Event 25: Mark Wahba - 1st Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Mark Wahba - 1st Place - $14,073

Mark Wahba is the Event 25 first place finisher taking home $14,073.

He was the big stack most of the tournament, made some sick calls, and grinded it out at the final table, waiting for his spots then capitalizing.

Mark was supposed to leave this morning but begged his friend and ride home to play this tournament that started at 12pm. Good thing his friend agreed.

It's now 5am and the tournament is over. Mark is driving home 8 hours to Cleveland right now.

That ride will go much quicker since he has $14,073 to keep him warm and awake.

Mark is a student at Cleveland State University.

Congratulations to our winner Mark Wahba.

Event 25: Chris Grove - 2nd Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Chris Grove - 2nd Place - $7,740

The big hand for Chris Grove was when his pocket fives found a miracle straight on a board of 7-3-4-8-6.

Chris was way behind chip leader Jansen who had 9-9 going into the five card showdown.

Once Chris won that hand, it was smooth sailing into second for $7,740.

Event 25: Marco Jansen - 3rd Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Marco Jansen - 3rd Place - $4,456

The German born Marco Jansen was the chip leader for most of the final table.

At one point he had 1.5 million in chips.

His play was taxing at times and he negotiated himself into third place after knocking out several players with big starting hands.

Event 25: Mike Matrone - 4th Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Mike Matrone - 4th Place - $3,753

Mike Matrone woke up to A-Q of clubs and shipped his stack all in.
Marco Janzen insta-called as he was holding pocket Aces.

Board:J-9-7-6-K.

"The guy woke up to Aces. What can you do?" said Matrone.

Mike's second final table of Borgata Winter Open. Congratulations!

Event 25: Onofrio "Frank" Reina - 5th Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Onofrio "Frank" Reina - 5th Place - $2,815

Frank got an Ace three hands in a row. He shoved the first two without any callers. The third time he called off his stack up against Marco Janzen's (chip leader) pocket Queens.

Board of: 10 6 J 2 K wasn't what Frank wanted to see as his A-3 didn't connect.

Frank played 4 events during Borgata Winter Poker Open and cashed in two.

He had a lot of fun and I assume will be back.

Event 25: Francis "Doc" Dougherty - 6th Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Francis "Doc" Dougherty - 6th Place - $2,346

Doc waited for a big hand, looked down at Queens and got it in good.

Unfortunatley Frank Reina played K-10 off and hit a King on the board of:

A-K-3-10-7.

Doc was pretty upset since he had the best hand pre-flop and it didn't hold up.

Event 25: Robert Avram - 7th Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Robert Avram - 7th Place - $1,876

Robert Avram is out in 7th place at the hand of Mark Wahba's pocket Kings.

Robert held 9♦ 10♦, picked up a ton of outs on the flop, and shoved all in. Wahba called.

Flop: 4♦ 10♣ 7♦

Turn: Brick
River: Brick

Avram scrams for $1,876

Event 25: Ha Not Laughing - 8th Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Vimy Ha - 8th Place - $1,407

Vimy Ha lead out under the gun with pocket fives and was smooth called by Mike Matrone.

Flop came 6-2-4 so Vinny shoved all in with his pair and gutterball.

Matrone snap calls with 8-8 over pair to the board and wins the pot.

Vimy enjoyed the chip lead during this tournament and now will enjoy $1,407 for 8th place.

Event 25: Abe Out - Gordon Done - 9th Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Abe Gordon - 9th Place - $1,055

Abe played well throughout Event 25 but just came up short at the final table.

His A-10 all in couldn't run down Opponent's A-J.

Abe will take home $1,055 for his 9th Place finish tonight.

Event 25: Battaglia Busted - 10th Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Jack Battaglia - 10th Place - $938

What Jack Battaglia accomplished tonight was virtually statistically impossible. He rode a very short stack for over 6 hours all the way to the final table of ten.

He seemed to miraculously get big hands at the right time and when he was all in, he won. Orbit after orbit Jack somehow survived.

Mark Wahba has been playing with him most of the day and agreed that Jack's feat was nothing "short" of spectacular.

His luck ran out when Jack's A-K got called by A-8 and Opponent saw an 8 in the window which held up.

Event 25: Joanna Leban LeBusts - 11th Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

It was nice to meet Joanna Leban tonight who was down as short as seven big blinds with just a few tables to go.

She battled back and played great making the right folds and reads at the right times.

Congratulations as Joanna was our Last Woman Standing.

Got her chips in good with JJ but a bigger stack with A-10 called and spiked an Ace on the flop.

Joanna replayed the hand and her move but with five people at the table there wasn't anything she could do.

Joanna will pocket $938 for her 11th place finish.

Event 25: Fetzko Busto - 12th

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Robert Fetzko (Johnstown, PA) had quad fives earlier but ran out of luck when his A-10 ran into a larger stack's A-K. Robert raised pre-flop, A-K shoved and Robert called.

When the cards flipped Fetzko saw he was drawing thin and didn't connect on the board.

He'll go out in 12th place for $938.

Players are on the final table bubble and have taken a ten minute break.

Event 25: Sequeira Sequestered - 13th

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Jeff Sequeira had 130,000 and lost 116,000 of it when his A-Q got run down by A-9.

His parting hand though was Q-4 up against A-4.

Board: 5-2-A-4-6

Jeff wants me to take his picture not for his 13th Place finish but when he finishes first.

13th Place gives Jeff $821.

Event 25: Sica Shuffles Off - 14th Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

It's mucked around to Mike "Little Man" Sica whose on the Dealer button with A-6.

Mike's short with 50,000 and there's 13,000 in blinds and antes.

He shoves and runs into Aces of Frank Reina.

Aces hold and Mike is out in 14th place for $821.

Good luck on the weight loss bet Mike.

Thanks for being a good sport.

Event 25: Bob Haavind - 15th Place

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Bob Haavind - 15th Place - $821

It was a good run for Bob Haavind who took a bad beat when his A-Q flopped an Ace then his Opponent rivered a wheel with pocket 3-3's.

"That was the hand that did me in" said Bob.

After being severely crippled, Bob was forced to shove all in with 9-6 and this time his Opponent had A-Q and the board ran clean.

Bob finished in 15th Place for $821

Event 25: Coolest Protector Of BWO

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Frank Reina & "Buddy" striking same pose

He bobbles up and down and talks!

Frank made this card protector he calls, "Buddy" from an old pen.

The marker even talks when you push him saying, "Thank you very, very much. Thank you so much."

We're down to 15 players.

Blinds: 3000 / 6000 with 500 antes.

Event 25: Quadruples Up With Quad Fives

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Robert Fetzko (Johnstown, PA)
5-5-5-5

Robert Fetzko has pocket fives and flops a set.

He shoves his last 6,000 into the middle, still up against two players.

Bob Haavind was holding A-Q and another Opponent had Q-6.

Opponent says to Bob, "You might have quad fives again" referring to when Bob had quad fives against Joanna Leban earlier.

"Turns" out it was Robert Fetzko who hit quad 5's this time. Got it on the turn.

He's now up to 140,000, basically quadrupling-up on his quads.

Robert has hit quads before but never this close to the end of a big tournament.

Event 25: Fazio Finito

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Frank Fazio Jr. (King of Prussia)

Frank's A-K runs into Bob Haavind's A-A.

Frank pushed for remaining 30,000 and Bob called.

16th place earns Frank $704.

Event 25: Pass The Provolone

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

While playing hand for hand there are two all-ins at two tables.

Yeeman Kitzerow is all in against Marco Jansen.

Mike "Little Man" Sica's A-J is all in against Bob Haavind's big stack with K-K.

While dealer is counting the chips and waiting for pre-flop action to finish, Kitzerow tables A-2 up against Jansen's 7-9.

Board of K-K-9-8-5 puts Yeeman out. With 26,600 going into the hand it's not official until...

Mike Sica's A-J cracks Haavind's kings as the flop falls: Q-A-4
Meaningless turn card 10 and river 6 doubles up Sica.

That's makes Yeeman the bubble, and Joanna Leban the Last Woman Standing.

Remaining 18 players are in the money.

Sica was so charged up he yelled out, "Finally I can holler from beyond. Pass the provolone!"

Down to two tables of nine.

Blinds: 2500 / 5000 with 400 antes.

Event 25: Stuck

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Tournament has been stuck on twenty players for a half-hour.

The shortest stack folded A-Q three times then got lucky with garbage hands.

In the last blind battle shorty flopped a diamond flush holding A-5.

Earlier Frank Reina shipped it with AA and Marco Jansen folded 9-9 pre-flop.

One away from the bubble.

Two away from the money.

Event 25: Chipleader Vimy Ha

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Vimy Ha - Chip Leader - 210,000

Closing in on the bubble as Vimy Ha knocks out Tony Antonious and wins a nice side pot in the process.

Scary action flop and turn: Q♠ Q♥ 7♠ 2♠

Antonious was all-in pre. Just big blind Vimy and small blind still battling.

River: 6♥

Vimy had no fear and bet big. Small blind goes in the tank and finally folds.

Vimy tables 6♦ 6♣ . He just rivered a boat.

Antonious had A♠ 5♣ and went out in 22nd place for no cash.

With that pot, Vimy has the undisputed chip lead with 210,000.

Second in chips is Marco Jansen with 175,000.

Event 25: Who Will Be Last Woman Standing?

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Joanna Leban (Manhattan, NY) 58,000

Yeeman Kitzerow (Virginia) 53,000

Let the cat fight begin. We're down to two women and both want the title of Last Women Standing.

Joanna seems most confident as she has several of these titles under her belt already.

Yeeman is behind by 5,000 but ready to make some moves.

Both women are at different tables and getting closer to the money.

Event 25: One Sica Prop Bet

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Mike "Little Man" Sica & James Boyle
203 lbs. vs. 268 lbs.

James Boyle and Mike Sica are sitting next to each other in Event 25.

The two best friends are looking to help each other out and win some money in the process.

Prop bets have always been part of poker and this one has some meat on it.

The bet: Whoever loses the most weight from December 7th - July 1st (in time for the WSOP at Rio) wins the loot.

A couple months ago, the boys stripped down to their boxers and officially weighed in.
Picture too graphic to show for a family friendly blog. Take my word for it, we'd have to get FCC approval. Big time wardrobe malfunction.

Boyle: 268
Sica: 203

Great bowling scores guys!

Sica said Boyle is laying him 1 1/2 to 1 pounds which means for every 30 pounds Boyle loses, Sica has to lose 20.

I think Jason Young either brokered the deal or is holding the cash, or is just laughing.

Good luck to both "losers" and may the best man win.

Of course if you both drop a ton of weight and eat healthier, you both win.

Event 25: One Punch = Three Knockouts

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Fran Doc (Philadelphia, PA)

Frank Reina from Elizabeth, NJ called me over announcing a big hand. Frank wasn't involved so I'm guessing 3-bust-outs on one hand is putting a smile on his face.

Fran Doc had everyone covered and the best hand.

There were two short stacks that shoved, then Fran, then the big blind had a decision.

Everybody tabled their cards. Fran's KK vs. 99 vs. KJ vs big blind's QQ.

Board fell: J-5-K-6-5

Fran's Full House scooped a 110,000 pot and knocked out three players.

As we get closer to the money everyone still playing is happy with the triple knock-out.

Event 25: Double Up Gift

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Robert Avram (Gaithersburg, MD) flopped top two pair when his A-K saw K-8-A.

Opponent had A-4 and came along for the ride.

Turn 7, River 2, gave Avram the much needed and appreciated double up.

Robert, who works and watches his kids when he's not playing poker, got some ribbing from the table. Some started singing happy birthday as they felt he just received a beautiful gift.

Event 21 Day 4 Recap

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Two WSOP bracelet holders returned for day four, but Jeffrey Papola was the first to depart in 37th place.  Gavin Smith made it all the way to 21st place before busting out. 

Or Abramov began the day as chip leader, but things didn't go his way and he was eliminated in 24th place.  Roz Quarto led the field most of days two and three, but day four she met her Waterloo and nothing went right for her.  The final blow was when her pocket Queens fell to King-Ten.  She finished 23rd. 

The best-laid plans of mice and men....

The plan for day four was to play five 75-minute levels, with ten minute breaks between each, then take a dinner break at about 6pm.  Return from dinner and play until down to the final ten.

Just before the end of the fifth level of the day, Jack Schanbacher busted out in 12th place.  With just 11 players remaining, they opted to continue into the next level and keep playing until one more was gone.  That one was Matt Ezrol, who busted in 11th place about seven minutes into 25k/50k blind level.

The final ten players bagged and tagged their chips and called it a night.  Seats were drawn for the final table and they will resume play at 11am Friday and play until someone has all 21,540,000 chips in play. 

These are the final ten players sorted by chip counts:
 Seat - Player - Chips
6 - Vadim Shlez - 4.406 million
10 - LJ Sande - 3.723 million
2 - Trevor Savage - 2.913 million
9 - Bobby Suer - 2.680 million
5 - Osagyefo Greene - 2.041 million
8 - Gil Sacks - 1.595 million
1 - Steve Ryan - 1.258 million
7 - Pat Carney - 1.141 million
4 - Tom Hu - 968k
3 - Allan Vrooman - 834k

Here's a reminder what they're playing for:

Place Amount
1   $533,210
2   $310,273
3   $189,611
4   $156,286
5   $126,407
6   $103,425
7   $ 82,740
8   $ 63,204
9   $ 43,669
10 $ 28,729

Event 25: Dinner Break

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

39 players remain as they compete for the $14,000 top prize. The average stack is 48k and play resumes at 8:15 pm.

Here's what they're playing for:

Entries: 186
Total Buy-In: $48,360

Place-Amount

1 $14,073
2 $7,740
3 $4,456
4 $3,753
5 $2,815
6 $2,346
7 $1,876
8 $1,407
9 $1,055
10-12 $938
13-15 $821
16-18 $704

Final Table Seating and Chip Counts

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship     

 Vadim Shlez - Chip Leader

The clock was stopped with 1 hour 7:06 minutes remaining in the level.   The final ten players bagged and tagged their chips and the staff redrew seats for the final table.  They will return at 11am Friday to finish it out and see who walks away with over half a million dollars.

Final Table

Seat - Player - Chips
1 - Steve Ryan - 1.258 million
2 - Trevor Savage - 2.913 million
3 - Allan Vrooman - 834k
4 - Tom Hu - 968k
5 - Osagyefo Greene - 2.041 million
6 - Vadim Shlez - 4.406 million
7 - Pat Carney - 1.141 million
8 - Gil Sacks - 1.595 million
9 - Bobby Suer - 2.680 million
10 - LJ Sande - 3.723 million

11th - Matt Ezrol

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

The frantic bust outs continue with Matt Ezrol moving all-in (878k) with AK vs the pocket 8s of Trevor Savage.

Savage flops an 8 for a set and sends out Ezrol in 11th place ($28,729) to set the final table.

Matt Ezrol
$28,729

12th - Jack Schanbacher

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship    

 Jack Schanbacher

Jack Schanbacher got all-in holding pocket 9s against the big stack of Vadim Shlez, who held AK.  The board came A 5 3 5 7 and Vadim paired his Ace to take the pot.

Jack Schanbacher finished in 12th place, earning $28,729.

13th - Tony Campagna

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship   

Tony Campagna shoved from the hijack for 466k, then Osagyefo Greene called from the cutoff.  After the button opted out, Gil Sacks (sb) moved in over the top for another 690k.

 Tony Campagna

Osagyefo tanked for several mintues.  Eventually Trevor Savage called for the clock.  Osagyefo's time ticked away without him acting and his hand was declared dead.

Osagyefo Greene in the tank as Gil Sacks looks on

 Tony held pocket 8s and was trailing Gil's pocket Aces.  The board came T 4 2 Q 3 and was no help to Tony.  He was eliminated in 13th place, earning $20,685.

14th - Aryeh Grunewald

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Arey Grunewald moves all in for 600k and is called by Bobby Suer.

Grunewald: J 10
Suer: Q Q

The board brings 4 clubs and Suer wins with a flush, taking his stack to 3.1 million.
Grunewald is out in 14th place ($20,685).

Arey Grunewald
$20,685

15th - Max Gurevich

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Max Gurevich
$20,865

Tom Hu opens the betting to 80k (700k behind) and Max Gurevich moves all in for 600k
Hu let's fate decide is fate and flips a nickle. It lands on heads and Hu calls.

Hu: A 7
Gurevich: A 10

Flop: 3 8 7
Turn: 3
River: 3

Hu wins the hand with a full house and takes his stack to 1.3 million, while Gurevich is out in 15th place.

Lucky Nickle for HU (Heads Up!)

Schanbacher Doubles; Grunewald Short

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship   

Jack Schanbacher got all-in pre-flop holding KQ and in bad shape against Aryeh Grunewald's dominating AQ.  The board came K 7 7 4 9 and Jack doubled up with Kings-up.  He's got over 1.5 now, while Aryeh was left with ~300k.

16th - Daniel Buzgon

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship   

After Gil Sacks raised on the button, Daniel Buzgon moved his short-stack all-in from the big blind. 

 Daniel Buzgon

Gil held 87 suited and Daniel was actually ahead with Q6, but the board came A 5 3 3 7 and Gil paired up on the river to take the pot.

Daniel Buzgon finished in 16th place, earning $14,250.

17th - JC Moussa

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship   

 Play resumed after the break with blinds of 20k/40k with 4k antes.

Bobby Suer raised to 100k from the button and JC Moussa shoved from the small blind for 675k on top.  Bobby called, showing AQ.  JC held AJ and was dominated.

 JC Moussa

The board came T 7 3 8 K and Bobby took the pot.  He's up to ~2.2 million.

JC Moussa finished in 17th place, earning $14,250.

Double, Double; Sande Leads

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship  

Matt Erzol opened for a raise and Gil Sacks called from the small blind.  The flop came T♥6♣4♣ and Gil led out for 90k.  Matt called.  Turn was the A♥ and Gil bet 170k.  Matt called.  River was the 8♣ and Gil gave it some thought, then bet 260k.  After burning a little think-time of his own, Matt made the call.  Gil showed A♣T♣ for the nut flush.  Matt mucked.  Gil chipped up to ~1.8 million.

Over on table two, Bobby Suer was all-in pre-flop for 617k holding KQ off against JC Moussa's AK suited.  The board came 9 8 7 Q 8 and Bobby paired his Queen to double up to ~1.3 million.

Back on table one, Osagyefo Green was all-in against Allan Vrooman.  Osagyefo held KJ offsuit and was racing Allan's pocket 9s.  The board came K Q 7 2 2 and Osagyefo doubled up to ~1.7 million.

End of level and break-time.

LJ Sande is way out in front of the field with 3.04 million.  No one else has over 2 million.

Carney & Moussa Double

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Pat Carney doubles through Daniel Buzgone.

Carney: A 4
Buzgone: A 9


Flop: A 4 2

Carney wins the hand with two pairs and doubles to 440k
Buzgone drops to 220k

JC Moussa doubles through Aryeh Grunewald

Moussa: A K
Grunewald: 9 9

Moussa flops a king and doubles to 1.5 million
Grunewald drops to 1 million

Level (15k/30k/3k ante) is winding down.

That's So Sick, Bro

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship  

Jack Schanbacher opened for 67k, Tom Hu raised to 235k, then LJ Sande tanked for several minutes, eventually opting to fold.  When action got back to Jack, he shoved all-in for 494k total.  Tom called, showing pocket 6s.  Jack held AK off and it was race-time. 

LJ was already wishing he had not folded his pocket 8s.  Then the flop came A 8 8 and LJ would have flopped quads!  As it stood, Jack paired his Ace to take the lead.  The last two cards came 4 T and Jack doubled up to ~1.1 million.

18th - Daniel Shiff

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship 

Pat Carney raised from the small blind, Matt Erzol three-bet from the big, Pat shoved and Matt called.  Pat held pocket Jacks and was crushed by Matt's pocket Aces.  The board came 7 6 5 A 8 and Matt doubled up to over 1.6 million.  Pat was left short with less than 200k.

Daniel Shiff

Daniel Shiff was utg and short-stacked, so made his move.  Action folded around to Aryeh Grunewald, who made the call with AT.  Daniel held Q5 (I don't make this stuff up, folks).  The board came K 9 4 J 4 and Aryeh took the pot with Ace-high.  Daniel finsihed in 18th place for $14,250.

Ryan Gets River Value

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Shiff & Ryan, Intense Moment

Three players check the flop of 6♣ A♣ K♥

Turn: 7♥

Daniel Shiff leads out for 130k
Steve Ryan calls
JC Moussa folds

River: 5♣

Shiff checks
Ryan bets 355k (600k behind)

Shiff tanks and calls.

Ryan shows A♦ K♠ for two pairs
Shiff mucks

Ryan now has 1.4 million
Shiff drops to 440k

Odd Couple

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Vrooman & Sacks

Allan Vrooman and Gil Sacks are both quirky individuals who are rubbing each other the wrong way. Seated side-by-side, things finally boil over and Sacks demands the floor supervisors get involved.

Scotch tape is the solution and Sacks is now playing with his mouth shut taped shut.

Final 2 Tables

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

After the 18 player redraw and playing on final hand at 12k/24k, the players are on a 10 minute break.

The two biggest stacks are on opposite tables.

LJ Sande 2.2 million
VadimShlez 1.9 million

Here's the seating for the final two tables. Play resumes at 15k/30k/3k ante.

Table 1

Seat-Name

1 Osagyefo Greene
2 Allan Vrooman
3 Gil Sacks
4 Trevor Savage
5 Vadim Shlez
6 Daniel Buzgone
7 Pat Carney
8 Matt Ezrol
9 Tony Campagna


Table 2

Seat-Name

1 Max Gurevich
2 Aryeh Grunewald
3 Jack Schanbacher
4 Daniel Shiff
5 Steve Ryan
6 Tom Hu
7 LJ Sande
8 Bobby Suer
9 JC Moussa

Table 1

19th - William Heger

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship 

William Heger (Union City, NJ) open-shoved utg and action folded around to Vadim Shlez in the big blind, who called the short-stack in the dark, then rolled over...pocket Kings.

William Heger

William held KJ and was in bad shape.   The board came 7 5 4 K 7 and Vadim took the pot with a full house.  William took 19th place and $12,181.

With 18 players remaining, they drew seats and moved to the final two tables.  Then the level expired and they're taking a break.

Event 25: Payouts

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

Entries: 186
Total Buy-In: $48,360

Place-Amount

1 $14,073
2 $7,740
3 $4,456
4 $3,753
5 $2,815
6 $2,346
7 $1,876
8 $1,407
9 $1,055
10-12 $938
13-15 $821
16-18 $704

20th - Nick Ricciardi

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship 

Gil Sacks raised utg, LJ Sande called from the hijack, then Nick Ricciardi shoved from the big blind.  Gil got out of the way and LJ made the call, having Nick covered.

 Nick Ricciardi

Nick held AK suited and was racing against LJ's pocket Tens.  The board came Q 8 7 3 J and LJ's pair held to take the pot.  Nick busted out in 20th place, earning $12,181.

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship 

Tom Hu raised from the button and JC Moussa moved in from the big blind.  Tom called, showing A3 suited.  JC had him dominated with A8.  The board came A T 9 7 J and at first the dealer thought it was a chop, but Allan Vrooman pointed out that JC had made a Jack-high straight.  He doubled up to ~800k.

Matthew Erzol (bb) got all-in and called by William Heger (sb).  Matthew held pocket Kings and William held AQ.  The board came K J 3 7 6 and Matthew doubled up to over 800k.  William was left with less than 200k.

22nd - Brian Lamanna

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Brian Lamanna (350k) is all in with Q♥ Q♦ vs Bobby Suer's A♠ K♠.

Suer wins the race and flops a king to knock out Lamanna.

Brian Lamanna
$12,181

Quarto (2nd in Chips Day 4) Out 23rd

 Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship 

Bobby Suer got his short-stack all-in against Gavin Smith.  Bobby held pocket 7s and was racing against Gavin's AT off.  The board came 9 9 5 J 9 and Bobby doubled up to ~500k.

 Roz Quarto

Roz Quarto, who started the day second in chips, got all-in for her last ~200k when she shoved from the big blind over the top of Daniel Buzgon's opening raise.  Daniel called, showing KT suited.  Roz held pocket Queens and was way ahead, but that all changed when the flop came K T  6.  The 9 on the turn gave Roz some hope with a gutshot, but the river was a 5 and Roz was busted in 23rd place ($12,181).

Elimination:

23 Roslyn Quarto (Edison, NJ) $12,181

Abramov (Day 3 Chip Leader) Out in 24th

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Or Abramov

Gil Sacks opens from the button and Or Abramov, who was the chip leader heading into Day 4, moves all-in from the big blind for 450k. Sacks calls and is ahead:

Sacks: A 10
Abramov: J 3

Abramov doesn't get any help and is out in 24th place. "Wow, he snapped call," says LJ Sande, "no disrespect, I'm impressed."

Sacks says, "if I thought about it I might fold," as he stacks 1.2 million chips.

Elimination:

24 Or Abramov (New York, NY) $12,181

Ricciardi Shakes Up Leaderboard

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship  

In the last hand before the break (and during the break) a huge pot developed on table three.

Four players saw the flop of 5♠4♠2♣.  Action checked to Or Abramov (middle position) who bet 80k.  Max Gurevich (button) raised to 188k, then Osagyefo Greene (sb) called.  Nick Ricciardi (bb) shoved for 462k on top.  Or folded quickly.  Max tanked for a bit, then let it go.  Osagyefo also gave it some thought, then folded.

The level had ended and they were already a couple of minutes into their ten minute break.  After some cajoling, Nick showed his hand - 7♣6♠ - for an open-ended draw and two overs to the board.  No pair.  Osagyefo says he folded pocket Tens.

Nick was still stacking chips after the break was over, but it comes to just over 1.3 million.

After the break, play resumed with blinds of 12k/24k and 3k antes.

Here are some rough chip counts as of the break for the leaders:

Trevor Savage - 2.1 million
Tom Hu - 1.65 million
Aryeh Grunewald - 1.6 million
Allan Vrooman - 1.55 million
Nick Ricciardi - 1.3 million
Vadim Shlez - 1.3 million
Gavin Smith - 1.2 million
Steve Ryan - 1.2 million
LJ Sande - 1 million

Aces vs Kings

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Smith Cracks Aces

In early position Vadim Schlez opens for 45k (blinds 10k/20k), William Heger makes it 125k, and Gavin Smith 5-bet shoves for 595k.

Schlez folds and Heger quickly calls.

Heger: A♥ A♣
Smith: K♠ K♥

Smith flops the K♣ and doubles his stack to 1.3 million chips, while a clearly frustrated Heger drops to 285k.

Two More Departures

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship 

In a battle of the blinds, Or Abramov raised from the small and Ara Melikan shoved from the big.  Or made the call, showing A3 offsuit.  Ara had him dominated with AQ...then the board came T 4 3 7 9 and Ara paired his kicker on the flop to take the pot.  Ara Melikan took 26th place ($12,181).

Over on table 1, Shannon O'Grady was all-in holding pocket Queens and was racing against Vadim Shlez, who held AK.  The flop was a safe 7 5 2, but an Ace on the turn gave Vadim the bigger pair and the pot (river was a 9).  Shannon finished 25th ($12,181).

Eliminations:

26 Ara Melikan (Scarsdale, NY)
25 Shannon O'Grady (Farifax, VA)

Eye On the Prize

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Place-Amount

1 $533,210
2 $310,273
3 $189,611
4 $156,286
5 $126,407
6 $103,425
7 $ 82,740
8 $ 63,204
9 $ 43,669
10-12 $ 28,729
13-15 $ 20,685
16-18 $ 14,250
19-27 $ 12,181

Event 25: In the Field

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

More than 100 players in the field including:

Little Man Sica
James Boyle
Gene Castro
Chris Reslock

3 Quick Knockouts

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Just back from break and Peter Ippolito and Bill Pilossoph are the first two players to hit the rail. That's followed by the all-in of Brian Kim with pocket 5s who's called by Aryeh Grunewald who's holding KJ.

Grunewald hits trip kings to take his stack to 1.5 million and Kim is out in 27th.

Eliminations:

29 Peter Ippolito (E. Meadow, NY)
28 Bill Pilossoph (Presto, PA)
27 Brian Kim (Mays Landing, NJ)

Sacked Aces Bounce Back

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Gil Sacks is all-in with A♥ A♣ vs the pocket 6s of Max Gurevich. Sacks has one foot out the door when a 6 flops, but is back in business when the A♦ hits the turn.

Sacks doubles his stack to more than 500k.

Sacks Tells his Tale

Sande Smiling at the Beach

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

LJ Sande

The new chip leader is LJ Sande who's up to 2.1 million. Sande got AA and KK on the first couple of hands. The pocket kings held up against Jeff Papola who was the first elimination of the day in 37th place.

Players are back from break and blinds are up to 10k/20k/2k ante.

31 - Hook, 30 - Kovaci

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Table 2 sees back to back casualties when Chalie Hook is all-in for 205k with 88 and doesn't overcome 10 10.

Two hands later Mirsad Kovaci (185k) has A♠ Q♦ vs 5♥ 5♦ of Max Gurevich. Gurevich flops a set and Kovaci is out in 30th place.

Eliminations:

31 Chalie Hook (Philadelphia, PA) $10,802
30 Mirsad Kovaci (Allentown, PA) $10,802

Mirsad Kovaci

Event 25: Another Trophy up for Grabs

$260 + $40 NL (1 Re-Entry)

The penultimate event of the 2011 Borgata Winter Poker Open is underway. Starting stacks are 10k in chips, levels last 30 minutes and players can re-enter the tournament once through the first 6 levels.

Blinds are 25/50 and the cards are in the air!

33 - Bergeron & 32 - Wessley

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

After Craig Bergeron goes out 33rd ($10,802), Adam Wessley (Witchita, KS) is all-in for 386k with pocket jacks against the AJ of Patrick Carney.

Carney flops an ace and Wessley is out in 32nd place ($10,802).

Eliminations:

33 Craig Bergeron (Farmington Hills, MI) $10,802
32 Adam Wessley (Witchita, KS) $10,802

Quarto Taking Hits

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Roslyn Quarto, who began the day second in chips, has lost more than half her stack. First her aces were cracked (lost 500k) and then she lost set over set (another 300k).

Quarto says she's calm and handling the bad beats well as her stack has gone from 1.4 million to 600k but is still an average chip stack.

Early Eliminations

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Jeff Papola

There's been a couple of short stack double-ups but the first elimination of the day is Jeff Papola (New York, NY - 37th/$9,653), which is a bit surprising as he began the day 14th in chips with 603k.

Eliminations:

37 Jeff Papola (New York, NY) $9,653
36 David Ivers (Tarpon Springs, FL) $10,802
35 Rich Lyndaker (Lowville, NY) $10,802
34 Dean Scharf (Suffern, NY) $10,802

Lyndaker lost a race and doubled-up Daniel Buzgon who held 55 vs Lyndaker's AQ.

Scharf was a great Cinderella story as he played in the Saturday Super Satellite qualifier for $230 and turned it into nearly $11,000. "Not too bad," he says while standing in the payout line with his wife Wendy and son Ryan.

Ryan, Dean & Wendy Scharf

Live from the Poker Room

Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

The 37 returning players are in a new setting, the Poker Room, but the goal is the same: The Borgata Winter Open Championship and the $533,210 first prize.

4 players start with more than one million chips with Or Abramov leading the way. David Ivers returns as the short stack with 123k.

Blinds start at with 8k/16k/2k ante.

Cards are in the air!

Championship Event Chip Counts

Borgata Winter Poker Open
Event 21: $3,300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em
January 30 - February 4, 2011

Entries: 718
Total Buy-In: $2,369,400

End of Day 3 Chip Count Leaders:
1. OR ABRAMOV (NEW YORK, NY): 1,687,000
2. ROSLYN QUARTO (EDISON, NJ): 1,426,000
3. TREVOR SAVAGE (THOROFARE, NJ): 1,392,000
4. OSAGYEFO GREENE (CHARLOTTE, NC): 1,108,500
5. TOM HU (OAKTON, VA): 987,000
6. GAVIN SMITH (LAS VEGAS, NV): 973,000
7. MAX GUREVICH (STATEN ISLAND, NY): 928,000
8. PATRICK CARNEY (SCRANTON, PA): 902,000
9. NICHOLAS RICCIARDI (PALM BEACH, FL): 898,000
10. ARYEH GRUNEWALD (JACKSON, NJ): 829,400
11. ALLAN VROOMAN (GREENVILLE, NC): 709,000
12. DANIEL SHIFF (AVENTURA, FL): 685,000
13. BRIAN LAMANNA (LAS VEGAS, NV): 640,000
14. JEFFREY PAPOLA (NEW YORK, NY): 603,000
15. RICHARD LYNDAKER (LOWVILLE, NY): 565,000
16. MATTHEW EZROL (COCONUT CREEK, FL): 556,000
17. ANTHONY CAMPAGNA (MANORVILLE, NY): 532,000
18. STEVE RYAN (NEW YORK, NY): 512,000
19. VADIM SHLEZ (MANALAPAN, NJ): 492,000
20. LEONARD J 3RD SANDE (NEW HAVEN, CT): 476,000
21. JACK SCHANBACHER (PITTSBURGH, PA): 470,000
22. JEAN CLAUDE MOUSSA (BOSTON, MA): 420,000
23. WILLIAM HEGER (UNION CITY, NJ): 400,000
24. DEAN SCHARF (SUFFERN, NY): 348,000
25. GILBERT SACKS (BALA CYNWYD, PA): 333,000
26. WILLIAM PILOSSOPH (PRESTO, PA): 309,000
27. PETER IPPOLITO (E MEADOW, NY): 297,000
28. ARA MELIKAN (SCARSDALE, NY): 283,000
29. BRIAN KIM (MAYS LANDING, NJ): 281,000
30. DANIEL BUZGON (MARLTON, NJ): 278,000
31. ROBERT SUER (DANA POINT, CA): 238,000
32. MIRSAD KOVACI (ALLENTOWN, PA): 205,000
33. CHARLES HOOK (PHILADELPHIA, PA): 190,000
34. CRAIG BERGERON (FARMINGTON HILLS, MI): 181,000
35. SHANNON OGRADY (FAIRFAX, VA): 167,000
36. ADAM WESSLEY (WICHITA, KS): 167,000
37. DAVID IVERS (TARPON SPRINGS, FL): 123,000

Event 24 Champion - Antonius

$170 +$30 NL (2 Re-Entry)

Nashaat Antonius (Redington Shores, FL)

$24,904

Event 24: 2nd Place - Richard Fremaint

$170 +$30 NL (2 Re-Entry)

Richard Fremaint (Brick, NJ)

$14,003

Event 24: 3rd Place - Edwin Lau

$170 +$30 NL (2 Re-Entry)

Edwin Lau (Philadelphia, PA)

$8,816

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3

TODAY IN THE POKER ROOM

11A - Event 21: $3,300 + $200 Championship No Limit Holdem
Day 4

12P - Event 25: $260 + $40 No Limit Hold'em

• 1 Re-Entry
• 10,000 in starting chips
• Levels 1-6: each will last 30 minutes Levels 7+: each will last 40 minutes
• 1-day event

6P - Event 58: $100 + $20 No Limit Hold'em

• 10,000 in starting chips
• Levels last 20 minutes
• 1-day event