It took two days for the Borgata Poker Open's first $1000 plus buy-in tournament to conclude, but when the dust settled is was Martin Matranca (Miami, FL) who claimed the trophy for Event 6 along with a $48,595 pay day. Matranca bested Troy Skinner (Safford, AZ) heads up, along with a star studded field throughout the two days. "I was really fortunate...and very lucky, and I'm extremely happy to have finally gotten one. I always wanted one of these," as Matranca picks up the trophy for first place with a smile.
Matranca had re-entered this event, and after first busting ended up at the same table he had just left. Matranca felt that was a stroke of luck for him because of the prior image he had left the table with. Midway through the event (after being top three in chips), Matranca experienced, "a monster five-bet bluff which I lost." He mentioned this normally would have thrown him off his game and expedited a quick exit, but he battened down the hatches and continued towards his goal of recouping the lost chips.
It was a bold all-in that won Matranca the tournament, after an even eye-popping call from Skinner. Skinner felt like his ace high was good on a Kc Kh 8c 4d 3c after Matranca had shipped it, and made the call with over 100 big blinds. Skinner's A 5 was narrowly bested by the A 7 of Matranca, and the heads up play was done after three hands. Before disposing of Skinner, Matranca had to navigate a final table consisting of Lee Childs, Michael Linster, and Jospeh McKeehen.
The event attracted 167 entrants, and carried a total buy-in of $167,000. John Dibella (Westchester, NY) was the chip leader coming into day two. Dibella was coming off a million plus win at the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure, and was one of the favorites coming back. Skinner was second in chips when they bagged after day 1, while Matranca sat at the chip average. Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler also made the second day, heading a quality field.
Martin Matranca eclipsed his total tournament winnings ($31,000) with this win alone, and with the additional $45,595 now sits just under $80,000 lifetime earnings. Matranca's face should be remembered as he plans to continue his good fortune throughout the rest of the Borgata Poker Open.
Final Table Results
- Martin Matranca (Miami, FL) $48,595
- Troy Skinner (Safford, AZ) $26,728
- Jospeh McKeehen (North Wales, PA) $15,389
- Lee Childs (Alexandria, VA) $12,959
- James Martini (Incline Village, NV) $9,719
- Andrew Egan (Hockessin, DE) $8,100
- Josh Brikis (Murrysville, PA) $6,480
- Michael Linster (Island Park, NY) $4,860
- Gheorghe Gradinaru (Chicago, IL) $3,645
- Eric Beren (Dallas, TX) $3,240
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