Event 18 Recap

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

Even though Franco Bonacci (Pittsburgh, PA) and Brian Grogan (New York, NY) were heads up, it was a 1.5 million chip pot much earlier at the final table that ultimately decided who would win their second Borgata title.

In the end, the huge hand propelled Bonacci to the victory and gave him Borgata bookend trophies.

"I was fortunate it gave me a lot of chips," says Bonacci who won $23,191. "It helped me pick on the short stacks."

While playing seven-handed, Bonacci called Grogan's 5-bet all in with AK and dominated Grogan's AQ.

"Mad props to him for making the call," said Grogan, who took home $13,668 as runner-up.  He was looking for his second title of the Borgata Summer Poker Open after winning the H.O.R.S.E event last week for $7,605.

Bonacci wasn't afraid to play big pots and when he knocked out John Allan Hinds in third place in a 2.6 million chip pot he had nearly 90% of the chips at the start of heads up play.

"I ran exceptional and played slightly better than mediocre," he said wryly.

Bonacci and Grogan were two of the four players that had between 700-800k when the final table began. But Ted Lukaszewica (9th) and Mark Bramley (6th) couldn't make it into the top 5.

The day began with 244 entries that created a total buy-in of $85,400.  Borgata regulars in the field included Sirous Jamshidi, Dan Spirer and Matt Mazzeo, but all failed to cash.

Notables who did make the money included James Boyle (27th), who sneaked into the money after being down to less than one big blind on the bubble, Cuong Phung (18th), and Stephanie Hubbard (16th).

But the end it was Bonacci who "settled" for the win after busting out of the Championship Event in about six hours.  "I said I was coming to Borgata to win a tournament," he said, "I just didn't think it would be the $400."

Bonacci's first title came in April's Borgata Spring Poker Open in the 6-max for $33,174.  But while he's found success over the last few months, he's putting poker on the back burner.

"I'm in the boot business now," he said, while celebrating with his rail birds.  "Seriously, it's a family business, Franks Shoe's, I just started a month ago."

Ironically Bonacci was wearing flip flops throughout the day while he used steel tipped action to "boot" the competition to the rail.

Final Table Results

Place-Name-Amount

1 Franco Bonacci (Pittsburgh, PA) $23,191
2 Brian Grogan (New York, NY) $13,668
3 John Allan Hinds (Winterville, NC) $7,870
4 Moe Farah (Bensalem, PA) ($6,379)
5 John Garry (Bronx, NY) $4,970
6 Mark Bramley (Boston, MA) $4,142
7 Tim Bishop (St. Clairsville, OH) $3,314
8 Mark Clement (Erial, NJ) $2,485
9 Ted Lukaszewica (Garwood, NJ) $1,657
10 John Degeorge (Toms River, NJ) $1,077