John Hinds continues to assert himself with 13 players remaining.
Hinds called the 125k raise of Roger Lussier and maintained control of the pot through the whole hand. Calling Lussier's 150k bet off an 8-5-4 flop and then a 175k bet with an ace on the turn, Hinds then set up a raise on the river. After a queen came off, Lussier bet 225k and Hinds calmly put in a raise of 625k and Lussier folder. Hinds then showed 10-5♣ to pick up the pot and vault up to 2.6 million.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Event 5: Lucky 13
Event 5 - $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
A short stacked player with just about 7 or so big blinds (about 400k or so in chips) puts his remaining chips in the middle from late position. Ki Joon Park (NY, NY) makes the call from the big blind and flips over A♦9♥, while his opponent flips over A3. Park hits the 9 on the flop, and 4th and 5th streets do not bring any help to his opponent, who busts out in 14th place. There are 13 players left now in Event 5.
A short stacked player with just about 7 or so big blinds (about 400k or so in chips) puts his remaining chips in the middle from late position. Ki Joon Park (NY, NY) makes the call from the big blind and flips over A♦9♥, while his opponent flips over A3. Park hits the 9 on the flop, and 4th and 5th streets do not bring any help to his opponent, who busts out in 14th place. There are 13 players left now in Event 5.
Event 5: Hinds Taking Control, Nyugen Stays Alive
Back to back hands proved to bring some excitement to the table.
John Hinds had his big blind raised to 150k from the button by Larry Samet. Hinds made the call and saw a A-A-6 flop hit the board. Hinds checked and Samet bet 225k but Hinds took a few seconds and went all-in. Samet quickly folded and Hinds pushed up to 2.1 million. Hinds has been slowly taking command of the table.
On the next hand, Danny Santiago bet out to raise Chin Nguyen's big blind. Nguyen fired back going all-in. Santiago made a quick call and Nguyen was not happy. Santiago showed AQ♣ against his A5. But in the end it was Nguyen celebrated as he spiked a 5 on the river and raised his chipstack to approximately 1 million.
John Hinds had his big blind raised to 150k from the button by Larry Samet. Hinds made the call and saw a A-A-6 flop hit the board. Hinds checked and Samet bet 225k but Hinds took a few seconds and went all-in. Samet quickly folded and Hinds pushed up to 2.1 million. Hinds has been slowly taking command of the table.
On the next hand, Danny Santiago bet out to raise Chin Nguyen's big blind. Nguyen fired back going all-in. Santiago made a quick call and Nguyen was not happy. Santiago showed AQ♣ against his A5. But in the end it was Nguyen celebrated as he spiked a 5 on the river and raised his chipstack to approximately 1 million.
Event 5: Movin' On Up...
Event 5 - $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
Blinds have gone up to 30k/60k/5k ante, and we are now down to 14 players in Event 5. The next pay jump will be at 12 players, who will be taking home at least $3,743.
Event 5: Don't Cut Me Off
Event 5 - $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
With the blinds at 25k/50k/5k ante, Justin Nasatir (Washington, D.C.) makes it 125k to go from the cutoff seat. Ki Joon Park (NY, NY) calls from the big blind. The flop brings 9♣10♥J♦. Park checks and Nasatir bets about 200k. Park makes the call. Fourth street is the 3♥ and both players check. The 4♠ comes on the river, and Park then leads out with 350k. Nasatir tanks for a bit before letting go of his hand. After the hand Park sits at around 1.7 million in his stack, while Nasatir drops down to about 850k.
With the blinds at 25k/50k/5k ante, Justin Nasatir (Washington, D.C.) makes it 125k to go from the cutoff seat. Ki Joon Park (NY, NY) calls from the big blind. The flop brings 9♣10♥J♦. Park checks and Nasatir bets about 200k. Park makes the call. Fourth street is the 3♥ and both players check. The 4♠ comes on the river, and Park then leads out with 350k. Nasatir tanks for a bit before letting go of his hand. After the hand Park sits at around 1.7 million in his stack, while Nasatir drops down to about 850k.
Event 5: Don't Raise His Big Blind
Josh Hinds decided to raise from the hijack seat and Danny Santiago decided to take a stand and pushed all-in. Hinds made the call and showed A9 and Santiago was behind with 4-5.
Fate stepped in for Santiago as a 4-5-6 flop hit the board giving Santiago a stranglehold on the hand. With a J on the turn and 7 on the river, Santiago doubled up around 950k.
Fate stepped in for Santiago as a 4-5-6 flop hit the board giving Santiago a stranglehold on the hand. With a J on the turn and 7 on the river, Santiago doubled up around 950k.
Event 5: Lussier Doubles Up
Roger Lussier (Long Island, NY) has doubled up with 15 players remaining.
Danny Santiago raised pre-flop and both Larry Samet and Lussier called.
On a flop of 9-2-3, the players checked to Santiago who bet 200k. Samet folded and Lussier re-reaised another 240k risking his tournament. Santiago called and flipped up JQ and Lussier showed 9-10 holding top pair.
An 8 gave Santiago a gutshot straight draw but Lussier hit another 9 for trips. Lussier now stands at 1.4 million.
Danny Santiago raised pre-flop and both Larry Samet and Lussier called.
On a flop of 9-2-3, the players checked to Santiago who bet 200k. Samet folded and Lussier re-reaised another 240k risking his tournament. Santiago called and flipped up JQ and Lussier showed 9-10 holding top pair.
An 8 gave Santiago a gutshot straight draw but Lussier hit another 9 for trips. Lussier now stands at 1.4 million.
Event 5: Redraw and Chip Leaders
With 18 players left, seats were redrawn.
Here are some of your chip leaders:
John Hinds - Greenville, NC - 1.99 million
Peter Herold - Brooklyn, NY - 1.5 million
Danny Santiago - New York, NY - 1.3 million
Leonardo Palermo - Toms River, NJ - 1.3 million
Here are some of your chip leaders:
John Hinds - Greenville, NC - 1.99 million
Peter Herold - Brooklyn, NY - 1.5 million
Danny Santiago - New York, NY - 1.3 million
Leonardo Palermo - Toms River, NJ - 1.3 million
Event 5: Klafter Doubles Again
Rob Klafter continues his attempted comeback with another double-up.
Klafter pushed and Larry Samet who has now become one of the larger stacks in the tourney declared "I have to call" and flipped up K♣Q♠. Klafter showed AJ♦.
A harmless board of 3-4-6-8-6 was run out quickly by the dealer and Klafter moves to 700k with the win.
Tables had been previously consolidated down at 19 players remaining in tonight's tournament.
Klafter pushed and Larry Samet who has now become one of the larger stacks in the tourney declared "I have to call" and flipped up K♣Q♠. Klafter showed AJ♦.
A harmless board of 3-4-6-8-6 was run out quickly by the dealer and Klafter moves to 700k with the win.
Tables had been previously consolidated down at 19 players remaining in tonight's tournament.
Event 6 - It's a Wrap...for now
Event 6 - $1000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
With 27 players left and the clock stopped with 40 minutes remaining in Level 13 (1k/2k/300 ante)...play has concluded for the night. The players remaining in Event 6 will return at 1pm for Day 2 of the tournament. Below are some of the chip counts after the players have bagged and tagged their stacks. Our chip leader is John Dibella (Westchester, NY) with 278,000 in chips.
Dibella won the $10k buy-in main event of the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure back in January 2012 for $1,775,000...and so far is in great shape to take down the lion's share of Event 6 of the 2012 Borgata Poker Open.
Below are some of the other chip counts (in no particular order) of the remaining 27 players, based on the labels on their bagged chips. The average chip count is 92,777 according to the clock. The complete list of chip stacks, as well as seating assignments, will be posted in the morning.
Troy Skinner - 251,500
Allen Kessler - 28k
Lee Childs - 35,800
Josh Brikis - 30,800
Miguel Borrera - 67,500
Adam Hui - 60k
Mike Linster - 114,400
Kazu Oshima - 71,500
Ruslan Dykshteyn - 148,700
Mircea Ionescu - 131,900
Troy Skinner - 251,500
Gherghe Gradinaru - 238,100
Martin Matranea - 94,800
With 27 players left and the clock stopped with 40 minutes remaining in Level 13 (1k/2k/300 ante)...play has concluded for the night. The players remaining in Event 6 will return at 1pm for Day 2 of the tournament. Below are some of the chip counts after the players have bagged and tagged their stacks. Our chip leader is John Dibella (Westchester, NY) with 278,000 in chips.
Dibella won the $10k buy-in main event of the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure back in January 2012 for $1,775,000...and so far is in great shape to take down the lion's share of Event 6 of the 2012 Borgata Poker Open.
Below are some of the other chip counts (in no particular order) of the remaining 27 players, based on the labels on their bagged chips. The average chip count is 92,777 according to the clock. The complete list of chip stacks, as well as seating assignments, will be posted in the morning.
Troy Skinner - 251,500
Allen Kessler - 28k
Lee Childs - 35,800
Josh Brikis - 30,800
Miguel Borrera - 67,500
Adam Hui - 60k
Mike Linster - 114,400
Kazu Oshima - 71,500
Ruslan Dykshteyn - 148,700
Mircea Ionescu - 131,900
Troy Skinner - 251,500
Gherghe Gradinaru - 238,100
Martin Matranea - 94,800
Event 5: Quad Aces good for Klafter
Rob Klafter (Long Island, NY) ended his opponent's night in style. Both players were very short stacked and Klafter flipped up AK vs 8-10♣. The flop came out A-A-6 giving Klafter trips. A nine on the turn gave his opponent a gutshot straight draw but the river ace sealed the deal.
The players had exactly the same chip stacks causing the elimination and Klafter doubled to 500k. 23 players remain.
The players had exactly the same chip stacks causing the elimination and Klafter doubled to 500k. 23 players remain.
Event 5: Sokol Doubles
Aces were good to Seth Sokol as he got it in pre-flop against Larry Samet (Wellsley, MA) holding AQ.
Samet hit a queen on 4-Q-5 flop but got no help as two sixes hit the board. Sokol doubles to 1.15 million and Samet falls to 280k.
The tournament is now down to three tables and 27 players remaining.
Samet hit a queen on 4-Q-5 flop but got no help as two sixes hit the board. Sokol doubles to 1.15 million and Samet falls to 280k.
The tournament is now down to three tables and 27 players remaining.
Larry Samet and Seth Sokol (Staten Island, NY)
Event 6 - Hooked again
Event 6 - $1000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
Action folds around to David Fox (Coram, NY), who shoves in his remaining 18k from mid-late position with 10 10. Unfortunately he runs into JJ, the same hand that crippled him earlier. The King high board brings no help for Fox, and he heads to the rail. Sorry Dave, better luck in the next one. 29 players remain in Event 6, top 18 make the money.
Event 5: Play Resumes
Play has resumed in Event 5 with the blinds at 15k/30k with a 5k ante and 32 players remaining.
The tournament is scheduled as a one day event so it will play to a conclusion tonight.
The tournament is scheduled as a one day event so it will play to a conclusion tonight.
Event 6 - Chainsaw Can't Beat the Snowmen
Event 6 - $1000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler (Huntingdon Valley, PA) raises from late position. Josh Brikis (Pittsburgh, PA) goes all-in for his remaining 27,600 from the big blind. Kessler hesitates a bit before calling. Kessler flips up A♠Q♠ but is slightly behind the 8♦8♥ of Brikis. We're off to the races, with Brikis about a 52% favorite to win the hand pre-flop. The board shows 5♣10♠10♣6♣J♣ by fifth street and Brikis' snowmen hold up to double his stack.
Event 5: Chip and a Chair
Andy Santiago (Bensalem, PA) has crippled John Racener going into the break. Santiago's 8-6 and flopped top pair and held against Racener's second pair with 7-5. After the countdown and color-up, Racener was left with one 25,000 chip and Santiago goes to 660,000.
Andy Santiago (Bensalem, PA)
Event 6 - Stack Em High
Event 6 - $1000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
The current chip leader in our lovely $1000 + $90 tournament is John Dibella (Westchester, NY) with about 220k in chips. We have 20 minutes left at the 800/1600/200 ante level and we are playing until around 2am tonight. However, if we are at 28 players when 2am arrives, we will continue play until we are down to 27 players (final 3 tables) according to the floor staff.
Event 5: Blind Faith
Adam Brager (New York, NY) was on life support about a half hour ago and made his second double-up on one of the funniest hands of the tournament.
Brager went over the top all-in against Chin Nguyen (Silver Spring, MD). Nguyen had made a blind raise on Brager and insisted he had still not seen his cards. But with Brager being so short, Nguyen made the call without looking.
The two players then took turns flipping over the cards. Nguyen turned over the A♦, Brager flipped over 3♥ , Nguyen J♣, and Brager Q♥. The table was in hysterics as the hand unfolded.
Brager managed to run out a flush and continued his comeback screaming "Victory" with his hands in the air.
Ironically, Brager then tripled up holding AQ vs. 95 vs. J10 with a river queen miraculously reaching the 270k chip mark after being down to 10k.
Brager went over the top all-in against Chin Nguyen (Silver Spring, MD). Nguyen had made a blind raise on Brager and insisted he had still not seen his cards. But with Brager being so short, Nguyen made the call without looking.
The two players then took turns flipping over the cards. Nguyen turned over the A♦, Brager flipped over 3♥ , Nguyen J♣, and Brager Q♥. The table was in hysterics as the hand unfolded.
Brager managed to run out a flush and continued his comeback screaming "Victory" with his hands in the air.
Ironically, Brager then tripled up holding AQ vs. 95 vs. J10 with a river queen miraculously reaching the 270k chip mark after being down to 10k.
Adam Brager (New York, NY)
Event 6 - Fox's Fish Hooks Flushed
Event 6 - $1000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
Blinds are at 800/1600/200 ante, with 30 gentlemen grinders remaining. The player in the hijack makes it 4100 to go and the cutoff calls. David Fox (Coram, NY) slides 47,400 towards the middle of the felt. The player in the hijack tanks for about a minute before pushing his stack towards the middle, and the cutoff quickly folds, but not before showing his Ace face up. Fox tables J♦J♣. The player in the hijack seat flips over A♦9♠. The board runs 8♠4♠3♠6♣2♠ and the hijack seat makes a 9 high flush on the river to knock Fox down to about 18k in chips.
Blinds are at 800/1600/200 ante, with 30 gentlemen grinders remaining. The player in the hijack makes it 4100 to go and the cutoff calls. David Fox (Coram, NY) slides 47,400 towards the middle of the felt. The player in the hijack tanks for about a minute before pushing his stack towards the middle, and the cutoff quickly folds, but not before showing his Ace face up. Fox tables J♦J♣. The player in the hijack seat flips over A♦9♠. The board runs 8♠4♠3♠6♣2♠ and the hijack seat makes a 9 high flush on the river to knock Fox down to about 18k in chips.
Event 5: Holm Going Home Tonight
Mike Holm (Chicago, IL) called Leonardo Palermo's (Toms River, NJ) massive all-in raise and the race was on with Holm holding AK vs 55.
Holm hit the king on the flop but Palermo also hit a set and ended his night in 48th place. Holm cashed for $1,018 and has now cashed in his first three events played in the Borgata Poker Open Series. Palermo chipped up to 440,000.
Holm hit the king on the flop but Palermo also hit a set and ended his night in 48th place. Holm cashed for $1,018 and has now cashed in his first three events played in the Borgata Poker Open Series. Palermo chipped up to 440,000.
Event 6 - Inside the Mind
Event 6 - $1000 + $90 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
Blinds are at 600/1200/200 ante. Lee Childs (Alexandria, VA) is in the hijack seat and shoves his remaining 15k chip stack into the middle. The big blind looks him up and they both table their cards:
Childs: KQ
player in big blind: AQ
The board runs out 8♦J♠K?5♥9? and Childs catches his miracle King to stay alive in the tournament. What a luckbox. I can say that cuz he's my buddy...and also cuz he is a luckbox. :) He is now sitting at around 32k in chips. Some other notable chip stacks in this tournament:
Allen Kessler (Huntingdon Valley, PA) - 78,500
Josh Brikis (Pittsburgh, PA) - 43,000
Mike Linster (Long Island, NY) - 111k
John Dibella (Westchester, NY) - 163k (currently in the chip lead)
Event 5: A Tilted Table
Table 2 in Event 5 has quite a tilt to it with three of the largest stacks in the tournament and a wall of talent. Jason Nablo (Niagara Falls, NY), 2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up John Racener (Port Richey, FL) and Nick Drosos (Cleveland, OH) are all amongst your chip leaders and leaving the rest of the table a tough task to break through.
Nablo is currently at 1.1 million, Racener at 450k and Drosos is at 750k. 52 Players remain.
Nablo is currently at 1.1 million, Racener at 450k and Drosos is at 750k. 52 Players remain.
Jason Nablo, John Racener and Nick Drosos
Event 5 - Pop the Bubbly!!!
Event 5 - $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
After many close calls, jumping up from chairs...then sitting back on chairs, the bubble has finally burst on this baby, and the remaining 81 players are in the money. A player at the table gave me a quick recap of the hand where the player was eliminated to burst the bubble: 55 lost a race to 10J when the board ran AAJJ8 to give the player with more chips a full house (Jacks full of Aces) to give the remaining 81 players reason to cheer. The current chip leader is Mike Damico (Philadelphia, PA) with about 740k in chips. 2010 WSOP Main Event runner up John Racener (Port Richey, FL) is also still in this tournament with about 400k in chips.
Mike Damico (on the right) (Philadelphia, PA)
After many close calls, jumping up from chairs...then sitting back on chairs, the bubble has finally burst on this baby, and the remaining 81 players are in the money. A player at the table gave me a quick recap of the hand where the player was eliminated to burst the bubble: 55 lost a race to 10J when the board ran AAJJ8 to give the player with more chips a full house (Jacks full of Aces) to give the remaining 81 players reason to cheer. The current chip leader is Mike Damico (Philadelphia, PA) with about 740k in chips. 2010 WSOP Main Event runner up John Racener (Port Richey, FL) is also still in this tournament with about 400k in chips.
Event 1 Recap
Event 1 - $500 + $60 Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em
When Ben Bianco's pocket sixes won the race against Dan Wach's KQ, Bianco (Franklin Square, NY) claimed his first Borgata Open trophy, along with $309,196. "Day one, I got hit with the deck" he said. "I had a lot of big hands and people were giving me their chips." The home builder and semi-professional poker player claimed the largest single cash of his career.
Second place and $200,793 went to poker pro Dan Wach (Boonton, NJ). He played a solid game for three days, but came up just short of a win. Wach is more of a cash player, but couldn't pass up this event. He played a solid game, never being all-in and at-risk and behind -- until the last hand.
Despite the opportunity to re-enter, neither of the final two players needed to. Third place finisher Walter English (Washington, DC) works in real estate and plays poker recreationally. He busted out on day 1B when all in holding AK on an flop of A K x. His opponent had pocket Aces and English was busted. He took the opportunity to re-enter and it paid off nicely when he collected $131,492.
The 2012 Borgata Poker Open kicked of with a $1 Million Guarantee event with two starting days. With 3,705 entries at $500 + $60, the massive turnout generated total buy-ins of $1,852,500. That also put more than 92 million chips in play, which combined with the great structure, caused the two-day event to stretch to a third day. This event also featured a $10,000 bonus for end of day 1A & 1B chip leaders, which is usually reserved for the Championship event.
Listing all the notable players who entered would take days. Suffice to say that all the Borgata Regulars who could be here, were here. One notable exception is Ryan Eriquezzo (Danbury, CT). Eriquezzo is a tournament regular here but after winning the WSOP National Championship and his first bracelet this summer, he vowed to take six months off from playing poker. About his absence, he Tweeted: "Honoring a commitment made to myself/the people I love".
The top three finishers will all be back for the main event next week, but want to get some rest first "and a gin and tonic" said English with a smile.
"Awesome. They should do it every month." Bianco said about this new event. "The turnout was insane. Beating 3,700 players -- that's unbelievable."
Final Table Results
1 - Ben Bianco (Franklin Square, NY) - $309,196
When Ben Bianco's pocket sixes won the race against Dan Wach's KQ, Bianco (Franklin Square, NY) claimed his first Borgata Open trophy, along with $309,196. "Day one, I got hit with the deck" he said. "I had a lot of big hands and people were giving me their chips." The home builder and semi-professional poker player claimed the largest single cash of his career.
Second place and $200,793 went to poker pro Dan Wach (Boonton, NJ). He played a solid game for three days, but came up just short of a win. Wach is more of a cash player, but couldn't pass up this event. He played a solid game, never being all-in and at-risk and behind -- until the last hand.
Despite the opportunity to re-enter, neither of the final two players needed to. Third place finisher Walter English (Washington, DC) works in real estate and plays poker recreationally. He busted out on day 1B when all in holding AK on an flop of A K x. His opponent had pocket Aces and English was busted. He took the opportunity to re-enter and it paid off nicely when he collected $131,492.
The 2012 Borgata Poker Open kicked of with a $1 Million Guarantee event with two starting days. With 3,705 entries at $500 + $60, the massive turnout generated total buy-ins of $1,852,500. That also put more than 92 million chips in play, which combined with the great structure, caused the two-day event to stretch to a third day. This event also featured a $10,000 bonus for end of day 1A & 1B chip leaders, which is usually reserved for the Championship event.
Listing all the notable players who entered would take days. Suffice to say that all the Borgata Regulars who could be here, were here. One notable exception is Ryan Eriquezzo (Danbury, CT). Eriquezzo is a tournament regular here but after winning the WSOP National Championship and his first bracelet this summer, he vowed to take six months off from playing poker. About his absence, he Tweeted: "Honoring a commitment made to myself/the people I love".
The top three finishers will all be back for the main event next week, but want to get some rest first "and a gin and tonic" said English with a smile.
"Awesome. They should do it every month." Bianco said about this new event. "The turnout was insane. Beating 3,700 players -- that's unbelievable."
Final Table Results
1 - Ben Bianco (Franklin Square, NY) - $309,196
2 - Dan Wach (Boonton, NJ) - $200,793
3 - Walt English (Washington, DC) - $131,492
4 - Gary Ackerman (Collegeville, PA) - $111,946
5 - Brian Polito (Cranford, NJ) - $93,289
6 - Wendy Freedman (Las Vegas, NV) - $75,519
7 - Rob Klein (Niskayuna, NY) - $58,639
8 - Hobart Adkins (Ona, WV) - $42,646
9 - Tevy Wellins (Hollywood, FL) - $31,096
10 - John Alfera (Arnold, PA) - $20,435
Event 5 - The Never Ending Bubble
Event 5 - $350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
Seems like we've been stuck at 82 players for the past 3 days. A lot of raising and folding...raising, then folding to a re-raise, etc. You get the picture. There was one player with barely enough chips to cover the big blind. He was under the gun and shoves his remaining 24k into the middle. One player in mid position calls. Action folds around to Tony Abiyaghi (Jersey City, NJ) in the big blind, who asks the player in mid position for a chip count. Once he realizes the player in mid position also doesn't have much chips left, he announces he is all-in. The middle position player folds. Abiyaghi turns over A♣8♠ and his opponent tables A♠6♠. The flop come A♥8♥6♦ giving both Abiyaghi and the all-in player 2 pair, with Abiyaghi having the higher 2 pair. However, Abiyaghi's lead doesn't last long when the J♥ falls on the turn and the J♠ comes on 5th street, giving both players the same 2 pair with an 8 kicker. And so we play on...and on....
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