Event 6: The 1K Grind

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

Ian Palomo continues his "run good streak" at Borgata.

The Texas native is on the grind looking for another score to add to his poker resume.

Event #6
Number of Entrants:219
Players remaining: 31
Total Buy-In: $219,000

Ian Palomo
148,000 chips

Event 7: Under 70 Players

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

After 12 hours of play, big stacks have emerged and short stacks are hanging on.

Matt "Muffins" Mazzeo and Bill Patterson are still in the field, will they add another poker score to their resume?

Event #7
Number of Entries: 476
Players remaining: 69
Total Buy-In: $190,400

Event 6: Poker Pro

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

Pokerstars Pro, Victor Ramdin, is still alive as the 1K inches closer to the Money Bubble.

Event #6
Number of Entrants:219
Players remaining: 38
Total Buy-In: $219,000

Victor Ramdin
61,000 chips

Event 7: Look-Alike

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

Ross Hooper (Jersey City, NJ) has been told he looks like a young
Bill Gates, let's see if his poker skill equates to the success
of the Microsoft billionaire.

Play continues in Event #7, good luck to the field.

Event 6: New Chip Leader

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em  

They're down to five tables and only 39 players.  Just a dozen away from a guaranteed $1,912 payday.

 Alex Smith

Alex Smith (Highland Park, NJ) had claimed the chip lead.  He's up to ~225k.

Average stack is a bit over 83k.

Event 7: Out in Front

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

The average stack is 141,666 with a shrinking field...

Top 3 Chip Counts:
Eddie Harari - 340,000
Anthony Brandi - 298,000
Matt Levine - 271,000

Event #7
Number of Entries: 476
Players remaining: 84
Total Buy-In: $190,400

Event 6: Shasho Plays to Win

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em 

After three-betting from the small blind and having his opponent shove, Michael Shasho (Ramsey, NJ) gave it some thought then let his AK offsuit go.

 Michael Shasho

"I'm playing to win" he says.  "Would you put in $50k pre-flop with AK offsuit in a cash game?" he continued.  (I certainly wouldn't, but I know some people who would.)

Michael was very confident he was facing a pair and didn't want to flip for most of his stack at this point in the tournament.

The level ran out and 42 surviving players enjoyed some time away from the tables.

Event 7: The Builder

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

Richard Tukcer (Charlotte, NC) left the jobsite for the poker table.

The "Queen City" builder runs a North Carolina based construction company when he's not raking pots at Borgata.

So far, he's had no trouble building great table image and constructing a huge chip-stack.

Event #7
Number of Entries: 476
Players remaining: 112
Total Buy-In: $190,400

Richard Tukcer (Charlottte, NC)
219,000 chips

Play Poker, Watch Sports

US Open tennis and College Football games have been shown all day in Borgata's Event Center.

The 4 oversized projection screens provide a great viewing angle from any table, any seat.

Event 7: Chasing the Chipleader

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

Brandon Vargas (Melbourne, NY) joins in the pursuit of chasing the Chiplead.

The local card-player has chipped up in the last two levels, he sits with 229,000.

Event #7
Number of Entries: 476
Players remaining: 116
Total Buy-In: $190,400

Brandon Vargas (Malverne, NY)
229,000 chips

Event 7: Back to School

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

Anthony Brandi (Staten Island, NY) is making his post Dinner Break run look easy.

He sits with 226,00 chips and continues to chase Chipleader Matt Levine.

The high-school PE teacher sends a reminder to all his students following at home, "no drugs, stay in school."

Event #7
Number of Entries: 476
Players remaining: 118
Total Buy-In: $190,400

Anthony Brandi (Staten Island, NY)
226,000 chips

Event 6: Chip Leader

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

Looks like Nikolay Volper (New York, NY) has taken the chip lead with about 200k.  Omar Ghanim (Patterson, NJ) is close behind with about 180k.

 Nikolay Volper & Omar Ghanim

52 players remain making the average stack a little over 63k.

Blinds have just increased to 800/1,600 with 200 antes.

Good Luck Jeff

From Media Row to the Green Felt,
good luck to our very own media mogul.

Borgata Blogger, Jeff "Gorilla" Shurilla, in Event #32.

Event 4 Recap

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

After 23 hours of play over two days, Manh Nguyen was the last man standing in the $500 + $60 No Limit event.  This accomplishment earned him $39,941 and the crystal Borgata trophy.

Event 4 drew a crowd of 305 players, who generated $152,500 in total buy-ins.  Among those players were many previous Borgata tournament winners, including Russell Crane, Mike Dentale, Matt 'muffins' Mazzeo, Adel Shakerian, Brandon Guss, Daniel Chan, and Nashaat 'Tony' Antonious.

Out of those notables, only Mike Dentale managed to make the money.  He held on all the way to the final table, finishing 8th for $4,364.

The eventual winner, Manh Nguyen, appeared on the leader-board early on day one, about seven hours into play.  He fell back into the pack after the dinner break and finished day one 8th out of 26 remaining players.

On day two, Manh continued to lurk in the field until they reached the final table and were down to only seven players.  He then went on a heater and busted all six of his remaining opponents.

Manh has been playing poker, at least part-time, for about 8 years.  He used to be a poker dealer back home in Pittsburgh, PA, but he gave that up to be a full-time pro this year.  He also took up tournaments this year and finds that he's having much better success in tournaments than he had in the cash games.

Event 6: Back to Business

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

Players returned from dinner and got back to the business of poker.

Seven 9-handed tables are grinding with about 60 players still in the hunt.  Only 27 will get paid.

Among those still alive are:
Al Riccobono
Michael Shasho
Mirsad Kovaci
David Laufer
Victor Ramdin
Alex Bolotin
Eugene Todd

Event 7: Dinner Time

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

*Paging* Fatburger, Roma and Tony Luke's -
Event#7 is on Dinner Break.

Play resumes in 1-hour.

Event #7
Number of Entries: 476
Players remaining: 131
Total Buy-In: $190,400

CHIPLEADER
Matt Levine (New York, NY)
303,500 chips

Event 4: 1st Place - Nguyen

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

Manh Nguyen went on a heater when there were seven players left at the final table.  After busting all six of his opponents, he laid claim to $39,941, the crystal Borgata trophy, and the Blue Shark Optics sunglasses.

 Manh Nguyen
Munhall, PA

Manh has been playing poker, at least part-time, for about 8 years.  He used to be a poker dealer back home in Pittsburgh, PA, but he gave that up to be a full-time pro this year.  He also took up tournaments this year and finds that he's having much better success in tournaments than he had in the cash games.  

Event 7: Poker Tattoo

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

Jon Promo (Long Island) shows off his poker ink just before the Dinner Break.

The K♥Q♥ suited represents his kids, EJ and Sabrina.

"They're my whole life, I love my kids."

PPI Points Challenge

Guest Post:

PPI (Poker Players International ) is honored to be part of another Borgata Poker Open (BPO) tournament series. Both our staff and players consider Borgata to be the premier destination of any poker event series. Across the board Borgata has every poker player's best interest in mind. Everything from tournament structures, staff, dealers, variety of events, dining, spa, and an energy filled Event Center room ..... Borgata has it covered!

PPI represents hundreds of World Class Poker Players that always include the Borgata Poker Open on their tournament schedules - including 2011 WSOP runner-up John Racener, WSOP Player of the Year Frank Kasella, WPT 2nd place finisher David Inselberg, Joseph Cheong, Mike Beasely, Josh Brikis, Jason Young, Lee Childs, David Fox, and Vinny Pahuja.

At this year’s BPO we are pleased to continue with the PPI "Points Challenge” which will award the PPI player with the most points accumulated through participation, cashes, and final table appearances with a Borgata VIP prize package which includes hotel accommodations and gourmet dining. We will provide you with daily leaderboard updates here on the Live Updates Blog, along with PPI player news. You can check out our roster of players and bios, news, charity organizations we support, and see the trailer for the PPI produced documentary film On The Line: John Racener at PPIPOKER.com

The 1st event at the 2011 Borgata Poker Open got off to an amazing start attracting a record-setting 1,718 entrants.

Best of luck to all participants at this year's Borgata Poker Open events.

If any PPI Players are missing from the Leaderboard or if you are missing points please contact me with your Borgata Card number.

Eric Siegel PPI Co-Founder/Director of Marketing

Here is the updated PPI Leaderboard:
(Events 1, 2, 3, 5, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)

124.388 PTS: JAMES BOYLE (HAVRE DE GRACE, MD)
115.455 PTS: MATTHEW MAZZEO (EAST WILLISTON, NY)
106.000 PTS: MICHAEL SICA JR (N BRUNSWICK, NJ)
86.475 PTS: ROSLYN QUARTO (EDISON, NJ)
79.475 PTS: MICHAEL DENTALE (BROOKLYN, NY)
73.250 PTS: RYAN ERIQUEZZO (DANBURY, CT)
60.400 PTS: ROBERT HWANG (BARNEGAT, NJ)
46.413 PTS: ALBERT RICCOBONO (OSSINING, NY)
37.600 PTS: DAVID INSELBERG (LONG BEACH, NY)
37.600 PTS: VINEET PAHUJA (HICKSVILLE, NY)
37.600 PTS: EUGENE TODD (BROOKLYN, NY)
36.600 PTS: ANTHONY CAMPAGNA (MANORVILLE, NY)
36.600 PTS: JAMES SALTERS (W HEMPSTEAD, NY)
33.600 PTS: MICHAEL BORCHETTA (LAGRANGEVILLE, NY)
33.600 PTS: JOSHUA BRIKIS (MURRYSVILLE, PA)
33.600 PTS: GORDON ENG (CLIFFSIDE PARK, NJ)
33.600 PTS: JASON YOUNG (SUFFERN, NY)
27.600 PTS: IAN PALOMO (NEW YORK, NY)
27.600 PTS: JONATHAN SORSCHER (LYNBROOK, NY)
26.863 PTS: KAREN PEREZ (CHALFONT, PA)
26.400 PTS: CHRIS RESLOCK (ATLANTIC CITY, NJ)
25.613 PTS: MICHAEL CASTALDO (PALISADES, NY)
20.800 PTS: ANDREW KLOC (NAUGATUCK, CT)
20.800 PTS: ADAM LIPPERT (BROOKLYN, NY)
16.800 PTS: CHARLES MARCHESE (SHOREHAM, NY)
16.800 PTS: FELIX MOK (BROOKLYN, NY)
16.800 PTS: CONCETTA RINALDI (LYNBROOK, NY)
10.800 PTS: SHEREE BYKOFSKY (ATLANTIC CITY, NJ)
10.800 PTS: ADAM GERBER (MOORESTOWN, NJ)
10.800 PTS: JAMIE KERSTETTER (MONROE TWP., NJ)
10.800 PTS: LISA PICKELL (BRICK, NJ)
10.000 PTS: JACK SCHANBACHER (PITTSBURGH, PA)
10.000 PTS: JONATHAN WERZ (MELVILLE, NY)
8.400 PTS: BRENT KELLER (HORSHAM, PA)
7.638 PTS: CARL RESTIFO (WARETOWN, NJ)

Event 4: 2nd Place - Bramley

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

It did not take long for the monster stack of Manh Nguyen to gather the last few chips on the table.

 Mark Bramley

Mark Bramley essentially surrendered to the crush of the more than ten-to-one chip deficit and moved all in with 64.

Manh happened to have pocket Tens at the time.  His pair held up and Manh claimed the top prize

Mark Bramley (Boston, MA) claimed second place and $22,189.

Event 4: 3rd Place - Lango

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

Sean Lango moved all-in from the button.  After Mark Bramley folded his small blind, Manh Nguyen asked for the count.

 Sean Lango

It was 386k total to call and he did.  Sean held KQ.  Manh held A8.

The board came J 7 4 7 2 and Manh took the pot with Ace-high.

Sean Lango (Verona, NJ) took third place along with $13,757.

Poker Look-Alikes

Poker Look-Alikes spotted at Borgata...Welcome back Kotter?

Mark Buonadonna (Violin, NJ)

recreational gambler / Borgata tournament regular

Gabe Kaplan (Brooklyn, NY)

Comedian / Actor / Professional Poker Player & Commentator

Event 7: Chipleader

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

Matt Levine (New York, NY)is a busy man.

The Chipleader of Event #7 has his hands full off the felt.

CHIPLEADER - Matt Levine
281,000 chips

(former) Online Poker Pro
Venture Capitalist
Maple Syrup distributor

Event 4: Chip Counts

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

At the end of the level, the final three took off for a break.

Here are the rough chip counts:

Manh Nguyen - 2.8 million
Mark Bramley - 450k
Sean Lango - 449k

Play resumed after the break with blinds of 12k/24k and 3k antes.

Event 7: Early Risers

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

With Dinner Break approaching, here's some of
the early Chipleaders in Event #7:

Thang Nguyen (Fairfax, VA) - 203,000
Richard Tucker (Charlotte, NC) - 176,000
Yehezkel Yehoshua (Brooklyn, NY) - 147,000
Amit Ashkenasi (Israel) - 139,000
Jason Oury (Fairview, NJ) - 138,000
Stan Combs (Dayton, Ohio) - 131,000
Daniel Apice (Brooklyn, NY) - 111,000

Event 7: Payouts

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

Entries: 476
Total Buy-In: $190,400

Place - Amount

1st $47,190
2nd $27,241
3rd $16,622
4th $13,390
5th $10,527
6th $8,773
7th $7,018
8th $5,356
9th $3,694
10-12 $2,401
13-15 $1,847
16-18 $1,459
19-27 $1,145
28-36 $1,016
37-45 $923

Event 4: 4th Place - Woelfel

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

Wade Woelfel got his chips in holding AJ and was racing against the pocket 8s of Manh Nguyen. 

 Wade Woelfel

Wade took the lead when a Jack flopped, but an 8 on the river sent the pot to join Manh's mountain of chips.

Wade Woelfel (Mankato, MN) finished in 4th place earning $11,094.

Event 6: Payouts

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

Entries: 219
Total Buy-In: 219,000

Place - Amount

1st $59,477
2nd $35,051
3rd $20,181
4th $16,357
5th $12,746
6th $10,622
7th $8,497
8th $6,373
9th $4,249
10-12 $2,762
13-15 $2,337
16-18 $2,124
19-27 $1,912

Event 4: 5th Place - Padilla

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

Blinds are up to 10k/20k with 3k antes.

Mark Bramley moved all-in for 215k and chip leader Manh Nguyen looked him up.  Mark held AK offsuit and had Manh's AT suited dominated.  The flop came K T 5 giving both a pair, but two spades also gave Manh flush draw.

Mark managed to fade all of Manh's outs on the turn and river to double up to ~500k.

 Ramon Padilla

On a flop of 6 5 4, Ramon Padilla got all-in against Manh Nguyen.  Ramon held Q7 and was open-ended.  Man held A3 and was ahead and also open-ended. 

An Ace on the turn gave Manh the lead with a pair.  Then a deuce on the rive gave Manh the straight.'

Ramon Padilla (Cliffside Park, NJ) finished in 5th place, earning $8,580.

Event 4: 6th Place - Patel

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

Manh Nguyen raised utg, then Sandip Patel three-bet from the button.  Manh gave it some thought, then called.  The flop came A K K and Man checked.  Sandip announced he was all in.

 Sandip Patel

Manh asked for the count and it was 573k to him.  He tanked for a couple of minutes, then made the call.

Sandip said "good call" and showed pocket Jacks.  Manh held K5 suited for Kings-full.  River was a Ten and Manh took the pot, and the chip lead with ~1.4 million.

Sandip Patel (Matawan, NJ) finished in 6th place, earning $7,248.

Event 4: No Messing Around

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em

Volper's Vast Chips

Some players stack their chips in a neat pyramid, while others build elaborate forts, but for Nikolay Volper (Astoria, NY) it's not about aesthetics, it's about collection.

Volper is raking so many pots he doesn't have time to stack the chips in any kind of order. One player ballparks Volper's "dirty" stacks at ~125k (156 BB), which is clearly the biggest in the room.

"I'm lazy," says the Borgata regular who's originial from Bulgaria.

Derek Kunkle (Perkasie, PA) is in the 70k (88 BB) range as are a couple of other players.

Currently 88 (out of 219) remain with an average stack of 37k (46 BB).

Blinds: 400/800/75 ante

Event 4: Patel Doubles

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

Sandip Patel moved all-in for ~350k and Sean Lango called with pocket Aces.  Sandip's A9 was in bad shape.

Then the board came 9 4 4 T 9 and Sandip made 9s-full on the river to crack Sean's Aces.  Sean was left with ~715k while Sandip chipped up to ~800k.

A few hands later, Sandip opened for 50k on the button.  Sean raised to 150k from the small blind.  This time, Sandip folded.

Event 4: 7th Place - Johnston

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

In a battle of the blinds, Mark Bramley moved all-in from the small and Manh Nguyen looked him up from the big.  Mark was ahead with A9.  Manh held 63.  Manh flopped a 6, but Mark turned an Ace to double up.

Sandip Patel opened for 40k utg, Perry Johnston called, then Manh Nguyen raised to 120k from the button.  Sandip folded (later said he had A3) and Perry moved all-in.  

 Perry Johnston

Manh snap-called, showing pocket Kings.  Perry held KQ and was in trouble.

An Ace hit the board (causing Sandip some pain) but nothing came to help Perry.  Manh took the pot.

Perry Johnston (Oak Island, NC) finished in 7th place, picking up $5,843.

Event 4: Chip Counts

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em   

After the break, play resumed with blinds of 8k/16k with 2k antes.

Here are the chip counts for the final seven players, as of the break.

Sean Lango - 1.127 million
Ramon Padilla - 735k
Manh Nguyen - 603k
Wade Woelfel - 434k
Sandip Patel - 395k
Perry Johnston - 308k
Mark Bramley - 89k

Event 4: Johnston Doubles

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

Perry Johnston moved all-in for 146k and Ramon Padilla called.  Perry's KJ was racing against Ramon's pocket 6.  The board came K 9 2 Q 4 and Perry doubled up to 324k.

Another level ticked away and players took 15 minutes away from the grind.

Event 4: 8th Place - Dentale

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em    

After folding every hand he's seen at the final table, Wade Woelfel finally made his stand.  He moved in for 148k from the hijack.  Sandip Patel called from the cutoff, then Mike Dentale called from the big blind, leaving himself ~60k behind.

 Mike Dentale

The flop came Q 8 2 and Mike checked.  Sandip announced he was all-in, having Mike well covered.   Mike gave it a little thought, then committed the last of his chips.

Sandip was ahead with AQ for a pair of Queens.
Mike was second with a pair of Jacks, but in bad shape because...
Wade held KJ and one of Mike's outs.

It appeared Sandip was about to bust two players, but the last two cards fell K 6 and Wade paired his King to take the main pot, tripling up.  Sandip took the side pot.

Mike Dentale (Brooklyn, NY) finished in 8th place, earning $4,364.

Event 4: 9th Place - Marcus

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em   

On the turn with the board showing T 9 5 2, Sandip Patel was all-in for 117k.  Mike Dentale (bb) was in the tank, considering his action. 

Mike exposed his hand, 65 off, continued to consider his action, trying to chat up Sandip, checking the payouts, etc.  Eventually the clock was called and before his time expired, Mike called.

Sandip held QT for top pair.  River was a 4 and Sandip took the pot.

The clock ran out during that hand so now the blinds are up to 6k/12k with 2k antes.  Play continued.

After Ira Marcus raised, Mike Dentale moved all-in.  Ira called all-in, showing pocket Kings.  Mike held AQ.

 Ira Marcus

The flop was an innocent 8 6 6, but then an Ace landed on the turn to give Mike the bigger pair.  River was a blank and Mike took the pot, chipping up to ~270k.

Ira Marcus (Austin, TX) finished in 9th place, earning $2,959.

Event 6: Ramdin Rails Brother

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

Victor Values Family

The final list of players includes a couple of heavy hitters in Victor Ramdin (Bronx, NY) and Cornell Andrew Cimpan (League City, TX) who have a combined three WPT titles and $6.5 million in career earnings between them.

"I'm here to support my brother," says Ramdin, who's tagging along to sweat Racko who's playing in Event 7 ($450), just his second live tournament. "Sharing the wealth," adds the one time WPT winner.

Ramdin is right around the 15k starting stack while Cimpan, a two time WPT champion, is on the rail after his pocket kings are run down by A 10 when an ace flops.

The cage is verifying the totals, but the total entries is more than 200. The prize pool will be out shortly.

Event 4: Bramley Down, Doubles

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em   

In a battle of the blinds, Mark Bramley (small) bet 75k on the turn with a board of A Q 3 J.  Manh Nguyen (big) gave it some thought, then called.  The river was a King and Mark checked.  Man bet 160k, sending Mark into the tank.

After thinking for a few minutes, Mark called.  Manh showed AT off for the straight and the nuts.  Mark mucked.  After losing that pot, Mark was left with only ~55k.

A few hands later, Mark moved all-in from the hijack for 52k.  Big stack Ramon Padilla called, showing AK off.  Mark had pocket 6s and was racing for his tournament life.

The board came 9 6 2 3 4 and Mark doubled up.

Event 7: Bundles of Joy

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

Delacruz, Edmonds & Pincus Looking for a Hot Streak

Registration is closed as more than 450 entries are in the field. The cage is verifying the total and calculating the prize pool.

Three of the players, Jenn Delacruz (Roseland, NJ), Kim Edmonds (Toms River, NJ), and Dawn Pincus (Colts Neck, NJ), all feel like they're playing in the Borgata Winter Poker Open as they're bundled up in the Event Center.

The ladies won't be cold much longer as they're table is the next to break.

Event 4: 10th Place - Adams

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em   

Ramon Padilla raised from the cutoff, the Mike Adams moved all-in from the small blind.  Ramon called raise and showed KQ offsuit.  Mike was ahead, but racing with pocket 7s.

 Mike Adams

The flop came J T 9, giving Ramon the straight.  Mike got up to leave, then saw another Ten on the turn, which gave him some hope for a full house, needing a Ten or 7 on the river.

It was a 4, however, and Ramon took the pot, adding more chips to his already large stack.

Mike Adams (Accokeek, MD) finished in 10th place, earning $1,923.

Leaderboard Update (9/10)

Borgata Poker Open Leaderboard Update

By participating in any Borgata Poker Open event (September 7-23, 2011), players will earn points based upon the Borgata Poker Tournament Leaderboard Formula.

Winners will be announced Monday, September 26:

• 1st Place: $3,500 Entry for Borgata Fall Poker Open (November 9-23, 2011) 
• 2nd - 4th Place: Sony Web TV 
• 5th - 7th Place: Apple iPod Touch 
• 8th - 10th Place: Nikon digital camera

Below are the top scores for the Borgata Poker Open Leaderboard contest through September 9 events*
*(Final Results from events 1, 2, 3, 5, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)

336.000 PTS:  VINCENT MAGLIO (REVERE, MA)

235.200 PTS:  JOSEPH WERTZ (MONTOURSVILLE, PA)

225.713 PTS:  BRIAN FOX (SEWARD, PA)

224.650 PTS:  ROBERT CHUNG-SHUI (NEW YORK, NY)

216.000 PTS:  DENNIS ROITMAN (BROOKLYN, NY)

211.275 PTS:  SALVATORE PIPITONE (PARAMUS, NJ)

187.625 PTS:  GONZALO VILLARREAL (E HANOVER, NJ)

186.018 PTS:  SAAD GHANEM (ROSEDALE, MD)

184.800 PTS:  JERRY PAYNE (CENTERVILLE, OH)

181.440 PTS:  TA WEY (HACKENSACK, NJ)

180.000 PTS:  FABIO BALBONI (HARRISON, NY)

168.000 PTS:  RAYMOND FERRETTI (WOOLWICH TWP, NJ)

168.000 PTS:  YUEBIN GUO (BROOKLYN, NY)

158.925 PTS:  JEREMIAH CALLAHAN (OYSTER BAY, NY)

146.363 PTS:  BRIAN ADRAGNA (E MEADOW, NY)

142.800 PTS:  ABRAHAM MEVORAH (STATEN ISLAND, NY)

141.600 PTS:  ANGELO PISTONE (HICKSVILLE, NY)

141.263 PTS:  RUSLAN DYKSHTEYN (STATEN ISLAND, NY)

137.163 PTS:  MICHAEL CHIU (NEW YORK, NY)

134.400 PTS:  ILYA DYMENT (BROOKLYN, NY)

127.680 PTS:  JAYAKRISHNAN NAIR (REDMOND, WA)

124.725 PTS:  CHARLES JONES (PITTSBURGH, PA)

124.388 PTS:  JAMES BOYLE (HAVRE DE GRACE, MD)

123.375 PTS:  JOANNE DORIN (NEW YORK, NY)

123.125 PTS:  OMAR GHANIM (PATTERSON, NJ)

120.338 PTS:  ARMANDO DEL SORDI (LAKEWOOD, NJ)

115.455 PTS:  MATTHEW MAZZEO (EAST WILLISTON, NY)

115.150 PTS:  BYUNG YOO (NORWOOD, NJ)

114.500 PTS:  HARRY KOROTKI (OWINGS MILLS, MD)

114.188 PTS:  TAYLOR SHPUR (WITHERBEE, NY)

114.100 PTS:  KEITH SIBBALD (UPP SADDLE RIV, NJ)

112.338 PTS:  WAZIR BAKSH (QUEENS VILLAGE, NY)

111.600 PTS:  JERRY CHAN (BROOKLYN, NY)

110.880 PTS:  MITCHELL MANTIN (LAS VEGAS, NV)

109.100 PTS:  DANIEL YOO (PALISADES PARK, NJ)

106.000 PTS:  MICHAEL SICA JR (N BRUNSWICK, NJ)

Event 4: Final Table Lineup

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em   

The final ten player drew seats and moved to the final table.  Here's the lineup:

Seat - Player
1 - Sandip Patel
2 - Ira Marcus
3 - Sean Lango
4 - Perry Johnston
5 - Mike Dentale
6 - Mark Bramley
7 - Manh Nguyen
8 - Ramon Padilla
9 - Wade Woelfel
10 - Mike Adams

Event 4: 11th Place - Joslyn

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em  

Play resumed after the break with blinds of 5k/10k with 2k antes.

Sean Lango opened for 23k utg, then Gregory Joslyn raised another 52k from the big blind. 

 Gregory Joslyn

Sean asked what Gregory had behind, then tossed in a couple hundred in bronze 35k chips.  Gregory said "all-in" and Sean quickly called.

Gregory's AQ offsuit was crushed by Sean's pocket Aces.  The board came T 9 9 6 9 and Sean took the pot.

Gregory Joslyn (Milford, PA) finished in 11th place, earning $1,923.

Event 4: Chip Counts

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em   

There have been several all-ins, but as yet, no calls.

At the end of the level, the final 11 players took off for 15 while the staff colored up and removed the 500 chips.

Here are some rough chip counts.

Table One
Manh Nguyen - 306k
Mike Dentale - 401k
Sandip Patel - 224k
Ramon Padilla - 1.15 million
Mark Bramley - 165k

Table Two
Sean Lango - 456k
Mike Adams - 130k
Perry Johnston - 310k
Wade Woelfel - 205k
Ira Marus - 165k
Gregory Joslyn - 295k

We were all sorry to hear that Perry Johnston's grand-daughter Brynn broke her elbow.  Her Pawpaw and all the rest of us up here at Borgata wish her a speedy recovery!

Event 6: Registration Closed

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

Jason Young

The first four levels are in the books and the last minute registrants are sneaking into the field, including George Medrano (Rego Park, NY), who doubles his stack on his second hand played.

There's a host of players in the 40k range, but the big stack is clearly WSOP bracelet holder Jason Young (Suffern, NY) who's sitting with 73k.

Others Chipping Up

Omar Ghanim (Englewood, NJ) 48k
Matt Dubyan (Utica, NY) 45k
Dave Reittmeyer (Towson, MD) 42k

Level 5 (150/300/25 ante) is underway.

Omar Ghanim

Event 4: 12th Place - Meola

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em   

After a raise from Ramon Padilla, Brian Meola committed the last of his chips to the pot.  Mike Dentale called from the big blind and Ramon called the few extra chips.

Brian Meola

They checked down the board of A 5 4 8 8.  Brian showed 75 suited for a pair of 5s, but Ramon showed AJ for a pair of Aces.  Mike mucked and Ramon collected the pot.

Brian Meola (New York, NY) finished in 12th place, earning $1,923.

Event 4: Padilla Doubles

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em  

Ramon Padilla got his chips in on the turn holding pocket Queens.  Bad news was that Brian Meola held pocket Kings.

Ramon appeared to be destined for a 12th place finish, but the dealer burned and rivered a two-outer Queen, giving Ramon a set and the pot.  He doubled up to ~840k and Brian was left with ~80k.

Event 4: 14th - Shamah; 13th - Steen

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em  

Jordan Shamah (Lindehurst, NY) busted out in 14th place, picking up $1,479.

On a flop of A T 4, Brian Meola bet 35k.  Daniel Steen called and two other players opted out.

 Daniel Steen

Turn was a 5.  Brian announced he was all-in.  He had Daniel well covered, so Daniel had to take a couple of minutes to consider the call for his tournament life.

He finally made the call, showing QT suited for a pair of Tens, but Brian held A4 and had flopped two pair.

"F*ck" said Daniel, then "Ten!".  River was a Jack, however, and Brian took the pot.

Daniel Steen (Pittsburgh, PA) finished in 13th place ($1,479).

After that hand, blinds increased to 4k/8k with 1k antes.

Event 4: 15th Place

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em 

David got his last chips in holding A8, but ran into the AQ of Sean Lango.

Sean paired his Queen on the flop and took the pot.

David (NY) finished 15th for $1,479.

Event 4: Latest Departures

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em

The departures are coming at a steady pace.  Here are the latest:

18th - Michael Vitiello (Egg Harbor Twp, NJ)
17th - Dan Mooney (White Plains, NY)
16th - Donald Matusow (Bryn Mawr, PA)

All three of these players earned $1,257.

Event 7: Name Dropping

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

With a field more than twice the size of the $1k event, this $400 buy-in has attracted many more players I don't recognize, but there are still some familiar faces who opted for this one-day event:

Frank Gangemi
Steven Cho
Chris Chatman
James 'Suits' Salters
Tony Antonious
Tony Campagna
Sheree Bykofsky
Dean Schultz
Joanne Monteavaro
Sirous Jamshidi
Brandon Vargas

44 tables are in action with late registration still available.

Event 4: Final 2 Tables

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em

Table 1

Seat-Name

1 Manh Nguyen
2 Daniel Steen
3 Mike Dentale
4 Sandip Patel
5 Ramon Padilla
6 Mark Bramley
7 Brian Meola
8 Donald Matusow
9 Dan Mooney

Table 2

Seat-Name

1 Mike Vitiello
2 Sean Lango
3 Mike Adams
4 Perry Johnston
5 Jordan Shamah
6 David Laufer
7 Wade Woelfel
8 Ira Marcus
9 Gregory Joslyn

Event 6: Faces In The Crowd

  $1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

With the $1k price tag on this event, the field is going to include the better (or wealthier) players.  Here are the ones I recognized on my first pass through the field:

Jason Young
Ryan Eriquezzo
John Lakatosh
James Boyle
Al Riccobono
Al Grimes
Vinny Pahuja
Avdo Djokovic
Ray Shackelford
Gordon Eng
Russell Crane
Michael Shasho
Chris Edwards
Anthony Caruso
Alex Torres

Table 20 was a tough collection including Adam Lippert, Eric Panayiotou, Mirsad Kovaci, and Alex Bolotin.  That table has now broken and those players were scattered among the empty seats.

Event 4: Heading to the Cage

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em

Eliminations

Place-Name-Amount

19 Al Salvati (Lansdale, PA) $1,109
20 Gregory Merritt (Frenchtown, NJ) $1,109
21 Eugene Todd (Brooklyn, NY) $1,109

Event 4: Bustage

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em

Eliminations

Place-Name-Amount

22 Salvatore Poma (Hauppauge, NY)$1,109
23 James Sloat (Halethorpe, MD) $1,109

Event 4: On the Rail

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em

Eliminations

Place-Name-Amount

24 Tom Pomponio (Manahawkin, NJ) $1,109
25 James Poper (Pottstown, PA) $1,109
26 Andrew Ha (Parames, NJ) $1,109

Event 4: Three Tables Return

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em

Wading Through the Field

Bags are open, at least most of them, as the chase for the championship is underway. Wade Woelfel (Mankato, MN) is the chip leader with 319k (80 BB).

Missing in action is the always colorful and entertaining Mike Dentale (Brooklyn, NY).

Play resumes with 20 minutes left on level 16 (2k/4k/400 ante) and the average stack is 141k (35 BB).

The 26 remaining players are guaranteed $1,109

Payouts

Entries: 305
Total Buy-In: $152,500

Place - Amount

1st $39,941
2nd $22,189
3rd $13,757
4th $11,094
5th $8,580
6th $7,248
7th $5,843
8th $4,364
9th $2,959
10-12 $1,923
13-15 $1,479
16-18 $1,257
19-27 $1,109
28-36 $888

Event 7: Next Up

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

The second Main Event of the day is set to kick off as the first Big Stack of the Poker Open. Translation: 20k in chips and lots of room to play with 30 minute levels.

The tournament staff continues to funnel the $450 players to the back of the Event Center so the players don't accidentally end up sitting at an Event 6 table ($1,000 entry).

This the prelude to the resumption of Event 4 as the remaining 26 players are unpacking their chips as they chase down the nearly $40,000 first place prize.

Action packed at Borgata!

Event 6: Back in Action

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

Two players with very different feelings are back in the Event Center for this action packed Saturday.

Jerry Payne (Centerville, OH) who finished 2nd ($24,342) in Event 2 is disappointed that he didn't take home the trophy, but is glad that "the rest of my open is paid for" with his winnings.

On the flip side is Al Riccobono (Ossining, NY) who just missed cashing in Event 4 ($40,000 for 1st place) when his aces were cracked just before the bubble. "Brutal," is all he could say as he's back for the game he loves to hate.

Level 1 (25/50) continues.

Event 6: Underway

$1,000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

Locke & Hoffman

The largest buy-in tournament of the Borgata Poker Open is off and running. A smaller field than the 1700+ we saw earlier in the series and lot more on the line is creating a more focused and intense atmosphere.

Tim Locke (New York, NY via England) and Al Hoffman (Columbia, MD) are Borgata regulars and in the field.

Players start with 15k in chips and levels are 50 minutes long. Cards are in the air!

Hoffman's Shades with Custom Frame

Saturday, September 10

Today's Events (Event Center)

11AM: Event 6 - $1000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em

• Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips 
• Day 1:  Levels will last 50 minutes each |  Day 2:  Levels will last 60 minutes each
• 2-Day event

12PM: Event 7 - $400 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em

• Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips 
• Levels1-10: will last 30 minutes each | Levels 11+: will last 40 minutes each 
• 1-Day event

4PM: Event 31 - $500 + $50 Survivor NLH

• Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips
• Levels will last 30 minutes each
• Approximately 1 in 10 will win $5,000 CASH
• 1-Day event

7PM: Event 32 - $100 + $20 + $100 Black Chip Bounty No Limit Hold'em

• Players start with 10,000 in tournament chips 
• This is a Bounty Chip tournament.  Players must have their Bounty Chip clearly displayed on the table in order to remain active in the tournament.
• Levels will last 20 minutes each 
• 1-Day event

Event 5: Recap

350 + $50 NL Seniors

Event #5 (Seniors)
Number of Entrants: 226
Total Buy-In: $79,100

Fabio Balboni bulldozed the Seniors Final Table from start to finish.

He gained an overwhelming Chiplead shortly after the Money Bubble broke and never looked back.

Poker veterans Chris Reslock, Mike "Little Man" Sica and Billy Seymour fought and clawed, but eventually fell short to the new found poker champ.

The 50-year old New Yorker was all smiles as he lifted the Borgata trophy and checked the payout sheet to see he was $21,481 dollars richer.

His first poker victory was summed up nicely when he called his wife to simply say, "Honey, I won."

Event 5: Fabio Captures Seniors Title

350 + $50 NL Seniors

Event #5
Number of Entrants: 226
Total Buy-In: $79,100

CHAMPION
Fabio Balboni (New York, NY)
1st Place - $21,481

Event 5: Abraham Falls Short

350 + $50 NL Seniors

Event #5
Number of Entrants: 226
Total Buy-In: $79,100

Abraham Mevorah
Staten Island, NY
2nd place - $12,660

Event 5: Seniors Crazy Hand

350 + $50 NL Seniors

The craziest hand of the tournament happened with the last 3 players all-in preflop.

The board gave everybody a glimmer hope, but once the river card hit, one was stacking chips and the other heading for the exit.

Tommy Ingram (Sharpsburg, MD) - 7♦7♣
Fabio Balboni (New York, NY) - A♥8♥
Abraham Mevorah (Staten Island, NY) - J♣J♦

Flop: 7♠Q♥Q♠
Turn: 3♥
River: J♥

Heads-Up:
Fabio Balboni vs Abraham Mevorah

3rd Place Finisher:
Tommy Ingram (Sharpsburg, MD) - $7,289

Event 5: Seniors Stats

350 + $50 NL Seniors

Event #5
Number of Entrants: 226
Players remaining: 3
Total Buy-In: $79,100

Chip Counts:
Fabio Balboni - 1,900,000
Abraham Mevorah - 341,00
Tommy Ingram - 306,000

Recent Eliminations:
4th - Nick Sciarabba (New York, NY) - $5,908
5th - Mike "Little Man" Sica (North Brunswick, NJ) - $4,604

Event 5: Balboni Bulldozes

350 + $50 NL Seniors

It's a race for 2nd place as Fabio Balboni builds a massive Chiplead against the rest of the field.

He's kept his foot on the gas pedal for the last 3 levels and isn't showing signs of letting up.

Event #5
Number of Entrants: 226
Players remaining: 5
Total Buy-In: $79,100

CHIPLEADER
Fabio Balboni (New York, NY)

Event 5: Seniors 5-Handed

350 + $50 NL Seniors

5 Seniors battle it out for $21,481 and the Borgata trophy.

As an added bonus, Blue Shark Optics will be awarding all Borgata Champions a new pair of sunglasses.

Event #5
Number of Entrants: 226
Players remaining: 5
Total Buy-In: $79,100

Recent Eliminations:
6th - Billy Seymour (Greenville, NC) - $3,836
7th - George Connell(Philadelphia, PA) - $3,069
8th - Paul Stewart (Co. Wexford, Ireland) - $2,302
9th -Joseph DeForca (Long Island, NY) - $1,535
10th - Ron Shankoff (West Brunswick, NJ) - $997

Event 4: End of Day One

$500 +$60 No Limit Hold'em    

26 players survived the action on day one.  They will return at noon to continue play.

A complete chip count list will be posted later in the morning, but here are the chip counts over 100k:

Wade Woelfel - 318,500
Sandip Patel - 278,200
Mark Brambly - 246,800
Mike Dentale - 244,000
Perry Johnston - 241,000
David Laufer - 213,300
Andrew Ha - 202,700
Manh Nguyen -178,500
Ron Padilla - 176,600
Eugene Todd - 161,700
Brian Meola - 146,000
Michael Vitiello - 142,200
Sean Lango - 127,000
Greg Merritt - 120,100
Jordan Shamah - 102,700

Event 5: Ole' Billy

350 + $50 NL Seniors

Billy Seymour (Greenville, NC) is enjoying his new surroundings in Greenville, North Carolina. The poker legend relocated from Syracuse and ended up in a small southern city miles away from the nearest casino.

"I've been around cardrooms all my life, I took the train up here to fool around with some of these tournaments," he tells us.

Billy has an average stack with play underway at the Final Table.

Billy Seymour (Greenville, NC)
131,000 chips

Event 5: Seniors Final Table

350 + $50 NL Seniors

Tommy Ingram has maintained the Chiplead since the Dinner Break,
let's see if he can hold off local favorite Mike "Little Man" Sica and
8 other Seniors to claim the title.

Event #5
Number of Entrants: 226
Players remaining: 10
Total Buy-In: $79,100

Final Table
Seat - Name - Hometown - Chip Count

Seat 1 - Nick Sciarabbba (New York, NY) - 192,000
Seat 2 - Tommy Ingram (Sharpsburg, MD) - 513,000
Seat 3 - Mike "Little Man" Sica (North Brunswick, NJ) - 226,000
Seat 4 - Fabio Balboni (New York, NY) - 246,000
Seat 5 - Joseph DeForca (Long Island, NY) - 367,000
Seat 6 - George (Philadelphia, PA) - 194,000
Seat 7 - Ron Shankoff (West Brunswick, NJ) - 16,000
Seat 8 - Billy Seymour (Greenville, NC) - 123,000
Seat 9 - Paul Stewart (Co. Wexford, Ireland) - 222,000
Seat 10 - Abraham Mevorah (Staten Island, NY) - 247,000

Event 4: The Home Stretch

$500 +$60 No Limit Hold'em    

Blinds are up to 2k/4k with 400 antes.

Play will continue until about 2am, then they will call it a night.

26 players remain.

Event 5: More Senior Busts

350 + $50 NL Seniors

Recent Bustouts bring us to our Final 9,
good luck to the Seniors playing for the $21, 481 first place prize.

Event #5
Number of Entrants: 226
Players remaining: 10
Total Buy-In: $79,100

Eliminations:
11th - Tony "Gorilla Sr" Shurilla (Alburtis, PA) - $997
12th - Edward Sebrowski (East Hanover, NJ) - $997
13th - Alberto Rodriguez (Brooklyn, NY) - $997
14th - Addison Alston (Berlin, NJ) - $844
15th - Michael Halls (Newark, DE) - $844

Event 4: New Chip Leader

$500 +$60 No Limit Hold'em     

Down to 30 players now with about 40 minutes to go before they call it a night.

Perry Johnston

Perry Johnston (Oak Island, NC) has claimed the chip lead with ~260k.  He asked me to say "Hello!" to his granddaughter Brynn, from Pawpaw.

Event 4: Shamah Doubles

$500 +$60 No Limit Hold'em     

In a battle of the blinds, Jordan Shamah (Lindehurst, NY) was the small and Donald Matusow was the big. 

 Jordan Shamah and Donald Matusow

On the flop of Q J 8, Jordan bet, Donald raised, and Jordan called.  Turn was a 7 and Jordan checked.

Donald shoved and after tanking for several minutes, Jordan called all-in, showing Q2 for top pair.  He was ahead of Donald's J6 (middle pair).  The river was a brick and Jordan doubled up to ~110k.

Event 5: Seniors Bustouts

350 + $50 NL Seniors

Event #5
Number of Entrants: 226
Players remaining: 15
Total Buy-In: $79,100

Recent Eliminations:
16th - Jerry Dunning (Sarasota, FL) - $767
17th - Charles Newmark (Chapel Hill, NC) - 767
18th - Bob Haavind (Boston , MA) - $767

Event 4: Maher Doubles

$500 +$60 No Limit Hold'em     

Jerry Maher (Warren, NJ) committed his last ~15k with A3, getting action from Donald Matusow (Bryn Mawr, PA) who held pocket 3s.  Jerry caught an Ace on the flop and doubled up to ~30k.

Mike Dentale is up to ~215k and most likely the chip leader.

Wade Woelfel has lost a little ground since surviving the bubble -- he's down to ~185k.


**  Jerry Maher busted out soon after this hand, finishing 35th for $888.

Event 4: Finally!

$500 +$60 No Limit Hold'em     

While I was making that last post, a player on table four busted out and departed.

That left 36 happy players knowing that they're in the money and hand-for-hand play is now over.

The first order of business, however, was to take a break.  They'll get ten minutes away from the green felt, then return to resume playing for the top prize of nearly $40k.

Event 5: Mike Walls FTW!

$350 + $50 NL Seniors

Mike Walls has a special fan club following his deep run in Event #5.

The retired Plumbing/HVAC businessman continues to scoop pots as the Seniors field whittles down to 16 players.

A special shout-out to loyal Borgata Poker Blog followers - Jim, Lorin and Tyler following at home.

Mike Walls (Newark, DE)
161,000 chips

Event 4: Woelfel's Aces Hold

$500 +$60 No Limit Hold'em     

On a flop of T 7 4 with two hearts, Ron Padilla (sb) bet 16k, the bb called, then Wade Woelfel (Mankato, MN) moved all-in for 79,600.  Ron tanked for a couple of minutes, then folded.  The big blind then took some time to think, then offerred to take one for the tournament. 

 Wade Woelfel

He called, showing A5 of hearts for the flush draw.  Wade held pocket Aces and had to fade hearts for two cards.  The last two came offsuit 9 7 and Wade more than doubled up to ~200k.

Hand-for-hand play continues on the bubble.

Event 5: Al Krux Elimination

$350 + $50 NL Seniors

Al Krux (Syracuse, NY) poses for a picture just before shoving his short stack with K♦8♠.

His hand doesn't improve versus A♦Q♥ and his run ends in Event #5.