Thursday, November 22, 2012

Championship Event Recap

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

There were no turkey's at this final table, just a bunch of "sicko's," and in the end it's Brock Parker (Silver Spring, MD) who won the Borgata Fall Poker Open Championship event early Thanksgiving morning.

Parker beat Scott Baumstein (New York, NY) heads up and outlasted Patrick Chan (Brooklyn, NY) after a marathon session of three-handed play.

"I was lucky considering where I started," said Parker who was 26th out 27 returning players with only 14 big blinds. "I didn't expect to stay very long, but I was lucky enough to get two double-ups and then took it from there."

On the final hand, Parker held K♠ K against Baumstein's K♣ 9 on a 9-high flop to claim the title, the trophy and the $372,568 first prize.

"I'm happy with how I played," said Baumstein, who earned $209,480, the largest cash of his career. "It was some of the best poker of my life."

And added, "This was the toughest final table in the history of Borgata Poker. It was a bunch of sickos."

The final 10 featured two Borgata trophy winners Vinny Pahuja, who finished 4th, and Jeff Papola (5th), as well as Michael Esposito (6th), the 7th place finisher in 2012 WSOP Main Event.

Also at the final table was Matt Stout (7th), who has more than $1 million in career tournament earnings, and local grinder and good guy Tony Behbahani (9th). But it was the final three that stole the show.

After Pahuja was knocked out 4th, Parker, Baumstein and Chan played three-handed for more than four hours.

"It was a really tough final table," said Pahuja, "whoever wins, deserves it."

Chan was finally knocked out by Parker in third place.

"He (Baumstein) should've been gone a couple of times," said Chan. "He got a chop with ace-king to ace-seven, but whatever I'll take it," he added after earning $131,895 for finishing third.

And it wasn't just the final table that was tough, many of the players who returned for Day 3 were loaded with talent.

Other Borgata trophy winners included Christian Harder, who just missed the final table with an 11th place finish, Brian O'Donohue (13th), Abraham Korotki (19th) and Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler (20th).
 
And the accolades don't stop there, as four WSOP bracelet holders were at the final three tables.

Parker has two bracelets, 15th place finisher Matt Matros has three, while Papola and Lemke (27th) have one each.

The tournament began with 644 entries for a total buy-in of $1,610,000 which smashed the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.

This is Parker's best finish at Borgata and pushed him over the $2 million mark in live career tournament earnings. 

"It was a really good final table," said Parker. "A lot of talented players."

Final Table Results

1st Brock Parker (Silver Spring, MD) $372,568
2nd Scott Baumstein (New York, NY) $209,480
3rd Patrick Chan (Brooklyn, NY) $131,895 
4th Vinny Pahuja (Hicksville, NY) $107,067 
5th Jeff Papola (Monmouth Beach, NJ) $85,344 
6th Michael Esposito (Seaford, NY) $70,602 
7th Matt Stout (Las Vegas, NV) $56,637
8th Ravi Raghavan (Northbrook, IL) $42,672
9th Kambiz 'Tony' Behbahani (Fairfax Station, VA) $29,482
10th Lou Crispino (Amityville, NY) $20,172 

FINAL RESULTS

Championship Event Winner - Parker

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

Brock Parker (Silver Spring, MD) 
$372,568

Blinds 100k/200k/20k ante

Brock Parker raises the button and Scott Baumstein calls.

Flop: 9♠ 5♠ 3♣

Baumstein checks,
Parker bets 525k
Baumstein raises to 1.2 million
Parker is all in
Baumstein calls and puts his 5.5 million at risk

Baumstein: K♣ 9 (top pair)
Parker: K♠ K (91% favorite)

Turn: 3 (no change)

River: K

Baumstein misses his two outer on the river and wins the Borgata Fall Poker Open for $372,568.
"I was lucky considering where I started," said Parker who was 26th out 27 returning players with only 14 big blinds. "I didn't expect to stay very long, but I was lucky enough to get two double-ups and then took it from there."

This is Parker's best finish at Borgata and pushes him over the $2 million mark in live career tournament earnings.

The Borgata trophy adds to a resume that features two WSOP bracelets.

Championship 2nd Place - Baumstein

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

Scott Baumstein (New York, NY) 
$209,480

Scott Baumstein finishes runner up to Brock Parker when he flops top pair on a 9-high board against Parker's pocket kings.

"It's a cooler," says Baumstein who earns $209,480, the largest cash of his career , "I'm never, not getting it in there, top pair, king kicker."

This was Baumstein's second Borgata final table of 2012 and adds, "I'm happy with how I played, it was some of the best poker of my life." 

Championship: Heads Up!

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

 (l-r) Parker & Baumstein
 
Brock Parker (13.1 million) vs Scott Baumstein (6.2 million) for the $372,568 top prize.

Blinds are now 100k/200k/20k ante.

 Championship Trophy

Championship: 3rd Place - Chan

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

Patrick Chan (Brooklyn, NY) 
$131,895

Blinds 80k/160k/20k ante

Patrick Chan is all in for his last 3.5 million and is up against Brock Parker.

Chan: A♣ 9
Parker: A 10

Flop: 10♠ 3 7 (Parker pair of 10s, flush draw)

Turn: K (Chan drawing dead)

River: K♠

Parker wins the hand with two pair, kings and tens, ending the three-handed four hour marathon.

Chan finishes in third place, earning the largest cash of his career.

"He should've been gone a couple of times," he says, referring to Scott Baumstein who is now heads up with Parker, "He got a chop with ace-king to ace-seven, but whatever I'll take it."

Parker now has 15.1 vs Baumstein's 4.2 million.

Championship: Baumstein Doubles Through Parker

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


Brock Parker has been his big stack to raise a lot of pot, but this time he gets caught with his hand in the cookie joar.

Parker puts Scott Baumstein all in and Baumstein snap calls.

Baumstein: KJ
Parker: 8 5

Baumstein flops trip kings to double 2.2 million, Parker is still the chip leader

Championship: Chop it Up!

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

Blinds 80k/160k/20k ante

Patrick Chan raises to 450k, Scott Baumstein moves all in, Chan snap calls.

Chan: A♣ K♣
Baumstein: A 7

Flop: J 3♣ J♣ (Chan flush draw)

Turn: 9♠

River: 3

Two pair on the board makes it a chopped pot with both aces playing.

Baumstein has been as low as 15 big blinds, but remains active and continues to chip up.

Championship: Three Hours, Three Handed

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

The final three players have completed three hours of three handed play.  Blinds moving up to 80k/160k/20k ante

Chip Counts (in millions)

Brock Parker 11 (69 bb)
Patrick Chan 5.5 (34 bb)
Scott Baumstein 2.8 (18 bb)

Championship: Chan Doubles Through Parker

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

Blinds 60k/120k/10k ante

Patrick Chan and Brock Parker are all in preflop

Chan: A♣ 7♣
Parker:  9 9

Flop: A 10 K (Chan pair of aces)

Turn: 5

River: 2

"Let's go we're back in it," says Chan to his rail birds as he doubles 2.77 million, Parker drops to 11 million.

Championship: Getting Sleepy

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

Playing three-handed for nearly three hours is getting so monotonous, Brock Parker folds his big blind option.

Scott Baumstein limps from the button and as Patrick Chan folds his small blind, Parker pushes in his big blind.

After a few seconds Chan says, "you folded your option?"

Parker confirms that Baumstein merely limped and Baumstein turns to Chan and says with a smile, "why would you tell him that. It's so ridiculous."

Parker is pulling away with the chip lead as he now has 13 million, the other two players are roughly even at 3 million (~28 bb) each.

Championship: Big Pot to Brock

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

Blinds 60k/120k/10k ante

Scott Baumstein and Brock Parker both begin the hand with ~8 million

Scott Baumstein raises the button to 240
Parker 3-bets the BB to 700, Baumstein calls

Flop: 4♠ K♠ J♣
Parker bets 450k, Baumstein calls

Turn: 5
Parker bets 1.525, Baumstein calls

River: 8
check, check

Parker turns over A K for a pair of kings, Baumstein mucks.

Parker wins the 5.4 million chip pot and is now the clear chip leader with 10.7 million. Baumstein drops to 5.3 million, while Patrick Chan is the short stack with 3.3 million.

Championship: Break Time Counts

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

Player-Chip Count (in millions)

Patrick Chan (Brooklyn, NY) 8.2
Scott Baumstein (New York, NY) 3.8
Brock Parker (Silver Spring, MD) 7.3

Blinds moving up to 60k/120k/10k ante

Championship: Chan Climbing

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

After getting his double-up Patrick Chan keeps chipping up.

Blinds 50k/100k/10k ante

Scott Baumstein raises the button to 200k
Chan makes it 500k, Baumstein calls

Flop: A 4 K♣
check, check

Turn: J
check, check

River: 4
Chan bets 400k
Baumstein makes it 980k (with 4 million behind)
Chan calls

Chan: A J
Baumstein A 8

Chan wins the hand with two pairs.

Two hands later Chan beats Brock Parker in a pot with pocket 10s and is now up to 8 million, while Baumstein drops to 4 million

Championship: Chan Doubles Through Baumstein

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

Blinds 50k/100k/10k ante

Scott Baumstein raises the button to 200k
Patrick Chan makes it 650 from the SB
Brock Parker folds
Baumstein moves all in, Chan calls and is at risk

Chan: 5 5♣
Baumstein: A Q

Flop: 7♣ 3♠ 4♣

Turn: 2

River 2♣

Chan wins the hand with two pairs and doubles to 6.5 million while Baumstein drops to 6 mill.

Brock Parker makes it a three horse race at 7 million. And round and round it goes.

Event 21 - Recap

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


Frank DiRe, a tough local competitor who was a favorite to get HU, ran into the nitroll-slowroll combination of Richard Caplan, and it had the same affect as a 1-2 punch for the Colombus, NJ native... He was unable to regain his balance & busted in 5th place, surprising many local railbirds.

But Thanksgiving is all about the accomplishments of the Pilgrims, and this one is no exception.

Long time local favorite, Dwyte Pilgrim, table talked his way to a 1st place win in honor of his namesake holiday... he came back from being a 5 to 1 dog going into heads up, to regain the chip lead and eventually steamroll his amateur opponent, Eugene Borokov, who had never played in a live event before today.

The action in this tourney was fairly nondescript until HU action began, at which point Pilgrim kicked his psychological strategy into full swing. Anyone watching the live action could see Borokov unravelling more and more with each comment thrown out by Pilgrim. It wasn't long before the shy noobie from DC was just handing his chips to Pilgrim.

These two players are polar opposites; one shy and timid, the other boisterous and flamboyant... but they still sat and had pleasant conversation over a cocktail after it was all said and done. 


This tournament began with 371 entries, for a total buyin of $74,200.


Final Table Results
Place-Name-Amount

1 Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY) $19,430
2 Eugene Borukhov (Washington, DC) $10,794
3 Richard Caplan (Fairhaven, NJ) $6,694
4 Byung Yoo (Norwood, NJ) $5,398
5 Frank DiRe (Colombus, NJ) $4,174
6 Rick Zorn (Lafayette, NJ) $3,527

7 Jay Zimmet (Manalapan, NJ) $2,843
8 David Semless (Voorhees, NJ) $2,123

9 Neville Darrell (Sarasota, FL) $1,439
10 Torrie Fogg (New Providence, NJ) $936

Results

Event 21: 1st Place - Pilgrim

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



Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY)
    $19,430


It is with much pomp and circumstance that Dwyte Pilgrim, of Brooklyn NY, locks up another 1st place win.

He was a 5 to 1 dog going into heads up, and managed to turn it all around, showing what separates the pros from the fish.

He ordered shots for everyone, and even sat and tipped on back with 2nd place finisher, Eugene Borokov, showing the uber-noobie that off the felt, he's just a regular guy, and that the aggressive bullying was just all part of the game.

As he walked away from the table, Dwyte hollered "I DID THIS FOR BORGATA!!"

Well, thank you, sir... We appreciate the gesture, for sure! And because you gave so much to us, here's a cool nearly $19.4K for your trouble!! Enjoy. 


Heard At Heads Up

"The first step is getting even. The second step is getting thrown out of this joint!"

"You finish college yet? Always keep two parachutes, son" 

"What's the prop bet how old he is?" 

"Yo, the kid had me, 5 to 1... FIVE TO ONE, YO"

"I'm doing it for Borgata!" 

"I'm about to take this kid to the street, yo."

Dealer: You're small, you're big.
Pilgrim: No.. From now on, he's small EVERY time. 
You hear me, kid? From now on, you're ALWAYS small.
 I'M BIG; you're small."

"A pro always knows just the right time to hit the bathroom"

Event 21: 2nd Place - Borokhov

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




Eugene Borokhov (Washington, DC) 
   $10,794


Going into heads up play with more than a 5 to 1 chip lead wasn't enough to make it a lock for this Washington DC native...  Eugene Borokhov's impressive 2nd place finish may be deemed even more respectable once you learn that this was the first live tournament he's ever played.

Mr. Borokhov has not-too-shabby online results, but never played live. He said he's always heard great things about the Borgata Poker Open, and wanted to see how'd he fare.

Eugene seemed fairly confident during heads up, but eventually allowed his opponent, Dwyte Pilgrim, to get in his head. Pilgrim's relentless alpha behavior and large fan base on the rail was intimidating enough to throw Eugene's focus off, and once Pilgrim regained the cL, it was pretty much over.

Eugene, a political science major, says he chose this tournament as his first because of all the great things he's heard about the Borgata Poker Open. (We're sure gald to hear that, and hope you come back for EVERY series!!)

The $10.8K he's taking home should buy lots of textbooks and Top Ramen.


Event 21: 3rd Place - Caplan

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



 Richard Caplan (Fair Haven, NJ) 
$6,694


Would it surprise you if I said Richard Caplan hails from New Jersey? Yes, another local leaves the final table, with promises of a return for the Borgata Winter Poker Open in December.  

Mr. Caplan's 3rd place finish earned him just under $6.7K and a hi-five from Dwyte Pilgrim on his way out.

Event 21: 4th Place - Yoo

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





Byung Yoo (Norwood, NJ)  
  $5,398


We say farewell for now to yet another New Jersey resident, Byung Yoo, who leaves Borgata with a 4th place finish and over $5K for his deep run in this event. Well done, Byung!

Championship: Dead Heat

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

 (l-r) Chan, Parker & Baumstein

 The final three players are all within 1.2 million of each other. Blinds are now 50k/100k/10k ante.

Scott Baumstein  7.2 million (72 bb)
Brock Parker 6.1 million (61 bb)
Patrick Chan 6 million (60 bb)

Event 21: 5th Place - DiRe

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


Frank DiRe (Columbus, NJ)    
$4,174

Frank DiRe, also known as "Frank The Tank", leaves with bragging rights to a fifth place finish worth $4K.

As a local regular player at Borgata, Frank is no stranger to deep tourney runs, and this one ended with KQ<KK, all in pre-flop.

He wanted to make sure to give a big shout out to #TeamOneTime and assures us that he & the rest of the team have big surprises in store for us really soon.

We love cliffhangers, Frank, but don't leave us in suspense for too long! GG, sir... GG.

Event 21: 6th Place - Zorn

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




Rick Zorn (Lafayette, NJ) 
$3,527


Another Jersey resident, Rick Zorn, makes his way to the cage. A sixth place finish, worth around $3500, is well worth the walk! 

Great game, Rick!

Event 21: 7th Place - Zimmett

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



                                               Jay Zimmet (Manalapan, NJ) 
                                                                  $2,843


Jay Zimmet finishes in seventh place, a win worth nearly $3K.  Good game, Jay! See you in the winter!

Event 21: 8th Place - Semless

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




David Semless (Vorhees, NJ)   
 $2,123



David Semless is our eighth place finisher and goes home with over $2K for the effort. 

As he left the table, he said "See you all at the Winter Open", and wished the remaining players luck.


 

Championship: 4th Place - Pahuja

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

Vinny Pahuja (Hicksville, NY) 
$107,067

Blinds 40k/80k/5k ante

Scott Baumstein raises to 160k
Vinny Pahuja makes it 325k
Patrick Chan 4-bets to 800k, Baumstein folds
Pahuja moves all in for ~3 million, Chan calls

Chan: 10♠ 10
Pahuja: A J

Flop: 3 K 7♠ (no change)

Turn: 5 (Pahuja picks up flush draw)

River: 10
Pahuja misses his flush and finishes in 4th place.

"It was a really tough final table," says Pahuja, "whoever wins, deserves it."

Pahuja was the chip leader heading into Day 2, which earned him a $3,000 bonus.  He rode the big stack into Day 3, but was card dead heading towards the final table.

"I'm happy with fourth. I could've just as easily finished 18th."

Chan now has 6 million chips and is three handed with Brock Parker (5.5 million) and Baumstein the chip leader with 8 million.

Event 21: 11 am Final Table

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

They're blitzing through this field and are already at the final table.

Place-Name-Amount

9th Neville Darrell (Sarasota, FL) $1,439
10th Torrie Fogg (New Providence, NJ) $936

Seat-Name

1 David Seamless (Vorhees, NJ)
2
3 Richard Caplan (Fair Haven, NJ)
4
5 Frank DiRe (Columbus, NJ)
6 Eugene Borokhov (Washinton, DC)
7 Byung Yoo (Norwood, NJ)
8 Jay Zimmet (Manalapan, NJ)
9 Dwyte Pilgrim (Brooklyn, NY)
10 Rick Zorn (Lafayette, NJ)
  
Remaining Prize Pool

1:         $19,430
2:         $10,794
3:           $6,694
4:           $5,398
5:           $4,174
6:           $3,527
7:           $2,843
8:           $2,123