds 1,200/2,400 with 300 ante.

Players are back from dinner and the race to the bag-&-tag and the big stack bonuses is on.

They will play through level 18 (five more levels) unless they get down to 60 players first, which will bring an early halt to the action.

Event 1: Dinner Time Leaders

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

The remaining 125 players have taken off for a I hour dinner break.

Play will resume at about 8:05 pm.

Average stack is ~91k.

Richard Leach is the chip leader with about 350k.

David Burt is second with about 340k.

The top two in chips at the end of the night earn bonuses of $2,000 and $1,000 and it is still anybody's game with five more levels to play tonight.

Event 1: True Min Cash

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

One anonymous player doesn't make the dinner break, but his elimination comes just as the dinner vouchers are handed out.

Roland Rollins (Wilmington, DE) knocks the player out with AK against AQ and takes his stack to 200k.  "I'm going to tear this up and throw it like confetti," jokes the player, who can now beat the rush to the Borgata Buffet.

Players see this as the unofficial min cash and Jason Warriner (Absecon, NJ) says, "I made the dinner break, actually I got the voucher," to which another player says, "close enough."

Level 13 (1k/2k/300 ante) is winding down and players are set for the 1 hour dinner break.

Event 1: Chipping Up Before Dinner

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

Level 13:  Blinds 1k/2k with 300 ante.

During the previous level, Tom McGarry (Hazlet, NJ) busted a player.  His opponent shoved on the flop of A K x (all clubs).  Tom called showing QT of clubs for the nut flush with Royal redraw.

His opponent held A5 for top pair and was drawing slim to back-door a boat or quads.  No such miracle and Tom chipped up, sending his opponent to the rail.
 

Another Borgata frequent flyer, Michael Marder, is also chipping up.  He just tweeted a double-up:

Found a double 99>88, then just received dinner voucher. #RunningLikeLiberto #BSPO1


Keep those tweets coming!  #BSPO


Event 1: Pretty in Pink

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

Martin Gives Chad Pinky Power

Borgata regular Nancy Martin (Washington Crossing, PA) has a superstition of coloring 9 of her 10 nails one color while the right hand pinky gets a different shade.

"It's for good luck," she says while stacking 110k on break, "I saw it on 'Drop Dead Diva' (Lifetime TV) when they were going on a job interview." After explaining the superstition, Martin was more than happy to share nail polish with an opponent.

"I was at 25 (k) and went up to 80 (k)," says Chad Power (Atlantic City, NJ) whose right pinky nail is now pink.  Unfortunately Power's luck runs out when his pocket aces are cracked, but he's still a believer in pinky power.

"It was working until my aces got tuned up," he says, "but we're doing okay."

Level 13 (1k/2k/300 ante) is underway.

Chad Hanging on to his Luck

Event 1: Parker Pushes a Double Across the Felt

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

Alyson Parker (Plainsboro, NJ) was riding a bigger stack, but has dropped to about 100k.

"I just doubled up a shortie" she said.  "I had Ace-Jack and he has Ace-six.  He stood up and that made a six come."

 Alyson Parker

Alyson is a regular smiling face here at Borgata.  The not-quite-retired, not-quite-a-professional-poker-player is originally from New York. 

She is a mother first and foremost and has found a set of ‘children’ among the younger generation of players.  She was profiled during the 2013 Spring Open and you can read the complete profile here.


As the last few minutes of level 12 tick away, 15 tables remain with about 150 players still in action. 

Players are taking a 15 minute break, then will return for level 13 with blinds of 1k/2k with 300 ante.

Event 1: Leach Leads the Way

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

Richard Leach

On a board of 6 5 7 K 9, Richard Leach (Washington, D.C.) check-raises his opponent who bets 12k on the river.

After going in the tank, the player reluctantly folds for another 18k and Leach gives him a courtesy show of A 8 for the rivered straight.

The player says, "nice hand," and shows 5 6 as he flopped two pairs.

On the next hand Leach wins another pot with pocket jacks and takes over the chip lead with 225k (140 bb).

That's ahead of David Burt (New York, NY) who has been at 200k for the last few levels.

Currently 170 of the 457 Day 1A entries remain with an average stack of 67k (106 bb) Level 12 (800/1,600/200) continues.

Event 1: Levels Up, Interest in Vegas

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

Level 11 (600/1,200/200 ante) is underway and levels have now increased to 40 minutes.

While play continues, a lot of the Borgata regulars, including Nancy Martin (Washington Crossing, PA) are keeping an eye on the WSOP.

Event 1: 4-Way All-In, Aces Hold

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

Zito Rakes the Pot

With all the action we didn't have a chance to bring you this hand before re-entry closed.

Blinds at the time 250/500/50 ante

Player 1 in MP opens to 2,500
Jim Zito (New Freedom, PA) calls from MP
Player 3 calls from the HJ
Player 4 moves all in from the CO for 17k
Player 5 is all in from the button for 22k
Original raiser is all in for 17k
Zito is all in for 20k
Player 3 folds

Player 1: JJ
Zito: AA
Player 4: 55
Player 5: QQ

Zito flops a set of aces and there's no sweat the rest of the way as he quadruples up to 90k.

"I can't believe aces won," Zito says after he knocked out two players and crippled the third.

@Borgata #BraceletHunting

Justin Liberto (Fallston, MD)

In a new feature to the Borgata poker blog, we will be bringing you updates from the WSOP, currently running at the Rio in Las Vegas.  Our focus though will be on the Borgata (and East Coast) tournament regulars who are finding success out west.  Day 4 of Event 6 ($1,500 NL "Millionaire Maker") begins in just minutes, as the final ten players come back to fight for the $1,199,104 up top.  One of those players happens to be Borgata tournament regular Justin Liberto (Fallston, MD).

Liberto enters the unofficial final table third in chips, with 3,800,000.  The chip leader coming in (Benny Chen) has 5,865,000, while the shortest stack returning (Upeshka Desilva) has 550,000.  Liberto's largest cash to date come in our poker room, during the opening event of the 2013 Borgata Spring Poker Open.  Justin finished in 8th place that early April morning, taking home $19,233.  Liberto has $94,000 in career earnings to date, and that number is guaranteed to double, as the first player eliminated today takes home just under $90,000.

I had a chance to speak to Justin briefly before action started today, and you could sense his excitement.  Liberto is the definition of a class tournament grinder, who rarely even speaks a word at the table.  Hopefully he will have a lot to say tomorrow, as I'll have a chance to speak to him live (via Skype), and we will bring you the interview.  Everyone here at Borgata wishes Justin the best of run today, and hopefully we will be talking tomorrow to the winner of the most prestigious event at the WSOP outside of the main.

Event 1: Back In Action, Eye on the Bonus

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

The green chips have been removed from play and players are back from their 15 minute color-up break.

Re-entry and registration is now closed with 457 entries for Day 1A.

Players now have an eye on the end of night bonuses where $2,000 goes to the end of night chip leader and another $1,000 for second place.

Play continues for nine more levels and wraps up after Level 18.

Level 10 (500/1k/100 ante) is underway.

Event 1: Chip Leader Approaching 200k

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


Shakhin (left) Deep in Thought as Burt Waits

We pick the action on the turn in a huge pot with two 100k stacks colliding.

David Burt (New York, NY) makes a pot size bet of 23k on a board of 2 10♠ Q♣ 4.

Mamedov Shakhin (Brooklyn, NY) goes in the tank and calls.

River: 5♣

Burt moves all in for his last 56k putting Shakhin to the ultimate test.

"This is a big pot, will show me if I fold," asks Shakhin fishing for information.

"You're a good guy, I'll show," says Burt.

Shakhin reluctantly calls and Burt turns over two cards he doesn't want to see: A♣ A.

Shakhin shows A♠ Q♠ for top pair, top kicker against Burt who is now the chip leader.

Burt is just a shade under 200k at 197k, while Shakhin is down to 12k.

Level 9 (400/800/75 ante) is in the books

Event 1: Stacks Climbing

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

Chips for Colon

Alan Colon (Oceanside, NY) is one of the big stacks with 160k (200 bb).

Level 9 (400/800/75 ante) is underway and is the last level for re-entry.

Event 1: Comings & Goings

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

Event 1: What the Heck!?!?! Chop it Up!

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

David Heck (Colts Neck, NJ) is luck to still be playing after getting a fortunate chop.

On a board of A 45, Heck is all in and at risk against Lukas Stüger (Austria).

Heck: J J
Stüger: K K♣

Heck is not only dominated by the pocket pair, but Stüger has the better flush draw.

Then the improbable runner-runner chop happens with the 2 3 on the turn and river respectively to put a 5-high straight flush on the board.

Heck is a regular who has a Borgata trophy on his mantle, while Stüger is visiting the states and specifically targeted this event as part of his travel plans on his way to New York City.

Players are back from break as Level 7 (250/500) is underway.

Event 1: Boat Sinks Boat

$350 + $50 Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
 
Gordon McKenzie

On a board of 10♣ 10♠ J♣ 5♠ Leonardo Palermo (Toms River, NJ) check raises the bet of Gordon McKenzie (Salisbury, MD), who then moves all in.

Palermo calls for 21k and sees he's in terrible shape.

Palermo: 5 5♣ (full house)
McKenzie: J♠ J (better full house)

Palermo is drawing to a one outer, needing the 5 for quads, but when the 6♣ hits the river, Palermo hits the re-entry line.

McKenzie says the same thing happened to him during the first orbit of the day when he lost boat over boat.

Both players are now on their second bullet of the day.  McKenzie is up to 45k, while Palermo gets a fresh 25k stack.

Event 1: All Smiles at Borgata

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

Just some of the 400+ entries in the field so far:

Alyson Parker (Planesboro, NJ)

Jessica Dawley (West Palm Beach, FL) & 
Mike Malinconico (Morganville, NJ)

Eric Siegel (Melville, NY)

Event 1: Killer Row

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

(l-r) Wertz, Palermo & Rumbaugh

There's an interesting trio on one of the tables.

Joe Wertz (Brigantine, NJ), Leonardo Palermo (Toms River, NJ) and Alex Rumbaugh (Tokoma Park, MD) are seated side-by-side and each has an interesting piece of Borgata history.

Wertz's best Borgata finish is 2nd place which he's done four times for a total of $133,000 including the opening event of the 2012 Borgata Summer Poker Open.

Palermo's best Borgata finish is 3rd place which he's done four times for a total of $78,000.

Rumbaugh's only career tournament cash is a Borgata trophy win for $14,000 in the 2012 Borgata Poker Open (Sept.).

This is nothing more than a statistical anomaly, but an interesting Borgata nugget.

Event 1: Blind v Blind = Re-Entry Line

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

Blinds 75/150

The action folds around to David Burt (New York, NY) who limps from the small blind when Arslan Arslanoski (Kercova, Macedonia) bumps it up to 400 in the big blind.

Flop: 7 4♣ 2

After a series of raises both players are all in with Arslanoski at risk.

Burt: 7 4 (two pairs)
Arslanoski: Q Q♠

Turn: 5

River: 7 (Burt full house)
 
Burt has no problem raking the chips and sending Arslanoski to the re-entry line.

"I figured he had something, Ace-King maybe," says Burt who is now up to 50k, adding.  "I was suited and he only made it 400."

Players are back from break and now playing Level 4 (100/200).

Event 1: Friendly Faces

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

As Level 3 continues here are just some of the familiar faces in the field:

Dan Wach
Matt Isles
Eric Siegel
Joe Wertz
Neville Darrell
Nancy Martin
Stephanie Hubbard
Jordan Ludwick
Grace Sun
Leo G
Leonardo Palermo
Mike Malinconico
Fritz Stoner
Mark Sykes
Michael Marder
David Heck
Ken Silberstein
Pierre Deissler

Event 1: Jordan Gets his Kicks at Borgata

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

Trophy winner Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ) is back at Borgata and already has is eye on another title.

"Am I the defending champ," asks Ludwick after he proudly wins the first hand of the day.  Ludwick won the $400 tournament in the 2012 Borgata Summer Poker Open, but it was Event 7 last year.

Last year's Event 1 winner was Yevegeni Rapoport (Brooklyn, NY) who earned $79,000, just ahead of two other Borgata heavy weights in Joe Wertz (Brigantine, NJ) and Eric Siegel (Melville, NY) who finished in second and third places respectively.

Ludwick's trophy earned him $58,000, but if he's going to repeat on one bullet has to get through a tough opening table draw. 

Pierre Deissler (Mt. Laurel, NJ) and Ken Silberstein (Edison, NJ) are both Borgata regulars who are on the table with Silberstein owning more than $200,000 in career tournament earnings.

Level 2 (50/100) is winding down.

Event 1: Girl Talk

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

Even before the Summer Open kicked off players were firing off Borgata tweets.

Remember to follow @BorgataPoker and to use #BSPO so we can keep up with chip counts and tales from the felt.

Here's one exchange between Stephanie Hubbard (Hazlet, NJ) and Anna Antimony (River Vale, NJ, two of our more popular Borgata Babes:

Event 1: Welcome Back

$350 + $50 Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
        
The 8th annual Borgata Summer Poker Open is underway and the Poker Room is filling up as players begin their quest for one of the 18 trophies up for grabs over the next 18 days.

It starts with $300,000 Guaranteed, the first of six guarantees over the series.

This event features two starting days, 25k in chips and starts with 30 minutes levels before increasing at Level 11 (40 min.) and Level 19 (50 min.). Re-entry and registration is open through Level 9.

Blinds start at 25/50, good luck and welcome back to Borgata!

Borgata Summer Poker Open Leaderboard

Borgata Summer Poker Open Tournament Leaderboard 
Win prizes for the Borgata Summer Poker Open Tournament Leaderboard promotion

How To Qualify:
By participating in any Borgata Summer Poker Open event (June 4 - 21, 2013), players earn points based upon Borgata’s poker tournament leaderboard formula, which takes into consideration these criteria:
  • Participation 
  • Tournament Buy-In Amount 
  • Total Event Entries 
  • Place Finished
Players earn points for participating in tournaments and earn bonus points based on cashing in tournaments.
The Borgata Tournament Leaderboard will be updated throughout the tournament.

Prizes*:
1. $3,500 entry into WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship (September 2013)
2. $1,500 for entry into Borgata Poker Open series (September 2013)
3. $560 entry into Borgata Poker Open kick-off event (September 2013)
4. $560 entry into Borgata Poker Open kick-off event (September 2013)
5. $560 entry into Borgata Poker Open kick-off event (September 2013)
6. $400 entry into Borgata $100K Guaranteed Saturday Series (July/August 2013)
7. $400 entry into Borgata $100K Guaranteed Saturday Series (July/August 2013)
8. $400 entry into Borgata $100K Guaranteed Saturday Series (July/August 2013)
9. $400 entry into Borgata $100K Guaranteed Saturday Series (July/August 2013)
10. $400 entry into Borgata $100K Guaranteed Saturday Series (July/August 2013)

Winners will be announced Wednesday, June 26, 2013.

* All "Entry" prizes must be used towards tournament entry for tournament identified. All prizes are non-transferable and have no cash value.   

Tuesday, June 4

TODAY'S EVENTS (Poker Room) 

11AM: Event 1A - $350 + $50 Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
             $300,000 Guaranteed
  • Players start with 25,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-10:  will last 30 minutes each | Levels 11-18:  will last 40 minutes each
    Levels 19+:  will last 50 minutes each 
  • Players may Re-Enter through Level 9 
  • Day 1A & Day 1B end after Level 18
  • 2-Day event with two starting days.  Day 2 begins Thursday at 12PM
  • $2,000 will be subtracted from the prize pool and awarded to the chip leader at the end of Day 1A and the chip leader at the end of Day 1B
    $1,000 will be subtracted from the prize pool and awarded to the player finishing second behind chip leader at the end of Day 1A and the player finishing second behind chip leader at the end of Day 1B. 

4 PM: Event 20 - $150 + $30 Survivor No Limit Hold'em 
  • Players start with 12,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels will last 20 minutes each 
  • Approximately 1 in 10 will win $1,500 Cash
  • 1-Day event

7 PM: Event 21 - $100 + $20 + $100 Black Chip Bounty NLH (Re-Entry) 
  • Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-12:  will last 20 minutes each | Levels 13+: will last 25 minutes each
  • Players may Re-Enter through Level 7 
  • 1-Day event