Event 1: All-Ins Abound

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

Level 16:  Blinds 1,500/3,000 with 400.

The all-ins are coming rapidly as players know this is the last level of the night.  Many are in the hunt for that $3,000 chip leader bonus while others want to double their short-stacks or bust out so they can re-enter on day 1B Friday.

Jong Man Kim & Roman Valerstein

A short while ago, there was a three-way pre-flop all-in on table 11.  The short-stack was ahead with pocket Queens.  Jong Man Kim (Silver Spring, MD) had AK offsuit.  Roman Valerstein (Philadelphia, PA) had both covered, but was in bad shape with pocket 7s.

An Ace on the board sent the short-stack packing, shipping both main and side pots to Kim.

Roman survived that hand, but then ran his pocket Kings into pocket Aces and was busted a short time later.

Event 1: Cajelais Climbing

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

Erik Cajelais

Erik Cajelais (Mascouche, Quebec) is making his move here as the minutes tick away late on day 1A.

He's up to almost 400k and moving in the right direction.  Erik has one WSOPE Bracelet and over $2.8 million in lifetime earnings.

Event 1: And They're Back

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

Level 15:  Blinds 1,500/3,000 with 400 ante.

Play has resumed and will continue through two levels.

At the end of level 16, the survivors will bag their chips for the night and the chip leader will collect $3,000.

Goners:

Lana O'Brien
Adam Cook
Austen Johnson
DJ MacKinnon
Anthony Arnieri
Mike Summers
Neville Darrell
Will Dugan
Alex Queen
Jennifer Sherwood

Event 1: Stoner Steps Into Lead

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

 Fritz Stoner

Just before the end of level 15, Fritz Stoner (Lancaster, PA) vaulted into the chip lead. 

He's up to ~450k.

Players are now enjoying their last break of the day.

Twelve tables remain with 120 players.  Average stack is 120k.

Event 1: Ludwick Leads?

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

On a flop of A 7 x, Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ) got all-in against TJ Crews (Edgewater, MD).

Jordan Ludwick

Jordan's pocket 7s (middle set) were crushing TJ's A7 (Aces-up).  TJ was drawing slim to two remaining Aces, which did not appear.

Jordan doubled up to almost 350k and may be the chip leader.

Jonathan Makarowitz, (East Windsor, NJ) who held the chip lead at the dinner break, is hovering at about 340k.

13 tables remain with 130 players active.  Average stack is ~111k.

Event 1: Ingardia's Aces Good

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

Frank Ingardia & Tony Sinishtaj

Frank Ingardia (Staten Island, NY) got his short stack in the middle holding pocket Aces.

Tony Sinishtaj (Flushing, NY) had him covered, but was way behind with pocket Kings.

The board changed nothing and Frank doubled up.

Tony was still in good shape with about 150k.

Event 1: Oh No Quadzilla!!!

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

TJ Crews (Edgewater, MD) opened and got 3-bet by another player.  TJ asked if he wanted a call and the player said "I want you to put all your chips in the middle".

TJ flatted and then checked dark.

TJ Crews

The flop came 777.

The 3-bettor shoved and TJ snap-called, showing T7 for quadzilla.  His opponent showed pocket Jacks and proceeded to the rail.

TJ chipped up to about 300k.

Level 14:  Blinds 1,200/2,400 with 300 ante.

Event 1: Big Names Fall

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

Some big name players have taken their exit from this event, although I expect we will see them again tomorrow on day 1B:

Mike 'Little Man' Sica
Miami John Cernuto
Cornel Cimpan

all have departed.

Joining them on the rail are:

David Inselberg
Elliott Zaydman
Joe Wertz
Gregg Miller
Mickey Woll
Mike 'Mad Dog' Shasho
Michael Buttacavoli
Howard Wolper
John Hinds
David Kim
Ron Schiffman
Javier Ferdandez

Event 1: Tweet-Time

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

Time to check the tweets!

Here are some of the player tweets from dinner:

John Allan Hinds ‏@JABistro
Busto, try again tomoro unfortunately

Luke Vrabel ‏@bdbeatslayer
Made dinner break w 60k going to 1k-2k. Ship the voucher

DJ MacKinnon ‏@djmacjr
Been holding steady but wouldn't mind making some moves after I eat. 65.5k at dinner, 1k/2k blinds when we get back.

Austen Johnson ‏@aje221
Left with 15k on dinner coming back to 1k/2k. #itsnotgreat

Kevin McColgan ‏@Buk101Poker
100k on dinner come back to 1k/2k

Michael Marder ‏@MMarder86
Busted hand imm before dinner. (Still got the voucher tho #silverlining) Never got much going, had ~20bbs and lost QJ<JT when he turned str

Michael Marder ‏@MMarder86
Oh well, be back tomorrow to try 1B #BFPO1

Tony Sinishtaj ‏@ToNiSiNz
32k at dinner. Couldn't get anything going all day. bb@2k when we get back. #timetorunitup

Event 1: Play Has Resumed

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

Dinner's done and the players are back to the felt.

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

The push to the finish is on. 

Remember that the chip leader at the end of the day, at the conclusion of level 16, will get $3,000.

Event 1: Dinner Break Numbers

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

1A Number of Entries:  576
1A Players Remaining:  174
1A Chips in Play:  14.4 million

1A Average Stack:  83k
1A Big Stack:  361k

Return to Level 13, Blinds: 1k/2k, 300 ante.

Play Resumes: 9:10 pm

Event 1: Clear Chip Leader

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

Makarowitz Making Moves

Jonathan Makarowitz (East Windsor, NJ) has broken away from the pack as players are on a one hour dinner break.

Makarowitz has the chip lead with 361k and says his big hand came when he hit trip 10s while holding J 10.

A handful of players are in the 200k-250k range as play resumes at 9:10 pm, but it's Makarowitz who has the inside track to the $3,000 bonus that goes to the Day 1A chip leader.

Event 1: Four-Way All-In Action

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

On a flop of 9♠8♣2♠, four players got all their chips in the middle.

Jennifer Sherwood (Newport News, VA) was the big stack and was ahead with pocket Queens.
Frank Rasile (Staten Island, NY) had K♦9♦ for top pair.
Barth Kurelia (Auburn, PA) had Q♣9♣ for top pair with inferior kicker.
Seat 2 was the short-stack and had KQ for two overcards, only one of which was live.

Barth Kurelia

Then the last two fell 6♣4♣, giving Barth the back-door flush to scoop the main pot and both side pots.  He busted Frank and the player in seat 2 while chipping up to ~110k.

Jennifer is still in good shape with about 160k.

Event 1: A.J.'s KK Holds vs AK

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

DeNicco (in blue) Watches the Board Run Clean 

as his Opponent (in black) Doesn't Connect

A.J. DeNicco (Pottstown, PA) reluctantly calls a 5-bet all in with pocket kings assuming he's up against pocket aces, but is glad to see AK.

When the board runs clean, DeNicco doubles to 130k and gets new life.  His opponent, who wishes to remain anonymous is cut in half.

Level 12 (800/1,600/200 ante) continues as we're 20 minutes from the dinner break.

Event 1: Tough Table

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

Table 30 has morphed into a tough patch of felt.

Miami John Cernuto & Cornel Cimpan

Travell Thomas (Orchard Park, NY) was there, but he has departed.  Still seated there are:

Tiffany Williamson - 15th in 2005 WSOP Main Event for $400,000.
Miami John Cernuto - 3 WSOP bracelets
Cornel Cimpan - 2 WPT titles
Scott Blackman - ~$400k lifetime earnings

Event 1: Big Stacks

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

Toby Kasser

Nobody is running away with the chip lead as there are a handful of players in the 195k-215k range.

Toby Kasser and Jonathan Makarowitz are the chip leaders, but neither is ready to count on earning the $3,000 bonus that goes to the Day 1A chip leader.

"A lot can happen in the next few levels," says Kasser while entertaining the table with a few witty one-liners.

Big Stacks

Toby Kasser (New City, NY) 215k
Jonathan Makarowitz (East Windsor, NJ) 215k
Mike Zagorites (Chelmsford, MA) 200k
Seth Berger (Woodbury, NY) 200k
Ray Morgan (New York, NY) 195k
Jacob Brundage (Washington, D.C.) 195k

Event 1: Big Money

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

David 'ColdStone' Inselberg (Long Beach, NY) was moved to table 29 when his table broke.

David Inselberg & Matt Brady

He landed in the seat formerly occupied by John Lakatosh (Red Lion, PA) who has busted out.  David is now seated to the right of Matt Brady (Havertown, PA).

Matt made the final table of the 2012 WPT BPO Championship here in September, then had the misfortune to bubble the WPT TV table, finishing 7th.  The upside was that he collected $131,613 for that performance.

David has a WPT televised final table under his belt.  In 2010, he made the final of the World Poker Finals, finishing 2nd for $325k.

Event 1: Schifty Straight Flush

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

On a flop of J♠4♦3♦, Ron 'Schifty' Schiffman was all-in for his last 31k.  His opponent had him covered and crushed with pocket Queens.

Ron had 7♦5♦ for the gutshot, flush draw, and straight-flush draws, giving him lots of outs.

Schifty's Straight Flush

One them came on the turn when the 6♣ fell, giving Ron the straight and a hammer-lock on the hand.

Then the 6♦ hit the river, giving Ron the straight flush for overkill.  He doubled up to about 75k.

Event 1: Unconfirmed Interesting Hand

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

Jong Kim (Silver Spring, MD) says he was part of a four way all in and nearly quadrupled up to 100k on the first hand of the day.

Kim says he held 9 10 and flopped the nut straight against two sets and a player who was drawing to a chop.

"I've never seen anything like it," says Kim, who joined the table 10 minutes late.

After dodging the paired board, Kim knocked out two of the three players as he was barely covered by the third. 

Unfortunately the table has since broken and we can't confirm the story, but Kim seems genuine and believable.  He is now sitting with 80k.

Event 1: Berger a Big Stack

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

 New Berger on the Block

Seth Berger (Woodbury, NY), not to be confused with the Seth Berger of Malvern, PA is at the 200k chip mark and one of the big stacks.

"I've done well in a couple of small tournaments, but nothing major," says the New Yorker, who is finding refuge from Hurricane Sandy here at Borgata."

"That's why I'm here. Another storm was coming and I didn't want to be cold in my house with no light or heat."  Berger says his family has been without power for 11 days on Long Island and he's  glad to be warm and cozy in the Poker Room.

This Berger is hoping to find as much success as his name sake who has multiple Borgata cashes and $259,000 in career tournament earnings.

Event 1: Sun Shines

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

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

Levels are now 50 minutes long for the duration of the event.

John Del Rossi (Mantua, NJ) was all-in and busted by Grace Sun (Merrick, NY).  Grace is up to ~80k.

Grace Sun

Grace won the $350 No Limit Six Max event during the 2012 Borgata Poker Open, good for over $26k.  She also made the final table of the Ladies event during that same series, finishing 4th for $2,804.

Shortly after John departed, this table was busted and the players were scattered around the room.

25 tables remain.

Event 1: Borovetz Busto

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

Early chip leader Michael Borovetz (Pittsburgh, PA) has busted out.  He said "I just kept getting coolered" making second-best hands.  He's now registered for day 1B, so he'll be back in action again tomorrow.

Players are relocating rapidly as tables break.  Frank Ingardia (Staten Island, NY) has moved into the seat that Michael vacated at table 6.  Lana O'Brien (Englishtown, NJ) has also landed at this table.

28 tables remain.

Event 1: Poker Face

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

 Rocha Rocking the 'Stache

Alex Rocha (S. Setauket, NY) is a Borgata trophy holder who uses his attire to try and get people off their game.

"That's the idea," says Rocha who is trying out some novelty glasses on Day 1A of the Borgata Fall Poker Open kickoff event.

Rocha, who won the premier event of the 2011 Winter Open for $151,000, has worn pajamas and slippers to the poker table and goofy hats.  The strategy is to get opponents to think he's more of a loose cannon than he really is.

Here's a look at when we profiled his philosophy earlier this year, along with his winter cap with faux fur ear flaps.

Event 1: Back in Action

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

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

Players are back in action.

Not returning from the break:

Action Bob Hwang
Cherish Andrews

They both busted out shortly before the end of level 9.

Event 1: Color Up Break

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

End of level 9 and players are taking 15 while the green 25 chips are colored up.

Unofficially, 576 entries for day 1A, putting 14.4 million chips in play.

30 tables remain with just under 300 players still alive.

Average stack is a bit over 48k.

Event 1: Good Guys Square Off - Quads Win

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

 Gardner Going Home Happy

A table explodes with disbelief at the river card and, despite losing a tough hand, Doug Gardner (New York, NY) is all smiles.

"Good luck everyone," he says while heading to the rail when his full house is beaten by the quads of Richard Leach (Washington, D.C.).

Gardner is a short stack and moves all in for his last 8k after the flop of A♣ A♥ 9♠.

Gardner: 3♦ 3♥ (pair of 3s)

Leach: A♦ 6♦ (trip aces)

Turn: 3♣ (Gardner full house)

River: A♠

Leach hits the four outer for quads to take his stack to 45k and is a good sport about his good fortune.

Leach was featured in the 2011 Borgata Poker Open blog when he mistakenly left Day 1 of a tournament four hours early and didn't know he was blinded down to 6k until he arrived for Day 2.

Both Leach and Gardner took their losses in stride and are truly a couple of the good guys of poker.

Event 1: Silberstein Sacked

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

Ken Silberstein (Bergenfield, NJ) put his tournament life on the line with KQ suited and was racing against a player holding pocket 9s.

The board ran out with no paint whatsoever and brought no help for Ken.  He was sent packing, but can try again tomorrow on day 1B.

Also gone:

Jared Jaffee
Pierre Deissler
James Tedrow 
Alik Sitnyakovsky 
Jose Montes
Antonio Payne

Event 1: MacKinnon Turns Ten

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

Level 9: Blinds 400/800 with 75 ante.

During the previous level:

After a raising war, DJ MacKinnon (E Amherst, NY) was in bad shape holding T9 suited against a shorter stack holding pocket 9s.

The flop came A 5 4 and changed nothing.  Then a Ten landed on the turn, giving DJ the lead with a pair of Tens.

River was a blank and DJ chipped up to ~66k, sending his opponent to the rail.

DJ is sharing the felt on table 18 with:

Adam Cook
AJ DeNicco
Helen Ellis

Event 1: Queens Cooler Jacks in B vs B

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

Anthony Arnieri (Lumberton, NJ) raises from the SB, Sal Pena (Philadelphia, PA) three-bets from the BB and all the chips are in the middle:

Arnieri: JJ
Pena: QQ

"Where's the big blind special," says Arnieri after the board offers no help and he ships the double-up.  "What a cooler, but I've seen worse."

Event 1: Tough Tables

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

Now that the re-entry period is over, tables are breaking down quickly.

As players move around the room, interesting match-ups start to develop.

Table 5
Mike 'Little Man' Sica
Javier Fernandez
Jason Henrici
Austen Johnson

Table 10
Action Bob Hwang
John Hinds
Howard Wolper

Table 12
Will Dugan
Sirous Jamshidi
Mike 'Mad Dog' Shasho

Table 14
Alex Queen
Cuong Phung
Gregg Miller
Fritz Stoner
Natale Kuey

Table 26
Miami John Cernuto
Frank Ingardia
Elliott Zaydman
Erik Cajelais

Event 1: Set No Good vs Two Flushes

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

 (l-r) Beier, Grove & Clementi

On a board of J♦ 9♣ 4♣ four players see the A♣ on the turn and three players end up all in.

Anthony Clementi (Blue Bell, PA): K♣ 6♣ (nut flush)
Chris Grove (Brooklyn Park, MD) 4♠ 4♥ (set of 4s)
Matt Beier (White Plains, NY): J♣ Q♣ (second nut flush)

River: X

When Grove fails to connect on the river for his full house, Clementi wins the side pot and is up to 65k. 

Beier takes the main pot and loses ~9k overall and is at 26k after the hand, while Grove had both players covered and is left with 3,500.

Event 1: Trending Up

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

Several players are moving their stacks in the right direction.

Helen Ellis

Helen Ellis (New York, NY) is up to ~80k.  Helen made a strong showing during the 2012 Borgata Poker Open, making two final tables (6th in HORSE and 5th in Ladies) and finishing 24th in the Championship event ($16,922).

Ron Schiffman

Ron 'Schifty' Schiffman (Cherry Hill, NJ) has built his stack to about 90k.  Ron prefers the 'other' games and is usually seen playing HORSE or Omaha tournaments where he has booked several final table.  But Schifty couldn't pass up the value of a $500,000 guaranteed event for only $500+$60.

Event 1: How Tweet It Is

$500 + $60 Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
 
Tweets from the last break as Level 7 (250/500/50 ante) is underway.

bruce frank ‏@misterflop

15.5/25k. Reentry window closed. Need to start the upward climb. Hope the air is clean and fresh when I get to the summit 

Antonio Payne ‏@Anthony_1Payne

I'm going to crush the Borgata nightly or bounce back big tomorrow in the B day of the 500k guarantee #OrBoth

Michael Marder ‏@MMarder86

42.225k/25kss coming back to 250/500/50. Plan to continue torturing man in 8 seat all day, #jbl for him. #BFPO1

Event 1: Killer Table

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

(l-r) Farley, Marji, Sun, Del Rossi & Inselberg

Our unofficial featured table has a lot of recognizable names and includes:

Paul Vacchio

Jarred Jaffee

Chris Farley

Melad Marji

Grace Run

John Del Rossi

Dave Inselberg

Event 1: Big Stack

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

Borovetz Building Towers

Mike Borovetz (Pittsburgh, PA) continues to build his stack and is up to 155k as players head to their second break of the day.  This is clearly one of, if not the biggest stack in the Borgata Poker Room.

Re-entry is now closed with the completion of Level 6 (200/400/50 ante).

Event 1: Lovely Ladies of the Felt

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

 Jennifer Sherwood (Newport News, VA)

Jamie Kerstetter (Monroe Twp., NJ)

Ashlee Reddick (Bronx, NY)

Event 1: Notable Late Registration

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

A lot of players are taking advantage of late registration including:

Leonardo Palermo
Mike Shasho
"Miami" John Cernuto
Jamie Kerstetter

Twitter Updates:

Michael Shasho ‏@mshasho22

Just sat down and doubled up with AA against KQ diamonds. Guy raises out of turn, I just call 600. Two callers I ship 26K he calls I win. 

Pierre Deissler ‏@PierreDeissler

Dear poker gods. Plz allow me to hit 1 of my huge draws vs my tbl except @cgrove24 #gonnagrind

DJ MacKinnon ‏@djmacjr

Already busted one bullet in this $500k gtd at Borgata, up to 31k on my second bullet though.

Level 6 (200/400/50 ante) is underway and is the last level for entry on Day 1A

Event 1: Aces vs Kings vs Kings

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

Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ) recounts a crazy hand where his opponent practically begged for two other players to fold becaue he didn't want his pocket aces cracked.

Ludwick believed the player when he said, "I got aces," and folded pocket kings.  A third player in the hand can't believe it when he too folds pocket kings.

"I don't know what he was afraid of," says Ludwick, "he had us practically drawing dead. What were we going to do, run a straight out on him?"

Event 1: Grouper Fish

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

(l-r) Deutsch, Valerstein, Hinds, Sinishtaj, Busse & Queen

Some heavy hitters catch up during the break.

The group includes WSOP bracelet holder Shawn Busse. Also in this "school of fish" are Jason Deutsch, Roman Valerstein, John Allan Hinds, Tony Sinishtaj, and Alex Queen.

Event 1: October Finalists Back at Borgata

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

The final two players from October's Borgata Deep Stack Double Play Open ($1,000 NL Tournament) are in today's field.

Roman Valerstein (Newtown, PA) won the event for $91,000 after defeating Mike Borovetz (Pittsburgh, PA) heads up.

Borovetz, who scored $50,000 in October, is off to another good start and has 95k on the first break saying, "I'm playing well and hitting hands."

Valerstein is slightly under his 25k starting stack and this is his first serious poker since his win.

"Just been chilling," he says, "I'll be playing the whole series and look to continue the streak."

Level 4 (Blinds 100/200) play continues.

Event 1: Break Time Tweets

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

Here's a look at what's floating through the Twitterverse:

alex rocha ‏@THE_ALEX_ROCHA
Just got to table for Event 1 Borgata Fall Open. Im a little late. We chillin tho. Excited to play. Gl everyone.

Robert Hwang ‏@ActionBobNJ

Playing day 1a Borgata 500k guarantee. 32k from 25k start at first break.

Gordon Eng ‏@Flashgordon227

For the 1st time in 5 years I may miss @BorgataPoker series :(

Event 1: Fortune 500

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

As we close in on the first break of the day, entries for Day 1A is closing in on the 500 mark. 

Re-entry is open for the first six levels, so there shouldn't be any trouble cracking the number.

Level 3 (Blinds 75/150) is winding down.

Event 1: Set of Kings no Good vs Two Flopped Straights

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

Three players love the flop of K♠ Q♥ 10♠, but only Darryl Boatwright (Sicklerville, NJ) is smiling after the three way all in.

Boatwright: A J (straight)
Tony "Muscles" Campagna: J 9 (straight)
Anonymous: KK (set of kings)

"It was only the third hand I played," laments Campagna (Manorville, NY), whose late registration turns into an early exit.

"I have to walkway after that," says a relieved Boatwright who dodged the full house and was glad nobody had spades.

Boatwright triples his starting stack to 75k, while the player with the set of kings is left with just a few chips.  His exit, a few hands later, comes while holding KK again.

Campagna says he won't re-enter today, but will be back for Day 1B after playing some of juicy cash games in the Borgata Poker Room.

Event 1: More Friendly Faces

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

Paul Leon (left) Watches Wertz Bet

Joe Wertz
Paul Leon
James "Suits" Salters
"Action" Bob Hwang
Mike Marder
Dave "Coldstone" Inselberg
Mike Borovetz
Fritz Stoner
Mickey Woll
Christine Brewer
Mike Lydon
A.J. DeNicco
Helen Ellis

Event 1: Borgata Championship Event Winners

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

Marji (left) Settles in as John Del Rossi Wins the Pot

A couple of former Championship Event winners are in the field, including Melad Marji (Brigantine, NJ), who took down this year's Summer Poker Open for $198,000.

As a local he says the Nor'easter on the heels of Hurricane Sandy are making things tough.

"My place is okay, but the neighborhood is destroyed," he says.

Also in the field is Alex Queen (Bethlehem, PA), the 2010 Spring Open Champion ($356,000).

Other trophy winners playing Day 1A at Borgata include:

Lana O'Brien
Torpekay Habashzada
Howard Wolper
John Allan Hinds
Jeff Hunter
Alex Rumbaugh
Joe Liberta
Brian Lemke
Tom Colomaria

Apologies to other stalwarts we may have missed!

 Alex Rumbaugh's Extreme Focus

Event 1: Today's Walkthrough

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

Lots of Borgata regulars are in the Poker Room.  A quick walkthrough reveals these friendly faces:

Cornel Cimpan
Brian Lemke
Mike "Little Man" Sica
Melad Marji
Alex Queen
Mike Marder
Nick Frangos
Lana O'Brien
Howard Wolper
Roman Valerstein
John LakatoshJohn Del Rossi
Jeff Hunter
Joe Liberta
Alex Rumbaugh
Travis Greenawalt

Event 1: Seat Fillers

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

 Mike Sica Always Front & Center at Borgata

Wednesday's Nor'easter made it a tough go for some folks, but the diehards are here and tables are filling up.

Day 1A of this $500,000 GUARANTEED tournament features 25k in chips and levels are 40 minutes long (Level 11+ 50 min.).  Re-entry is available for the first six levels and there's a $3,000 bonus to the end of day chip leader.

Cards are in the air as the 2012 Borgata Fall Poker Open is underway!

Borgata Fall Poker Open Tournament Leaderboard

Borgata Fall Poker Open Tournament Leaderboard 
Win prizes for the Borgata Fall Poker Open Tournament Leaderboard promotion

How To Qualify:
By participating in any Borgata Fall Poker Open event (November 8-21, 2012), players earn points based upon Borgata’s poker tournament leaderboard formula, which takes into consideration these criteria:

• Participation 
• Tournament Buy-In Amount 
• Total Event Entries 
• Place Finished

Players earn points for participating in tournaments and earn bonus points based on cashing in tournaments.
The Borgata Tournament Leaderboard will be updated throughout the tournament.

Prizes*:
1. $3,500 Entry into Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship (January 2013)
2. $300 Entry into Borgata $25,000 Guaranteed Friday tournament
3. $150 Entry into Borgata $7,500 Bounty Monday tournament
4. $150 Entry into Borgata $7,500 Bounty Monday tournament
5. $120 Entry into Borgata $15,000 Guaranteed Wednesday tournament
6. $120 Entry into Borgata $15,000 Guaranteed Wednesday tournament
7. $120 Entry into Borgata $15,000 Guaranteed Wednesday tournament
8. $120 Entry into Borgata $15,000 Guaranteed Wednesday tournament
9. $120 Entry into Borgata $15,000 Guaranteed Wednesday tournament
10. $120 Entry into Borgata $15,000 Guaranteed Wednesday tournament

Winners will be announced Monday, November 26, 2012.

* All "Entry" prizes must be used towards tournament entry. All prizes are non-transferable and have no cash value. Prizes must be redeemed for tournament entry by December 28, 2012 ($3,500 entry by January 28, 2013). 

Thursday, November 8

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

11AM: Event 1A - $500 + $60 Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
             $500,000 GUARANTEED 

• Players start with 25,000 in tournament chips 
• Levels 1-10: will last 40 minutes each | Levels 11+: will last 50 minutes each 
• Players may Re-Enter through Level 6 
• 2-Day event with two starting days.  Day 2 begins Saturday at 12PM
• $3,000 will be subtracted from the prize pool and awarded to the chip leader at the end of Day 1A; $3,000 will be subtracted from the prize pool and awarded to the chip leader at the end of Day 1B. 

7 PM: Event 23 - $150 + $30 + $50 Double Green Chip Bounty NLH (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