Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Event 9: Back From Break

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)      

Level 24:  Blinds 15k/30k with 4k ante.

Play has resumed.

It's a race to the finish as the final 22 players all have eyes on the top prize of $41,715.


Event 9: Updated Leaderboard

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)      

With 22 players remaining, the average stack is 626k.

Bruce Jackson still leads.  He's up to 1.6 million.

Sal Esposito (Long Island, NY) had leapfrogged into second with 1.27 million, but has since dropped to 650 k

Luke Edwards has just over 1 million.

Frank Vulpis has just under 1 million.

End of level and time for a break.

Event 9: 36th - 28th Places

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)       

Earning $851
36 - Michael Sassin (Shippensburg, PA)
35 - James Froehlich (Bellmore, NY)
34 - Irvin Kowitz (Reistertown, MD)
33 - Jose Espinoza (Arlington, VA)
32 - Rocco Faroni (Philadelphia, PA)
31 - Steven McKeen (Sewell, NJ)
30 - Rory Singer (Roslyn Heights, NY)
29 - Scott Israel (Plainview, NY)
28 - Robert Mustari (Staten Island, NY)

Blinds Up!

Level 23: Blinds 12k/24k with 3k ante.

Event 9: 45th - 37th Places

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)      

Earning $765
45 - Thomas Scutro (Orangeburg, NY)
44 - Harold Vasquez (Philadelphia, PA)
43 - Justin Wong (Piscataway, NJ)
42 - Salah Siraj (West Orange, NY)
41 - Ragavan Thiagarajah (Marlton, NJ)
40 - Thomas McMackin (Philadelphia, PA)
39 - Livia Mourao (Astoria, NY)
38 - Earl Robinson (Millsboro, DE)
37 - Brian Keane (Egg Harbor Twp, NJ)

Event 9: Jackson Claims Lead

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)      

Level 22:  Blinds 10k/20k with 3k ante.

Bruce Jackson

Bruce Jackson (Vineland, NJ) has chipped up to ~1.3 million and claimed the chip lead.

Kevin Donohue is the only other player over 1 million.  He's got 1.018 million.

David Heck (Colts Neck, NJ) is a close third with ~950k.

37 players remain.  Average stack is 372k.

Event 9: No Pitti For Livia

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)      

Livia Munroe got all in pre flop holding T8 suited.  She was in trouble against Joe Pitti's pocket Jacks.

She caught a ten on the board, but it was not enough. She was busted in 39th place, earning $765.

Joe chipped up to ~240k.

Blinds up!

Level 22: Blinds 10k/20k with 3k ante.

Event 9: Back From Break

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)     

Level 21:  Blinds 8k/16k with 2k ante.

Players are back in action following the break.

43 players remain.

Average stack is  ~320k.

Event 9: Nines Good for Pools

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)      

A shorter stack was all-in holding AK and racing against the pocket 9s of Eric 'Pools' Siegel.

The 9s held up and Eric took the pot, sending another player to the rail.  Eric chipped up to ~500k.


The pace of departures has finally slowed and some big stacks are developing.

Kevin Donohue is in the lead with 947k.

Jeff Wertepny is second with 700k.

Abe Faroni is third with ~670k.

Luke Edwards lost a race with AQ against pocket 2s.  He's dropped to ~440k.

Players are on a break at the end of level 20.

Event 9: 54th - 46th places

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)       

Earning $678
54 - Kevin Mechalas (North Wales, PA)
53 - Matthew Forrest (E Williston, NY)
52 - Gene Mazza (Elizabeth, NJ)
51 - Lawrence DiCristina (Matawan, NJ)
50 - Anthony Giurdanella (Fresh Meadows, NY)
49 - Kevin Connelly (Virginia Beach, VA)
48 - Antonio Lombardi (Brooklyn, NY)
47 - Joseph Kushner (New Egypt, NJ)
46 - Robert Wiegman (Jersey City, NJ)

Event 9: 63rd - 55th Places

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)     

Level 20:  Blinds 6k/12k with 2k ante.

Earning $591
63 - Chris Petrullo (Farmingdale, NY)
62 - Jacob Merenko (Edgewater Park, NJ)
61 - Stephen Gill (Fountain Inn, SC)
60 - Elizabeth McKane (Holmdel, NJ)
59 - Andrew Hippler (Odenton, MD)
58 - Thomas Duggan (Ruther Glen, VA)
57 - Joe Marchese (Coral Springs, FL)
56 - Joseph Ferrigno (Manchester, NJ)
55 - Ricardo Franco (Philadelphia, PA)

Event 9: Bubble Burst

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)       

A player was all in with pocket Queens and ran into the pocket Kings of Kevin Donohue.

The Kings held and Kevin chipped up to 700k and the chip lead.

That left 64 players and play went to hand-for-hand.

It only took a few hands (about 8 minutes) until another player hit the rail, bursting the money bubble.

The final 63 are in the money!

After breaking table 8, they got back to regular play.

Event 9: Nine From the Money

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)       

Down to 8 tables with 72 players still in the mix.

Only 63 get paid, so they're just 9 spots away from the money.

Luke Edwards

Luke Edwards leads with ~510k.


Abe Faroni

Abe Faroni is second with ~450k.

Kevin Donohue is third with ~420k.

Level 19: Blinds 5k/10k with 1k ante.

Event 9: Dinner Time Tweets

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)      

Keep those Tweets coming!  #BSPO

Just a couple of tweets from the dinner break:

Luke Edwards ‏@7thecho 59m
450+k at dinner break! Cruising baby! #bspo

Michael Marder ‏@MMarder86 49m
74,800 on dinner. Coming back to 8k/1k. <90ppl left, 63pd. #BSPO9

Event 9: Back in Action

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)      

Level 18:  Blinds 4k/8k with 1k ante.

Play has resumed.

Now the race to the money begins.

Event 9: Dinner Time

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)     

End of level 17 and time for dinner.

Players get 60 minutes to chow down, then play resumes at about 8:10 pm.

They're down to 10 tables and all tables are 9-handed.

About 85 players remain.  Average stack is 162k.

Event 9: Building Big Stacks

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)     

Abe Faroni (Philadelphia, PA) is up to 460k and may be the chip leader.

He's sharing the felt with former chip leader Joe Marchese, who's sitting on about 300k.

Also on that table is Luke Edwards, (Mansfield, OH) who finished 10th in event 1 for $5,493.  Luke is up to ~250k.

Other Big Stacks:

Jeff Wertepny (Jersey City, NJ) - 440k

Kevin Donohue (Baltimore, MD) - 400k

Ms. A. Nonymous is up to ~400k, also.

Event 9: Mazza Doubles

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)    

Gene Mazza

Gene Mazza (Elizabeth, NJ) was all-in for 54k holding AK.

His opponent had him covered and was holding pocket Kings.

Then the ubiquitous Ace on the river gave Gene the bigger pair and the double-up.  He's up to ~110k.

Level 17:  Blinds 3k/6k with 500 ante.

Event 9: Tweet-Outs

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)    

A few players have reported their demise via Twitter:

Eric Joseph Suarez ‏@SuarTender 2h
Well that went as well as planned. 77<Ad10d<Ac10c. Out early today! On to the next one!

Akib ‏@CashGameKing 28m
Eliminated 150 out of 689 :(

Kevin Truong ‏@KT_nowitsover 7m
Busted; 44 < AT blinds vs blinds for 12 bb; lets try again tomorrow.

Elemento ‏@PesciTheElement 3m
It's a wrap, finished 145th out of 689. Pocket 6s in sb player raises w/AJ i shove for 40K he calls he spikes J on river. #ohwell


Keep those Tweets coming!  #BSPO



Event 9: Marchese Still Leads

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)    

Level 15:  Blinds 2k/4k with 400 ante.

Players are back from a break.

About 150 remain.  Average stack is 92k.

Joe Marchese is the chip leader with about 390k.

A woman is second in chips with 300k, but she doesn't want to be in the blog.

Event 7: Photo Slideshow



May not work on mobile devices.

Event 7 Recap

$260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

It took just over 18 hours for the inaugural Deepest Stack No Limit Hold'em event to finish with Borgata regular 'Lucky' Lee Kirsch coming out on top.   Kirsch picked up $28,485 and his first Borgata Open trophy.  Thomas Balla, another regular face here, finished second for $16,442.

"I thought it was great -- a lot of fun" Kirsch commented on the new 'Deepest' stack of 50,000 starting chips.  But near the end, it was "basically an all-in-fest".

A total of 442 entries generated total buy-ins of $114,920.  The money bubble burst shortly after midnight, leaving 45 players in the hunt for the trophy. 

The last woman in this event was Tiffany Williamson (Pleasantville, NJ) who is best known for her 15th place finish in the 2005 WSOP Main Event ($400,000).  She finished 17th for $881.

Mike Hahn (Indianapolis, IN), winner of event 3 ($36,264) followed up with a deep run in this event.  He finished 13th for $1,115.

Kirsch was up at 6am Tuesday to take care of business before the 11am start time and it was 6am Wednesday, 24 hours later, before it was wrapped up and he could get some sleep.  "I wasn't tired" he said.  Late in the tournament "I was all-in on total air in a 1 million chip pot.  I thought I was going to get called and it would be all over, but he folded".  That bluff helped propel Kirsch to the win.

In addition to the prize money and shiny Borgata Summer Poker Open trophy, Kirsch will also receive a 16x20 framed photo of himself, taken by professional photographer Eric Harkins of Image Masters (IMPDI).


Final Table Results:
1. LEE KIRSCH (COLD SPG HBR, NY):  $28,485
2. THOMAS BALLA (BELLEROSE, NY):  $16,442
3. NICHOLAS TREPPIEDI (BROOKLYN, NY):  $10,033
4. STEVEN AVENT (ROCKY MOUNT, NC):  $8,082
5. MICHAEL WODZINSKI (EAST MEADOW, NY):  $6,354
6. ALAN LEE (COLUMBIA, MD):  $5,295
7. JOSHUA SUPSAK (LINWOOD, NJ):  $4,236
8. ZACHARY LUTES (ISLAND HEIGHTS, NJ):  $3,233
9. ALAN NOSONCHUK (BROOKLYN, NY):  $2,229
10. RICHARD DALY (BRIGANTINE, NJ):  $1,449

FINAL RESULTS

Event 9: No Repeat for Lucky Lee

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)   

Level 15:  Blinds 2k/4k with 400 ante.

'Lucky' Lee Kirsch (Cold Spring Harbor, NY) took down the first-ever Deepest Stack NLH event last night, earning his first-ever Borgata Open trophy and $28,485.

'Lucky' Lee Kirsch

His attempt to repeat in today's event has fallen short.  He busted out in an earlier level.

Event 9: More Familiar Faces

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)  

Level 14:  Blinds 1,500/3,000 with 400 ante.

18 tables (180 players) remain.  Average stack is ~73k.

As the field gets smaller,  more Borgata frequent fliers and familiar faces have popped up in the field:

Tiffany Williamson
Eric 'pools' Siegel
Abe Faroni
Scott Wardell
Anthony Magistrale
Tom Balla

Event 9: Vasserman Doubles

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)  

Level 13:  Blinds 1,200/2,400 with 300 ante.

On the turn with a king-high board, Ilya Vasserman (Huntingdon Valley, PA) was all-in holding KJ.

Ilya Vasserman

His opponent held K8 and was out-kicked.

Ilya just had to fade the river, which he did, to double up to ~70k.


Another familiar face from last night's final of event 5 has turned up.

Gene Mazza (Elizabeth, NJ) finished in 6th place, earning $7,386.  He's back today trying to parlay that finish into another cash, and maybe a trophy.

Event 9: Early Chip Leader

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)  

Level 12:  Blinds 1k/2k with 300 ante.

Players are back on the felt.  Only 25 tables remain with 250 or fewer players.  That means nearly two-thirds of the entrants have busted out.

Phong Mai

As of the break, it looked like Phong Mai (NJ) was the chip leader.  He's stacking about 290k.

Borgata Summer Poker Open Leaderboard Update (6/12)

Borgata Summer Poker Open Leaderboard
By participating in any Borgata Summer Poker Open event (June 4-21, 2013), players earn points based upon the Borgata Summer Poker Tournament Leaderboard Formula.

Below are the top scores for the 2013 Borgata Summer Poker Open Leaderboard*
(Final Results from Main events: 1, 2, 3, 4 , 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Secondary events: 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)

336.175:  JOHN WHITING
324.925:  LEE KIRSCH
312.488:  ADRIAN SILVESCU
312.000:  MICHAEL BONNEY
280.200:  EARL KING
259.325:  GRAESON BURNETTE-PEAKE
254.310:  DAVID EILERS
242.375:  STEVEN POLIMENI
240.175:  ILYA VASSERMAN
230.638:  MICHAEL HAHN
224.488:  RICHARD DEVIVO
218.400:  KHOI TA
216.000:  ADILBEK KARAGUISHIYEV
215.613:  BENJAMIN LAVES
208.525:  JEFFREY GURFINKEL
204.475:  SCOTT HILLIER
203.850:  PAYAM EFTEKHAR JAHROMI

Event 9: Marchese Busts Two

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)  

Over on table 9, two short-stacks were all-in pre-flop against Joe Marchese (Coral Springs, FL).

Short 1: Q9 suited
Short 2:  KJ off
Joe:  AT

Board: Q J T K 8

Joe turned Broadway to take the pot, busting both opponents in the process. 

Joe Marchese

One more hand and the level was over.  Joe chipped up to ~260k. 

Joe finished 21st in yesterday's Seniors event, earning $691.

End of level and players took a 15 minute break.

Event 9: Tales From the Twitter-verse

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

Level 11:  Blinds 800/1,600 with 200 ante.

The Twitter-verse is abuzz with news from players.  Keep those tweets coming!  #BSPO

James Sloat ‏@mybrmanager 2h
#BSPO E9 entry 2 T19 S3 @boringassa (CC: Karl Zipple)

James Sloat ‏@mybrmanager 41m
Bye Bye Borgata. See you next week. GL to all my friends still in :-)

Luke Edwards ‏@7thecho 50m
Im playing Event 9 $300 100k gtd "accidental turbo" at the borgata! #bspo #20bigsalways

Fakin Jacks ‏@FakinJacks 50m
Out in level 8. Damn so turbo. #BSPO 2/5 cash now

Jerry Callahan ‏@callahanja911 Protected account 45m
Well that was fun lol. Relax til 4pm survivor

Elemento ‏@PesciTheElement 5m
Sitting on about $150K, 340 out of 689 players left, @BorgataPoker Event 9, now moved to table 16 #nicelife #poker

Frank DiRe ‏@FLD15 37m
Treading water @BorgataPoker summer open.

Event 9: Familiar Faces

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

Level 11:  Blinds 800/1,600 with 200 ante.

Lots of familiar faces have turned out for today's $100,000 Guarantee and these are just some of the ones I spotted on my last pass through the field:

Tom McGarry
Rags Thiagarajah
Luke Edwards
David Heck
Grace Sun
David Semless
Paul Shedaker
Gil Sacks
Philip Rinaldi
Eric Natishvilli
Matthew Piccolo
Paul Vacchio
Pasquale Boffice
Wooyang Lin
Frank Ingardia
Michael Marder
Michael Lydon
Irina Ackerman
Allan Lubin
Michael Forca
Joe Pitti
Mickey Woll
Russell Green
Jordan Ludwick
Bob 'the mad viking' Haavind
Bob Santilli
Manh Nguyen
Howard Wolper

Event 9: Expensive Table Change For Callahan

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 10:  Blinds 600/1,200 with 200 ante.

As usual, now that registration is closed, tables are breaking fast.

Unofficially, there were 689 entries.

Only 43 tables remain in action (about 430 players).

Having your table break is one way to get a table change.

Before the break, Jerry Callahan (Oyster Bay, NY) took the more expensive route.  He busted out of table 53 in The Boardroom ultra high limit area and re-entered, which landed him at table three on the far opposite corner of the poker room.

Hopefully this table will work out better for Jerry, since re-entry is no longer an option.

Event 9: Deja Vu All Over Again

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 9:  Blinds 500/1,000 with 100 ante.  Play has resumed after the color-up break.

Registration is now closed, so no more re-entries!


Even though they were here grinding to the finish of event 5 late last night, that has not deterred these poker players, who are back again today shooting for another cash and hopefully a trophy:

Eric Suarez - 3rd place, $13,994
Neville Darrell - 7th place, $5,909 
Eric Miller - 10th place, $2,021
Joe Nichols - 12th place, $2,021
Ilya Vasserman - 14th place, $1,555
Rohan Long - 18th place, $1,228

Event 9: Wise-Man Weissmann

  $260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Joey Weissmann (Gainseville, FL) won his first WSOP bracelet last year in the $2,500 No Limit Hold'em event.

Lenny Weissmann

"I taught him how to play.  He used to stand behind me at the Taj Majal and watch" says Lenny Weissmann, (Atlantic City, NJ) Joey's grandfather.

"Now he won't listen to me"  Lenny says, "since he's got a bracelet". 

Despite that, Lenny is rooting for his grandson who is in Vegas right now trying for #2 in the WSOP.


Level 8 is done and players are taking 15 while the green 25 chips are colored up.

Event 9: Jaimangal Stacking Up

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

TJ Jaimangal

Taitt 'TJ' Jaimangal (Queens, NY) is stacking up chips early today.  He busted three guys already to build his stack to ~80k.  "Take my picture while I've still got these chips" he said.  Hopefully he'll hold on to those chips for a while.

TJ has had some success here at Borgata.  He won the 2010 Borgata Poker Open $200 Deep Stack Turbo NLH event, picking up $28,693.  Today he's looking to add a second trophy to his mantle.

Event 9: Before & After

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Johanssy Joseph
Sept. 2011 (left) & June 2013

We've had some fun over the years with Johanssy Joseph (Spring Valley, NY) and his hair. Today he's sporting a lean and mean look after going nearly 2 1/2 years without a hair cut.

Joseph chopped his "fro" in January of this year, before that his last cut was in 2010.

No word on why the change, but our keen spotters won't let him fly under the radar incognito.

Level 7 (300/600/75 ante) is underway, re-entry closes at ~2:10 pm.

Event 9: Five for Five

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Players have hit the fifth straight guarantee of the Borgata Summer Poker Open.

With more than 500 entries today the total buy-ins are at $130,000 and counting as it zooms past the $100,000 Guarantee.

The field returns for Level 5 (150/300/25 ante) and registration is open until ~2:10 pm.

Event-Guarantee-Total Buy-In

1-$300,000-$484,050
3-$100,000-$133,500
4-$100,000-$193,550
5-$100,000-$160,300
9-$100,000-TBD ($130,000+)

Event 9: Truong-ing to do Better

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

After just missing the money in the Event 5, 2-Day Big Stack and a piece of the $160,300 Total Buy-In, Kevin Truong (Freehold, NJ) is reassessing his game.

Truong and other recent tweets as players are on a 15 minute break.



Event 9: Scene of the Crime

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Little Looking for Big Rebound

It takes a second to register, but Tim Little (Cheverly, MD) eventually realizes that he's at the exact table and seat from which he busted in the Senior Event a little more than 12 hours ago.

Little recounts a hand with two tables remaining that crippled his stack and led to his elimination.

Little had his Aces cracked by Arthur Bressler's set of Jacks with 20 players left. "If I win that hand I have 200k with a million (chips) in play," smiles Little. "Oops."

Bressler (Manalapan, NJ) used Little's chips to finish in third place for $3,108.

Level 4 100/200 is winding down and players are heading towards their first break of the day.

Event 9: 2nd Helping for Plate

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

Plate with Re-Entry in Hand Tells 
his Bad Beat Story to Hambley

It doesn't take long for Jim Plate (Oakdale, NY) to come off his high of winning the Seniors Event for $9,064. 

"Nothing I want to say that I'll regret," says Plate who laughs his way to the cage with a re-entry ticket.

Plate stops to chat with fellow Long Islander Chuck Hambley (Blue Point, NY).  "We play together in New York," says Hambley while settling in to the early levels of this event.

Also grabbing a re-entry ticket is Eric "Pools" Siegel (Melville, NY) when his trip fours are smashed by a full house after his opponent flopped a set of Aces.

"Yeah you got me buddy," says Siegel while retelling the story, "the cards had nothing to do with it."

Level 3 (75/150) continues.

Event 9: Early Bird Tweets

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Event 9: No Messing Around

$260 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

After handing out three trophies early this morning, there's no messing around as another trophy is up for grabs.

The middle Wednesday of a series is always a fan favorite because of the low buy-in and the $100,000 GUARANTEE.

Players start with 20k stacks and levels are 20 minutes each to start (Levels 10+ / 30 min.).

Re-entry and late registration is open through Level 8 (~2:10 pm)

This one-day event is underway!

Wednesday, June 12

TODAY'S EVENTS (Poker Room) 

11AM: Event 9 - $260 + $40 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)  $100,000 GUARANTEED
  • Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-9:  will last 20 minutes each | Levels 10+:  will last 30 minutes each
  • Players may Re-Enter through Level 8
  • 1-Day event

4 PM: Event 35 - $400 + $50 Survivor No Limit Hold'em
  • Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-15:  will last 30 minutes each | Levels 16+: will last 40 minutes each
  • Approximately 1 in 10 will win $4,000 CASH
  • 1-Day event

7 PM: Event 36 - $100 + $20 + $100 Black Chip Bounty No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
  • Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips 
  • This is a Bounty tournament.  Players must have their Bounty chips clearly displayed on table in order to remain active in tournament.
  • Levels 1-12: will last 20 minutes each | Levels 13+: will last 25 minutes each
  • Players may enter through Level 7 
  • 1-Day event

    Event 8: Photo Slideshow


    May not work on mobile devices.

    Event 8: Recap

    $300 + 40 Seniors NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    The story is told all of the time in the poker community, a group of players that have a "poker club," and play once a week or month with each other.  They will play sit and go's throughout the year, eventually sending the "winner" of the course of the year to some poker main event ...   Jim Plate (Oakdale, NY) spends half of the year in Long Island, and the other half in Bonita Springs, FL.  What are the odds that Jim would end in a heads up battle with someone he's played with before in Bonita Springs?!   That someone was Dennis Blinderman.

    Blinderman was feeling the fatigue of the long hours, and the prospect of grinding out a massive chip deficit didn't seem pleasing.  It only took one hand for Blinderman to go all-in, and one hand for him to finish runner up to Plate.

    Jim Plate would take home $9,064, the Borgata Summer Poker Open Seniors event trophy, and some pictures to hang in the poker club in Long Island for good measure.  He'd best a field of 89 players, all of which have tons of tournament experience, including Joe Lopes, Tim Little, Addison Alston, and Andrew Klein.  One player who won't forget the experience is Plate's wife Dorothy, who got involved in a hand early with her husband, and only came away with a few blinds.  After Jim's win, Dorothy mentioned that they would be discussing that hand after they left the poker room.

    Arthur Bressler (Manalapan, NJ) already had a Seniors event trophy from the 2011 Borgata Fall Poker Open, and came into the final table as one of the chip leaders.  He ran into some unfortunate luck in the late stages, losing three all-ins in which he was a clear favorite.  Bressler would finish in third place, taking home $3,108.  It was a hand with Steve Gill (Greenville, SC) that would propel Plate to his victory, as Plate doubled with aces against Gill's pocket eights.  Gill was the chip leader at the time, but Plate would assume that title and never look back.  Gill would end up finishing in sixth place, collecting $1,813.

    Plate's story about the poker club, and ending heads up against a player he once sat with in Florida is great.  But there is another intersting story that Plate shared with us.  He played basketball growing up, eventually earning a scholarship at St. John's University.  He was one the FIRST players to be recruited by Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca!!!  Coach Carnesecca still calls him every Christmas morning, which is an honor in it's own part.  Plate will be around the Borgata tomorrow, but has yet to decide whether we will see him shooting for back to back trophies.

    FINAL RESULTS

    Event 7: 1st Place - Kirsch


    $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    Lee Kirsch
    Event 7 Winner - $28,485

      Event 7: 2nd Place - Balla ($16,442)


      $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

      Thomas Balla
      2nd Place - $16,442

        Event 7: 3rd Place - Treppiedi ($10,033)


        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

        Nicholas Treppiedi 
        3rd Place - $10,033

          Event 7: 4th Place - Avent ($8,082)


          $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

          Steven Avent
          4th Place - $8,082

            Event 7: 5th Place - Wodzinski ($6,354)


            $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

            Michael Wonzinski
            5th Place - $6,354

              Event 7: 6th Place - Lee ($5,295)


              $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

              Alan Lee 
              6th Place - $5,295

                Event 7: 7th Place - Supsak ($4,236)


                $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                Joshua Supsak 
                7th Place - $4,236

                  Event 7: 8th Place - Lutes ($3,233)


                  $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                  Zachary Lutes
                  8th Place - $3,233

                    Event 7: 9th Place - Nosonchuk ($2,229)


                    $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                    Alan Nosonchuck 
                    9th Place - $2,229

                      Event 7: 10th Place - Daly ($1,449)


                      $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                      Richard Daly (Brigantine, NJ)
                      10th Place - $1,449

                        Event 7: Final Table Chip Counts

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        1. Alan Nosonchuk (1,000,000)
                        2. Steven Avent (3,000,000)
                        3. Zachary Lutes (1,150,000)
                        4. Alan Lee (3,100,000)
                        5. Richard Daly (10th Place)
                        6. Michael Wodzinski (3,200,000)
                        7. Nicholas Treppiedi (2,400,000)
                        8. Joshua Supsak (2,600,000)
                        9. Thomas Balla (2,500,000)
                        10. Lee Kirsch (1,700,000)

                        Event 7: 11th-12th Places ($1,449)

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        The following players fell short of the final table, and cashed for $1,449:

                        11. Danko Campese (Toms River, NJ)
                        12. Raymond Didonato (Laurel Springs, NJ)

                        Event 7: Final Table

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Here is your final table for Event 7:


                        1. Alan Nosonchuk
                        2. Steven Avent
                        3. Zachary Lutes
                        4. Alan Lee
                        5. Richard Daly
                        6. Michael Wodzinski
                        7. Nicholas Treppiedi
                        8. Joshua Supsak
                        9. Thomas Balla
                        10. Lee Kirsch

                        Event 7: Break Time

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Players are about to go on a (15) minute break, and they will return to Level 29, with blinds increasing to 50,000/100,000/10,000.  The chip average with 12 remaining is 1,841,000, so once again we sit below the twenty big blind number.

                        Event 7: 13th-15th Places ($1,115)

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        The following players have cashed for $1,115:

                        13. Michael Hahn (Carmel, IN)
                        14. Ali Louis Heins (Falls Church, VA)
                        15. Gregg Kolaski (Philadelphia, PA)

                        Event 7: 16th-18th Places ($881)

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        The following players have cashed for $881:

                        16. James McKeon (Lattingtown, NY)
                        17. Tiffany Williamson (Pleasantville, NJ)
                        18. Frank Fratzola (Scranton, PA)

                        Event 7: Multi-Way All-In

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        With the blinds getting sky high, Player X opened UTG for his 600,000, and watched as UTG + 1 re-shipped for 980,000.  The action folded to Michael Wodzinski (New York, NY), who asked for the number again and then announced himself all-in as well.  The action folded around and the hands were tabled:

                        Player X: K J       Player Y: J J          Wodzinski: K K

                        Flop: 5 8 8 

                        Turn: 9

                        River: A

                        Wodzinski would knock out two players in the hand, while chipping up to 2,700,000 and becoming the chip leader remaining.

                        Event 7: Level Up

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Tournament directors have just announced the beginning of Level 28, with the blinds increasing to 40,000/80,000/10,000.  The chip average is 1,300,000 for the remaining 17 players, meaning it's still below the 20 big blind mark.

                        Event 7: 19th-27th Places ($691)

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        The following players cashed in the event for $691:

                        19. Thomas Norbet (Sharon, CT)
                        20. Stanley Annis Jr. (Bloxom, VA)
                        21. Joseph Marchese (Coral Springs, FL)
                        22. Victoria Ondis (Manasquan, NJ)
                        23. Robert Wiegman (Jersey City, NJ)
                        24. Stephen Heilbron (Long Beach, NY)
                        25. Alberto Agostinelli (Springfield, NJ)
                        26. Leiby Goldberger (Brooklyn, NY)
                        27. Brownie Garret (Virginia Beach, VA)

                        Event 5: Photo Slideshow

                         
                        May not work on mobile devices.

                        Event 5: Recap

                        $350 + $50 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)    

                        Earl King came from behind on the final hand to beat Mitchell Mantin, winning $39,735 and his first Borgata Open trophy.  Heads-up play began with stacks nearly even, but King had the advantage when all the chips went in with A4 suited against Mantin's AJ.  A 4 on the flop was all King needed to take it down.

                        Mitchell Mantin earned $22,936 for second place and just missed claiming his second Borgata Open trophy.  Mantin won the 2011 Borgata Summer Poker Open $200 Deep Stack NLH event for $23,391.  He has numerous other final tables and cashes here at Borgata, part of his lifetime earnings of over $213,000.

                        Third place and $13,994 went to Eric Suarez, who is a bartender by trade.  Eric is planning to be back Wednesday for event 9, which starts less than ten hours from his departure in this event.

                        Over two starting days a total of 458 entries combined to create total buy-ins of $160,300, surpassing the published $100,000 guarantee.  To date, this is the fourth of four guarantees of the Borgata Summer Poker Open series that has been smashed by the crowds.  The final 45 players earned a cut of the prize pool.

                        Some other Borgata regulars who cashed, but missed the final table are:  Ilya Vasserman (Huntingdon Vally, PA) 14th - $1,555; Frank Reina (Elizabeth, NJ) 19th - $964; Matthew Burnitz (Bear, DE) 29th - $855; Alan Kraut (Doylestown, PA) 39th - $777; and Robert Melo (Howard Beach, NY)  42nd - $777.

                        Earl King fired three bullets to win this event and it payed of nicely.  He played day 1A and went deep, but busted out before the end of the night.  He came back on day 1B and busted out very quickly, so he was on his third entry which finally turned the corner for him.  "I made three monster calls late on day 1 and was right each time." he said.  He finished day 1B as the chip leader and was the overall chip leader coming into day two today. 

                        "Without a lot of luck, you're not going to win" King said.  He admits he got very lucky several times, but he also played well.  He credits the final table players as all being solid players. "Especially [Joe Wertz].  He was very aggro and kept raising my blinds."

                        King is in the advertising business, but went through two years of training for his 'hobby' job as a paramedic.  He's got a shift on Thursday, so he needs to get home for some rest, but hopes to be back to play some more tournaments during this series.


                        Final Table Results
                        1 - Earl King (Colts Neck, NJ)  $39,735
                        2 - Mitchell Mantin (Atlantic City, NJ)  $13,994
                        3 - Eric Suarez (Glen Mills, PA)  $13,994
                        4 - Joe Wertz (Montoursville, PA)  $11,273
                        5 - Ken Silberstein (Edison, NJ)  $8,863
                        6 - Gene Mazza (Elizabeth, NJ)  $7,386
                        7 - Neville Darrell (Sarasota, FL)  $5,909
                        8 - Julie Zelman (New York, NY)  $4,509
                        9 - John Mahoney (Summit, NJ)  $3,110
                        10 - Eric Miller (Hicksville, NY)  $2,021

                        FINAL RESULTS

                        Event 7: Blinds Up

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Blinds have just increased to 30,000/60,000/5,000, with the chip average of 1,100,000 still under the twenty big blind mark.  After the next elimination the tournament floor will redraw the remaining eighteen players and we will bring you the new seating assignments.

                        Event 7: Still Alive

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        With the WSOP currently going on, we have a former WSOP Main Event notable going deep in this event.  Tiffany Williamson (London, MD) is slightly below average, but is still more than alive with 20 players remaining.  Williamson finished in 15th in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, taking home $400,000, and has since become a Borgata regular.

                        Event 7: Color Up Break


                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Players are on a ten minute break as the tournament directors color off the orange (1,000) chips.  Blinds coming back are going up to 25,000/50,000/5,000, which mean the 900,000 chip average is less than twenty big blinds for the remaining players.

                        Event 5: 1st Place - King

                        $350 + $50 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)     

                        Earl King (Colts Neck, NJ)
                        $39,735

                        Earl King earned $39,735 and his first Borgata Open trophy tonight when his A4 came from behind to beat Mitchell Mantin's AJ.

                        The heads-up match only lasted a few minutes, but Mitchell has been playing this "two-day" event for three days.

                        He played day 1A and went deep, but busted out before the end of the night.

                        He came back on day 1B and busted out very quickly, so he was on his third entry which finally turned the corner for him.  "I made three monster calls late on day 1 and was right each time." he said.

                        He finished day 1B as the chip leader and was the overall chip leader coming into day two today. 

                        Earl is in the advertising business, but went through two years of training for his 'hobby' job as a paramedic.  He's got a shift on Thursday, so needs to get home for some rest, but hopes to be back to play some more tournaments during this series.

                        Event 5: 2nd Place - Mantin

                        $350 + $50 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)    

                        Mitchell Mantin (Atlantic City, NJ)
                        $13,994

                        At the start of heads-up play, the stacks were very close.

                        Earl King - 4.6 million
                        Mitchell Mantin - 4.5 million

                        After a few hands, they were all-in pre-flop.

                        Earl: A4 suited
                        Mitchell: AJ

                        Board:  5 4 2 9 K

                        Earl paired his 4 to take the pot and since he had more chips, take the tournament.

                        Mitchell Mantin finished in 2nd place, earning $13,994.

                        Event 7: Running Deep...Again


                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Mike Hahn (Carmel, IN) was the winner of Event 3 ($500 + 60 Big Stack NL) for over $36,000.  Hahn took a few days off and is not only back in action today, but is one of the biggest stacks in the tournament.  With the blinds currently at 20,000/40,000/4,000, Hahn is sitting on a stack just below 1,500,000 (37 big blinds).  We've seen in the past that players who have won tournaments or gone super deep, have repeated the feat in the same series (i.e. Brian O'Donaghue).

                        Event 5: 3rd Place - Suarez

                        $350 + $50 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)     

                        Eric Suarez (Glen Mills, PA)
                        $13,994

                        Eric Suarez was all-in and called by both opponents, who checked the flop of 9 9 5.

                        When a 3 hit the turn, Mitchell Mantin bet and Earl King folded.

                        Eric:  T7 sutied
                        Mitchell: 54

                        River:  3

                        Mitchell took the pot with two pair.  Eric took 3rd place and $13,994.

                        Event 7: 28th-36th Places ($613)


                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        The following players have cashed in the event for $613:

                        28. Edward Alonso (Farmingdale, NY)
                        29. Anthony Raimone (Bardonia, NY)
                        30. Eric Siegel (Melville, NY)
                        31. William Wilcox (Virginia Beach, VA)
                        32. Yao Wu (Jersey City, NJ)
                        33. Daniel Douglas (Yonkers, NY)
                        34. Richard Corley (Brooklyn, NY)
                        35. Daniel Sewnig (Yardville, NJ)
                        36. Hao Le (Aldie, VA)

                        Event 5: Mantin Doubles

                        $350 + $50 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)    

                        Mitchell Mantin was all-in for 1.4 million against Eric Suarez.

                        Mitchell: AQ
                        Eric: AT

                        Board:  Q 4 2 3 K

                        Mitchell doubled up to over 2.8 million.  Eric was left with ~700k.

                        Event 5: Suarez Doubles

                        $350 + $50 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)    

                        Eric Suarez was all-in with KQ against the 98 suited of Mitchell Mantin.

                        The board ran out K T 8 2 J and Eric doubled up with a pair of Kings to ~1.2 million.

                        Mitchell was left with ~1.3 million.

                        Event 7: By The Numbers


                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Let us get you caught up on the goings on for Event 7:

                        Total Entries: 442

                        Players Remaining: 31

                        Blinds: 15,000/30,000/4,000

                        Chip Average: 712,000 (~23 Big Blinds)

                        Event 7: 37th-45th Places ($557)

                        $260 + 40 Deepest Stack NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        The following players have min. cashed in this event, taking home $557:

                        37. Sang Lim (Flushing, NY)
                        38. Tyler Follmer (Dillsburg, PA)
                        39. William Shapiro (Mays Landing, NJ)
                        40. Orlando Rivera (Garnerville, NY)
                        41. Kevin Johnson (Raritan, NJ)
                        42. Eric Smidinger (Crofton, MD)
                        43. Chris Hammet (Katonah, NY)
                        44. Marc Guieb (Robbinsville, NJ)
                        45. Scott Ardinger (Mundelein, IL)


                        Event 8: 1st Place - Plate ($9,064)


                        $300 + 40 Seniors NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Jim Plate (Oakdale, NY)
                        Event 8 Winner - $9,064

                        It wouldn't take long heads up, as it was clear that Dennis Blinderman was not interested in dragging this whole thing out.  The two managed to get the chips in on the first hand, with Plate holding A Q against the K 8 of Dennis.  Plate would never lose the lead, and would gain a great looking trophy and $9,064.

                        Event 5: Break Time Chip Counts

                        $350 + $50 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)   

                        End of level and the final three took a break.  Here are the rough chip counts:

                        Earl King - 5.6 million
                        Mitchell Mantin - 2.3 million
                        Eric Suarez - 1.15 million

                        Play resumed with blinds of 60k/120k with 20k ante.

                        Event 8: 2nd Place - Blinderman ($4,921)


                        $300 + 40 Seniors NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Dennis Blinderman
                        2nd Place - $4,921

                        Event 8: 3rd Place - Bressler ($3,108)


                        $300 + 40 Seniors NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Arthur Bressler
                        3rd Place - $3,108

                        Event 5: King Krushing

                        $350 + $50 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)   

                        Earl King is chipping away at the other two.

                        Earl is up to ~5.7 million.

                        The other two players each have less than 2 million.

                        Event 8: 4th Place - Stein ($2,331)


                        $300 + 40 Seniors NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Mark Stein 
                        4th Place - $2,331

                        In a blind v. blind situation, Mark Stein and Arthur Bressler (the two short stacks) got it in pre flop, with Stein holding K 4 and Arthur 5 6.  Bressler would go on to flop a five and river trips, and double up to 102,000.  Stein would be left with 40,000 and be eliminated the very next hand.

                        Event 8: Blinds Up


                        $300 + 40 Seniors NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        The level is about to end and blinds are going up to 6,000/12,000/2,000, meaning the 267,000 chip average is now equal to just over twenty big blinds.

                        Event 5: 4th Place - Wertz

                        $350 + $50 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)  

                        Joe Wertz (Montoursville, PA)
                        $11,273

                        On the turn with a board of J633, Earl King (bb) and Joe Wertz (button) got all the chips in the middle.

                        Earl:  Q4 for the flush
                        Joe:  32 for trips

                        River: 5♠

                        Earl doubled up to ~3.8 million.  Joe was left with ~600k.

                        Blinds went up to 50k/100k with 10k ante.

                        Soon after, Joe was all-in and called by Earl.

                        Joe:  KK
                        Earl:  99

                        Earl caught a 9 on the river to make a set and take the last of Joe's chips.  He's up to 4.8 million.

                        Joe Wertz finished in 4th place, earning $11,273.

                        Event 8: Four Handed Chip Counts


                        $300 + 40 Seniors NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Here are your four handed chip counts:

                        Jim Plate - 460,000
                        Dennis Blinderman - 360,000
                        Arthur Bressler - 195,000
                        Mark Stein - 80,000

                        Event 8: 5th Place - Gill ($1,813)

                        $300 + 40 Seniors NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Steve Gill
                        6th Place - $1,813

                        Event 8: 6th Place - Coppola ($1,554)


                        $300 + 40 Seniors NL Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                        Steve Coppola
                        6th Place - $1,554