Event 1: Champion - Mike Dentale

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)                 

Mike Dentale's victory in this event is his first reported WIN in a poker tournament.  He's come close a couple of times and has many final tables, but this is his first-ever first-place finish.

 Mikey 'Unbelievable' Dentale

The first-place prize money of $57,267 is his third-largest career cash.  He considers himself a professional poker player (despite owning/running a window company) and is a regular here at Borgata.   To prepare for this series he took a month off, skipping the events at nearby Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods.  "I wanted to come in fresh" he said.

Apparently his strategy worked.  Despite being short-stacked for much of the final table, he never gave up and kept chipping away.  "I never doubled up, it was just grind, grind, grind". 

Mike plans to continue with that strategy, taking tomorrow off to rest, then returning to play the $1k No Limit event on Saturday.

Event 2: Brody Busts With A Smile

$300 + $50 NL

Adam Brody - 12th Place - $995

Adam Brody (Melville, NY) is the last man standing out of his 7 friends who played in Event 2 today. They each through in $100...add that to his 12th place finish and the kid didn't do bad for his first ever live no limit tournament.

Adam's been playing poker for years but this is his first no-limit live event ever.

His home game buddies (who have already driven home) are all part of a Borgata Spring Poker Open home battle (they created) where the winner gets a buy-in to the Championship Event.

Apparently they all chipped in some cash and whoever wins the most BSPO events earns the seat. Brody is in the lead.

Basically he just got blinded out - forced to play 3-4 off which didn't improve.

"I'm definitively gonna continue. Nice payout - good time" said a very pleased Brody.

Event 1: 2nd Place - Heck

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)                

Mike Dentale turned up the heat.  In a recent hand, it was limped to the flop of K J 6, where both players checked.  Turn was a Queen and David Heck checked, Mike fired 800k and David called. 

River was another little card and again it went check, 800k, call.  Mike said "King" and David replied "King's good" as he mucked his hand. 

Mike took the lead with over 13 million.  David dropped under 5 million.

 David Heck

The final hand came when Mike limped on the button and David shoved all-in from the big blind.  Mike snap-called, showing AQ offsuit.  David held K9 off and would need help to survive.

The board came T 8 6 2 2 and Mike took the pot and the win with Ace-high.

David Heck (Colts Neck, NJ) finsihed in 2nd place, earning $33,320.

David is a recreational player and has a few cashes to his name, but this is his highest placement ever and largest cash ever.  He sells lasers for a living. 

David will be taking his wife and two kids to Bermuda for vacation next week, so we won't be seeing him again during this series, but I'm sure we'll see his memorable name again in the future.

Event 2: Tension Broken

$300 + $50 NL

Kris Nunziata (West Chester, NY) ships his last 100,000 into a healthy pot, announcing "all-in".

Kris tables 10 10 vs. Opponent's A-K offsuit.

Kris outflops Opponent spiking a set. Ace on the turn gives Nunziata a straight sweat but relief comes as a nine hits the river.

"Thank you brother...Felt like I had the best hand and gotta go with my gut" said Nunziata.

13 players remain.

Blinds are 4000 / 8000 with 1000 ante

Event 1: Dead Heat

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)               

In the early stages of heads-up play, there has been a lot of 'call/check, let's see a flop' action.  On the rare occasion of a pre-flop raise, that usually takes the pot. 

Mike Dentale has managed to close the gap and is nearly even with David Heck in chips.  David still holds a slight lead, but the difference is less than half a million chips.

As a reminder, there are 18.175 million chips on the table.

Here's what's at stake:

1st pays $57,267
2nd pays $33,320

So technically, they're playing for $23,947...and the trophy.

Event 3: Seven Studs Remain

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

Mike Chobor - 8th Place

Leonard Begelman and Bill "Bumpereno" Munley teamed up to knock out Mike Chobor in 8th place.

Mike had the worst of it as his sevens over twos couldn't match up against Bill's Aces over Queens and Leonard's three Kings.

"We put him on a bus" said Bumpereno.

We're two players away from the money as top five get paid.

Event 1: Heads Up Play Underway

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)              

Heads-up play began with David Heck holding about 13 million chips to Mike Dentale's ~5 million.

Blinds are up to 150k/300k with 40k antes.

Event 1: 3rd Place - Perez

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)              

David Heck opened for 600k from the small blind.  Mario Perez announced he was all-in from the big. 

David called, showing KJ offsuit.  Mario was ahead with A9 suited.

The flop came T 9 6 extending Mario's lead to a pair of 9s.  "Any King!" called David.

Turn was an Ace.  "Queen!" cried David.  Lo and behold, the river was....a Queen!  David made Broadway to take the pot. 

 Mario Perez

Mario Perez (Hillsborough, NJ) finished in 3rd place, earning $20,362.

Mario only plays poker as a hobby.  His full-time work is in research at Novartis pharmaceuticals.  He's married with three children, the oldest of which is already in college and his son just got accepted to Penn state.

Hopefully the $20,000 he picked up today will help with that tuition.  After his excellent performance in this event, he'll be back to play again during the Spring Open, if he can manage the time.

Event 2: Ciampa Chompin At The Bit

$300 + $50 NL

Peter Ciampa - 330,000 Unofficial Chipleader

Ciampa chopped (say that three times fast) and was happy to take half the pot.

He's up to 330,000 with 19 players remaining. Yup, we're still stuck on 19.

"Wanna give a shout out to Elmont - comin from Ciampa."

The pivotal hand for Peter came when he made a masterful call hitting only a pair of sevens on the board.

Opponent shoved all his chips in, making a move with only K-10. Peter picked him off and improved on the river. He hasn't looked back since.

Event 1: 4th Place - Hayduk

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)             

David Heck opened for 500k from the button, then Jim Hayduk moved all-in from the small blind. 

David called, showing KJ of spades.  Jim had a small lead with the AT of diamonds.

 Jim Hayduk

The flop came 8 7 4 with two spades, giving the advantage to David.  The Queen of spades on the turn sealed the deal.  David took the pot with a flush.

Jim Hayduk finished in 4th place, earning $16,784.

Event 2: Chan With Chips

$300 + $50 NL

Daniel Chan - 290,000

Matt "Muffins" Mazzeo is sweating his boy Daniel Chan.

Muffins - "He's part of the takin-it-down Spring Poker Open crew".

With only 19 players remaining, Daniel has a nice stack to work with as he is among the chipleaders.

Blinds 3000 / 6000 with 500 antes.

Event 1: Hayduk Warned

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)             

Blinds increased to 120k/240k with 30k antes.

Mike Dentale moved in utg, David Heck folded his button, then Jim Hayduk tanked for a bit in the small blind.  He said "I really like this hand" and tossed his T8 suited face up on the able. 

Since Mario Perez had yet to act in the big blind, Jim was given a warning for exposing his hand with action pending.

Mario ended up folding his 53 offsuit anyway.   Mike Dentale is up to ~3 million and no longer the short stack.

Event 3: Reslock Goes Down Swinging

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

Mike Chobor makes the right call as his paired King scoops a pot and knocks out a player.

The very next hand...

James "Mailman" Paluszek hits a flush and knocks out Mix-game specialist Chris Reslock.

"That's only the second time I ever beat you" said Paluszek as Reslock gave him his chip marker.

Bill "Bumpereno" Munley saw Reslock was short stacked and wanted the Mailman to announce, "Down Goes Frazier" when he finished him off.

Paluszek had too much respect and instead graciously shook Reslock's hand.

"I was ahead on 6th street" exclaimed Chris as he headed off into the sunset.

With that knock-out we're down to a final table of 8.

Event 1: Heck Doubles Thru Hayduk

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)            

Jim Hayduk continued to play aggressively pre-flop, showing lone Aces to his victims.

When Jim open-shoved utg once again, David Heck called all-in from the big blind for 3.885 million.  His pocket 9s were racing against Jim's AT off.  The board came Q 6 5 2 7 and David's pocket 9s were good.  He doubled up to ~ 8 million.

Jim was left with ~1.2 million.

Event 1: Hayduk v. Perez Redux

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)           

Jim Hayduk tangled with Mario Perez in another battle of the blinds.  At the turn, the board read 9 6 3 8 with two diamonds.  Jim fired 1 million and Mario called quickly. 

River was an offsuit 3.  Jim announced he was all-in (about 1.5 million).  Mario folded.  He's down to 7.2 million.

Jim chipped up to roughly 5 million.

Event 3: Last Non-Stud Standing

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

Diana Seidman - Last Woman Standing

It all started for Diana Seidman (New York, NY) back in 1989 when she finished in fourth place at Foxwood in a mix-game tournament. She's been hooked ever since.

Diana's favorite game is Hi-Lo Omaha but of course she also likes Stud.

She's sitting on a 40,000 stack with 10 players remaining and is the last surviving woman.

Blinds - 3,000 / 6,000 with 500 ante

Event 1: Hayduk's the Ace-Man

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)          

Jim Hayduk keeps raising pre-flop, or three-betting after an opponent raises.  When they surrender to him, he shows a single Ace.  I watched four hands in a row (or close to it) where this same scenario played out.

Then Jim just completed the small blind and Mario Perez checked his option.  The flop came J T 9 with two hearts.

Jim checked, Mario bet 500k, and Jim open-folded his pocket 4s.   No Ace this time, but he had a pocket pair.

Mario showed 52 offsuit as he collected the pot.

Blinds have increased to 100k/200k with 30k antes. 

Baldy at Borgata

So I was one of nine at the table with the opportunity to eventually win a pot of gold...The contestants were super cool but underneath the veneer they were super hyped...I could tell that while they enjoyed my company and most of my stories their devilish mind was on the flop.. My entry money went quickly, too quickly..I was amidst pros...I played it off...Embarrassed how quickly my chips disappeared, I faded into the background and decided that my immediate skill was to update the "players" on the Flyers and Phillies...Yes, Lee was mowing em down.

I had a blast and hope that out of mercy alone that they insist I return...Now that I am not a virgin of the wonderful worldwide game of Texas Hold em. I can REST EASILY FOR MY NEXT ADVENTURE GOOD LUCK

BB

Event 2: Nunziata's Nines Net

$300 + $50 NL

Kris Nunziata - 150,000

Kris Nunziata (West Chester, NY) isn't afraid of second-in-chips at the table, Peter Ciampa (Long Island) with 220,000. "Hey, it's me and my buddy again" exclaimed Nunziata.

Kris faces a diamond heavy flop of 8-3-5 and says, "I have to bet. I like my hand. I like that flop." Ciampa folds and Kris kindly shows pocket nines. "I had overs" laughed Peter.

These two heavyweights have battled more than once at this table.

Kris confessed making a good chunk of his stack by cracking pocket aces not once, but twice.

Event 1: 5th Place - Zoldak

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)          

Blinds have increased to 80k/160k with 20k antes.

Mario Perez raised to 500k from the cutoff.

John Zoldak was in the small blind and gave it some thought, then moved all in.

David Heck (bb) folded what he later said was pocket 9s.

Mario called the all-in and tabled AT suited.

 John Zoldak

John was ahead and dominating with AK offsuit, but the board came T 6 5 A 8 and Mario took the pot with a pair of Tens.  He's now over 8.2 million.

John Zoldak finished in 5th place, earning $13,575.

Event 2: VIP Bows Out

$300 + $50 NL

Phong "VIP" Nguyen - 25th Place - $689

Phong Nguyen shipped his last 35,000 with K-J and was snapped by 10-10.

VIP was out flopped with bricks hitting the turn and river.

Phong felt he played good today despite the coin flip loss.

"The only mistake I made was when I was talked into folding pocket Jacks pre-flop against nines" said Nguyen.

VIP will be back for the Championship Event.

Event 1: 6th Place - Klein

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)         

Andrew Klein cutoff) got all-in pre-flop against Mario Perez (button).  Andrew held A4 suited and was dominated by Mario's AQ. 

 Andrew Klein

The community cards changed nothing and Mario's big stack got bigger.

Andrew Klein finished in 6th place, earning $11,107.

Event 3: Lost In The Mail

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

Jim "Mailman" Paluszek - Chip Leader - 88,000

Jim Paluszek shows Aces full of Jacks which is good enough to put a canceled stamp on his opponent and scoop an 80,000 pot.

Jim has worked at the post office for the past thirty years. With that knock out and the lead, we'll see if he can hold on and deliver a victory.

13 players remain.

Blinds are 2000/4000 with 400 antes

Event 1: Good Laydown??

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)         

Jim Hayduk is under-the-gun and open-shoves for ~3.1 million.  Action folds around to David Heck in the big blind, who looks at his card, caps them, then leans back in his chair.

He eyeballs Jim's stack as sees what the damage could be (he had Jim covered by ~1.7 million).  After a few seconds more, he open-folds his pocket Tens.  (This drew some surprised gasps from the onlookers.)

Jim showed just one card -- the Ace of Spades -- as he collected the pot.

Event 2: Bubble Finally Bursts

$300 + $50 NL

Rich Brancato In The Money

Patience pays off for Rich Brancato who turned an ace to knock out Rich Klein (Planview, NJ). Classic race as Brancato's A-K runs down Klein's 7-7.

Board ended up 2-2-8-A-6.

Disappointment for Klein while Brancato couldn't stop grinning. He's now up to 70,000. Good thing he folded those fours a few hands back.

Interestingly, since hand for hand, six short stack all-in's survived the bubble. Each had the best hand going in and the best hand held. Looks like the seventh time is the charm.

Event 1: 7th Place - Perka

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)        

Action folded to Krzysztof Perka in the small blind, who announced he was all-in.

 Krzysztof Perka

David Heck was in the big blind and asked for a count -- roughly 2 million.  David had him covered and called, showing pocket 9s.  Perka groaned when he saw the hand, as he held pocket 7s. 

The board came 6 5 2 Q 3 and David took the pot.

Krzysztof Perka claimed 7th place and $8,885.

Event 2: Sacks is Stacked

$300 + $50 NL

Gill Sacks 220,000

One of the chipleaders, Gill Sacks puts the pressure on the small blind with 1500 in and not too much behind. Gill finished 5th for $125,000 in the 2010 Borgata Winter Poker Open.

Gill chirps it up representing a monster while the table grows impatient.

After much deliberation, with the bubble looming, and hand for hand action, the small blind/small stack folds 4-4.

"I had you crushed", said Sacks bragging about a much larger pair.

Event 1: Back in Action

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)       

Play resumed after dinner with blinds of 60k/120k and 20k antes. 

To put this in perspective, an average stack of 2.6 million has fewer than 22 big blinds.  Of course there are only two payers with above-average stacks.  The other five players are below average.

Baldinger In The House

Brian "Baldy" Baldinger, co-host of the 10a-Noon (M-F) "Baldy & Harry" show, and his group of nine "friends" from 97.5 The Fanatic joined in the Borgata Spring Poker Open festivities.

The winner of this game will receive entry into the $500,000 Guaranteed Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship event (April 24-27).

Hopefully it will be a long time before Baldy provides a guest blog ...

Event 3: Seven Years For Seven Stud

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

Joe Marttine - Glad To Be Back

Seven years ago Joe Marttine played poker 48 hours straight then suffered health problems including a three month coma. This is only his second week back at the felt after his long hiatus.

Tables just condensed down to three and Joe is one of the shorter stacks. Joe took a couple hits against the only woman at the table and now says he's avoiding her. "Girls are always picking on the boys, some things never change" said Joe.

Blinds are 1200 / 2400 with 300 antes.

Top five get paid.

Event 2: Dinner Break/Bubble Time

$300 + $50 NL

The last hand before dinner break had one player eliminated, setting the remaining players at 28.

Normally play would continue until the bubble breaks (27 paid), but half the field was already out the door getting a head start on the 40 minute dinner break. That means one player will enjoy the dinner coupon, but won't like the taste of finishing just outside the money when back from break.

Chip Leaders:

Gil Sacks 205k
Peter Ciampa 202k
Stephen Reynolds 192k
John DeGeorge 140k
Kris Nunziatta 133k
James Lillis 130k
John Harvilla 125k
Joe Hanrahan 119k

Notable:

Rich "The Teacher" Brancato 50k

Brancato says tell the kids, "I'm hanging on."

Event 1: Dinner Time Chip Counts

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)       

The final seven players have taken off on a dinner break until 7:45p.  Here are the approximate chip counts:

Seat - Player - Chips
1 - David Heck - 3.55 million
2 - Jim Hayduk - 1.87 million
3 - Andrew Klein - 1.88 million
4 -
5 - Mario Perez - 4.86 million
6 - Mike Dentale -  1.98 million
7 - John Zoldak - 2.15 million
8 -
9 - Krzysztof Perka - 1.6 million

Event 1: 9th - Georgous; 8th - Moriello

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)      

Demetrios Georgous had blinded and anteed his way down to only 85k when he decided to move in.  Since the big blind is 100k, this wasn't even a call.

Then David Heck (cutoff) raised to 250k, which Jim Hayduk called from the button.  AJ Moriello was in the big blind and after giving it some thought, he moved all-in over the top for 770k straight.

Back to David, who decided to shove over the top of Moriello.  Hayduk opted out and the three hands were rolled over:

Demetrios - KJ
Moriello - A9
Heck - AJ

The board came A 7 3 8 Q and Heck's kicker played.  He took both the main and side pots.

 AJ Moriello & Demetrios Georgous

Demetrios Georgous finished in 9th place, earning $4,690.
AJ Moriello finished in 8th place, earning $6,787.

Event 2: Getting Hungry

$300 + $50 NL

40 players remain as the dinner break approaches. Blinds are 1,200/2,400/200 ante.

We expect play to tighten up as the money bubble is right around the corner. The top 27 cash ($689 minimum) and with the average stack of 68k (27 BB), there are a lot of short stacks that have less than 15 big blinds.

We'll update the leader board when the dinner bell rings.

Event 3: Thinning the Heard

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

The starting field of 47 is closing in on the half way point as 29 players remain.

Diana Seidman (New York) is the leader with 34k, while Kenny Merighi (Vineland, NJ) is right behind with 32k.

Seidman takes a nice pot with rolled up nines for a full house, nines full of twos. Will "Bumpereno" Munley (Throop, PA) is thrilled he missed his open ended straight and flush draws as he saved at least one, possibly two river bets. Munley is at healthy 18k as the short stacks are starting to dwindle.

The current level is winding down and players will be on a dinner break at 6:45 pm.

Event 1: Final Table Update

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)      

Another level has expired with no further fireworks.  Here are the final 9 players with some rough chip counts:

Seat - Player - Chips
1 - David Heck - 2.45 million
2 - Jim Hayduk - 2.355 million
3 - Andrew Klein - 1.885 million
4 - AJ Moriello - 1.24 million
5 - Mario Perez - 4.27 million
6 - Mike Dentale -  1.6 million
7 - John Zoldak - 2.85 million
8 - Demetrios Georgous - 315k
9 - Krzysztof Perka - 1.225 million

Play continued into the next level with blinds of 50k/100k and 10k antes.  With nine players remaining, the average stack is now just over 2 million.

Event 1: 10th Place - Mich

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)     

Dylan Mich made his stand with QJ, only to find that David Heck held pocket Aces.  The flop came T 5 3 and was no help to Dylan.

Dylan Mich

The turn was a 9 and gave him some hope with an open-ended straight-draw, needing a King or 8 to double up.  River was a 3, however, and Dylan's hopes were dashed.

Dylan Mich finished in 10th place, earning $3,085.

Event 1: 11th Place - Kleckner

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)      

AJ 'Chef' Moriello got all-in pre-flop with pocket deuces (a hand known as 'Little Joe' after his late brother Joe).  He was racing against the AQ of Dylan Mich.

The board came J 8 5 5 6 and 'Little Joe' held up.  AJ doubled up to ~1.8 million.

 Matt Kleckner

Matt Kleckner was all-in with pocket 4s against Mario Perez' pocket 8s.  The board changed nothing and Mario took the pot.  The stacks were very close and had to be counted down, but Mario had Matt covered.

Matt Kleckner busted out in 11th place, earning $3,085.

The final ten players drew for seats and moved to a single table.  Play has resumed.

Event 1: 12th Place - Urie

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)     

Blinds are up to 40k/80k with 10k antes. 

Krzysztof Perka open-shoved for ~700k, then Andrew Klein shoved for over 2 million.  Action folded around to David Heck in the small blind, who seemed agonized over his decision.  He opted out and it was heads-up.

Perka held AQ and dominated Klein's AJ.  The board came K T 7 A 9 and Perka doubled up to over 1.4 million.

 David Urie

David Urie got his short-stack all-in with KQ with action from Mike Dentale, who held AT.  The board was nothing but bricks and Mike took the pot with Ace-high.

David Urie finished in 12th place, earning $3,085.

Event 3: Payouts

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

Entries: 47
Total Buy-In: $14,100

Place - Amount

1 $6,154
2 $3,419
3 $2,052
4 $1,368
5 $684

Event 1: 13th Place - Buttacavoli

 $350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)  

Mario Perez (utg+1) squared off against Michael Buttacavoli (bb).  Mario's pocket 7s were racing agaist Michael's T8.

Michael Buttacavoli

The flop came 7 6 4, giving Michael more outs with a gutshot, but the last two came J Q and Mario took the pot.

Michael Buttacavoli took 13th place and $2,221.

Event 1: 14th Place - Olarnick

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)    

Daniel Olarnick got his chips in with AJ and was dominated by Thomas Balla's AQ.  The best hand held up and Daniel was done in 14th place ($2,221).

Daniel Olarnick

Mario Perez (cutoff) got all-in with AJ of hearts against the pocket 8s of Krzysztof Perka.  They were a virtual dead-heat.  The flop came K 6 2 with two hearts, giving Perez more outs with a flush draw.  The turn was the King of hearts, completing the flush for Perez. 

Perka needed a King or 8 on the river to win, but it was another 6, sending the double-up to Perez.  He's now over 1.4 million.  Perka was left with ~750k.

Event 2: Payouts

$300 + $50 NL

Entries: 263
Total Buy-In: $78,900

Place - Amount

1 $21,429
2 $12,628
3 $7,270
4 $5,892
5 $4,592
6 $3,827
7 $3,061
8 $2,296
9 $1,531
10-12 $995
13-15 $842
16-18 $765
19-27 $689

Event 1: 17th - 15th Places

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)   

Chii Ching Sun

The Last-Woman-Sitting, Chii Ching Sun busted out in 17th place, earning $1.530.  With her departure, it is all testosterone from here on.

Thomas Balla was dispatched in 16th place, earning $1,530.

Kian Kiarash exited in 15th place, earning $2,221.

Event 1: New Chip Leader

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)   

Jim Hayduk's luck has apparently turned.  David Heck was all-in with AK against Jim's pocket Jacks.  A King on the flop gave David the lead and the double-up.  He took the chip lead with over 2.8 million.

Jim Hayduk was left with ~1.25 million.

Event 1: 18th Place - Clark

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)   

After John Zoldak (button) raised, Wil Clark shoved his short-stack from the small blind.  John looked him up with pocket 4s.  Wil held Q6 and would need help.  The flop delivered when it came Q 2 2, giving Wil the lead with Queens-up.  The 3 on the turn meant nothing, but then a 4 fell on the river, giving John fours-full and the pot.

Wilton Clark finished in 18th place, earning $1,530.

Event 2: Chip Leaders

$300 + $50 NL

Sesso Sailing Along

Players are just back from a color-up break and playing Level 10 (600/1,200/200 ante).

The clear big stack is David Sesso (Chicago, IL) who's at 128k. Sesso is a poker pro who made a last minute decision to tag along with his buddies who were making the trip to Borgata. All three players in the group are still in the tournament.

Sesso says he was down to 5k in the early going, but back to back triple-ups gave him some breathing room. He then knocked out another big stack to crack the 100k mark.

Other big stacks include:

Dennis Zollo (Middletown, NY) 85k
John Harvilla (Minersville, PA) 84k
Gil Sacks (Bala Cynwyd, PA) 81k

This is the last 30 minute level. Starting with Level 11 (800/1,600/200 ante) time will be increased to 40 minutes.

Event 1: Redraw at 18

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)  

Eldar Markovich busted out in 19th place, earning $1,308.

With his departure, 18 players remain.  They drew for seats and moved to the final two tables.

Play continues with blinds of 25k/50k with 5k antes.

Event 1: So So Sick, Sica!

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)   

A sick, sick hand just took place on table one.

John Zoldak (utg) is the big stack and opens for 150k.

Action folded to Mike 'Little Man' Sica in the cutoff and he moved in for ~260k.

Ed Hwang (button) shoved for ~290k.

Andrew Klein (bb) gives it some thought, then moves all-in for 730k.

John Zoldak asks for the count and gives it some thought but then opts to fold his pocket deuces.

Both Mike Sica and Ed Hwang hold AK.  Klein was in the lead with pocket 9s.

The flop came A 4 3, giving Mike and Ed the lead with pairs of Aces.

Everything changed when a 9 hit the turn, giving Klein a set and the lead and leaving Ed and Mike drawing dead.

Interesting post-script to the hand is that a 5 came on the river, which would have given John Zoldak a wheel with his deuces and busted three players.  As it stood, however, Klein collected the pot.

Mike 'Little Man' Sica finished in 21st place.  Edward Hwang finished in 20th place.  Both players earned $1,308 for their efforts.

Event 1: Updated Leaderboard

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)   

End of level, time to color up the orange 1k chips.

21 players remain.  Average stack is over 865k.

Current leaders:
Jim Hayduk - 2.3 million
Mike Dentale - 2.145 million
Matt Kleckner - 1.7 million
David Heck - 1.5 million
John Zoldak - 1.4 million

These five players are the only ones over 1 million in chips.

Chii Ching Sun is the last woman sitting.  She's got ~600k.

Play resumed with blinds of 25k/50k and 5k antes.

Event 1: Dentale Dusts DiChiaro

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)  

Michael DiChiaro got moved to table three with Mike Dentale and was dispatched soon after.  DiChiaro got all-in with pocket 9s, only to discover that Dentale held pocket Kings.  The board changed nothing and DiChiaro was dusted in 23rd place ($1,308).

Mike Dentale chipped up to ~2.15 million, but is still second behind Jim Hayduk, who has ~2.4 million.

Elliott Zaydman got all-in with pocket 3s, running smack into Matt Kleckner's pocket 8s.  The better pair held up and Elliott was sent to the payout desk to collect $1,308 for 22nd place.

Event 1: Mayday for Maier

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry) 

On the turn with a board of 4 4 2 7, John Zoldak (bb) got all-in and called by Andrew Klein (button).  John's Q4 (trip 4s) had Andrew's A2 (two pair) drawing dead.  The Queen on the river was overkill, giving John the full house and the double-up.  He's now up to ~1.5 million.

Andrew Klein dropped down below 200k.

 Lana Maier

Lana Maier got all-in pre-flop against Matt Kleckner, who held pocket Queens.  Lana's A6 suited would need help for her to survive, but the board brought none.  The community cards ran out K 5 5 2 2 and Matt took the pot.

Lana Maier finished in 25th place ($1,308).

Tim Dougherty busted out in 24th place ($1,308).

Event 3: Unofficial Numbers

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

Registration is closed and 47 studs are in the field. That will put first place at more than $6,000 with five places paid. Once the cage verifies the numbers we will post the full payouts.

Event 1: Hold the Maio

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry) 

Anthony Maio got it in with AQ and was racing against Michael Buttacavoli's pocket Jacks.  The board came T 7 7 3 5 and no help for Maio, who was squelched in 26th place ($1,308).

David Urie got his chips in with A9 and was a small favorite against Michael Dichiario's KQ.  Michael took the lead when the flop came Q 9 4.  Turn was a Ten and changed nothing.   Then the ubiquitous Ace on the river saved David's tournament life.  He doubled up.

Mike Dentale has chipped up to ~1.4 million and claimed second place on the leaderboard.

Event 3: Friendly Foes

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

Townsend & Reslock

Compared to the break neck speed of No Limit Texas Hold'em, 7 Card-Stud is a relaxing stroll on a Sunday afternoon. And two of the area best stud players, Chris Reslock & Charlie Townsend, are taking the walk side-by-side in Event 3.

"Only friends in this game," says Townsend (Dagsboro, DE), who's sitting to the right of Reslock. "No, definitely not a rivalry."

This after Townsend and Reslock played stud poker heads-up for nearly three hours until Townsend finally won a 2008 title. The nature of the game and capped betting limits dictates that two evenly matched players can't force the action like they can in no-limit poker.

Reslock (Atlantic City, NJ) is a talented poker player in all games, evidence by his $1.7 million in career earnings. But Stud is one of his favorites, along with Pot Limit Omaha (PLO),
and earned him a coveted WSOP bracelet in 2007.

"Stud is geometrically more complicated than hold'em," says Reslock, who has 21 career wins, including two at Borgata, both in PLO. "There's more hidden information that can be deduced and more available information that can be integrated," he says about the thinking aspects of playing stud.

Townsend, like Reslock, cashes regularly at Borgata to go along with his eight career poker titles, three in stud. But if he's going to add another, he'll have to get past Reslock to do it.

Event 1: Miranda Not Right

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)  

Julian Miranda got his chips in with AK and was racing against pocket 8s.  The board came J T 2 6 9 and brought no help for Julian.  He finished in 27th place, earning $1,308.

The pace of departures has slowed somewhat, despite the fact that the all-ins keep coming.

Mike Sica was all-in with AT and dominated by AK, but the board double-paired, resulting in a chopped pot.

Tim Dougherty was all-in with pocket 8s and racing against Andrew Klein's J9.  The board came Q Q T 4 5 and Tim doubled up to ~400k.

Event 1: Hayduk On a Heater

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry) 

Alexy Penyevskiy finished in 30th place.

After a raise from Joe Udine utg, Jim Hayduk came over the top from the big blind.  They got all the chips in the middle and Joe was racing his A9 against Jim's pocket 4s.  Joe took the lead when he flopped a pair, but Jim four-flushed on the turn to claim the pot.  He's now up to almost 2 million chips.

Joe Udine finished in 29th place.

John Zoldak got his chips in with pocket Jacks, getting action from Ralph Deangelus, who held pocket Tens.  The Jacks held and John doubled up.  Ralph was left short-stacked and busted out soon after.

Ralph Deangelus finished in 28th place.

All three of these players took home $1,160.

With 27 players remaining, they are now seated at three 9-handed tables.  They've also reached the next money bump.  The next nine players who bust out will each earn $1,308.

Event 2: Unofficial Numbers

$300 + $50 NL

Registration is closed and the unofficial number is 263 players. That will put first place at more than $21,000 with 27 places paid. Once the cage verifies the numbers we will post the full payouts.

Event 1: No Shortage of Action

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)

Dylan Mich got all-in with JT suited with action from big stack Michael DiChiaro, who held A5.  The board came K T 5 Q 4 and Dylan doubled up.  He's up to ~945k while Michael dropped back to ~840k.

Todd Throckmorton busted out in 31st place.

30 players remain.  Average stack is over 605k.

Blinds are up to 15k/30k with 4k antes.

Jim Haduk has taken the chip lead with ~1.47 million.  Andrew Klein has fallen back into the pack.

Event 1: 36th - 32nd Places

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry) 

The money bump at 26th place seems to have opened the floodgates.  Five players have already busted out since play resumed from the break -- all earning $1,160.

Nashaat Antonious got his chips in good with AT, but big-stack Krzystof Perka called the all-in with a dominated T9.  Nevertheless, the board came K 9 7 J 6 and Perka took the pot with a pair of 9s.  Nashaat took 36th place.

Larry Gold open-shoved with pocket Tens, only to run into Michael DiChiaro's pocket Jacks.  The flop came Q J 9, giving Larry lots of outs, but the last two bricked off 7 2, and Larry was dispatched in 35th place.

Ed McCarthy couldn't survive another all-in and his chips were collected by AJ Moriello.  Ed collected 34th place.

Eugene Morgovsky busted out in 33rd place.

Thomas Macari took 32nd place.

31 players remain.

Events 2 and 3 Head Count

Registration is coming to a close for both of today's one day tournaments.

Event 2, NL, currently has 263 players, while Event 3, 7-Card Stud, has 45.

The Poker Room is packed with action with three tournaments in full swing, plus a ton of cash tables up and running. You can always keep track of the action by following Borgata's live game report.

Event 1: Break Time Leaderboard

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)

36 players remain in the hunt for this title and it is break time so they are breaking table five.

Andrew Klein looks to be the chip leader with ~1.2 million.

Jim Hayduk is a close second with ~1.17 million.

Lana Maier is holding onto third with 1 million.

Just before the break, Mike Dentale doubled up when his pocket Jacks held up against AJ "The Chef" Moriello. 

Ed McCarthy's T9 suited overcame a dominating K9 suited when the board came Q T 9 9 x.  Ed doubled up.

Event 1: Fireworks

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)

Dentale Ready to Explode

Mike Dentale (Brooklyn, NY) is one of the more passionate and emotional players in the room and today is no different. He's all-in with K♠ K♣ and has Chii Ching Sun (Merrick, NY) covered (250k), who's in bad shape with pocket 7s.

A seven in the window takes all the drama out of the hand and the wind out of Dentale's sails, as Sun wins the hand with a set of 7s. "If you hit a two outer, that's fine," says Dentale, "but don't keep talking about. It's bad poker etiquette."

Dentale is not only annoyed at the bad beat, but at what he perceives as excessive celebration. To Sun's credit, she's not backing down and defending herself as she doesn't think she's out of line.

Dentale drops to less than 500k, while Sun doubles to more than that. We're keeping an eye on this developing situation.

Blinds are up to 10k/20k/3k ante.

Black Coffee....

....And a Hard Roll

Stacy & Kim

No, James Brown is not performing this weekend at The Music Box, but the friendly associates are ready to serve you. From the Borgata Babes to dynamite dealers, players say Borgata poker is a top notch experience.

And while you won't find any hard rolls in Poker Room, you can always find hot buns at any of the hotel's fine dining experiences. Click here to see the menus at restaurants like Bobby Flay, Fornelletto and Sea Blue.

After a nice meal, check out The Music Box schedule, as Larry King is performing May 14th. Tickets are still available.

Event 3: Stud Action

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

The third Main Event of the day with a change of pace with the more leisurely 7-card stud.

Chris Reslock (Atlantic City, NJ), a WSOP bracelet holder (2007 - Stud) is in the field. Reslock is a Borgata regular with nearly $1.8 million in careeer earnings.

Players start with 10,000 chips and levels are 30 minutes long.

Event 1: Back in Action

$350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)

Hayduk Flooding the Field

The 43 remaining players are in the tournament area of the Poker Room and geared up for their shot at the $57,267 first prize. James Hayduk (Johnstown, PA) is the chip leader with 972k.

Other players of note include Mike Dentale (Brooklyn, NY), who begins the day 8th in chips (600k) and Mike "Little Man" Sica (28th - 326k).

Play resumes with the blind at 8k/16k/2k ante and there's 23 minutes left on the 40 minute level.

The average stack is 422k as the cards are in the air.

Event 2: Unofficial Chip Leader

$300 + $50 NL

Unlike Wednesday's re-entry tournament there are no second chances in Event 2. Steve Ryan (New York, NY) has already shown two people the door and has tripled his starting 10k stack

It's early, but it's safe to say that 30k is definitely one of the big stacks 45 minutes into the tournament.

Event 2: Second Chances

$300 + $50 NL

Dao Surviving Borgata

After a disappointing bust in Event 1, Dao Bui (Sterling, VA) took advantage of Wed. 3 pm Survivor tournament. She was one of six players who took home $2,000 for her $230 entry fee.

"My dream is to cash in every tournament," says Bui while settling in for Event 2.

There are tons of Super Satellite and Cash tournaments during the Borgata Spring Poker Open. The next Survivor is today at 3 pm. Bui is hoping to make a deep run in Event 2, but if not the Survivor is always a nice option.

Event 2: All Stacks Out

$300 + $50 NL

Salters Preparing to Enter Borgata's Poker Pantheon

Players are in the Poker Room for today's action as familiar faces Gordon Eng, Howard Wolper, James "Suits" Salters & Al Riccobono are in their seats.

This is the second Main Event of the series and later today (AKA early Friday morning), the first three champions (Events 1, 2 & 3) will be crowned.

Event 2 players are starting with 10,000 chips and levels are 30 minutes long. All stacks have been passed out, table signs are down, the button starts in the 10 seat and cards are in the air!

Thursday, April 14

Today's Events in the Poker Room

11AM: Event 2 - $300 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

• Players start with 10,000 in tournament chips
• Levels 1-10 will last 30 minutes each | Levels 11+ will last 40 minutes each
• 1-Day event

12PM: Event 3 - $300 + $50 Seven Card Stud

• Players start with 10,000 in tournament chips
• Levels last 30 minutes
• 1-Day event

3PM: Event 26 - $200 + $30 SURVIVOR No Limit Hold'em

• Players start with 10,000 in tournament chips
• Levels last 20 minutes each
• Approximately 1 in 10 will win $2,000 Cash
• 1-Day event

7PM: Event 27 - $150 + $30 No Limit Hold'em

• Players start with 10,000 in tournament chips
• Levels last 20 minutes each
• 1-Day event

Register for all events in the poker room.

Event 1 Chip Leaders (Start of Day 2)

Borgata Spring Poker Open

Event 1 - $350 + $50 Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em

April 13-14, 2011

Entries: 727

Total Buy-In: $254,450

END OF DAY 1 CHIP LEADERS

1. JAMES HAYDUK (JOHNSTOWN, PA): 972,000

2. DYLAN MICH (TUCKERTON, NJ): 828,000

3. LANA MAIER (BOUND BROOK, NJ): 772,000

4. KIAN KIARASH (NEW YORK, NY): 712,000

5. KRZYSZTOF PERKA (RIDGEWOOD, NY): 692,000

6. WILTON CLARK (MORRISTOWN, NJ): 691,000

7. ALBERTINO MORIELLO (SPRINGFIELD, NJ): 664,000

8. MICHAEL DENTALE (BROOKLYN, NY): 600,000

9. THOMAS BALLA (BELLEROSE, NY): 534,000

10. ANDREW KLEIN (OCEAN, NJ): 525,000

11. DAVID HECK (COLTS NECK, NJ): 511,000

12. JOSEPH UDINE (VOORHEES, NJ): 484,000

13. EUGENE MORGOVSKY (BROOKLYN, NY): 484,000

14. ANTHONY MAIO (JAMISON, PA): 478,000

15. EDMOND MCCARTHY (SOUDERTON, PA): 473,000

16. THOMAS MACARI (CENTEREACH, NY): 454,000

17. MICHAEL BUTTACAVOLI (VENTNOR, NJ): 438,000

18. DEMETRIOS GEORGOUS (LITTLE FALLS, NJ): 436,000

19. ILYA DYMENT (BROOKLYN, NY): 422,000

20. EDWARD HWANG (MAYS LANDING, NJ): 418,000

21. NASHAAT ANTONIOUS (REDINGTON SHORES, FL): 415,000

22. ALEXEY PENYEVSKIY (BROOKLYN, NY): 411,000

23. DAVID URIE (BETHLEHEM, PA): 378,000

24. RALPH DEANGELUS (BERLIN, MD): 366,000

25. LAURENCE GOLDSTEIN (MEDFORD, NY): 365,000

26. ERIC RONDON (BAYSHORE, NY): 345,000

27. ADAM AGAEV (BROOKLYN, NY): 331,000

28. MICHAEL SICA JR (N BRUNSWICK, NJ): 326,000

29. DANIEL OLARNICK (NEW YORK, NY): 324,000

30. MARIANO PEREZ (HILLSBOROUGH, NJ): 319,000

31. CHII CHING SUN (MERRICK, NY): 308,000

32. MATTHEW KLECKNER (COPLAY, PA): 291,000

33. MYLES GLYNN (ASTORIA QUEEN, NY): 286,000

34. TIMOTHY DOUGHERTY (FRESH MEADOWS, NY): 286,000

35. ALEX LUKATSKY (BROOKLYN, NY): 284,000

36. JOHN ZOLDAK (STATEN ISLAND, NY): 255,000

37. BERNARD CASANOVA (FARMINGVILLE, NY): 250,000

38. ELDAR MARKOVICH (FAIR LAWN, NJ): 236,000

39. MICHAEL DICHIARO: 213,000

40. ELLIOTT ZAYDMAN (GLEN ROCK, NJ): 192,000

41. TODD THROCKMORTON (BARBOURSVILLE, VA): 172,000

42. JOSEPH CRAMER (CARLISLE, PA): 170,000

43. JULIAN MIRANDA (UNION CITY, NJ): 94,000

Event 1 Day 1 Recap

Event 1: $350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)                  

Event 1 of the 2011 Borgata Spring Poker Open recorded a total of 727 entries and re-entries, generating total buy-ins of $254,450, and crushing the $100,000 guarantee.

The Signature Room overflowed into the Poker Room with many familiar and unfamiliar faces.  When the dust settled at the end of day one, only 43 players remained in the hunt for the top prize of $57,267.  Most notable among those is Mike 'Little Man' Sica, (North Brunswick, NJ) who owns a WSOP bracelet he won in 2004.  Mike will return on day two with a slightly below average stack.

Jim Hayduk of Johnstown, PA, will lead the charge into day two with 972k in chips.  Dylan Mich (Brigantine, NJ) is second with 828k and Lana Maier (East Brunswick, NJ) is third with 772k.

Day Two action gets underway at noon Thursday in the Poker Room.

Day One Done

Event 1: $350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)                

Play wrapped for the day at 2am and players have bagged & tagged their chips.  A complete listing of chip counts for the remaining 43 players will be posted in the blog around 9am today.

Day 2 begins at 12 noon in the back of the poker room.

Here are the top six in chips going into day two:

Jim Hayduk - 972k
Dylan Mich - 828k
Lana Maier - 772k
Kian Kiarash - 712k
Krzystof Perka - 692k
Wil Clark - 691k

Clark Wil Cash

Event 1: $350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)                 

Wilton 'Wil' Clark (Houston, TX) started selling off 60% his action in this event a couple of weeks ago.  He finished 26th in the $170 DeepStack event here last April ($631).

 Wil Clark

Norman 'slystyle12' Michalek picked up 5% of him and is still here sweating Wil, after busting out himself in 75th place (bubble plus 2).

Wil is doing well for his investors now, since he is guaranteed to finish higher than 48th place.

Another Race Situation

Event 1: $350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)                 

There's just no way for a short-stack to fold a hand as strong as AQ,  AK, or a pair, at this point in the tournament, so a lot of players end up racing for their tournament lives.

This just happened over at table two.  Hugh Bartlett (Bohemia, NY) had to commit all his chips with AQ and was racing against the pocket 8s of Matt Kleckner (Coplay, PA).

 Matt Kleckner

The door card of the flop was a Queen, but there was an 8 right behind it giving Matt a set.  The last two brought no salvation for Hugh and he was busted in 51st place ($813).

Matt chipped up to ~750k.

56th Place - Moborrod

Event 1: $350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)                

Abul Moborrod shipped the last of his chips over to Krzystof Perka (Maspeth, NY).  Abul collected $814 for his 56th place finish.  Perka is up to ~690k.

Abul Moborrod

Perka is at table six with other big stacks Lana Maier, Mike Dentale, and Dylan Mich.  Needless to say, this is now the loudest table in the room.

Dylan Mich just sent another player packing in 54th place.  He's up to ~875k and may have taken over the chip lead.

52 players remain.

Leaderboard

Event 1: $350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)                

Jim Hayduk is in the lead with ~800k.

Dylan Mich (Brigantine, NJ) is second with ~700k.

Michael Buttacavoli is third with 695k.

Mike Dentale is fourth in chips with 620k.

Lana Maier is fifth with ~570k.

They're back from break and playing with blinds of 6k/12k and 2k antes.

58 players remain.  Average stack is ~313k.

60th Place - Zeitlin

Event 1: $350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)               

David Zeitlin flopped a pair of Tens and got all-in, only to discover his opponent held pocket Aces.  David was dispatched in 60th place, earning $814.

59 players remain as the clock ran out on level 19.  Players were sent on a ten minute break.

Event 3: Bill "Bumpereno" Munley - 1st Place

7-Card Stud ($300 + $50)

Bill "Bumpereno" Munley - 1st Place - $6,154

And we have a winner!

Bill "Bumpereno" Munley has just won Event 3 and $6,154. Move over Charlie Cheen as Bill's two girlfriends from Villanova, Cathy and Rene, were in his corner cheering him on during the final hand.

Bill has enjoyed many second place finishes but credits finally getting over the top and hoisting the Spring Poker Open trophy to support from Cathy and Rene.

Bumpereno has over a dozen stud cash finishes and will be back to play in the HOSE tournament.

Cathy Bill Rene

65th Place - Rosenblatt

Event 1: $350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)               

After Thomas Balla opened for 23k utg, Leanne Rosenblatt (Brigantine, NJ) moved all-in over the top.  Then Tim Dougherty shoved all-in, having Leanne covered.  Thomas opted out and Leanne's AK was heads-up against Tim's pocket Tens.  The board came Q J 2 6 6 and Jim took the pot.

Leanne took 65th place and $716.

Another player has busted and they're down to 63 players at seven tables.

Bubble Burst!

Event 1: $350 + $50 DS NL (2 re-entry)              

With 73 players remaining, it was bubble-time and play went hand-for hand.  On the third hand, a player at table one ran his AK into pocket Kings and busted, earning 73rd place and the honor of being this event's bubble-boy.

Across the room at table 7, another short-stack got it in with pocket Tens, only to discover he was up against pocket Queens.  The Queens held up and another player busted, earning $716 for 72nd place. 

The next eight players out will also collect $716.

As expected, once the bubble burst the all-ins ramped up.  Three more players have departed, leaving 68 still in the hunt for the $57k top prize.