Event 15: 14th Place - Boyle

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

James Boyle (Havre de Grace, MD)

$1,460

Blinds 2,500/5k/500 ante

Boyle opens to 16k, Collin Whyte calls.

Flop: 9♠ 2♠ 2♣ 

Boyle moves all in for 125k

Whyte calls

Boyle: A 9 (pair of 9s)

Whyte: Q Q (pair of queens)

Whyte's pocket queens hold as the turn and river brick.

James Boyle finishes in 14th place, earning $1,460.

Event 15: 15th Place - Becker

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
 

Alan Becker (Bear, DE)

$1,460

Becker is all in preflop with K 4 vs the Q 9 of Brad Loveless who hits trip queens and adds 20k to his stack.

Alan Becker is out in 15th place for a $1,460 payday.

Event 15: 16th Place - Burnitz

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Matt Burnitz (Bear, DE)

$1,251

Burnitz is all in for his last 80k with a gutter ball draw on a board of 6 8 X.  Becker's 9 10 doesn't find a 7 against Collin Whyte's pocket aces.

Matt Burnitz is out in 16th place earning $1,251.

Event 15: 17th Place - Lichtman

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Kurt Lichtman (New York, NY)

$1,251

Lichtman ships 100k all in preflop with pocket queens. Paul Vacchio (Inwood, NY) is looking for the knockout with A K and he gets it with a king and is now the chip leader with nearly 400k.

Kurt Lichtman finishes in 17th place for $1,251.

Event 15: 18th Place

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Blinds 2k/4k/400 ante

Mark V. squeaks into the money with 4 BB and is the first at the cashier window.

Mark V. ships 17k with K 9 vs the A 4 of Paul Shedaker (Croydon, PA). Shedaker hits a four on the flop and his pair is good.

Mark V.  takes home $1,251 for 18th place.

Event 15: Chip Leaders vs Short Stacks

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

The two big stacks are both on table one. Collin Whyte (Brooklyn, NY) is at 300k and just ahead of Paul Vacchio (Inwood, NY) who is at 285k.

The short stacks really wanted to keep playing, especially Mark V (North Carolina) who squeaks into the money with 22k (4 BB), so they didn't have to wait to try and double-up until tomorrow afternoon.

Hand-for-hand play lasted 38 minutes, so 19 minutes is back on the clock as blinds are 2k/4k/400 ante.

Event 15: Play On!

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

After a short discussion, the unanimous decision is to play until the final table of 10. 

Players are on a short break and will redraw for seats at the final two tables.

All 18 players are guaranteed $1,251 and still have a shot at the $25,027 first prize.

Event 15: Bubble Breaks with Quads

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Harry Korotki (Owings Mills, MD), Bob Hwang (Barnegat, NJ) and short stack Neil Christensen (Charlottesville, VA) see a flop of J 5 Q.

Korotki checks
Hwang checks
Christensen bets 5k
Korotki makes it 20k
Hwang folds
Christensen moves all in for 40k
Korotki calls

Korotki: J 5 (two pairs)
Christensen: K Q (pair of queens)

Turn: 5 (Korotki full house)

River: 5 (Korotki Quads)

"The full house was good enough," jokes Korotki as Christensen is the bubble boy in 19th place.

The final 18 players are in the money and discussing if they want to bag and tag or keep playing.

Event 15: Pereira Takes Out Ludwick

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ) puts the pressure on short stack Jose Pereira (Langhorne, PA) by moving all in on the turn, but Pereira isn't going anywhere with pocket aces.

Ludwick is drawing dead with Q J and ships 80k across the table.

Ludwick, who won Event 7 ($58,443), is out a few hands later when his A 7 is beaten by Pereira whose pocket 10s make a full house.

Ludwick's elimination in 19th place means hand-for-hand play is underway as we're one spot from the money. 

Blinds are up to 2k/4k/400 ante.

Event 15: Lin Leaves with a Grin

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Despite busting in 21st place, Kevin Lin (Raliegh, NC) has a good attitude. "Didn't make the money, but I'm happy I made it this far.

Lin puts his last 20k on the turn with two pairs 8s and 7s, but Collin Whyte (Brooklyn, NY) hits a four on the river for a straight.

20 players remain, two spots from the money.

Event 15: Patel Doubles

 $500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Raj Patel and his opponent see a flop of  A J 3 and both players check. The turn is a 10 and the player moves all in and Patel snap calls with K Q for Broadway.

His opponent is stunned that his set of aces is behind and fails to hit a full house on the river.

Patel doubles 55k with his straight and is close to 120k.

Event 15: 200k Pot

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

We pick up the action on a board of 3♠ 10♣ 4♦ 7♠ and Neil Christensen (Charlottesville, VA) betting 15k.

Gary Shoengold (Olny, MD) raises to 75k, Christensen moves all in for 125k, Shoengold calls with 101k.

Shoengold: 10♠ 10♥ (set of 10s)
Christensen: 6♣ 5♣ (straight)

River: 7 (full house for Shoengold)

The paired board gives Shoengold a huge double-up and is close to 225k, while Christensen drops to 25k.

Event 15: Korotki Fades Flush Draw

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

On a board of  J X X, two diamonds, Harry Kortoki (Owings Mills, MD) has J 9 vs his opponent's K♦ 9♦.

Korotki fades the flush draw and the over card to add 50k to his stack and is now up to 170k.

22 players remain with blinds now at 1,500/3k/400 ante.

Event 15: Short Stack Back to Toms River

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Johnny Chrysanthou (Toms River, NJ) sends the rest of his chips in with J 9 against the A 7 of  Collin Whyte (Brooklyn, NY).

Chrysanthou is out in 24 place as we're now six spots from the money.

Event 15: Last Woman Standing

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Renata Colache is the next player out when she sends her last 75k all in on the board of 6 5 2 J.

Colache turns over A J for top pair, top kicker, but Brad Loveless (Baltimore, MD) shows pocket 6s for a set.

Colache is out in 25th place as Loveless is up to 180k.

Event 15: Boyle has Dancing Queens

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

James Boyle (Havre de Grace, MD) has his opponent covered and all in preflop, but is in tough shape.  Pocket aces dominates Boyle's pocket queens, but a queen on the flop and queen on the river changes everything.

"Yes, I'm a luckbox everyone," laughs Boyle, I had quads."

Boyle adds 40k to his 110k stack and now has breathing room with 26 players remaining.

Event 15: Back in Action

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

On one of the first hands back from break Paul Vacchio (Inwood,NY) doubles up through chip leader Collin Whyte (Brooklyn, NY) when his aces hold against pocket queens.

Vacchio, who won the Event 10, Six-Max ($20,786) has new life and is at 150k (63 BB)

Whyte drops to 225k (94 BB) as blinds continue at 1,200/2,400/300 ante.

Event 15: By The Numbers

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
 
Number of Entries:  172
Players Remaining: 26

Total Chips in Play: 2,580,000
Average Stack: 99k
Big Stack: 297k (30 BBs)

Next Blinds:  1,200/2,400, 300 ante
Play Resumes: 8:45 pm

Total Buy-In: $86,000
First Prize: $25,027
Places Paid: 18

Event 15: Dinner Time

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

At the end of level 13, the dinner bell was rung. 

The remaining 26 players scattered for a one hour dinner break.

Collin Whyte is the chip leader with 297k.

Play will resume at 8:45pm.

Event 15: Big Hands & Bust-Outs

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Former big stack Morgan Litwin is gone.

Jose Pereira turned a flush to bust another player with a pocket pair -- 30 remain.

Renata Colache flopped a set of 2s to crack pocket Aces, sending another player to the rail -- 29 remain.

Mike Summers made a flush to double through Raj Patel.

Former big stack Franco Bonacci is gone.

27 remain -- down to three tables now.

Event 15: Pereira Takes a Bite Out of Bonacci

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

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

After the break, 32 players returned to the felt.  Average stack is 81k.

Jose Pereira

Before the break:

Jose Pereira (Langhorne, PA) doubled through former chip leader Franco Bonacci.  Jose flopped a set of 6s, then turned quads, to double up.

Event 15: Big Pot for Whyte

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Collin Whyte had reclaimed the chip lead with 185k.

Then on the last hand before the break, (the hand ran several minutes into the break) Collin raised, seat 9 (bb) three-bet to 14,500 straight, then Collin four-bet to 44,500.

Seat 9 gave it some thought, counted out his chips, and five-bet-shoved for 63,200 on top (107,700 all day).

Then it was Collin's turn in the tank, counting out his chips.  He took about a minute, then made the call, showing pocket Queens.

Seat 9 had pocket 7s.  The board came K 9 6 Q 8 and Collin took the pot, busting his opponent.

Now Collin's chip lead is MUCH bigger.  He's got about 300k.

Event 15: Down to 42

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Five tables remain and they're playing nine handed now.

Gonzo:
John Hinds
Jim Petl
Jason 'Gorilla Fish' Evans

42 players remain.  Average stack is 61k.  Only 18 get paid.

Renata Colache (Clayton, NJ) is the last woman remaining in this event.

Event 15: "Say It Ain't So, Joe"

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Level 12:  Blinds 800/1,600 with 200 ante.

During the previous level:

'Action' Bob Hwang (Barnegat, NJ) raised from the hijack, Joe Wertz (Montoursville, PA) three-bet from the big blind, and Bob shoved all-in.

Joe called all-in, showing AQ suited.  Bob's KQ offsuit was dominated.

The flop came King-high, giving Bob the lead with pocket Kings, but also had two of Joe's suits, so he picked up a flush draw.

He whiffed his outs, however, and another King came on the river.  Joe was busted.

Bob chipped up to ~75k.

Event 15: New Chip Leader

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Jason Evans and Paul Vacchio were at table 6, which has broken.  They both landed at the same new table, but have reversed positions.  Jason is now two seats to Paul's left.

 Morgan Litwin

Morgan Litwin (Brookfield, CT) has taken the chip lead.  He's over 150k.

Event 15: Final Table Rematch

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Jason 'Gorilla Fish' Evans (Bronx, NY) wasn't used to the new blind level and tossed in 2,200 from the cutoff.  

 Jason Evans (far left) and Paul Vacchio (far right)

With the new blinds, the minimum raise has to be to 2,400, so Jason tossed in 200 more.   He got called by both blinds.

On the flop of A A J, the blinds checked to Jason, who fired 3,500.  Paul Vacchio (sb) raised and Jason let it go.

Jason must be getting a little déjà vu.  He and Paul squared off heads-up at the final table of the Six Max Deep Stack NLH event a couple of days ago. Paul came out on top of that confrontation. Jason had to settle for second place and $12,353.

Event 15: Blinds Up!

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Play has resumed after a color-up break.

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

More goners:

Ray Shackelford
Scott Wardell
Andrew Barta

Event 15: Korotki Katches Kween

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Harry Korotki (Owings Mill, MD) turned a Queen to take a pot with QT from Ray Shackelford, (Fredricksburg, VA) who had pocket 7s.

 Harry Korotki

Harry chipped up to ~90k.  Ray dropped down below the 15k starting stack.

Harry won the 2011 Fall Open Purple Chip Bounty NLH event ($39k, plus bounties).

Ray made the final table of the Pot Limit Omaha H/L event during that same series, finishing 7th for $1,630.

57 players remain.  Average stack is 45k.

***  Harry got the last of Ray's chips soon after.

Event 15: Payouts

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Total Entries:  172
Total Buy-In:  $86,000


Place - Payout

1:  $25,027
2:  $13,764
3:  $7,925
4:  $6,674
5:  $5,005
6:  $4,171
7:  $3,337
8:  $2,503
9:  $1,877
10 - 12:  $1,668
13 - 15:  $1,460
16 - 18:  $1,251

Event 15: Latest Departures

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Down to seven tables now with 69 players still in.  The average stack is a little over 37k.

More departures:

Alex Cameron
Ari Albilia
Jason Henrici
Tom McGarry

Blinds are about to go up:

Level 10:  Blinds 500/1,000 with 100 ante.

Event 15: Bonacci Building Stacks

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Level 9:  Blinds 400/800 with 75 ante.

Players are back in action.

 Franco Bonacci

Franco Bonacci (Pittsburgh, PA) has pulled into the lead with ~120k.  He's continuing his aggressive ways and accumulating more chips. 

While I watched, he raised two consecutive pots to 2k and everyone surrendered their blinds and antes to him.

Franco won the $1,000 Six Max NLH event during the 2011 Spring Open (over $33k).

John Hinds has the misfortune of being out of position, sitting two seats to Franco's right.  John's just above the 15k starting stack.

Event 15: Goners

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Down to nine tables now -- 90 players remain.  Average stack is ~29k.

These folks are not among them:

Joe Liberta
Barry Leventhal
Nick Salimbene
Steven Rodriguez
Vladimir Peck
Alyson Parker
Seth Manfield
Danny Yousefzadeh
Howard Wolper

Ryan Schroeder, who flopped a straight flush earlier today, ran his pocket Jacks into Jordan Ludwick's pocket Kings.  The Kings held up and Ryan reported to the rail.

End of level 8 and players are enjoying a break from the grind.

Event 15: Quadzilla for Colache

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Renata Coache (Clayton, NJ) flopped quad 9s to crack pocket Aces.  That pot got her up to ~50k.

 Renata Colache

Later she flopped a set of 9s and was in a three-way pot with two short-stacks that were all-in.  She took the side pot, but the shortest stack went runner-runner flush to take the main pot.

She's still got about 45k.

Event 15: Blinds Up

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Level 8:  Blinds 300/600 with 75 ante.

The re-entry period is over, so for those players busting out who haven't had their fill of poker for the day, there's a $200 + $30 NLH tournament just starting up (event 38).

Down to 11 tables (about 105 players) in the main event.

Event 15: Whyte Whacks Two

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

On a flop of 987 with two spades, Abe Korotki (Bethany Beach, DE) and Cuong Phung (Atlantic City, NJ) were all-in against Collin Whyte (Brooklyn, NY).

 Collin Whyte

Both all-in players had straight and flush draws, but Collin had JT and had flopped the nut straight.

They whiffed all the draws and Collin collected the pot, busting both opponents.  Collin is up to ~80k, good for an early chip lead on the field.

Event 15: Registration Closed

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

The late registration table has broken and those players are scattered around the room. 

Level 6 is done and registration is closed.  Players have enjoyed 10 minutes away from the felt.

Now they're back and can settle in for a while

Levels are now 40 minutes long.

Level 7:  Blinds 250/500 with 50 ante.

Leaderboard Update (6/15)

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, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 
Qualifiers and Secondary events: 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)

390.700:  VYACHESLAV EYZEROVICH

339.900:  THOMAS MCGARRY

334.275:  GREG POGARSKY

320.210:  CUONG PHUNG

282.130:  ALPHONSE DEVIVO

281.450:  MICHAEL LINSTER

269.475:  YEVGENI RAPOPORT

264.240:  BRIAN ADRAGNA

258.250:  JASON LEAKE

251.875:  JORDAN LUDWICK

238.265:  DANIEL SPIRER

236.205:  MICHAEL CARUSO

235.000:  ALLEN MOCK

233.505:  ZAUR MAMEDOV

229.458:  CHARLES GEIER

227.350:  POFUK YING

226.505:  LANA OBRIEN

224.525:  DENNIS THURMAN

220.100:  PAUL VACCHIO

217.975:  CHRISTOPH CSIK

213.425:  BYUNG YOO

210.800:  BENJAMIN LAVES

209.625:  MICHAEL FORCA

209.150:  JOSEPH GARGAN

209.000:  JOSEPH WERTZ

203.875:  ADAM BRAGAR

200.150:  MICHAEL MELKERSEN

200.100:  ANTOINE WHITE

Event 15: Busted and Back Again

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Vladimir Peck (Glenview, IL) got his short-stack in with AQ against Jordan Ludwick's A9 suited.

Jordan hit his 9 on the board and busted Vladimir -- who's back with a fresh 15k stack.  Jordan chipped up to ~18k.

John Hinds (Winterville, NC) has already hit the re-entry window, firing his second bullet.

John was one of the $4,000 winners in yesterday's marathon 13 hour $400 Survivor event and that was his second cash of this series.

Arriving late:  Andrew Barta (Clifton, NJ).  Andrew won over $513k here in 2007 when he took down the Summer Open Championship.  His lifetime tournament earnings are approaching $1 million.

Event 15: Folding Full House??

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Level 6:  Blinds 200/400 with 50 ante.   This is the last level to enter/re-enter.

During the previous level:

On the river with a scary board, Alex Cameron (Riverhead, NY) folded his bottom full house to a raise from Ryan Schroeder (Cleveland, OH).

 Ryan Schroeder (far left) & Alex Cameron (far right)

Alex thought he was behind to a bigger full house, but as it turned out, Ryan had flopped a Straight Flush.  When Alex turned his full house, he was already behind.

Ryan was kind enough to show his straight flush even after Alex surrendered.

Nice laydown, Alex.

Event 15: Register Late, Take Your Chances

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Table 16 is up and running with some late entrants:

1 - Nick Salimbene
2 - John Hinds
6 - Barry Leventhal
9 - Joe Liberta

When you enter late, you take the risk of ending up at a table like this!

Event 15: Looking to Repeat

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Level 5:  Blinds 150/300 with 15 ante.

A couple of Summer Open Winners are back today, looking to repeat their victories.

 Jordan Ludwick & Paul Vacchio

Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ) won event 7, the Deep Stack Double Play NLH event ($58k) a couple of days ago.

Then Paul Vacchio (Inwood, NY) won event 10, the $350 Six Max Deep Stack NLH event ($20) about an hour later, in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

Both are back in the hunt today, looking to repeat.

Event 15: Bob Busted/Re-enters

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Level 4:  Blinds  100/200.

On the last hand before the break, 'Action' Bob Hwang was all-in on a flop of 8 5 2 against Jim Petl (Sewell, NJ).

 Jim Petl

Bob's 65 suited (middle pair, back-door draws) was all-in and trailing Jim's pocket Aces.

The last two fell 2 4 and were no help to Bob.  He surrendered the last of his chips and picked up a re-entry ticket from the dealer.  He'll be reappearing after the break in a ten seat somewhere.

Jim chipped up to ~30k.

Event 15: Break!

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

After completing three levels, players are enjoying their first break of the day.

Based on the number of players caught mid-yawn, they need coffees all around.

It's still early and late entries and re-entries will be allowed for three more levels (plus the break after level 6).

Several players have doubled their starting stacks to ~30k, but no one has distanced themselves from the field (yet).

Event 15: More Faces

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)  

Blinds Up!

Level 3:  Blinds 75/150

Also turning up in today's field:

James Boyle
Cuong Phung
Scott Niebling
Jason Henrici
Harry Korotki
Steve Weixel
Ari Albilia
Paul Vacchio
Steven Rodriguez

Event 15: Re-Entries Underway

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

As with most re-entry events, the ten seats are held open and filled by early re-entries.  

When I see that a player has relocated from their original seat to the ten seat at a different table, it is likely that that have busted out and re-entered.

 Alyson Parker

That's the case with Alyson Parker (Plainesboro, NJ).  She explained that she three-barrel bluffed on a paired board and got looked up by a player with a naked Ace.

Alyson has fired her second bullet and started over with a fresh stack and fresh seat.

Less than 12 hours ago, Alyson was surviving in event 13, the $400 Survivor NLH event.  Making it to the final 17 out of 185 players allowed her to pad her bankroll by $4,000.

Event 15: First Timers

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Blinds Up!

Level 2:  Blinds 50/100

Bob Hwang & Mike Summers

Mike Summers (Charlottesville, VA) is making his first appearance of the Summer Open.  He landed to the left of 'Action' Bob Hwang, another 2012 Summer Open first-timer.

Also spotted in the field:
Vladimir Peck
Leonardo Palermo
Abe Korotki
Tom Pomponio

15 tables are in action so far with plenty of room for late arrivals.

Contest Winner

Congratulations to 

JONATHAN COHEN ...

who won entry into the Borgata Summer Poker Open Championship event!

Thank you to all who participated.  See you at the tables!

Event 15: Familiar Faces

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Some familiar faces that we have not seen in this series so far have turned up.  'Action' Bob Hwang is back from the WSOP in Las Vegas.  He cashed once, a 239th place finish in a $1,000 No Limit event, for $1,839.  He's happy to get a break from the heat before he returns for their main event.

Also spotted in the field:
Howard Wolper
Joe Wertz
Raj Patel
Danny Yousefzadeh
Scott Wardell
Jason 'Gorilla Fish' Evans
Seth Manfield
Alyson Parker
Jason Ludwick
Ray Shackelford

Event 15: Cards Fly

$500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Today's only Summer Open Main Event is underway.  The $500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em event also allows re-entries for the first six thirty-minute levels.

Late registration is also allowed for the first six levels (until about 2:20pm).

Once registration is closed, levels increase to 40 minutes for the remainder of the tournament.

This is a two-day event, so at about 2am, the remaining players will bag & tag their chips for the night, returning at noon Saturday for day two.

Players began with 15,000 chips.

Level 1 blinds are 25/50.  Cards are in the air!

Friday, June 15

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


11AM: Event 15 - $500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

• Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips 
• Levels 1-6: will last 30 minutes each | Levels 7+: will last 40 minutes each
• Players that bust within the first 6 Levels may Re-Enter (unlimited re-entries)
• 2-Day event 

3 PM:  Event 38 - $200 + $30 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

• Players start with 12,000 in tournament chips 
• Levels 1-10: will last 20 minutes each | Levels 11+: will last 25 minutes each
• Players that bust within the first 6 Levels may Re-Enter (unlimited re-entries)
• 1-Day event

7 PM:  Event 39 - $270 + $30 Championship Qualifier No Limit Hold'em

• Players start with 12,000 in tournament chips 
• Levels 1-10: will last 20 minutes each | Levels 11+: will last 25 minutes each
• Approximately 1 in 10 players will win a $2,700 Entry to play in the Borgata Summer Poker Open Championship (June 17-21, 2012)
• 1-Day event

Championship Qualifier

7 pm Tournament
 

Estock, Devonish & Seol

The first Championship Qualifier of the Borgata Summer Poker Open is in the books and the first two seats have been awarded.

Jason Estock (Wilmington, DE) and Michael Devonish (Queens Village, NY) finish one-two and will be in the field for the Championship Event.

Ji Su Seol (Flushing, NY) is third and earns $1,279, while Brian Truocchio (Bayside, NY) is bubble boy, but not terribly upset with his 4th place finish.

Estock and Devonish put up $160 to earn a 94% discount off the $2,700 Championship entry.

The Championship Event starts Sunday with Day 1A and concludes Thursday June 21.  Qualifiers continue Friday and all through the weekend;  you can see the schedule here.

Event 14 Recap

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.

It was a battle of the ages and when the dust settled it was 24-year-old Brian Grogan (New York, NY) who defeated 71-year-old Mohammad Imran (Galloway, NJ) heads up to win the Borgata Summer Poker Open H.O.R.S.E tournament.

Despite the age difference, both players have the same affection for this event.  "I love mixed games over everything else," says Grogan, who won $7,605 and the trophy.

For Imran, who's nearly three times older than Grogan, it was his first H.O.R.S.E tournament. "I play all the games, but never in a tournament," he said after his second cash of the Summer Open (Event 1: 37th place/$1,449). "I just wanted to try it."

Both players had to get past Marcus Bower (Brigantine, NJ) who had the chip lead when the final nine players hit the money, but said he, "literally didn't win a hand at the final table," and finished sixth.

The flip side of that luck had Jerry Drehobl (Spokane, WA) finding multiple double-ups which included hitting 7th street with seven players left to stay alive.  He used the good fortune to move up the pay sheet into third place.

The hand of the tournament happened before the final table when Imran and 4th place finisher Lana O'Brien (Englishtown, NJ) knocked out four players on one hand of Stud High/Low.

The big split pot propelled both players into the money where they were joined by Brendan Norton (5th), Marc Rabuse (7th), Eddy Vataru (8th) and Jason Leake (9th).

The day began with 56 players putting up the $22,400 total buy-in and included former Borgata trophy winners Tim D'Allesandro and Harry Korotki.  Also in the field were Borgata regulars Jeff Jerome and Bo Toft.

Both Grogan and Imran say they're planning on playing in the Championship Event, but unfortunately that only features Texas hold'em, none of the mixed games they both enjoy.

Final Table

Position-Name-Amount

1 Brian Grogan (New York, NY) $7,605
2 Mohammad Imran (Galloway, NJ) $4,128
3 Jerry Drehobl  (Spokane, WA) $2,607
4 Lana O'Brien (Englishtown, NJ) $1,956
5 Brendan Norton (Collegeville, PA) $1,528
6 Marcus Bower (Brigantine, NJ) $1,304
7 Marc Rabuse (Ardsley, NY) $1,086
8 Eddy Vataru (New York, NY) $869
9 Jason Leake (Witley, Ontario) $652

Event 14 Winner: Grogan

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.

 Brian Grogan (New York, NY) 

$7,605

It doesn't take long for Grogan to defeat Mohammad Imran heads up to win the title.

Grogan says he was never a short stack and it was a "steady chip up" throughout the tournament.

He's a 24 year-old former internet player and this is his first live event win. Grogan loves the mixed games and does especially well in stud high/low.

Brian Grogan wins $7,605 as H.O.R.S.E. Champion.

Event 14: 2nd Place - Imran

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.

 Mohammad Imran (Galloway, NJ) 

$4,128

Despite finishing as runner-up, Imran throughly enjoyed his first H.O.R.S.E tournament.  

"I play all the games, but never in a tournament," says the 71-year-old. "I just wanted to try it."

Imran especially likes the Omaha and Stud games best.

Mohammad Imran earns $4,128 for his second place finish.

Event 14: Heads Up

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.

Imran (left) vs Grogan (center) and His Army of Rail Birds

Brian Grogan (New York, NY) has the chip lead over Mohammad Imran (Galloway, NJ), 475k to 365k, as the limits are going up to 1,200/2,400.

Event 14: 3rd Place - Drehobl

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.

Jerry Drehobl (Spokane, WA) 

$2,607

After surviving a couple of all ins at the final table, Drehobl is finally out in third place.  One those double-ups came seven-handed when he was up against Lana O'Brien's two pairs in the stud round and he caught a higher two pair on seventh street.

"I feel I played pretty well," he says, "and was fortunate to survive those all ins."

Jerry Drehobl takes home $2,607 for his third place finish.

Event 14: 4th Place - O'Brien

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.

 Lana O'Brien (Englishtown, NJ) 

$1,956

Playing Omaha, on a board of Q 10 8 8 3, O'Brien pairs her three, but loses to Jerry Drehobl who's 4 4 2 2 is best with two pairs, eights and fours.

"Couldn't win a pot the last four hours," says Lana O'Brien who finishes in 4th place for $1,956.

Event 14: 5th Place - Norton

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.

 Brendan Norton (Collegeville, PA) 

$1,528

Most of Norton's chips are all in preflop and the final dagger comes on a queen high board. Jerry Drehobl hits a pair of queens with Q 9 and  Norton's pocket 5s are no good.

Norton takes home $1,528 for his 5th place finish.

Event 14: 6th Place - Bower

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.

Marcus Bower (Brigantine, NJ) 

$1,304

Bower finishes a disappointing 6th after he "literally didn't win a hand at the final table." 

The last of chips go to Lana O'Brien who hit trips on 6th street and a full house on the river against Bower's wired kings, ace on the first three cards.  "That's pretty much how it went, everybody got a piece," he says after doubling-up multiple players at the final table.

Marcus Bower saw his final table chip lead disappear into a 6th place finish earning him $1,304.

Event 14: 7th Place - Rabuse

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E

 Marc Rabuse (Ardsley, NY) 

$1,086

Rabuse says, "I had a great time," even though he finishes in 7th place for $1,086.  "It felt like we played seven-handed for three hours."

Event 14: 7th Heaven

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.

The final seven players love Borgata poker so much they want to keep on playing.  The purple chip (500) color-up break gives everyone 10 minutes to stretch their legs.

Limits going up to 2,500/5k.

Final Table

Seat-Name

1 - Marcus Bower (Brigantine, NJ)
2 - Brian Grogan (New York, NY)
3 -
4 - Lana O'Brien (Englishtown, NJ)
5 - Jerry Drehobl  (Spokane, WA)
6 - Marc Rabuse (Ardsley, NY)
7 - Brendan Norton (Collegeville, PA)
8 - Mohammad Imran (Galloway, NJ)

Event 13 Recap

$400 + $50 Survivor No Limit Hold'em

After grinding for 13 hours the Survivor tournament of the Borgata Summer Poker Open wrapped up with 18 players finishing in the money.

"I didn't think I was going to make it past dinner," said WSOP Circuit Ring winner Dustin Manns (West Chester, PA).  "I got hyper aggressive and nobody wanted to play with me so I was able to build a respectable stack," and added that pocket aces vs pocket jacks got him a true double-up and and a spot in the money.

"It always feels good when you get money," says Dave McDonold (Nottingham, MD), one of the relieved short stacks.

McDonold had less than 4 big blinds when the bubble broke and added, "tournaments are always a grind, especially survivors."

185 players were in the field and put up a total buy-in of $74,000.


The top 17 players earned $4,000 while Robert Yannucci (Coram, NY) got $3,780 for coming in 18th place. Just missing the top 18 were Ken Silverstein (Edison, NJ) and Louis Iorio (E. Moriches, NY).

Final Results

Name-Amount

Dustin Manns (West Chester, PA) $4,000

Michael Dansky (Vohees, NJ) $4,000
Shahriar Assareh (Lansdowne, VA) $4,000
Brian Adragna (E. Meadow, NY) $4,000
Alyson Parker (Plainesboro, NJ) $4,000
Rajendra Patel (Rocky Hill, CT) $4,000
Brian Mooney (Middle Village, NY) $4,000
William Brindise (Rumson, NJ) $4,000
Rick Rossetti (Ventnor, NJ) $4,000
William Vanwagner (Campbell Hall, NY) $4,000
Manuel Salema (Warwick, RI) $4,000
Dan Spirer (Mechanicsville, PA) $4,000
Anthony Pacelli III (New York, NY) $4,000
Dave McDonold (Nottingham, MD) $4,000
John Hinds (Winterville, NC) $4,000
Mike Linster (Levittown, NY) $4,000
Abraham Faroni (Philadelphia, PA) $4,000
Robert Yannucci (Coram, NY) $3,780

Bubbled 

Ken Silverstein (Edison, NJ)
Louis Iorio (E. Moriches, NY)

Event 13: I'm a Survivor!

$400 + $50 Survivor No Limit Hold'em

After 13 hours, the final eliminations send 18 players into the money.  "It always feels good when you get money," says Dave McDonold (Nottingham, MD), one of the relieved short stacks.

McDonold has less than 4 big blinds when the bubble broke and everyone celebrated their way to the cage.

Borgata regulars John Hinds (Winterville, NC), Mike Linster (Island Park, NY), and Dan Spirer (Mechanicsville, PA) are in the money along with WSOP Circuit Ring holders Rick Rossetti (Ventnor, NJ) and Dustin Manns (West Chester, PA).

All these players finish in the top 17 and earn $4,000, while Robert Yannucci (Coram, NY) takes home $3,780 for 18th place.

Two players who just missed the money, but aren't terribly disappointed are Ken Silverstein (Edison, NJ) and Louis Iorio (E. Moriches, NY).

Event 14: HORSEing Around

400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.    

Limits are up to 5k/10k.

Chips are moving around the felt among the final seven.

Playing Stud/8:

Marc Rabuse was all-in on 4th street against Marcus Bower.  The cards ran out and Marcus missed his low draw.  Marc made aces-up to scoop the pot.  He chipped up to ~45k.

That made Jerry Drehobl the short stack with ~30k.