The third time was the charm for Dan Walsh (Holmdel, NJ) who busted out of this tournament twice before going all the way to the finish line. The currency broker earned $143,114 in his first-ever tournament win. It was a hard-fought victory as well, since he began day two ranked 142nd out of 204 returning players, with a below average stack.
Hyon 'Jay' Ko (Fairfax, Va) only fired one bullet on his way to a second-place finish, good for $85,663. Ko is a professional poker player who is originally from Korea, but now calls the US home. He's been playing professionally for six years and usually sticks to cash games, but is looking to play some more tournaments during this series. "Borgata tournaments are the best" he said.
Third place went to Dilip Ravindran (Jersey City, NJ) who is a software engineer by day. He prefers the $5/$10 No Limit cash games, but enjoys the occasional tournament. He also struck out of this event twice, firing three bullets to claim third place and $53,118.
The opening event of the second annual Borgata Fall Poker Open was pushed back a day, due to the ravages of mother nature, but Superstorm Sandy and the subsequent nor'easter did not deter the poker enthusiasts who turned out in droves for this event. The $500,000 guarantee on total buy-ins was crushed by 1,431 entries. Total buy-ins came to $715,500.
This event paid a $3,000 bonus to the chip leader at the end of days 1A and 1B. In an unusual coincidence, the two players who collected the bonuses both made the final table. They actually sat next to each other with two tables remaining, then again at the final table.
Day 1A chip leader Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ) finished 8th for $16,926. Day 1B chip leader Jared Jaffee (Brooklyn, NY) finished 9th for $12,178.
By far the most accomplished player to make the final table was Will 'the Thrill' Failla. He has over $3.6 million in lifetime earnings which includes one WPT title and two Open titles here at Borgata. He also narrowly missed being the Season X WPT Player of the Year. Failla battled his way to the final table, but came up short of his third Borgata Open title when he busted out in fourth place ($44,722).
Taya Kuznetsova, (Brooklyn, NY) the Ukrainian power-lifting champion, was the last woman remaining in this event. She departed in 5th place ($37,154).
"You gotta get lucky and you gotta play well" if you're going to win one of these, Walsh explained. Even though the power has been restored at his home, he's going to stick around and play some more tournaments. "If you're going to play poker, Borgata is the place to do it", he said.
Final Table Results
1 - Dan Walsh (Holmdel, NJ) $143,114
2 - Hyon 'Jay' Ko (Fairfax, Va) $85,663
3 - Dilip Ravindran (Jersey City, NJ) $53,118
4 - Will 'the Thrill' Failla (Smithtown, NY) $44,722
5 - Taya Kuznetsova (Brooklyn, NY) $37,1546 - Daniel Spanton (N Plainfield, NJ) $30,136
7 - Frank Ficadenti (Springfield, VA) $23,207
8 - Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ) $16,926
9 - Jared Jaffee (Brooklyn, NY) $12,178
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