Friday, June 8, 2012

Event 4: Wardak Doubles

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

Over on table 3, two players limped, then Ahmad Wardak (Gambrills, MD) moved in for 111k from the cutoff.  Then Dan Spanton (button) moved in over the top for 219k total, forcing out the two limpers.

Ahmad had Q9 of spades.  Dan was ahead with AK offsuit.

The flop was all Ahmad, as it came Q 8 3 with two spades.  Turn was an offsuit 6, then the Ten of spades on the river gave Ahmad the flush and the double-up.

Event 4: Down to 22

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)  

Blinds Up!

Level 19:  Blinds 5k/10k with 1k ante

Only one player has departed during the last 45 minutes of play.

Robert Piacentino (Mays Landing, NJ) finished 23rd for $722.

22 remain, making the average stack 301k.

WSOP bracelet holder Svetlana Gromenkova (Brooklyn, NY) is the last woman remaining in this event and has been since Christine Familetti busted out in 36th place.

Svetlana won the Ladies event at the 2008 WSOP, but is still looking for her first Borgata Open title.

Event 4: Stuck at 23

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

Adam Bragar has spewed off some of his big stack, but still leads the pack with ~900k.

His closest competitor appears to be Bob Fogarty (Outer Banks, NC) with ~550k.

Bob must be experiencing déjà vu as he was here at this same time last night, going deep in event 2.  He made the final table of that event, finishing 9th for $1,759.

Still stuck at 23 players.

Event 4: Latest Departures

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

Play resumed after the break with

Level 18: Blinds 4k/8k with 1k ante.

Earning $722
27 - Charles Paolino (Egg Harbor Twp, NJ)
26 - Robert Scarazzini (Bronx, NY)
25 - Hosung Shin (Stanford, CT)
24 - Kevin Lally (Philadelphia, PA)

23 Players remain.  Average stack is 288k.

Event 4: Bragar Takes Big Lead

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

With 27 players still in the hunt, they're down to three tables of nine. 

Average stack is 245k.

End of level and time for a color-up break.

 Adam Bragar

Shortly before the end of the level, Adam Bragar (New York, NY) made a tough all-in (300k) call on the turn with pocket Aces. 

His opponent had top pair with a flush draw and whiffed the river.  With that pot, he chipped up to over 1.1 million and took a huge chip lead (about half a million more than his closest rival).

Event 4: Goners

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

Here are the first batch of players getting paid:

Earning $578
36 - Christine Familetti (Broomall, PA)
35 - Chris Galvin (Manville, NJ)
34 - Cuong Phung (Atlantic City, NJ)
33 - Sazan Lusha (Staten Island, NY)
32 - Michael Marder (Sewell, NJ)
31 - Perry Johnston (Oak Island, NC)
30 - Richard Migliorisi (Brooklyn, NY)
29 - John Lira (Totowa Boro, NJ)
28 - Gregory Joslyn (Milford, PA)

Event 4: Peterson One-Outs Galvin

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Level 17:  Blinds 3k/6k with 500 ante

On a flop of 9♠3♣2♣, Adam Peterson (Gambrills, MD) was all-in against Chris Galvin (Manville, NJ).

Adam had 6♣5♣ for straight & flush draws.  Chris had A♣8♣ for the nut flush draw, nullifying Adam's flush draw, and was ahead with Ace-high.

 Adam Peterson

Turn was the 9♣, which gave Chris the nut flush.  Looked like Adam was headed for the rail, but then he binked the one-outer, the 4♣, on the river, making a straight flush to take the pot.  He doubled up to ~260k.

Adding insult to injury, Chris was left with only 3k chips and had to stick around while a multiple all-in hand was sorted out.  He busted out on that hand.

Event 4: In The Money

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Amid lots of confusion, the bubble broke without any hand-for-hand play.   Multiple bust-outs left the player count in question and play was paused while the floor verified the player count.

Exactly 36 remain and all are in the money.  They're guaranteed to leave with at least $578.

NOT making the money are:
Joe Liberta
John Del Rossi
Scott 'Tuna' Reynolds
Seth Manfield

Event 4: Johnston Doubles

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Perry Johnston flopped the nut flush with his A7 of spades and got paid off in full.  He doubled up to ~320k.

 Perry Johnston

After seat 7 opened for 5,700, Paul Leon 3-bet from the small blind, enough to force his opponent to make a decision for his tournament life.  Seat 7 eventually folded.  Paul showed AK as he collected the pot.

44 players remain.  Only 36 get paid.

Average stack is ~150k.

Event 4: Random Chip Counts

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Here are some rough chip counts for the familiar faces remaining in the field:

Svetlana Gromenkova - 200k
Seth Manfield - 190k
Harry Binda Jr - 160k
Scott 'Tuna' Reynolds - 95k
Daniel Chan - 85k
James Maz - 75k
John Del Rossi - 70k

Event 4: Shout-Out to Brynn Back Home

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Perry Johnston (Oak Island, NC) said to send his love to his grand-daughter Brynn, who always follows the blog when he's here playing tournaments.  Perry's doing ok with about 140k, just over the average of ~125k.

Two players have reported to the rail so they're down to six 9-handed tables (53 players).

Event 4: Back in Action

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

55 Players are back from dinner and ready to rock.

Blinds are 2k/4k with 400 ante (level 15).

19 more must go to reach the money.

Event 4: Numbers Game

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Number of Entries:  331
Players Remaining: 55
Chips in Play: 6.6 million

Average Stack: 120k (30 BB)
Big Stack: 360k (90 BB)

Blinds:2k/4k, 400 ante

Play Resumes: 8:30 pm

Total Buy-In:$99,300
First Prize:$26,010
Places Paid:36

Event 4: Dinner Break

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

 Rob Raking Pots

Players are on a one hour dinner break and a new chip leader has emerged.  Rob Flipping (Clifton, NJ) leads the way with 360k as 55 players remain.

Play resumes at 8:30 pm and we'll be 19 spots from the money as the top 36 get paid.

Chip Leaders

Rob Flipping (Clifton, NJ) 360k
Bernie Dominiak (Pittsburgh, PA) 277k
Joe Barglowski (Old Bridge, NJ) 250k
Justin Burton (New York, NY) 240k

Event 4: Suck Out City

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

We pick up the action with the board showing J♠ 3♠ 6♠ and heavy action.  Paul Leon moves all in for an isolation against a shorter stack, forcing Matt Rock (Oakdale, NY) to give up pocket kings.

Leon: A J  (top pair, top kicker)
Opponent A♠ K♠ (nut flush)

Turn: 3♣ (pairs the board)

River: J♣

The table erupts as Leon hits a full house on the river to knock his opponent out.  The main and side pots give Leon 100k to add to his stack.

"I can't say I've never sucked out big before," says Leon while stacking the chips.

Event 4: Bernie & Boyle

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Dominiak (right) in the Tank as Boyle Waits

Bernie Dominiak (Pittsburgh, PA) is up to 280k when he tangles with the much shorter stack of James Boyle (Havre de Grace, MD).

Blinds 1,200/2,400/300 ante

Boyle (56k) raises from the cutoff to 6,500
Dominiak (280k) 3-bets to 16k
Boyle tanks a moment before moving all in
Dominiak asks for a count, then tanks

After some friendly table talk, Dominiak asks if Boyle will show if Dominiak folds.
"I'll tell you what," says Boyle, "I'll show you if you give me one on any that I ask."

Dominiak agrees and mucks his card. 

Boyle shows K J and the table is surprised and impressed.  Dominiak doesn't give much of a reaction
and play continues.

Earlier in the day Dominiak says he won a 200k pot when he flopped a set of 9s.

Event 4: Queens Kick A-s

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Joe Tells How to Play QQ, Spike the River!

Joe DeAndrade (Toms River, NJ) is all in, but not at risk with pocket queens against pocket aces. Just as it looks like his stack will be cut in half, DeAndrade gets a queen on the river.

The hand sends his opponent to the rail and takes DeAndrade's stack from 60k to 90k.

Players are on a ten minute break.

Event 4: Happy Birthday, Again!

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

 Demone Happy to be Back?

This time last year Joe Demone (Sayerville, NJ) was celebrating his birthday by cashing in the 2011 Borgata Summer Poker Open kickoff event.  He took home $844 with his 63rd place finish and will need to make the final two tables to improve on that this year.

Demone has been hanging around all day and putting himself in position to make the top 36 and the money.

So here you go Joe, Happy 52nd Birthday!

Sincerely,

Media Row

Event 4: Chip Leader

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Dylan "Gang"ing Up on Table

Dylan Gang (New York, NY) flops the nuts with J 9 and he slow plays his straight all the way to the river.  His jack high straight holds against a player who flops a set of 8s and is out after shipping 65k across the table.

Gang takes down the 135k pot and is now the chip leader with 240k (120 BB).

Level 12 (1k/2k/300 ante) is underway as 130 players remain with an average stack of 51k (26 BB).

Event 4: Queens are Good

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Joe Knows Bluffs

"I made the toughest call of my life," says Joe Barglowski (Old Bridge, NJ) who's thrilled to be sitting with 185k, one of the largest stacks in the room.

Barglowski says he was in the tank with pocket queens after his opponent moved all in on the river of a scary board.  "He had me covered and they called the clock on me," he says and was relieved his opponent showed A Q for a bluff.

The hand took him to nearly 100k and Barglowski has been chipping up ever since.

Event 4: Levels Up, Levels Longer

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

The field has been thinned to 140 players and now that we've reached level 11 (800/1,600/200 ante) time increases from 30 to 40 minutes each level.

The average stack is 47k (29 BB) as we're still more than 100 players from the money (top 36 cash).

Event 4: Payouts

Borgata Summer Poker Open
Event 4 - $300 + $40 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em
Friday, June 8, 2012

Entries:  331
Total Buy-In:  $99,300

PAYOUTS:
1:   $26,010
2:   $14,448
3:   $8,958
4:   $7,224
5:   $5,587
6:   $4,720
7:   $3,805
8:   $2,841
9:   $1,926
10 - 12:   $1,252
13 - 15:   $963
16 - 18:   $819
19 - 27:   $722
28 - 36:   $578

Event 4: Case Ace Closes Broadway

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

We pick up the action with all the chips in the middle on a board of A 10 K.

Yianni Chrysanthou: A 10 (two pairs)
Opponent: Q J (straight)

Turn: x

River: A (Chrysanthou full house)

And just like that, flopped Broadway is closed for good, as  Chrysanthou (Toms River, NJ - via Cypress) scoops the 30k pot.  To make matters worse, another player at the table says he folded an ace, leaving Chrysanthou with only three outs (two 10s, one ace) to win the hand.

Chrysanthou is just above average with 40k.

Event 4: Level Up

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

200 players remain of the 331 total entries.  Surprisingly nobody has a monster stack, but anyone with more than 100k is healthy.

The average stack is 33k (33 BB) as blinds are up to 500/1k, 100 ante.

Event 4: Gone in 60k

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Alex Odessky (Brooklyn, NY) has a positive attitude despite watching his 60k stack evaporate in two hands.

First he ships 40k to Adam Peterson (Gambrills, MD) whose pocket aces hold against pocket 8s.  On the next hand he says, "stick around," as he expects fireworks.

His last 20k are all in on a board of 4♣ 2♣ 10 as he flops a set of 10s against Timothy Little (Cheverly, MD) who's holding A 10♣

Odessky's worst nightmare is realized when the turn, 8♣, and river 5♣, gives Cheverly the nut flush.

"What are you going to do," says Odessky, "play more poker. you have to be in it to win it."

Odessky is friends with Steve "Alphabet Soup" Eyzerovich (Staten Island, NY) and was glad to see him win the Event 3 PLO tournament early this morning.

Odessky is waiting for the 4 pm Survivor Tournament, while Peterson is now one of the bigger stacks in the room with 110k.

Event 4: Loving the Leaderboard

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

 Pogarsky Grabs Proof....

Greg Pogarsky (Rexford, NY) was aware of the Borgata Leaderboard promotion, but didn't realize that winning a side event would vault him into the top three overall.

"I didn't know that winning a second chance would get me that many points," says Pogarsky.  "I guess I'll be playing a lot more second chances."

The 4 pm and 7 pm tournaments are side events to the 21 Main Event trophies that are up for grabs. Players affectionately call these events "second chance tournaments," because it lets them play more tournament poker after they've been eliminated from the main.

"I love these series," Pogarsky adds while texting his friends and families the surprising news, "everything is great."

Stay tuned for all your leaderboard updates throughout the series.

 ...and Sends it to his Fans

 First Leaderboard Update

Event 4: Re-Entry Closed

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Shasho (right) watches Sutton (2nd from right) & 
Pasucci (right of dealer) Win Their Respective Pots

On the final hand of the re-entry period, Mike Shasho (Ramsey, NJ) is all in and at risk as four players see a flop.  Joe Pascucci (Manahawkin, NJ) is also at risk and can only win the main pot as Robert Melo (Howard Beach, NY) and Steve Sutton (Langhorne, PA) check down the action.

With re-entry ticket already in hand, Shasho tables pocket 3s and is third best.  Pasucci's Q J is good for the main pot with a pair of queens, while Sutton wins the side pot with pocket 6s (Melo is fourth with king high).

Pasucci gets a quadruple-up to 10k and Sutton adds 7k to his 20k stack, while Shasho heads to the re-entry window.

Players are currently on a 10 minute break and play resumes with level 7 (blinds 300/600, 75 ante).

Event 4: Last Level to Enter

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

As we head towards the end of the re-entry period, a friendly reminder that there's lots of poker action this weekend at Borgata.

Friday has two more tournaments (4 pm & 7 pm).

There's a full slate of tournaments this weekend.

And currently there are lots of live games to choose from including Limit, NL, Omaha and 7Stud.

Oh yeah, don't forget the Bad Beat Jackpot is more than $200,000!

Level 6 (Blinds 200/400, 50 ante) is underway and is the last chance to enter Event 4.

Event 4: Head Scratcher

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

 Scarazzini Scours the Daily Racing Form

Other than poker, the buzz around Borgata has been the recent news that I'll Have Another has been scratched from the Belmont Stakes ending the horses shot at the Triple Crown.

Several handicappers are disappointed as they were looking forward to seeing history.  "I go to Belmont anytime there's a chance [of a Triple Crown]," says Rob Scarazzini (Bronx, NY), who's been hooked on racing since a trip to the Kentucky Derby in 1981.

"It's not just a race it's an event," says Mickey Woll (Manahawkin, NJ), "I was just telling everyone, they just lost 60% of their fans because now it's just another race. It's a shame."

Both Woll and Scarazzini are Borgata regulars, both at the tables and at Borgata's Racebook. "I'm the best," laughs Scarazzini adding, "I'm very good at it [handicapping racing]."

As both guys watch Friday's Belmont action on a monitor just steps from the Racebook, they say even though there's no Triple Crown, they'll be back playing poker Saturday at Borgata.

 Woll (right) Focuses on Poker while 
Racing Plays on the Monitor

Event 4: LeBron Fan Needs James Magic

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

 Maz Supporting the Talents of South Beach

Fresh off of watching LeBron James keep the Miami Heat season alive with 45 points, James fan "G" Maz (Elizabeth, NJ) needs some of that magic.

"I just donked it off," says Maz about his stack which down to 6k.

Players are on a ten minute break and have three more levels to re-enter the tournament which Maz is prepared to do.

Mays says that he's been a huge James fan since his days in Cleveland and that Miami's win was "huge."  He's looking forward to Saturday's Miami-Boston deciding Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

Event 4: "Bald Headed Warriors..."

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

 (l-r) Leake, Melo, Russol & Sloat

....that's the term Jason Leake (Ontario, Canada) has dubbed one corner of the Poker Room.

Leake and his fellow follically challenged friends are side-by-side and includes Robert Melo (Howard Beach, NY), Bob Russol (Pennington, NJ) and James Sloat (Halethorpe, MD).

Leak and Melo have become friendly after sharing Thursday's PLO final table where Melo finished 8th ($948) and Leake was 3rd ($2,845).

Some one joked, "it looks like a bald convention," but they prefer to go with the Mr. Clean consortium.

Leaderboard Update (6/8)

Borgata Summer Poker Open Leaderboard
By participating in any Borgata Summer Poker Open event (June 6 - 22, 2012), players earn points based upon the Borgata Poker Tournament Leaderboard Formula.

Below are the top scores for the 2012 Borgata Summer Poker Open Leaderboard*
(Final Results from Main events: 1, 2, 3 | Qualifiers and Secondary events: 22, 23, 24, 25)

237.500:  YEVGENI RAPOPORT
189.000:  JOSEPH GARGAN
176.875:  GREG POGARSKY
171.750:  VYACHESLAV EYZEROVICH
167.875:  BENJAMIN LAVES
166.250:  JOSEPH WERTZ
161.375:  LANA OBRIEN
158.875:  BYUNG YOO
142.500:  ERIC SIEGEL
137.875:  NICHOLAS SALIMBENE
118.875:  POFUK YING
116.525:  THOMAS MCGARRY
113.625:  MICHAEL CARUSO

Event 4: Straight to the Rail

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

View from Bykofsky's Vacated Seat as 
Boyle (left) & Nicolai (right) Chop it Up

We pick up the action with a healthy size pot and three players all in.

The board shows 10 9 8 with two clubs and two players, James Boyle (Havre de Grace, MD) and Stuart Nicolai (Montclair, NJ), show the nuts (Q J) with a flopped straight, but aren't out of the woods.

Sheree Bykofsky rolls the dice with K♣ 8♣ and is looking for the winning flush.  The board bricks out and Bykofsky busts as Boyle and Nicolai chop the pot.

The beauty of the re-entry is that Bykofsky has the option to head to the window and get a fresh 20k stack.

Event 4: In the House

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Borgata regular George Medrano (Rego Park, NY)  is playing in his first event of the Borgata Summer Poker Open.

A look at other familiar faces:

Joey Brooks
Paul Leon
Leo G
Gordon Eng
Nancy Martin
Dan Spirer
Robert Melo
James Boyle
Sheree Bykofsky
Michael Shasho
Joe Liberta

Event 4: Catching Our Breath

$300 + $40 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

After the first three trophies of the Borgata Summer Poker Open were awarded late Thursday/early Friday, the mood is more relaxed as we wipe the slate clean and start fresh

This is the first big stack tournament of the series where players start with 20k in chips.  Because the stacks are deep and it's a one day tournament, everyone is pacing themselves for the marathon.

Levels are 30 minutes each (levels 11+ / 40 min.) and there are unlimited re-entries for the first six levels. 

The button is in the one seat, the dealers are riffing the decks and the first hand is underway.

Friday, June 8

TODAY'S EVENTS (POKER ROOM)
REGISTER IN POKER ROOM


11AM: Event 4 - $300 + $40 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

  • Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-10: will last 30 minutes each | Levels 11+: will last 40 minutes each
  • Players that bust within the first 6 Levels may Re-Enter (unlimited re-entries)
  • 1-Day event

4 PM:  Event 26 - $350 + $50 SURVIVOR No Limit Hold'em
  • Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-10: will last 25 minutes each | Levels 11+: will last 30 minutes each
  • Approximately 1 in 10 will win $3,500 CASH
  • 1-Day event
7 PM:  Event 27 - $200 + $30 + $100 Black Chip Bounty NLH
  • Players start with 12,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-10: will last 20 minutes each | Levels 11+: will last 25 minutes each
  • This is a Bounty tournament. Players must  have their Bounty Chip clearly displayed on the table in order to remain active in tournament.
  • 1-Day event

      Event 2 Recap

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Joe Gargan (Brooklyn, NY) ripped through the final table like a chainsaw through butter, busting seven out of eight opponents.  He collected a total of 18 bounties on his way to winning event 2 and $24,625.  He busted out early in the day and opted to re-enter, which proved to be a good investment.

      Professional poker player Nick Salimbene (Brick, NJ) had to settle for second place and $14,509, along with ten bounties he gathered during the day.  "I was never all-in and at-risk, until we got heads-up" he said.

      Surprisingly, neither of these players arrived today with the intention of playing this tournament.  Salimbene was going to grind away at the $2/5 No Limit cash games, but got talked into entering.  He has several tournament cashes on record, including a 2nd place finish at Foxwoods for over $23k, but this is his best finish at Borgata.

      "I meant to enter the PLO tournament" [event 3] Gargan said, but ended up in this tournament [event 2].  "I can play Hold'em whenever I want, but it is hard to find a PLO game".  Gargan only plays occasionally when he can find the time between trips to China.  He's a Quality Control Manager for a shoe company, which keeps him busy.  This is his first reported tournament cash ever.

      Both players are expecting to be back for more during the Borgata Summer Open.

      A total of 259 entries generated total buy-ins of $90,650.  The final 27 players earned a piece of the prize pool, but many more picked up $100 bounties along the way.

      A bevy of Borgata regulars entered this event, but did not cash, including:  Gordon Eng, Anthony Caruso, Matt "Muffins" Mazzeo, Adam Agaev, James Boyle, Tony Antonious, Dan Spirer, Nancy Martin, Mickey Woll, 'Lucky' Lee Kirsch, and Travis Greenawalt.

      Final Table Results

      1 Joe Gargan (Brooklyn, NY)  $24,625
      2 Nick Salimbene (Brick, NJ)  $14,509
      3 Michael Forca (Long Island, NY)  $8,353
      4 David Schulman (New York, NY)  $6,771 
      5 Jay Kaplan (Rockville, MD)  $5,276 
      6 Myung Jung (Wake Forrest, NC)  $4,397 
      7 Mark Doiban (Brooklyn, NY)  $3,517
      8 Aleksandr Odessky (Brooklyn, NY)  $2,638
      9 Bob Fogarty (Outer Banks, NC)  $1,759
      10 Seth Manfield (Chevy Chase, MD)  $1,143

      Event 2: 1st Place - Gargan

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Joe Gargan (Brooklyn, NY)
      $24,625

      Joe Gargan ripped through the final table of this event, busting seven out of eight opponents.  In addition to the prize money, Joe will collect $1,800 for his 18 black bounty chips.

      Joe handles quality control for a shoe company and travels frequently to China.  He only plays occasionally and only played this event by accident.

      "I meant to enter the PLO tournament" [event 3] he says, but ended up in this tournament [event 2].  "I can play Hold'em whenever I want, but it is hard to find a PLO game".

      Joe's accident worked out well for him and after getting some rest, he's going to try to come back and play some more during the Summer Open.


      Event 2: 2nd Place - Salimbene

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Nick Salimbene (Brick, NJ)
      $14,509

      When you're hot, you're hot.  And Joe Gargan has been on fire at this final table.

      On the final hand, Nick Salimbene got his chips in good holding KQ.

      Joe looked him up with KT.  When he saw Nick's hand, Joe called for a Ten.

      And he got it on the flop.  The board ran out T 2 2 4 J and Joe had all 3.8 million chips in play, plus two more bounty chips (Nick's and his own, which he gets to keep) for a total of 18.

      Nick Salimbene finished in 2nd place, earning $14,509.

      Nick plays poker for a living and was not even going to play this event because he doesn't like the bounty tournaments, but it worked out.  He collected 10 bounties for an extra $1,000 on top of his prize money.

      Event 25: Laves Leaves With First

      Today's 7pm tournament was wrapping up at about the same time as the 11am main event.

      Just one table over, Benjamin Laves of Somerset, NJ, won the $100 + $20 + $100 Black Chip Bounty tournament, earning almost $4,600 for first place.

      "No one back home ever believes me when I tell them" he said.  Now he's got it in writing.

      Event 2: Big Stack Gets Bigger

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Blinds increased to 25k/50k with 5k ante.

      After sparring for a while:

      Joe Gargan raised to 100k on the button.  Nick Salimbene three-bet to 240k from the big blind.

      Joe announced he was all-in.  Nick gave it some thought, then folded.  He was left with ~800k.

      Joe was up to ~3 million.

      Event 2: 3rd Place - Forca

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Michael Forca (Long Island, NY)
      $8,353

      In a battle of the blinds, Michael Forca (bb) was all-in pre-flop against Joe Gargan (sb).

      Michael had two black Jacks and was racing against Joe's AK offsuit.

      The flop came T 8 5 -- all clubs -- giving Joe more outs with his King of clubs.

      The last two were offsuit 4 A and Joe paired his Ace on the river to take the pot.

      Michael finished in 3rd place, earning $8,353.

      Heads-up play began with Nick Salimbene holding ~1.4 million to Joe Gargan's ~2.4 million.

      Event 2: 4th Place - Schulman

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      David Schulman (New York, NY)
      $6,771

      Play resumed with blinds of 20k/40k and 4k antes.

      Chip counts:
      Joe Gargan - 1.57 million (39 big blinds)
      Nick Salimbene - 1.35 million (34 big blinds)
      Michael Forca - 785k (almost 20 big blinds)
      David Schulman - 150k (< 4 big blinds)

      Soon after play resumed, David got his chips in the middle against Joe.

      David's QT failed to improve and Joe took the pot with AK.

      David finished in 4th place for $6,771 (plus 6 bounties).

      Event 2: 5th Place - Kaplan

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Jay Kaplan (Rockville, MD)
      $5,276

      Jay Kaplan got all-in pre-flop holding A8 but was up against Nick Salimbene's pocket 9s.  The pair held and Nick chipped up to ~1.4 million.

      Jay busted out in 5th place, earning $5,276.

      End of level and the final four are taking a break.

      Event 2: 6th Place - Jung

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Myung Jung (Wake Forrest, NC)
      $4,397

      On the turn with a board of K Q 8 J, Myung Jung (utg) checked, Joe Gargan (button) bet 100k, and Jung called.

      River was another 8.  Jung checked, Joe bet 200k, Jung moved all-in and Joe snap-called, showing pocket Queens for the full house.

      Jung had AT for Broadway.  He finished in 6th place, earning $4,397.

      Joe was close to 1.9 million after that pot.

      Michael Forca was all-in for 322k and got called by Joe.  Michael's AT was racing against Joe's pocket 5s.

      The board fell 8 7 6 4 9, giving both a straight but Michael's was Ten-high.  He doubled up to ~700k.

      Joe dropped back to ~1.5 million.

      Five players remain.  Average stack is 777k.

      Event 2: Moving Chips Around

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      We've reached the raise/fold portion of the tournament.  Most pots are taken by a single pre-flop raise.

      Joe Gargan opened for 65k and got a call from Nick Salimbene in the big blind.

      The flop was J 8 6 rainbow and both players checked.

      Turn was a 9.  Nick checked, Joe fired 100k, and Nick called.

      River was a King and both players checked.  Joe showed pocket Tens.  Nick mucked.

      Joe was back to almost 1.1 million.  Nick's down to ~750k.

      Event 2: Jung Doubles

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Joe Gargan raised and Myung Jung moved all-in from the small blind for 369k more.

      Joe called, showing AQ offsuit.

      Jung had pocket Queens.

      The board ran out T 8 7 7 T and Jung's Queens were good.  He doubled up to ~835k.

      Joe was left with ~1.1 million and is still the chip leader.

      Blinds are up to 15k/30k with 4k ante.

      Six players remain.  Average is 648k.

      Event 2: 7th Place - Doiban

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Mark Doiban (Brooklyn, NY)
      $3,517

      Mark Doiban opened for 48k (min-raise).  Action folded to his nemesis, Joe Gargan in the big blind.

      Joe called and the flop came A Q 3 rainbow.

      Joe checked, Mark bet 100k, and Joe called.  Turn was a 5.  Apparently Mark checked out of turn.

      Joe fired 200k.  Mark gave it some thought, then called, leaving only ~175k behind.

      River was a Jack.  Joe moved all-in.  Mark called.

      Joe tabled AQ off for top two pair.  Mark mucked.  He finished in 7th place, earning $3,517.

      Joe's up to ~1.5 million.

      Event 2: Doiban Doubles

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      On a flop of J 5 5, Mark Doiban (utg) fired 75k.

      Chip leader Joe Gargan (button) announced he was all in.

      Mark had 207k behind and tanked for a couple of minutes, then called.

      Joe had pocket 9s.  Mark was ahead with KJ for Jacks-up.

      The last two came Q 6 and Mark doubled up to ~700k.

      The same two players tangled again soon after and Joe got some of those chips back.  He's back to ~980k.

      Blinds are up to 12k/24k with 3k ante.

      Seven players remain.  Average stack is 555k (23 big blinds).

      Event 2: 8th Place - Odessky

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Aleksandr Odessky (Brooklyn, NY)
      $2,638

      On a flop of 9 7 4, Aleksandr Odessky (utg) got all-in against Joe Gargan (sb).

      Aleksandr was ahead with pocket Queens.
      Joe had 98 suited for top pair.

      Then the last two came T 6 and Joe caught runner-runner to make a straight, cracking Aleksandr's Queens.

      Joe chipped up to ~1.1 million, good for the chip lead.

      Aleksander will collect $2,638 for his 8th place finish.

      Event 1 Recap

      $500 + $60 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

      Yevgeni Rapoport (Brooklyn, NY) is speechless after winning the inaugural event of the Borgata Summer Poker Open.  "I'm not good at this stuff, I don't know what to say," he said, "It feels surreal."

      Rapoport was busy taking phone calls and celebrated with his rail birds after defeating Joe Wertz (Montoursville, PA) heads up to take the title, the trophy and the $79,069 first prize. Rapoport overcame a 3 to 1 chip deficit heads-up and won the tournament when he outflopped Wertz on the final hand while holding A♠ 4against A♣ 9.

      For Wertz it's a disappointing end to a long two day tournament that had him close to winning his first Borgata tournament.

      "Second, second, second," said Wertz with a smile after earning $44,458  "It was fun, but I definitely wanted to win one at Borgata."

      This is Wertz's fourth runner-up finish at a Borgata series dating back to 2010. His four second place finishes have earned the professional player, who now resides in Brigantine, $204,000 in those events alone.

      The final table featured a strong lineup of Borgata regulars and included trophy winners Eric Siegel (3rd), Taemee Feuer (9th), and three-time trophy winner Howard Wolper (7th). It also included Russ Dykshteyn, who finished 3rd in April's Spring Open Championship Event.

      Dykshteyn finished 10th after he was involved with one of the tournament's biggest hands. He was battling Wertz for the chip lead, but shipped 3 million to Wertz who flopped a set of 5s and used the chips to get heads up.

      For Rapoport it was a slow and steady as he won the title over 679 entries.  The field put a total buy-in of $339,500 and featured other notable players that included Jeremy Brown, Jose Montes, Cathy Dever, Frank Ingardia, Mike Linster and Gordon Eng, who all cashed.

      The final table also featured Seth Zimmerman (4th), Sal Esposito (5th), John Short (6th) and  Morteza Shirazi (8th) who began the day as the chip leader.

      Hopefully we will see more of Rapoport, who likes to play the daily Wednesday tournament series at Borgata, during the 2012 Borgata Summer Poker Open. While Wertz will keep grinding towards that elusive Borgata win.

      Final Table Results

      Place-Name-Amount 

      1 Yevgeni Rapoport (Brooklyn, NY) $79,069
      2 Joe Wertz (Montoursville, PA) $44,458
      3 Eric Siegel (Melville, NJ) $27,992
      4 Seth Zimmerman (New York, NY) $22,723
      5 Sal Esposito (Blue Point, NY) $18,112
      6 John Short (Franklinville, NJ) $14,984
      7 Howard Wolper (Atlantic City, NJ) $12,020
      8 Morteza Shirazi (Clifton, NJ) $9,056
      9 Taemee Feuer (Westbury, NY) $6,257
      10 Russ Dykshteyn (Brooklyn, NY)$4,281

      Event 1 Winner: Rapoport

      $500 + $60 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

       Yevgeni Rapoport (Brooklyn, NY)
      $79,069

      Blinds 100k/200k/30k ante

      Rapoport limps
      Joe Wertz raises to 900k
      Rapoport moves all in for 9 million
      Wertz calls and is at risk

      Rapoport: A♠ 4
      Wertz: A♣ 9

      Flop: 4 7 3(Rapoport leads with pair of 4s)

      Turn: 2(Wertz picks up chop outs)

      River: 2♠

      Rapoport dodges a river 9 (Wertz wins) and river 5 (straight, chopped pot) and wins the hand with a pair of 4s.  This is the biggest cash of Rapoport's career as he takes the title and the $79,069 cash.

      Wertz finishes as runner-up.

      Event 1: 2nd Place - Wertz

       $500 + $60 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

      Joe Wertz (Montoursville, PA) 
      $44,458

      Wertz gets his final 7.5 million chips all in good against Yevgeni Rapoport who has him covered with 9.5 million.

      Rapoport: A♠ 4
      Wertz: A♣ 9

      Rapoport flops a four and his pair is good to take the pot and the title.  Wertz has to settle for his 4th second place at Borgata in the last two years.  He takes home $44,458 for his runner-up finish.

      Those four cashes alone total $204,000 in Borgata career tournament earnings

      Event 2: 9th Place - Fogarty

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH  

      Bob Fogarty (Outer Banks, NC)
      $1,759

      Play resumed after the break with

      Level 22:  Blinds 10k/20k with 3k ante.  Levels are now 40 minutes long.

      Bob Fogarty, perhaps still tilted from the last hand before the break, open-shoved for 96k.  Action folded to his nemesis, Joe Gargan in the small blind.

      Joe called, showing AT off.

      Bob rolled over 32 suited.

      The board ran out J 9 7 Q 9 and Joe took the pot with his Ace.

      Bob took $1,759 for 9th place.

      Event 1: Wertz Doubles

      $500 + $60 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

      Blinds 100k/200k/30k ante

      After a crippling blow, Joe Wertz is back in the game as he doubles-up with pocket 6s.  Yevgeni Rapoport doesn't catch with his A 4 and ships 3.75 million across the table.

      Chip Counts:

      Rapoport 9.5
      Wertz 7.5

      Event 2: Final Table Chip Counts

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH  

      End of level and time for a break.

      On the last hand of the level, Joe Gargan (bb) shoved for 223k on a flop of J 9 5.  Bob Fogarty gave it some thought, then called, showing JT for top pair.

      Joe had 87 off -- nothing but a double-gutter, needing a Ten or 6.  The Ten came on the turn, completing Joe's straight.  Bob picked up a second pair and still had outs, but the river was a 7.  Joe doubled up.

      Here's the lineup for the final table with rough chip counts:

      Seat - Player - Chips
      1 - Jay Kaplan - 535k
      2 - Joe Gargan - 640k
      3 - David Schulman - 280k
      4 - Aleksandr Odessky - 200k
      5 - Michael Forca - 410k
      6 - Bob Fogarty - 100k
      7 - Mark Doiban - 500k
      8 - Myung Jung - 227k
      9 - Nick Salimbene - 925k

      Event 2: 10th Place - Manfield

      $350 + $50 +$100 Black Chip Bounty NLH   

      Seth Manfield (Chevy Chase, MD)
      $1,143

      Seth Manfield made his final move all-in with pocket 6s, only to run into the pocket Queens of Michael Forca.

      The Queens held up for Michael and he chipped up to ~430k.

      Seth finished in 10th place ($1,143).

      Nine players remain.  Average is 389k.

      Event 1: Flip the Script

      $500 + $60 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

      Blinds 100k/200k/30k ante

      On a board of 10 8 2 all the chips are in the middle and Yevgeni Rapoport is ahead of Joe Wertz with pocket jacks against Q 10.

      Rapoport dodges the turn and river and gets a double-up to flip the chip stacks. He's at more than 13 million, while Wertz drops to 4 million.