Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Championship: Final Four Chip Counts

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Scott Baumstein (New York, NY) 7.87 million
Vinny Pahuja (Hicksville, NY) 4.52 million
Patrick Chan (Brooklyn, NY) 3 million
Brock Parker (Silver Spring, MD) 3.98 million

Remaining Prize Pool

1st $372,568
2nd $209,480
3rd $131,895
4th $107,067

Championship: 5th Place - Papola

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

 Jeff Papola (Monmouth Beach, NJ) 
$85,344

Blinds 40k/80k/5k ante

Scott Baumstein opens to 160k, Jeff Papola calls from the SB, Vinny Pahuja is all in from the BB.

Baumstein folds, Papola calls and puts his last 1.6 million at risk.

Papola: A 2
Pahuja AK
 
Papola picks up a flush draw, but bricks the river and is out 5th place.

"You're never happy unless you get first place," says Papola, "but I'm happy."

Championship: 6th Place - Esposito

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)  

Michael Esposito (Seaford, NY) 
$70,602

Blinds 60/120/5k ante

On a board of A A 3, Scott Baumstein calls Michael Esposito's bet.

Turn: J

Esposito bets 350k, Baumstein calls,.

River: 9

Esposito bets 500k (leaving 1.1 million behind), Baumstein moves all in and Esposito calls.

Esposito: A 10 (trip aces)
Baumstein: A 9 (full house)

Baumstein is trailing the entire hand, but picks up a full house on the river to knock Esposito out in 6th place.

"I enjoyed everything," said Esposito, who finished in 7th place at this year's WSOP Main Event. "It was a well run tournament."

Esposito says he's never played in a re-entry tournament and took advantage of playing Day 1A and Day 1B.

"It was a good decision," he said. "I came here to play and didn't want to be left with 22 thousand."

Esposito said he took a horrible beat after flopping a set at the end of Day 1A when his opponent went runner-runner straight.  He went all in on the final hand looking for a double-up, but instead busted and re-entered.

It turned out to be a great decision as Esposito was the end of Day 1B chip leader, earning him a $3,000 bonus which propelled him to the final table and $70,602.

Championship: 7th Place - Stout

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

 Matt Stout (Las Vegas, NV) 
$56,637

Blinds 60k/120k/5k ante

Vinny Pahuja opens from the button to 125k, Matt Stout moves all in for 1.1 million, Pahuja calls.

Pahuja: A♣ K♠
Stout: A J♠

Flop: 7♠ K♣2 (Pahuja pair of kings)

"That's not a good flop for me," laments Stout.

Turn: 3 (Stout drawing dead)

River: 4♠

Pahuja wins the hand with a pair of kings and knocks out Stout in 7th place.

"Didn't even pick up a sweat on the turn," says Pahjua, who now has 2.7 million, "I figured I'd see a ten. That's the way it's been, I've never seen anything like it."

Championship: Esposito Doubles Through Chan

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Michael Esposito is all in for 1.2 million and Patrick Chan goes with him.

Esposito: 99
Chan: AQ

Board: 4 5 K 6 7

Esposito doubles to 2.5 million, while Chan drops to 3.2 million.

Event 21: 11 am Tournament Heading to Two Tables

$200 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

23 players remain and nobody has a monster stack with the big stacks in the 500k-600k range. Recognizable faces still playing include Neville Darrell, Roman Valerstein and Jay Zimmet.

Championship: Pahuja Doubles Through Papola

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Blinds 60k/120k/5k ante

Jeff Papola raises from the SB, Vinny Pahuja moves all in from the BB for 880k and Papola calls.

Papola: 9 9♠
Pahuja: Q Q♠

A queen hits the flop and Pahuja gets a double-up to 1.8 million, Papola drops to 2.9 million

Championship: Level Down, Blinds Up

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Players are on a 10 minute color-up break as the orange (1k) chips are removed from play.

Scott Baumstein wins a river showdown with pocket 8s to take his stack to 5.4 million (45 bb), while Vinny Pahuja is still the short stack with 750k (6 bb).

The average stack is 2.76 million (23 bb) with blinds moving up to 60k/120k/5k ante.

Championship: 8th Place - Raghavan

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

 Ravi Raghavan (Northbrook, IL) 
$42,672

Blinds 25k/50k/4k ante

Ravi Raghavan shoves 850k (17 bb) with A 10 and is up against the AQ of Scott Baumstein.

Raghavan gets no help on the board and is out in 8th place for his first Borgata cash.

Baumstein adds to his chip lead and is up to 4.5 million.

Championship: Take Me to the River

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

After not seeing a flop for an entire orbit, Jeff Papola and Matt Stout play a pot to the river.

Blinds 25k/50k/4k ante

Papola (UTG + 1) raises to 100k, Stout calls from MP, Scott Baumstein calls from the SB

Flop: K♣ J♣ 4

Baumsteim checks, Papola bets 120k, Stout calls, Baumstein folds

Turn: 6

Papola checks, Stoudt bets 325k, Papola calls

River: 4♠

both players check

Papola turns over A J for a pair of jacks, Stout folds.

Papola wins the 1.3 million chip pot.

Championship: Back to the Grind

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)  

The 8 remaining players are back in action with blinds at 25k/50k/4k ante

Michael Esposito (Seaford, NY)
Jeff Papola (Monmouth Beach, NJ)
Vinny Pahuja (Hicksville, NY)
Matt Stout (Las Vegas, NV
Patrick Chan (Brooklyn, NY)
Brock Parker (Silver Spring, MD)
Ravi Raghavan (Northbrook, IL)
Scott Baumstein (New York, NY)

Event 21: 11 am Numbers Game

$200 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Number of Entries: 371 
Players Remaining:  36
Chips in Play:  7.42 million

Average Stack:  206k

Next Blinds: 4k/8k/1k ante
Play Resumes: 8:40 pm

Total Buy-In: $74,200
First Prize: $19,430
Places Paid: 36

Championship: Numbers Game

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Number of Entries:  644
Players Remaining:  8
Chips in Play:  19.32 million

Big Stack:  3.9 million (78 bb)
Average Stack:  2.4 million (48 bb)

Next Blinds: 25k/50k/4k ante
Play Resumes: 8:25 pm

Remaining Prize Pool:

1st $372,568
2nd $209,480
3rd $131,895
4th $107,067
5th $85,344
6th $70,602
7th $56,637
8th $42,672

Event 21: 11 am Tournament Breaks Bubble

$200 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

 Paden Breaks Bubble, then Breaks Bread

On a flop of A 6 7 all the chips are in the middle and Larry Paden (Chester Springs, PA) has a set of 6s, but needs to dodge straight and flush draws.

Another 7 hits the turn and it's game over for Paden's opponent who's knocked out by the full house.

The elimination sends the remaining 36 players into the money and off to a one hour dinner break.

The field is guaranteed $432 as they play for the $19,430 top prize.


Championship: Dinner Break Chip Counts

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)       

Dinnertime!  The final eight players have taken off for a one hour dinner break. 

Play will resume at about 8:25pm.

Here are the chip counts:

Scott Baumstein - 3.9 million
Brock Parker - 3.6 million
Patrick Chan - 3.25 million
Jeff Papola - 2.787 million
Matt Stout - 2.723 million
Michael Esposito - 1.5 million
Vinny Pahuja - 832k
Ravi Raghavan - 782k

Championship: 8 Hands, 1 Orbit

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

In the last orbit we saw three flops, one all in, one walk and lots of folding.

Blinds 20k/40k/4k

Hand 1 - Parker button: Stout raises to 90k from HJ, Chan 3-bets to 215k, Stout folds

Hand 2 - Raghavan button: Papola UTG raises to 90k, Raghavan calls.
Flop: 10 3♣ 7♠
Papola c-bets 85k, Raghavan folds

Hand 3 - Baumstein button: folds to Baumstein who raises to 80k, Esposito calls from the SB
Flop: 9 8♠ Q
both players check
Turn: A
Esposito checks, Baumstein bets 85k, Esposito folds

Hand 4 -  Esposito button: Baumstein raises to 80k from CO, Papola calls
Flop: J♣ A♠ 9♠
both players check
Turn: 6♠
both player check
River: 8♠
Papola 120k, Baumstein tank folds

The table eggs on Papola to show a card, but mucks.  Baumstein says, "I might of had the best hand without a spade." 

Hand 5 - Papola button: Stout gets a walk in the BB, wins blinds and antes

Hand 6 - Pahuja button: Papola raises to 80k from the CO, Pahuja all in for 800k, Papola folds

Hand 7 - Stout button: Raghavan raies to 90k UTG, wins blinds and antes

Hand 8 - Chan button: Stout raises to 90k from the CO, wins blinds and antes

Championship: Pahuja's All in Not Called

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Blinds 20k/40k/4k ante

Jeff Papola raises to 80k from the cutoff, Vinny Pahuja moves all from the button for 800k, Papola folds.

There's five minutes left on the clock before dinner break.

Championship: Baumstein Chips Up

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Most hands don't see a flop as single raises take down most pots, so going to the river without an all-in bet is uncommon.

In blind vs blind, Ravi Raghanvan completes from the SB and Scott Baumstein checks.

Blinds 20k/40k/4k ante

Flop: K♣ 4 9♠

Raghanvan bets 40k, Baumstein calls

Turn: A

Raghanvan bets 80k, Baumstein calls

River: 6♣

Raghanvan bets 215k, Baumstein calls

Raghanvan: K♠ Q(pair of kings)
Baumstein: A 5♣ (pair of aces)

Baumstein takes his stack to 3.75 million, Raghanvan drops to 975k.

Championship: Stuck At Eight

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)      

In just six hours they have sent 19 players home for Thanksgiving turkey, leaving eight in the hunt for the top prize of  $372,568.

These eight appear to have settled in for some serious poker, so it might be a while before we see another departure.

Here's a reminder of what's at stake:

1:          $372,568
2:          $209,480
3:          $131,895
4:          $107,067
5:            $85,344
6:            $70,602
7:            $56,637
8:            $42,672

Event 21: 11 am Tournament Down to 54

$200 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
They're less than 20 spots from the money and play is now 9-handed on six tables
 
Still playing for the $432 min cash and the $19,430 top prize:

Dwyte Pilgrim
Roman Valerstein
Neville Darrell
Jason Evans
Jay Zimmet
Mike Lydon
David Johnston

The average stack is 137k (27 bb); blinds are 2,500/5k/500 ante.

Championship: Final 8 Chip Counts

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)      

They finished up the level and took a break.

Here are some approximate chip counts:

Brock Parker - 3.245 million
Patrick Chan - 3.24 million
Scott Baumstein - 2.94 million
Jeff Papola - 2.6 million
Matt Stout - 2.0 million
Ravi Raghavan - 1.875 million
Vinny Pahuja - 1.4 million
Michael Esposito - 948k

Play resumed with blinds of 20k/40k with 4k ante.

Championship: Break Time

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

20th Place Finisher Allen Kessler Watches the Final Table

Level 26 (15k/30k/3k ante) is in the books, players are on a 10 minute break.  They'll play one more level before dinner.

Championship: 9th Place - Behbahani

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)      

Kambiz 'Tony' Behbahani (Fairfax Station, VA)
$29,482

Tony Behbahani got his last chips in with K9 suited, but was dominated by Brock Parker's AK suited.

The board changed nothing and Brock chipped up to ~3.7 million.

Tony finished in 9th place, earning $29,482.

Championship: 10th Place - Crispino

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)     

Lou Crispino (Amityville, NY)
$20,172

Lou Crispino got his last chips in with T9 suited against Scott Baumstein's KJ. 

The board bricked out and Scott took the pot with King-high.

Lou took 10th place and $20,172.

Championship: Final Table Lineup & Chip Counts

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)     

Play resumed.  Still playing 15k/30k with 3k ante.


Here's the new lineup with some rough chip counts as of the break:
  1. Michael Esposito - 900k
  2. Jeff Papola - 2.1 million
  3. Vinny Pahuja - 1.6 million
  4. Matt Stout - 3 million
  5. Tony Behbahani - 700k
  6. Patrick Chan - 3.3 million
  7. Brock Parker - 3 million
  8. Ravi Raghavan - 1.9 million
  9. Scott Baumstein - 2.6 million
  10. Lou Crispino - 316k

Championship: 11th Place - Harder

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)     

Christian Harder (Annapolis, MD)
$20,172

Christian Harder got his chips in with pocket Queens and was racing against Matt Stout's AK.  An Ace in the window made it a short race.

Christian busted out in 11th place, earning $20,172.

The final ten drew for seats and moved to the final table, then took a ten minute break.

Championship: 12th Place - Hoglund

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)     

Thomas Hoglund (New Bedford, MA)
$20,182

Thomas Hoglund was short-stack and moved in with T7 suited.  Jeff Papola looked him up with A6.

The board changed nothing and Jeff took the pot.

Thomas busted out in 12th place, earning $20,182.

Championship: Raghavan Doubles

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)    

Ravi Raghavan was all-in pre-flop for 732k against Scott Baumstein.

Ravi:  66
Scott: 22

Board: J 7 3 4 9

Ravi doubled up to ~1.5 million.

Championship: 13th Place - O'Donoghue

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)    


Brian O'Donoghue (Bayside, NY)
$14,741

Two big stacks clash in a battle of the blinds.  After several raises, all the chips went in.

Brian O'Donoghue (sb) had pocket 9s.

Brock Parker (bb) had pocket Queens.

Board:  K Q 8 8 J

Brian made Queens-full to take the pot.  The stacks were close, but Brian's 1.5 million was covered by Brock's 1.6 million.  Brock's now over 3.1 million.

Brian finished in 13th place, earning $14,741.

Championship: Baumstein Doubles

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)    

Scott Baumstein doubled up through Tony Behbahani when he caught a gutshot straight to beat Tony's two pair.

Scott's up to ~2.7 million.  Tony's down to ~400k.

Level 26:  Blinds 15k/30k with 3k ante.

Event 21 - Payouts

Borgata Fall Poker Open
Event 21: $200 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em
November 21, 2012

Entries:  371
Total Buy-In:  $74,200


PAYOUTS:
1:         $19,430
2:         $10,794
3:           $6,694
4:           $5,398
5:           $4,174
6:           $3,527
7:           $2,843
8:           $2,123
9:           $1,439
10 - 12:    $936
13 - 15:    $720
16 - 18:    $612
19 - 27:    $540
28 - 36:    $432

Championship: 14th Place - Morgan

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Brian Morgan (Gansevoort, NY)
$14,741

On a flop of 9 8 8, Brian Morgan shoved and got looked up by chip leader Patrick Chan.  Brian had pocket 3s.  Patrick had pocket Tens.

The last two were bricks and Patrick took the pot.  He's up to over 4 million.

Brian busted out in 14th place, earning $14,741.

Championship: Hard Call from Harder

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)    

Brian Morgan (bb) and Christian Harder (utg) get to the river with a board of T 6 6 K 2 (no flush possible). 

Brian bet 235k, sending Christian into the tank for a minute.

Christian called to see Brian's QJ (Queen-high).  Christian showed pocket 3s to take the pot.

He chipped up to over 1.7 million.  Brian was left with  ~800k.

Event 21: Latest Numbers

$200 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Registration is closed and the unofficial entry count is 371.

About 202 of those are still in the mix.  Average stack is 37k.

They're on a break after level 11 and will return to

Level 12:  Blinds 1k/2k with 300 ante.

Checking out via Twitter:

Lana O'Brien ‏@lanaob22
obv out of the best field i've seen in ages. AT < 99. 


Championship: Chip Counts

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Level 25:  Blinds 12k/24k with 3k ante.

Play has resumed.  Here are the approximate chip counts from the break:

Patrick Chan - 3.0 million
Jeff Papola - 2.1 million
Tony Behbahani - 2.0 million
Brian Morgan - 1.7 million
Brian O'Donoghue - 1.6 million
Christian Harder - 1.4 million
Vinny Pahuja - 1.2 million
Michael Esposito - 1.2 million
Scott Baumstein - 1.2 million
Ravi Raghavan - 1.0 million
Brock Parker - 860k
Lou Crispino - 725k
Matt Stout - 720k
Thomas Hoglund - 600k

Borgata Tournament Leaderboard Update (11/21)

Borgata Fall Poker Open Leaderboard
By participating in any Borgata Fall Poker Open event (November 8-21, 2012), players earn points based upon the Borgata Fall Poker Tournament Leaderboard Formula.

Below are the top scores for the 2012 Borgata Fall Poker Open Leaderboard*
(Final Results from Main events: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20 
 Secondary events: 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)


669.580:  EMANUEL "WILL" FAILLA
580.450:  JEDIAL PIRES
428.950:  PAUL VACCHIO
420.550:  DILIP RAVINDRAN
410.975:  DANIEL WALSH
346.775:  ROBERT GOTTFRIED
346.450:  KHALED ALWAN
335.850:  MATTHEW ILES
302.700:  ILYA DYMENT
271.213:  HARRY KOROTKI
268.425:  ELLIOTT ZAYDMAN
267.200:  MOHAMMAD AMJADI
266.313:  KEVIN MCCOLGAN
260.775:  BRUCE YAMRON
260.325:  TOBY KASSER
259.588:  TONY TRAN
256.695:  LEANNE ROSENBLATT
253.800:  ASHER CONNIFF
253.063:  WARREN WIGGINS
252.900:  AUSTEN JOHNSON
236.250:  HYON KO
235.825:  CHERISH ANDREWS
230.375:  TAISIYA KUZNETSOVA
229.338:  DOUGLAS MACKINNON
222.475:  DAVID SANDERS
219.100:  JEFFREY PAPOLA
218.575:  SHIMON TRAKHTENBERG
216.388:  ROMAN VALERSTEIN
216.300:  DANIEL CHAN
213.850:  ANDREW KLEIN
213.375:  KYLE BOWKER
212.525:  IBRAIM IBRAIMOVIC
212.475:  DAVID INSELBERG
210.383:  ANDJELKO ANDREJEVIC
210.075:  JOHN DELROSSI
208.975:  JOHN DIBELLA
208.460:  ANTONIO PAYNE
206.950:  HENRY MICHAEL BOROVETZ

Championship: 15th Place - Matros

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Matt Matros (Brooklyn, NY)
$14,741

Brian O'Donoghue (bb) and Matt Matros (utg) got to the river with a board of 7 6 3 7 T and all the chips went in.  Matt had 54 for the flopped straight.  Brian had pocket 3s for the turned full house.

Matt Matros was busted in 15th place, earning $14,741.

That was the last hand of the level and players took off for a break.

Championship: 16th Place - Atkins

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Jerry Atkins (New York, NY)
$10,862

On the turn with a board of A J 9 3 with two hearts, Jerry Atkins shoved and was looked up by Vinny Pahuja.

Jerry had QT of hearts for an open-ended straight-draw and flush draw.  Vinny had A3 for Aces-up.

River was a brick and Vinny took the pot, chipping up to ~1.4 million.

Championship: 18th - Ackerman; 17th - Pearsall

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Gary Ackerman (Collegeville, PA) & Chris Peaersall (Oceanside, NY)
$10,862

Brian Morgan opened for 60k, Chris Pearsall called, Patrick Chan raised to 160k on the button.  Gary Ackerman (sb) shoved for ~455k.  Brian folded, Chris shoved, and Patrick shoved.

Gary:  88
Chris:  AK suited
Patrick:  KK

The board changed nothing and Patrick Chan scooped the main and side pots with his Kings.  He's now the new chip leader with over 2.8 million.

Gary Ackerman finished 18th.  Chris Pearsall finished 17th.  Both earned $10,862 for their efforts.

Championship: Chip Leaders & Lineup

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Tony Behbahani was the chip leader with just over 2.0 million.

Jeff Papola has edged him out for the lead with 2.1 million.

These two big stacks are side-by-side at table 1:

  1. Thomas Hoglund
  2. Michael Esposito
  3. Lou Crispino
  4. Christian Harder
  5. Brock Parker
  6. Jeff Papola
  7. Tony Behbahani
  8. Ravi Raghavan
  9. Scott Baumstein
Table 2:
  1. Patrick Chan
  2. Gary Ackerman
  3. Brian O'Donoghue
  4. Matt Matros
  5. Vinny Pahuja
  6. Matt Stout
  7. Brian Morgan
  8. Chris Pearsall
  9. Jerry Atkins

Championship: 19th Place - A. Korotki

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Abraham Korotki (Bethany Beach, DE)
$8,534

Abraham Korotki had pocket 6s and was all-in on the turn against Lou Crispino, who had AK.

Unfortunately for Abraham, there was an Ace on the flop.  He busted out in 19th place, earning $8,534.

The table 3 players drew for seats and moved to the empty seats at the other two.

Championship: 20th Place - Kessler

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 


 
Allen 'Chainsaw' Kessler (Las Vegas, NV)
$8,534

On the turn with a board of 6 6 4 x, Abraham Korotki and Allen Kessler got their chips in.

Allen had pocket 4s for the flopped full house.

Abraham had A6 for trips sixes -- then an Ace came on the river to give Abraham the bigger boat.

Allen busted out in 20th place, earning $8,534.

Championship: 21st Place - Franco

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Rick Franco (Philadelphia, PA)
$8,534

Rick Franco also got his chips in with pocket Kings.  Vinny Pahuja looked him up with AJ.

Vinny caught both an Ace and a Jack on the board to take the pot.

Rick took 21st place and $8,534.

"Shout-out to Team Voltron!" from Rick.

Championship: 22nd Place - Salimbene

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)  

Nick Salimbene (Brick, NJ)
$8,534

Nick Salimbene moved in for almost 400k with pocket Kings, but ran into Tony Behbahani's pocket Aces.

The Aces held and Tony chipped up to ~2 million.

Nick finished in 22nd place for $8,534.

Championship: 23rd Place - McCurdy

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)  

Maxwell 'Zeke' McCurdy (Charlotte, NC)
$8,534

Zeke McCurdy shoved from the button and got looked up by Matt Stout.

Zeke's A3 was dominated by Matt's A9. 

They both paired their kickers on the board, but Matt's pair was boss.

Zeke finished in 23rd place, earning $8,534.

Championship: 24th Place - Maglio

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Vinny Maglio (Revere, MA)
$8,534

Vinny Maglio shoved his last ~140k, got one caller, then Patrick Chan moved in for ~505k.

Gary Ackerman also shoved to isolate and the called opted out.

Vinny:  QJ
Patrick:  TT
Gary:  AK

The pocket Tens held up to scoop the main and side pots.  Patrick chipped up to ~1.3 million.

Vinny Maglio busted out in 24th place, earning $8,534.

Championship: Big Doubles

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Brian Morgan doubled up with AK against Vinny Maglio's pocket Queens (Ace on the flop).  Brian was up to ~1.5 million.

Tony Behbahani doubled up with AQ against Abraham Korotki's pocket 8s.  They got all in on the river with a board of A A 3 8 Q (Aces-full beat 8s-full).  Tony was up to ~1.55 million.

Championship: 25th Place - Weizer

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Joshua Weizer (Meadowbrook, PA) 
$8,534

Level 24:  Blinds 8k/16k with 2k ante.

Brock Parker was all-in with KJ against Joshua Weizer's AQ.

A Jack on the flop gave the double-up to Brock.  Joshua was left with ~55k.

He busted out soon after in 25th place ($8,534).

Championship: 26th Place - Honig

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Hanks Honig (E Windsor, NJ)
$8,534

Gary Ackerman raised on the button, then Matthew 'Hanks' Honig three-bet from the small blind.

Vinny Maglio four-bet-shoved from the big blind.

Gary folded and Hanks called all-in, showing J6 offsuit.

Vinny had pocket Aces.

The board changed nothing and Vinny took the pot.

Hanks Honig finished in 26th place, earning $8,534.

Championship: Pearsall Pulls Pot

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)  

Brian Morgan (in the tank) and Chris Pearsall (all-in)

In a battle of the blinds, Chris Pearsall (bb) ended up all-in after a raising war.

Brian Morgan (sb) tanked, then surrendered.

Chris picked up a big pot, chipping up to ~700k.

Championship: Weizer Doubles

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)   

Christian Harder opened for a raise, then Joshua Weizer shoved for 92k straight.

Action folded back to Christian, who called, showing AT suited.

Joshua was dominating with AJ.

The board ran out 9 8 5 Q 5 and Joshua doubled up.

A couple of hands later, Joshus open-shoved, but got no takers.  He showed AJ again.

Championship: 27th Place - Lemke

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

 Brian Lemke (Norristown, PA)
$8,534

Brian Lemke got all-in with K8 suited and got looked up by Vincent Maglio's A7.  An Ace on the board spelled the end for Lemke in 27th place ($8,534).


Patrick Chan has now arrived, so 26 players remain.

Championship: Underway!

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)  

Level 23:  Blinds 8k/16k with 2k ante.

70 minutes remain in this level.

Cards are in the air with 26 returning players.

Patrick Chan has not yet arrived to unbag his chips.

They're in the Boardroom, the ultra high limit area of the Borgata Poker Room today.

Event 21: Checking In Via Twitter

$200 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Level 3:  Blinds 75/150.

These folks are making their presence known via Twitter:

Antonio Payne ‏@Anthony_1Payne
@BorgataPoker Event 21 so far I don't recognize anyone here. #IGotAShot. Unless the beast are still sleeping #LetMeShipTheLittle1 #TeamBSO

Steve Scales ‏@SteveScales
Last event of the series, GLGL pals and gals!

Frank DiRe ‏@FLD15
Getting started. Borgata event 21. Win first 2 hands. Look out.

Lana O'Brien ‏@lanaob22
last borgata tourney of series. i'm the youngest person at my table!! guy at nearby table drinking white wine <3

Event 21: Familiar Faces

$200 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Level 2:  Blinds 50/100.

Lots of regulars have turned out for the finale of the BFPO:

Ta Wey
Byung Yoo
Jordan Ludwick
Lana O'Brien
John Koliner
David Semless
Joe Boatwright
Jason 'Gorilla Fish' Evans
Mike Lydon
Jay Johnson
Howard Wolper
David Heck
Tony Clementi
Steve Scales
Elliot Zaydman

Event 21: Play is Underway!

$200 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
              $50,000 GUARANTEED

Today's final Borgata Fall Poker Open Trophy event carries a $50,000 Guarantee on total buy-ins, which should bring out a big field.

It is also a Big Stack, which means players started with 20,000 chips.

Levels 1-10 are 20 minutes long, then they go to 30 minutes for the rest of the tournament.

Level 1 Blinds are 25/50.

This is also a re-entry event, which means players who bust out may re-enter as many times as they like until registration closes at the end of level 8 (about 1:50 pm).

Championship - Table Assignments

Borgata Fall Poker Open
Event 18: $2500 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em
November 18-21, 2012

Entries:  644
Total Buy-In:  $1,610,000

Players Remaining:  27
Average Chip Stack:  715,500

START OF DAY 3 TABLE ASSIGNMENTS & CHIP COUNTS:
T1 | S1 -  THOMAS HOGLUND (NEW BEDFORD, MA):  942,000
T1 | S2 -  MICHAEL ESPOSITO (SEAFORD, NY):  1,066,000
T1 | S3 -  LOUIS JR CRISPINO (AMITYVILLE, NY):  504,000
T1 | S4 -  VINEET PAHUJA (HICKSVILLE, NY):  1,131,000
T1 | S5 -  NICHOLAS SALIMBENE (BRICK, NJ):  250,000
T1 | S6 -  ABRAHAM KOROTKI (BETHANY BEACH, DE):  732,000
T1 | S7 -  KAMBIZ BEHBAHANI (FAIRFAX STATION, VA):  820,000
T1 | S8 -  ALLEN KESSLER (LAS VEGAS, NV):  726,000
T1 | S9 -  SCOTT BAUMSTEIN (NEW YORK, NY):  760,000

T2 | S1 -  PATRICK CHAN (BROOKLYN, NY):  561,000
T2 | S2 -  GARY ACKERMAN (COLLEGEVILLE, PA):  1,239,000
T2 | S3 -  MATTHEW HONIG (E WINDSOR, NJ):  498,000
T2 | S4 -  VINCENT MAGLIO (REVERE, MA):  407,000
T2 | S5 -  BRIAN LEMKE (NORRISTOWN, PA):  276,000
T2 | S6 -  MATTHEW STOUT (LAS VEGAS, NV):  796,000
T2 | S7 -  BRIAN MORGAN (GANSEVOORT, NY):  933,000
T2 | S8 -  CHRIS PEARSALL (OCEANSIDE, NY):  534,000
T2 | S9 -  JERRY ATKINS (NEW YORK, NY):  755,000

T3 | S1 -  BRIAN ODONOGHUE (BAYSIDE, NY):  535,000
T3 | S2 -  RICARDO FRANCO (PHILADELPHIA, PA):  260,000
T3 | S3 -  MAXWELL MCCURDY (CHARLOTTE, NC):  40,000
T3 | S4 -  MATTHEW MATROS (BROOKLYN, NY):  1,336,000
T3 | S5 -  JEFFREY PAPOLA (MONMOUTH BEACH, NJ):  1,962,000
T3 | S6 -  CHRISTIAN HARDER (ANNAPOLIS, MD):  1,195,000
T3 | S7 -  JOHN PARKER (SILER SPRING, MD):  224,000
T3 | S8 -  JOSHUA WEIZER (MEADOWBROOK, PA):  306,000
T3 | S9 -  RAVI RAGHAVAN (NORTHBROOK, IL):  610,000

Wednesday, November 21

TODAY'S EVENTS (Poker Room & The Signature Room) 


11 AM: Event 21 - $200 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
              $50,000 GUARANTEED
  • Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips 
  • Levels 1-10: will last 20 minutes each | Levels 11+: will last 30 minutes each
  • Players may Re-Enter through Level 8
  • 1-Day event  


12 PM: Event 18 - $2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em
             Day 3
  • Day 2 & 3 Levels:  will last 75 minutes each 
  • 3-Day event with two starting days
  • Day 3 begins Wednesday at 12PM 

6 PM: Event 45 - $100 + $20 + $25 Green Chip Bounty No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
  • Players start with 12,000 in tournament chips
  • This is a Bounty tournament. Players must have their Bounty chips clearly displayed on table in order to remain active in tournament
  • Levels will last 20 minutes each 
  • Players may Re-Enter through Level 6
  • 1-Day event  
Thank you playing in the tournament series. 

Don't forget to check out our updated Daily Tournament Schedule.

Reminder:

Championship: End of Day 2 Chip Counts

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

27 players return with an average stack of 716k (45 bb) as they play for the $372,568 top prize and Borgata Fall Poker Open trophy.

Play resumes noon Wednesday with 70 minutes remaining on Level 23 (8k/16k/2k ante).

Name-Chip Count

Jeff Papola 1,962,000 (123 bb)
Matt Matros 1,336,000
Vinny Pahuja 1,310,000
Gary Ackerman 1,239,000
Christian Harder 1,295,000
Michael Esposito 1,066,000
Thomas Hoglund 942,000
Brian Morgan 933,000
Matt Honig 798,000
Kambiz Behbahani 820,000
Matt Stout 796,000
Scott Baumstein 760,000
Abraham Korotki 732,000
Allen Kessler 726,000
Average Stack 716k (45 bb)
Ravi Raghavan 610,000
Patrick Chan 561,000
Brian O'Donohue 535,000
Chris Pearsall 534,000
Lou Crispino 504,000
Vinny Maglio 407,000
Nick Salimbene 250,000
Joshua Weizer 306,000
Brian Lemke 276,000
Ricardo Franco 260,000
Nick Salimbene 250,000
Brock Parker 224,000
Max McCurdy 40,000 (2.5 bb)

Check back after 9 am for Day 3 seat assignments

Championship: Papola Sucks Out to Lead Day 2

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Andrew Helps Papola Bag & Tag 1.962 Million Chips

Jeff Papola (Monmouth Beach, NJ) feels fortune to be one of the 27 remaining players, let alone be the chip leader at the end of Day 2.

The Borgata trophy holder sucked out against Matt Honig (E.Windsor, NJ) late in the day in a 1.6 million chip pot on his way to bagging the chip lead with just shy of 2 million chips.

"I shouldn't be here," said Papola, the 2011 Borgata Fall Poker Open Six-Max Winner, "I feel like I have a second chance."

Papola was all in on a queen high flop with QJ against Honig's pocket aces and hit a queen on the turn for trips.  Honig managed to survive the hand to bag an average stack of 798k.

The final three tables return at noon Wednesday to play for the first prize of $372,56.

"There are a lot of good players left," said Papola, who also has a WSOP bracelet on his resume, "there's a long way to go."

In addition to Papola, other Borgata trophy winners still in the high caliber field include Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, Christian Harder, Vinny Pahuja, Brian O'Donohue and Abraham Korotki.

Bracelet winners still alive include Papola, Matt Matros, Brock Parker and Brian Lemke.  Also returning is Michael Esposito, the 7th place finisher ($1.3 million) in the 2012 WSOP Main Event.

Championship: 28th-36th Places ($7,603)

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Place-Name

28 LJ Sande (Wethersfield, CT)
29 Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY)
30 Paul Spitzberg (Tenafly, NJ)
31 Sazan Lusha (Staten Island, NY)
32 William Klevitz (Greenwich, CT)
33 Stephen Reynolds (Egg Harbor Township, NJ)
34 Anthony Spinella (Waxhaw, NC)
35 Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo (New Rochelle, NY)
36 Baruch Altman (Monsey, NY)

Event 20: 1st Place - Cicalese

 $260 + $40 + $100 Black Chip Bounty NL (Re-Entry)




  Michael Cicalese (Haddon Heights, NJ)
$14,451


Michael Cicalese, a banker from Haddon Heights, NJ, clinched the win after getting it in with 99, and holding.

He beat out 2012 Spring Poker Open 2nd place finisher, Larry Abrams and says he will proudly display his trophy on the table where he plays casual friendly games with his buddies occasionally.

"This is my first cash EVER in a tournament, and I couldn't be more thrilled that I have a TROPHY!", said Cicalese, who then added "The thing is; I told my wife the buy-in was only $100!" and grinned sheepishly as he pointed out the ACTUAL tournament buy-in etched on the trophy glass.

We'll lay you a zillion to one that the $14K plus will buy you a reprieve as far as the Little Missus is concerned, good sir.

But... Good Luck just in case.

Event 20: 2nd Place - Abrams

$260 + $40 + $100 Black Chip Bounty NL (Re-Entry)





Larry Abrams (Mahwah, NJ)
$7,948

Event 20: 3rd Place - Barago

$260 + $40 + $100 Black Chip Bounty NL (Re-Entry)







Jimmy Barago (Wantagh, NY)
$4,576



Event 20: 4th Place - Clementi

$260 + $40 + $100 Black Chip Bounty NL (Re-Entry)




Tony Clementi (Blue Bell, PA)
$3,854

Event 20: 5th Place - Palermo

$260 + $40 + $100 Black Chip Bounty NL (Re-Entry)




Leonardo Palermo (Tom's River, NJ)









Championship: King on the River (2x) Sets Final 27

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 


A king on the river on back-to-back knockouts send the final 27 players home for the night.

First Allen Kessler (Las Vegas, NV) knocks out Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY) when Kessler's AK hits a king on the river against Pilgrim's QQ.

Action continued into the next level (8k/16k/2k ante) when Matt Stout (Las Vegas, NV) was behind L.J. Sande (Wethersfield, CT) with KQ vs A 10.  Another king on the river knocks out Sande stops the clock.

Pilgrim finishes 29th and Sande 28th, with both players picking up $7,603

Championship: Ack Attack

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Gary Grabs Chip Lead

Blinds 6k/12k/1k

Lou  Crispino (Amityville, NY) opens to 27k
Gary Ackerman (Collegeville, PA) makes to 60k
Stephen Reynolds (Little Egg Harbor, NJ) 4-bets to 137k, Crispino folds
Ackerman makes it 350k
Reynolds moves all in for 560k total, Ackerman calls.

Reynolds turns over Qc Qs against Ackerman's pocket aces and then Reynolds hears the worst news possible.  "I folded two red queens," says Crispino.

There's no straight help on the board and Ackerman knocks out Reynolds in 33rd place.

Ackerman is up to 1.3 million and has the chip lead.

Players in the one million chip club include:

Gary Ackerman
Michael Esposito  
Vinny Pahuja
Scott Baumstein 
Jeff Papola
Thomas Hoglund
Matt Honig

Championship: "You Called with that Garbage?"

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Brian O'Donohue (Bayside, NY) bets preflop and Ravi Raghavan (Northbrook, IL) moves all in.

O'Donohue, a two time Borgata trophy winner goes in the tank, and eventually calls.

Both players turn over pocket jacks and the stacks are returned.

"You called with that garbage," Raghavan asks rhetorically, "I thought for sure you had queens."

Both players visibly relieved that they weren't up against an over pair and that they avoided the four flush.

Championship: 3 Millionaires, Last Level of the Night

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Three players have maintained there stacks at more than 1 million. Octo-niner Michael Esposito (Seaford, NY) has joined Vinny Pahuja (Hicksville, NY) and Scott Baumstein (New York, NY), who have been hovering at the milly mark.

We're down to four tables and the plan is to play one more 75 minute level, which takes bag and tag to just before 2 am.

Blinds are now 6k/12/1k ante.

Event 20: 6th Place - Pinson

$260 + $40 + $100 Black Chip Bounty NL (Re-Entry)

 Aaron Pinson (Baltimore, MD) 
$2,409

Championship: 37th-45th Places ($6,827)

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Place-Name 

37 Hayden Fortini (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
38 Kyle Bowker (Walton, NY)
39 Lee Childs (Reston, VA)
40 Adam Teasdale (Wilmington, NC)
41 Mark Herm (Chesterbrook, PA)
42 Alex Ortizgomez (E. Hartford, CT)
43 Christine Brewer (Port Monmouth, NJ)
44 Andrew Egan (Hockessin, NJ)
45 Mohammad Amjadi (Marmora, NJ)

Event 20: 7th Place - Kressel

$260 + $40 + $100 Black Chip Bounty NL (Re-Entry)

Dave Kressel (Brooklyn, NY) 
$1,927

Championship: Brewer Goes Flat, Runs into Aces

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Christine Brewer (Port Monmouth, NJ), the last woman standing, is down to 2.5 big blinds when she's all in with AQ, but runs into the pocket aces of Ravi Raghavan (Northbrook, IL).  Brewer who got a double-up to stay alive on the last hand of Day 1B takes the momentum into a 43rd place finish

Shortly after that Alex Ortizgomez (E. Hartford, CT) is out when his KK is out flopped by Nick Salimbene (Brick, NJ) who hits a set of 7s. 

Ortizgomez is out in 42nd place. He and Brewer both earn $6,827.

Championship: 46th-54th Places ($6,052)

$2500 + $200 Championship Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Place-Name

46 John Short (Franklin Mills, NJ)
47 Vitaly Kovyazin (Brooklyn, NY)
48 Michael McCarty (Highland Park, NJ)
49 Cuong Phung (Atlantic City, NJ)
50 Mike Shasho (Ramsey, NJ)
51 Sharon Levin (Penbroke Pines, FL)
52 James Lillis (Robinsville, NJ)
53 Jinglin Chen (Bayside, NY)
54 Matt Glantz (Lafayette Hill, PA)