Event 9: Craig Hammerman Hammered - 12th Place

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Craig Hammerman (Brooklyn, NY) - 12th Place - $698

You can't feel too bad when you lose to quads, but it still hurts when you've been playing patiently, waiting for AA, are short stacked, and still lose.

Craig had a sic run earlier going from 5300 to 48,000 in 3 hands. He doubled up, then quaded up, then quaded up again. Solid - tight game was working today until the last hand.

Oh and by the way, guess who had the quads - it was Doug Zinneman for his third quad of the day.

Event 9: LoRusso Busto - 13th Place

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Gloria LoRusso (Brigantine, NJ) - 13th Place - $611

Gloria is a retired school teacher, now a Borgata regular who did well in this Event last year so figured she'd give it another shot.

Event 9: Final Two Tables

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Table 1
1. Claudangelo Beaudouinl
2. Antoinett Pennington
3. Farzad "Freddie" Rouhani
4. Tom Bessoir
5. Mark Fiocco
6. Joe Black
7. Doug Zinneman
8. Craig Hammerman

Table 2
1. John Klodie
2. Gloria LoRusso
3. Richard Weisberg
4. Carlos Santos
5. Allen Kessler
6. Vaughan Machado
7. Sean Scavillo

Event 9: Room Change

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Final two tables are bagging chips and relocating into Borgata Poker Room.

Sayonara Signature Room...

Chip updates and bustouts coming soon to a Borgata Blog near you!

Event 9: Couple Of Bubbleheads

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Joy & Chris Reslock - Going Out Together

Chris Reslock went out in 20th Place and his wife Joy joined him going out in 19th Place - which happened to be the bubble.

That means Allen Kessler won this round of the Lifelong Lastlonger $100 bet.

Joy just missed the money as her last 35oo was forced into the pot and her hand didn't hold.

In a prior hand after flopping fives, her kicker was edged out by one card - crippling her stack.

It was fun reporting on the Reslocks and I'm sure we'll see more of them throughout the 2011 Borgata Spring Poker Open.

Event 8: Day 1A Ends

$400 + 50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

Number of Day 1A Entrants: 168
Players remaining: 23

Day 2 play resumes Tuesday, April 19th at 12 noon.

Top 5 Unofficial Chip-Leaders:

Roland Israelashvili - 450,000
Bill Patterson - 425,000
Marc Carpentier - 353,000
Chris Valsamos - 325,000
Daniel Chan - 291,000

Event 9: Bubble Looming

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Two away from the bubble for the last 15 minutes.

Lucky rabbit's foot paying off for John Klodie who is the new chip leader with 140,000.

"I knocked out a couple players" said John when casually explaining how he leaped up the leaderboard.

Blinds: 2500 / 5000 Limits: 5000 / 10,000

Twenty players remain on three tables.

Average chip stack: 57,142

Event 8: Chan

$400 + 50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry

The very dangerous Daniel Chan has built a stack late on Day 1,
look for this tourney grinder to make a deep run on Day 2.

Event 9: Back From Break

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Unofficial Chip Leaders

Toni Pennington (Galloway, NJ) - 125,000
Carlos Santos (Peru) - 108,000
Tom Bessoir (New York, City) - 90,000

24 Players left, 18 get the cake

Average chip stack: $44,444

Level 16: Blinds - 2000 / 4000 Limits - 4000 / 8000

We're in The Signature Room and will be finishing this tournament tonight

Event 8: Sick beat for Sica

$400 + 50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

During the making of the "Mike Sica Toothpick holder" post,
he busted with set over set.

5's vs Q's, disgusting beat.

Stone cold cooler, sorry if we jinxed you Mikey.

Event 8: Back from Dinner Break

$400 + 50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

Friendly local, Mike "Little Man" Sica shows off
his lucky card protector, the toothpick holder.

The tournament veteran is still alive on Day 1A,
31 players remaining.

Event 9: Action Joy

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Action Freddie & Action Joy

It's official, the Omaha players are having the most fun out of all the SPO Events so far.

Tournament Director, "G" took Joy Reslock away from the table and Freddie Rouhani didn't want her leave, saying "Why do you have to take the action player away? You gotta come back."

As if on cue, a player was all in during the hand so Joy really did have to stay at the table after all, and continue playing there. So we started calling her "Action Joy".

Joy was a good sport, giving it back to Freddie as well.

I asked Joy who her husband was and Freddie jokingly said, "That poor guy over there" pointing to Chris Reslock. This got a laugh from the table, and "Action Joy".

Event 8: The End is Near

$400 + 50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

Number of Entrants (Day 1A): 168
Players remaining: 33

Currently on Level # 15
Blinds - 2,000/4,000/400a
Avg. Stack: 127,313

Play will end after Level #16,
40 minutes remaining.

Event 9: All Smiles For Gloria

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Gloria Turner - The Queen Of Poker

Gloria Turner (Springdale, MD) told me she was the chipleader not so long ago but is so nice she decided to spread her chips around to all her "friends" at the poker table.

Chris Reslock and Avner "Papa" Levy chimed in with glowing compliments for Gloria. Avner said she was the Queen of Poker for 35 years and that she's always smiling.

"I know them all from Las Vegas - and I know all their moves too" laughed Gloria.

Turner took 4th place in this Event during the 2010 Borgata Spring Poker Open.

She's currently sitting on 17,300 after losing the lead.

"I'm teetering...slowly but surely" said the businesswoman from Maryland.

She plays Omaha all the time but loves 20 / 40 limit holdem because there's more money to be made.

Event 8: Player Photo

$400 + 50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

Chris Jones (New York) takes 162,350 into the last level of play.

Good Luck to the field as they inch closer to ending Day 1A.

Event 8: Carpentier builds Stack

$400 + 50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

Marc Carpentier backdoors a flush draw with A♦7♦ to cripple
"Muffins" Mazzeo and move atop the Chip-Leaders.

He sits with 245,000.

Event 9: Reslock Rush

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Chris Reslock Has Chips

Borgata Veteran and Poker Community favorite Chris Reslock had 4,000 chips ten minutes ago. He now has 28,000.

In the first key hand, Chris' Q-6-3-2 all in pre-flop ended up giving him a full house and the 6 low.

In the second key hand, Chris raised with A-A-10-4 and got three callers chasing the low until the river.

A diamond heavy board helped Chris, who secured the Ace of diamonds.
Reslock quaded up his chip totals on that hand and is now sitting pretty with 28,000.

Event 9: Lucky Charms

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

John Klodie (Brigantine, NJ)

Local Omaha player John Klodie hasn't had a big hand in a while but did tell me he feels sick after downing four cokes and sixteen cherries.

He's rubbing his lucky rabbit's foot for good luck. John's had this talisman for forty years.

"And if the rabbit's foot fails, I have these superballs" said John.

Luck, superstitions, and poker have gone together since the beginning of time.

Of course the rabbit whose foot John's holding wasn't all that lucky.

Event 9: Quad 7777's Twice

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Doug "7777" Zinneman (New York, NY)

Doug Zinneman is a printer for the NY Daily News.

The poker Gods are printing off quad 7's for Zinneman today as he was fortunate enough to score them not once, but twice.

"I had em at that table, then was moved and got em here" explained Doug.

Doug also survived an all in while I was interviewing him. His KK held up.

Level 14:
Blinds: 1000 / 2000
Limits: 2000 / 4000

50 players remain 5 tables Average Chip Stack: 24,000

Poker Pro Comedy

Mike "Little Man" Sica pokes fun with fellow pro and tournament veteran Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler after the dinner break.

"Hey Chainsaw, you wouldn't pay a nickel to see a miracle," he says.

Both players still alive as the post-dinner session begins.

Event 8: Back from Dinner Break

$400 + 50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

50 players remaining on Day 1A.

Level #14 - Blinds - 1,500/3,000/400a

Event 9: Payouts

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Payouts

Total Entries: 120
Total Buy-In $36,000

Place / Amount
1. $10,476
2. $5,762
3. $3,317
4. $2,794
5. $2,095
6. $1,746
7. $1,397
8. $1,048
9. $786
10-12. $698
13-15. $611
16-18. $524

Level 13: Blinds - 800 / 1600, Limits 1600 / 3200

Event 9: Dinner Time

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

At the end of level 12, the remaining 50 (or so) Omaha players were sent on a 45 minute dinner break.  Play will resume at about 7:50pm.

As of dinner, it appears that Allen 'Chainsaw' Kessler is second in chips with ~53k, just behind the chip leader who has ~54k.

Event 8: New Chip Leader

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

 Bill Patterson

A new chip leader has emerged at table four.  Bill Patterson of Pittsburgh, PA, has chipped up to ~250k.

At the end of level 13, players were sent on a 45 minute dinner break.  Play will resume at about 7:50pm.

Event 9: Kessler Misreads Hand, Scoops Pot

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Omaha can be a confusing game when you're used to playing Hold'em...

A hand just played out on table 4 with one player all-in and a couple, including Allen 'Chainsaw' Kessler, competing for the side pot.

 Allen Kessler & Freddy Rouhani

At the river, the board read 9 8 6 K K.  The all-in player tossed in his cards and headed for the exit.  Allen tabled his hand, K8xx, and said "I mis-read my hand.  I didn't know I had a King."  Actually, he had Kings-full of 8s, good to scoop the pot since no low was possible.

With that pot, Allen chipped up to ~40k.

Down to about 55 players now.

Event 9: Chip Leader Emerges

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

 Richard Weisberg

Richard Weisberg (Old Bridge, NJ) has pulled ahead of the pack.  He's up to ~46k.

Official player count for this event was 120, making the total chips in play 1.2 million.

About 75 players remain, making the average ~16k.

They're currently in level 11 with blinds of 500/1,000 and limits of 1k/2k.

Event 8: New Chip Leader

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)  

Just discovered Pat Nestor (Jersey City, NJ) back on table three, sitting behind about 220k.  That puts him in the chip lead for now.

 Pat Nestor

Down to six tables now.

Estimated total number of entries and re-entries for day 1A is 168.  That put 4.2 million chips in play and makes the average for today (with 60 players remaining) about 70k.

Event 8: Valsamos Doubles Again

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)  

Matthew Galluzzo's table broke and he landed at table six with Chris Valsamos two seats to his left and Matt Mazzeo on his right.

Chris Valsamos

Chris Valsamos is on a heater.  He flopped a set, Matthew Galluzo turned a straight, and Chris rivered the full house to double-up through the former chip leader.

Chris is now sitting behind about 170k and the new chip leader.

Down to 7 tables now as the field shrinks quickly.

Event 6: Recap

$1,000 + 90 NL

The first big buy-in tournament of the Spring Open drew a field of 90 players.

The structure and field size allowed for tons of post-flop play and plenty of maneuvering for those willing to gamble and put chips at risk.

"There was lots of 3-betting and 4-betting," said 3rd place finisher Jennifer So.

Day 1 saw poker pros Dwyte Pilgrim and Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler hit the rail before the Dinner Break, but the action didn't stop there.

"This tournament had plenty of gamble, from start to finish the chips were flying," added Final table participant Paul "X Factor".

The Final Table was moved to the Signature Room, where the remaining 9 players battled for $90,000 in prize money. At the end of the day two young gun poker hopefuls put on a clinic, showcasing poker aggression at it's best.

The day ended with Casement holding all the chips and the coveted Borgata trophy... Congratulations James.

Event 6: The 1K Champion

$1,000 + 90 NL

Borgata has crowned another Champion.

Chicago native, James Casement Jr, walks away with the title.

1st Place - James Casement Jr - $30,555

2nd Place - Alex Torres - $16,587

Event 9: In, Out, and Up

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

In: 
Joe Loguidice
'Hollywood' Dave Stann
Freddy Rouhani
Robert Ervin

Out:
Barry Gassen

Up:
Blinds are now 400/800 with limits of 800/1,600.  Nine tables remain with 90 or fewer players still in the hunt.

Event 8: Valsamos Doubles

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry) 

On a flop of J 7 4 -- all spades, Chris Valsamos bet, only to have his opponent in seat 4 move in on him.    Chris tanked for a couple of minutes, then tossed in this last 20,200 to call.  His opponent held KJ suited for top pair, but Chris had him out-kicked with AJ offsuit.  Neither player held a spade.

The last two came offsuit 4 T and Chris doubled up to about 85K. 

Chris finished 13th in event 4 a couple of days ago and would like to improve on that deep run in this event.  There's still a long way to go today plus a fresh new field of starters on day 1B tomorrow.

Event 6: HU

$1,000 + 90 NL

Alex Torres and James Casement Jr are heads-up for $30,555 and the Borgata Spring Open trophy.

They start the match close to even in chips, good luck to both players.

Event 6: So Busts in 3rd

$1,000 + 90 NL

Rutgers student, Jennifer So, has been eliminated in 3rd place.

The last female left standing collects $10,476 in prize money.

Event 9: Levy Leads Field

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

End of level 8 and Omaha players are taking a break.

Looks like Barry Levy has claimed the chip lead with 25,600.  There are only a couple of other players with a bit over 20k.

 Barry Levy

There are 9 tables left here in the Signature Room and during this break, they will be bringing the players over from the Poker Room, so for the first time the entire field will be in the same room.

After the break, blinds will be 300/600 with limits of 600/1,200.  This will hit the short-stacks hard and the field should start to shrink quickly.

Event 8:

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry) 

At the conclusion of level 9, players were giving a 15 minute break while the green 25 chips were colored up and removed from play.

Matthew Galluzzo (Marlboro, NJ) has established himself as the chip leader.  He's up to ~140k.

 Matthew Galluzzo

Matthew won the $300 No Limit event at the 2010 Borgata Summer Poker Open, good for over $17,000.  He's looking for a repeat in this event.

Table 11 is down, so ten tables remain with 100 or fewer players.

Following the break, play resumed with blinds of 600/1,200 and 200 antes.

Event 6: The 1K Profile

$1,000 + 90 NL

Number of Entrants: 90
Players Remaining: 3

Total Prize-Pool: $90,000

Blinds: 4,000/8,000/1,000a

Chip-Counts:
James Casement Jr - 903, 000
Alex "Big Baby Jesus" Torres - 341,000
Jennifer So - 131,000

Payouts:
1 - $30,555
2 - $16,587
3 - $10,476

Event 6: X factor Eliminated

$1,000 + 90 NL

The throwback Mets jersey and online rail following at home didn't bring enough luck for Paul "Team X Factor."

"I was under 20k yesterday at Dinner Break, I grinded back to the Final Table," says the part-time tournament pro.

Paul Marzarella (Basking Ridge, NJ) pockets $7,857 for 4th place.

Event 8: 11 Tables Getting Busy

 $400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

They're in level 9 with blinds of 500/1,000 with 100 antes.

With the ever-increasing blinds and antes, players are busting out quickly now.   Down to 11 tables, so fewer than 110 remain.

Big hubbub over on table six.  A short-stacked player goes all-in, another player goes all-in for more, then a player says "call", not realizing there was a second all-in. 

The ruling is that the player is responsible for following the action (both all-in players had put their chips over the bet line) and the verbal "call" is binding and the player has to call the bigger all-in.

This happens frequently in no limit events when players are wearing headphones and don't hear the "all-in" or are watching TV and not paying attention to the action.

Event 6: Case-a-ments

$1,000 + 90 NL

The rich get richer as Chip-Leader, James Casement Jr,
wins another pot.

The "Chi-Town" tournament pro value bets the 9♣4♦K♣A♦A♣ board and gets Alex Torres to call his 35k river bet.

James flips over the Q♣8♣ and scoops the pot.

Event 6: Final Four

$1,000 + 90 NL

The 1K Final Four

Jennifer So & Alex Torres

Paul "Team X Factor" & James Casement Jr

Event 9: Controversy Before Break

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Just before the end of the level, lots of players were standing around a table in the back of the room.  I rushed back to see what was going on, expecting to find Allen Kessler somehow tangled up in it, but it was actually at a table behind his.

The flop was A T T rainbow and apparently the dealer burned and turned the 5 of hearts before the betting action was complete.  That card should have been put aside, but it was mixed back into the deck stub (which only has 6 cards left in Omaha with a full table of ten).

Once the betting action was completed, the floor pulled the 5 of hearts out of the stub, had the dealer shuffle the stub (kind of hard to do with only 6 cards) and burn and turn, which was the 8 of spades.

Betting was completed and the 5 of hearts was mixed back in with the four remaining cards and the river was revealed:  the 7 of spades.  It was checked down and the result was, as you may have guessed, a chopped pot.

That hand burned up the clock and Omaha players were rewarded with a break.

Event 8: Blinds Up

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

Blinds have increased for level 8 to 400/800 with 75 antes.

A handful of players have reached the 70k-80k range in chips, but there is no runaway chip leader at this point.

Players continue to grind, knowing that if they bust out now, they will have to wait until tomorrow to play again (in this tournament).

Table 14 is down, so only 13 tables remain (120-130 players).

Event 6: 1K Stacks

$1,000 + 90 NL

The 1k field size has allowed plenty of play deep in the tournament,
the remaining 4 players continue the grind.

Players - Chip Counts:

James Casement Jr - 453,000
Team "Paul X Factor" - 351,000
Jennifer So - 321,000
Alex Torres - 256,500

Event 9: Seat Open

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Well, it has finally happened.  A player managed to divest himself of all of his chips and "Seat Open" has been heard coming from the Omaha half of the room.

Currently playing in level 6 with blinds of 150/300 and limits of 300/600.

We're still waiting on the official numbers for entries and prize pool.

Event 8: No More Entires (Today)

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

Players have returned for level 7 with blinds of 300/600 and 75 antes.

The entry/re-entry period has expired for today, but busted players can still enter again on day 1B tomorrow.

There are still 14 tables in action, but that number should change soon as players are starting to feel the pinch of increasing blinds and the all-ins are coming faster and faster.

Event 6: Loss for Liberta

$1,000 + 90 NL

Joe Liberta (Berlin, NJ) exits in 5th place for $6,111.

The self-made man lost a crucial pot with 10♥ 10♣ and never recovered.

"Half the table was tough, the other half pretty soft, but in the end it's just gambling," says the Borgata Margarita machine vendor and part-time tournament player.

Event 6: The Last 5

$1,000 + 90 NL

Blinds: 2,500/5,000/500a

Seat 1 - Paul "Team X Factor" - 416,000
Seat 2 - James Casement Jr - 398,000
Seat 3 - Jennifer So - 101,000
Seat 4 - Alex Torres - 392,000
Seat 5 - Joe Liberta - 131,000

Event 9: Limits Up

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B 

It is slow going in the limit Omaha Hi/Lo event.  No tables have broken so still 12 in action.

They've just moved into level 5 with blinds of 100/200 and 200/400 limits.

A couple of players have resorted to other means to pass the time.  Gloria Lorousso is reading on her Amazon Kindle.  Another player is browsing the web from an iPad.

Event 6: Good Game Mike

$1,000 + 90 NL

The Maryland sports fan and part-time poker player re-shoved his A♣7♥ into A♠Q♦ and ended his run in the 1K.

Mike Bitzelberger (Baltimore, MD) earned $5,238, well played kid.

Event 8: Muffins in the House

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry) 

Matt 'muffins' Mazzeo arrived late in level five to join the action.  He strategy was, apparently, to arrive late so he would be unlikely to bust out and have to re-enter.

They're currently about ten minutes away from the end of level 6, which means the end of the late registration / re-entry period.

Event 6: Hasta Luego Jacobo

$1,000 + 90 NL

Jacobo Fernandez (Dominican Republic) ran into the stone-cold cooler to bust early on Day 2.

His A♠K♥ ran into A♦A♣ to send him home in 7th place.

The smiling Spaniard took home $4,365 for a solid two days of play.

Event 9: Back from Break

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B  

The Omaha Hi/Lo crowd finished three levels of play, then enjoyed a break.

They're getting back to action now with level four, blinds 75/150 and limits of 150/300.

This will be the last level for late registrations.

Barry Levy has joined the field.  He finished 7th in the $400 Omaha Hi/Lo event here in the 2011 Winter Poker Open and won the $350 Omaha Hi/Lo event during the 2010 Borgata Poker Open in September for over $17,000.

Event 6: 1K Stats

$1,000 + 90 NL

Total Prizepool: $90,000

Number of Entrants: 90
Players Remaining: 7

Blinds: 2,500/5,000/500a

Event 6: Nicoles nixed

$1,000 + 90 NL

Fotios Nicoles (Clifton, NJ) battled the short stack, but couldn't hang on long enough.

"I blew up at the end, saw a random King and went with it,"
says our 8th place finisher.

The Jersey local will pocket $3,492 his efforts.

Event 8: Gone and Back Again

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)  

Natale Kuey lost all his chips...and now he's back with a fresh 25,000 stack after re-entering.  Plus he gets a new table and seat assignment, so he doesn't have to face the players who took his first stack.

Also joining the field:  Daniel Chan, Tim Ulmer, and Leanne Rosenblatt.

Leanne landed at table 7, which has turned out to be the ladies table.  Four ladies are seated at that table, which is quite unusual.  In a field that is more than 95% male, having a table that is 40% female defies the odds.

It is one to keep an eye on, however.  Through the first six completed events of the Borgata Spring Poker Open, two of them have been won by women:

Event 4:  $500 No Limit winner Marcelia Keene - $28,372
Event 7:  $350 No Limit winner Patricia Barsanti-Chou - $38,166

Event #6: Big Stacks Bully

$1,000 + 90 NL

Alex Torres and James Casement have most of the chips in play, they continue to play "raise and take it" poker with 8 players left.

Spectators have gathered on the rail as we inch closer to 5-figure payouts.

Event 9: Chop It Up

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B 

"Chop It Up" is a familiar phrase in the Omaha Hi/Lo event.  At showdown, the players table their hands, they sort out the best of both high and low, and in many cases, the inevitable "chop it up" is heard.

This combined with the limit structure means it takes a while for players to lose all their chips (unlike no limit hold'em, where players can go broke on the first hand).

Blinds have just gone up for the beginning of level three to 50/100 with limits of 100/200.

A couple of other recognizable players have joined the field:  Bo Toft and Barry Gassen.

Event #6: Lucky Lady

$1,000 + 90 NL

Rutgers student, Jennifer So, continues to rake pots as the only female left standing in the 1K field.

She puts in a river raise on a board of 6♥5♦A♥Q♠4♠ before turning over A♣ 5♠ to scoop the pot.

8 players remaining,
Blinds - 1,500/3,000/400a

Event 9: Omaha Overflow

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Turns out there was great interest in today's Omaha Hi/Lo event. They have overflowed the ten tables available in the Signature Room in addition to tables in the poker room, which means the field has crested the 100 player mark.

Gloria Lorusso is in the field today. She's quite accomplished in Omaha, where she has made six final tables (playing Omaha or Omaha/Stud mixed). Look for her to do well here today.

They're approaching the end of level two and will continue into level 3 with blinds of 50/100 and limits of 100/200.

Event 8: Break Time

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

Three levels are history and the Hold'em players have been sent on their first break of the day.

They are half-way through the late entry / re-entry period. Players will be able to enter or re-enter through the next three levels.

The Signature Room is packed to capacity today. 14 tables are playing Hold'em, 10 tables are playing Omaha, and one table is the final table of yesterday's Hold'em event. This, in addition to a packed 85-table poker room.

Event 9: Familiar Faces Playing Omaha?

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Several regular Hold'em players have been spotted in the Omaha field today.  For several reasons, they've opted for the alternate event.

Since the hold'em event is 2 days with day two on Tuesday, folks that can't stick around that long are trying out their luck with Omaha Hi/Lo.

Allen Kessler is one of those.  He and Chris Reslock, who prefers Omaha and Stud to Hold'em, are both in the Omaha event.  "Chris and I have a lifetime last-longer bet" Allen said.  $100 for every tournament that they both enter.  Apparently Chris is behind, but may be able to make up some today.

Also opting for Omaha today are Hold'em regulars Gordon Eng, Larry Gold, and Joe Simmons.

Event #6: Barnes, Busto

$1,000 + 90 NL

After only 9 hands of play, we have our first Final Table fatality.

Jack Barnes - $2,619

Event #6: The 1K Final Table resumes

$1,000 + 90 NL

Play has resumed, cards in the air.

The remaining 9 players will fight for their share of $90,000 in prize money and the Borgata Spring Poker Open trophy.

The Field
James Casement - 463,000
Joe Liberta - 263,800
Paul "Team X Factor" - 161,000
Jennifer So - 111,000
Mike Bitzelberger - 105,400
Alex Torrres - 100,000
Jacobo Fernandez - 81,800
Fotios Nicoles - 51,300
Jack Barnes - 34,500

The Payouts
1 $30,555
2 $16,587
3 $10,476
4 $7,857
5 $6,111
6 $5,238
7 $4,365
8 $3,492
9 $2,619

Event 9: Cards Fly in Omaha

$300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

Cards are in the air in the back of the Signature Room where the Omaholics are taking their seats.  Ten tables in action, so far.

Players began with 10,000 chips and blinds of 25/25 with 25/50 limits.

Levels are 30 minutes long and this event will play to completion tonight, however long it takes.

Entries will be allowed through the first four levels, but no re-entries are allowed if players bust out.

Event 8: Filling Out

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry) 

Approaching the end of the second level, the Signature Room is filling rapidly.

Late entries for this event are still pouring in and they've opened table 14.

 Mike Dentale, Wooyang Lin, and Mike Sica

Table 13 has turned into a doozey with Mike Dentale, Wooyang Lin, and Mike 'Little Man' Sica in the two, three, and four seats respectively.

Charlie Minter was assigned to table 13, but he was bumped over to table 14 to get it going.

Event 8: Seat Open

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry) 

Not sure if he was the first player to bust out, but he was the first one that I witnessed:

Frank Gangemi, who finished 2nd in event 2 ($12,628) got all-in against Roland Israelashvilli.  Frank's AT was bested by Roland's AJ.  Frank asked the dealer for a re-entry ticket, so we expect to see him return and settle into a 10 seat soon.

Gil Sacks, who won event 2 and Mike Dentale, winner of event 1, have both joined the field.

Also seen:  Mickey Woll, Chris Edwards, and Mike 'Little Man' Sica.

Event 8: Familiar Faces

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

Tables 1 through 12 are in action here in the Signature Room.  The ten seat at each table remains empty -- those will be assigned to players who bust out and re-enter.  So far, none of them are occupied.

 Early Crowd in the Signature Room

Players are still finding their way over from the Poker Room, which is filled to capacity this morning with the RiverChasers Freeroll that started at 10am.

There are quite a few familiar Borgata regulars here today.  I spotted these on my first pass through the room:
Sirous Jamshidi
Howard Wolper
Natale Kuey
Martha Patella
Tony Shurilla
'Smiley' Chin

Event 8: Deep Stack Double Play Underway

$400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play NL (2 Re-Entry)

Cards are in the air!  Level 1 blinds are 25/50.

Players started with 25,000 chips and levels 1-10 are 30 minutes long.

There are lots of questions about the way the re-entries and double-play work.   There are two starting days for this event, day 1A (Sunday) and 1B (Monday).  Players who play day 1A can choose to re-enter if they bust out during the first 6 levels.  If they bust a second time, they may re-enter again, for a total of three possible entries on day 1A.

If a player busts out on day 1A (once, twice, or three times) they may still enter and play on day 1B and still have the choice to re-enter twice if they bust out on day 1B.

This means that a very determined player could actually enter this tournament SIX times.

Sunday, April 17

Today's Events in the Poker Room

10AM: WELCOME RIVERCHASERS

11AM: Event 8A - $400 + $50 Deep Stack Double Play No Limit Hold'em
(2 Re-Entry)

• Players start with 25,000 in tournament chips
• Levels 1-10 last 30 minutes each | Levels 11+ last 40 minutes each
• Players that are eliminated within the first six Levels of either starting day may Re-Enter two more times on that day
• Players may register for Day 1A or Day 1B
• If player entered into Day 1A and has been eliminated from tournament or forfeits his/her chips, player may register for Day 1B
• 2-Day event with two starting days | Day 2 starts at 12P on Tuesday

12PM: Event 9 - $300 + $50 Omaha H/L 8B

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

4PM: Event 32 - $200 + $30 Semi-Turbo No Limit Hold'em
(1 Re-Entry)

• Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips
• Levels 1-10 last 15 minutes each | Levels 11+ last 30 minutes each
• Players that are eliminated within the first eight Levels may Re-Enter one additional time
• 1-Day event

7PM: Event 33 - $150 + $30 No Limit Hold'em

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

Event 7 Recap

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

They say poker is a marathon, not a sprint and Event 7 proved it. We started at 12pm yesterday afternoon (Saturday) and finished 7:15 am Palm Sunday morning.

When the dust settled, Patricia Barsanti-Chou was crowned our Champion as she outlasted, outplayed, and outlucked 440 other players all chasing after Borgata's $154,000 total Buy-In with a whopping first place cash prize of $38,166.

With 20,000 starting chips and 30 minute blinds, players got to take their time and use those big stacks to their advantage.

What would be a Spring Poker Open tournament without noteables. Names such as Larry Gold (Long Island, NY), Jason Warriner (Absecon, NJ), Mike Dentale, and “Little Mike” Sica battled together. Sica tried running a bluff that got picked off for his tournament life and Dentale busted in Level 12.

The massive field was divided between The Signature Room and Borgata Poker Room. However at 12:50 AM (Sunday morning) with three tables remaining, everybody came over to Borgata Poker Room where we played to a rousing conclusion.

A subplot to Event 7 had Philly Sports Radio station, 97.5 The Fanatic sending Anthony Dimauro (Conshohocken, PA) and Ben Masur (Island Park, NJ) to Borgata for a weekend of poker. Unfortunately both players did not cash in this event.

A key hand for Bruce Frank, a stock trader from Montclair, NJ was when he rolled over A♥10♦ to scoop a nice pot before the break. His opponent stacked off with A♠K♦ after the flop came down A♦ 10♠ 6♠. Bruce went on to final table and finish in 8^th place.

Three Borgata Beauties, Christine Nelson (Norristown, PA), Dawn Pincus (Jersey), and Patricia Barsanti-Chou (Metuchen, NJ) cat clawed it out for the last woman standing. Patty took down that title and told me she was gonna go on to win the whole thing - and I wasn't surprised that she did it.

Chip leaders around dinner were Vincent Nuzzo, Phillip Sarcacino, and Justin Ying all of who failed to make the final table.

Mike Ackrish was the bubble boy and somebody had to explain to him exactly what that meant.

A player many were following was Ali “Taj” Kalid who chipped large after turning quad eights and held that lead for hours until falling to the steamroller known as Patty Barsanti-Chou. Kalid’s 6^th place demise came at the final table after Patty flopped top two with 10-J vs. his K-J.

Other final table player included Allen Taylor, Bruce Frank, Mohamed Radwan, Vincent Tanico, and Angelo Modica.

Fourth place prize of $10,830 went to recent Villanova Graduate Gerard Campbell (Staten Island, NY) who was playing in his first live tournament ever today - along with two of his friends Victor, and Paul, also newbies.

Third place of $13,444 went to Joseph Lattarulo who was very appreciate to win and will use the cash to launch is poker career.

Second place of $22,033 went to Borgata regular, Micahel Buttacavoli who acted like it was just another day at the office.

But once again your 2011 SPO Event 7 winner was Patty Barsanti-Chou who took home the trophy after dominating a field of 440 players and a tough final table. She is well deserving of this 19-hour marathon win along with the $38,166 cash prize.

Sharing in the victory from the rail was her husband Allen and her charming friend Wendy.

"I'd like to take some of the money to fly to Vegas and play in the WSOP main event" said Patty.

If she plays as good as she did today, we just might see her on TV in November.

Event 7: Patricia Barsanti-Chou - 1st Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Patricia Barsanti-Chou - 1st Place - $38,166

Patricia Barsanti-Chou (Metuchen, NJ) is your Event 7 winner. She's won several other Borgata Open tournaments over the years including the Ladies Winter Open in 2007.

"I've been playing poker ever since Borgata opened and we played in the basement" said Patty.

Patty's key hand that got the ball rolling was when she raised with 7-8 and had two callers. When the 7 of diamonds hit the turn, it gave her Opponent the nut flush but Patty the full house.

With six players left Patty knocked out Ali "Taj" when her 10-J flopped top two against Taj's top pair shove.

When Patty won the Last Women Standing she told me she was gonna go on to win the whole tournament and she's a woman of her word.

Congrats to Patty, our Event 7 champion who just took home $38,166.

Wendy (friend) Allen (husband) Patty (winner)

Event 7: Michael Buttacavoli - 2nd Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Michael Buttacavoli - 2nd Place - $22,033

Michael Buttacavoli is a Borgata regular who kind of flew under the radar all day but steadily climbed and grinded it out like the poker pro he is.

He'll take home $22,033 for his second place finish.

Event 7: Joseph Lattarulo - 3rd Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Joseph Lattarulo - 3rd Place - $13,444

Joseph Lattarulo (Bronx, NY) played a great final table. He had his eye on first place and wanted to play for all the chips but he'll have to settle for a third place payday of $$13,444.

Joseph wants to thank his poker mentor Carl Restifo who has helped him tremendously.

A hand Joseph looks back on was when he flopped a set holding 9-8 and got paid off after jamming. "Once I hit that hand, I never looked back" said Joseph.

Joseph will use the money to play more tournaments and launch his career as a poker player.

It was an emotional win for Lattarulo who will put the money to good use.

Event 7: Gerard Campbell - 4th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Gerard Campbell - 4th Place - $10,830

Event 7 was Gerard Campbell's (Staten Island, NY) first shot at a live tournament. "I mostly play cash and home games but figured I'd come down and give it a shot." He made the trip with friends Victor, and Paul, who also played in Event 7 but didn't fare as well.

Gerard was down to 8,000 at the 100 / 200 blind level and build all the way up to 300,000 in one session.

Gerard, a recent graduate from Villanova Universtiy will certainly put the $10,830 prize money to good use.

After scoring a short stack double up, he tried to make a move with K-9 but ran into Patty's A-Q. Patty shoved and Gerard called pre-flop.

Gerard outflopped her as K-2-Q hit the felt. But the dreaded ace on the turn gave Patty two pair and the knock-out.

Fourth place for your first ever live tournament - not bad at all.

Event 7: Vincent Tanico - 5th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Vincent Tanico - 5th Place - $8,515

Vincent was getting very short and found himself up against a monster from Joseph.

Joseph tabled pocket kings then hit a king on the board.

Vincent will take home $8,515 to his family. Today he had their back.

Event 7: Ali "Taj" Kalid - 6th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Ali "Taj" Kalid - 6th Place - $7,096

Ali ran into the steamroller known as Patty Barsanti-Chou. The last woman standing might be the last person standing as she pads her stack another 1.3 million and knocking Ali Kalid out in the process.

A small raise by Patty garnered a call by Kalid.

Board ran: J-10-5-7-3

Both players checked the flop then got it all in on the turn.

Patty tabled 10-J hearts for top two pair. "Taj" only had K-J.

He said "nice hand" and bowed out of Event 7 in 6th Place for $7,096.

Patty is now the monster chip leader at the table with 4.5 million.

Event 7: Chip Updates

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Down to six players.

Patricia Barsanti-Chou - 3,000,000
Joseph Lattarulo - 2,300,000
Ali "Taj" Kalid - 1,500,000
Vincent Tanico - 1,300,000
Gerard Campbell - 550,000
Michael Buttacavoli 355,000

Three railbirds have hung in the entire game.

We're into some serious money now - all vying for that $38,166 first place prize.

Event 7: Mohamed Radwan - 7th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Mohamed Radwan - 7th Place - $5,676

In the hand before the latest break, Mohamed Radwan got it in good but couldn't survive the three-outter from chip leader Patty Barsanti-Chou.

Mohamed had A-Q vs. Patty's A-J.

Patty hit her jack on the flop and Mohamed didn't improve.

Radwan played great all day and flirted with the chip lead several times.

He'll add $5,676 worth of cake to his table.

Event 7: Bruce Frank - 8th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Bruce Frank - 8th Place - $4,332

Bruce Frank (Montclaire, NJ) had 260,000 and the blinds were 30,000 / 60,000.

With 4 1/2 blinds in early position he shoved holding A-10.

Unfortunately Bruce ran into the A-Q of Vincent Tanico - which held up.

Bruce built his stack up to 600,000 after his A-9 outflopped JJ on a K-9-9 board. Funny thing was a third player folded A-K pre-flop that same hand.

Bruce will return to his day job trading stocks which according to Frank is just another form of gambling.

Event 7: Allen Taylor - 9th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Allen Taylor - 9th Place - $2,988

It's over for Allen Taylor (Baltimore, MD) whose A-3 fell short against QQ despite having a diamond draw after the turn.

That was the hand that crippled Allen but the very next hand was the culprit.

Again he picked up some outs - jamming with 10-10 before seeing a flop of J-Q-K.
Allen lost to Opponent's J-J. A ten fell on the river just to rub it in for a meaningless set.

Allen runs a wholesale bakery business called Perfections by Allen.

He's a big fan of Borgata Spring Poker Open Survivor tournies.

Ninth place nets Allen Taylor $2,988 for his hard work.

Event 7: Modica Hits Roadica - 10th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Angelo Modica - 10th Place - $1,941

Angelo was short stacked but actually woke up to a quality hand - AQ. He shoved and Ali called holding only K6.

When it rains it pours as Ali hit his king and his six.

Angelo made a sick laydown a couple hands earlier - correctly. He mucked A-K against J-J and would have lost.

We'll see more of Modica in the next two weeks and we'll see if Gorilla takes him up on the heads up challenge.

He'll add $1,941 to his Borgata bankroll.

Event 7: Jonathan Jacked - 11th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Jonathan Klein - 11th Place - $1,941

With 15 big blinds left, Jonathan looks down at pocket sevens and shoves. Joseph goes in the tank for what seemed like ten minutes. Finally he calls and tables Q-Q. Queens held and Jonathan's tree was chopped all the way down.

Railbird Rich lamented, "You just witnessed the fall of a shooting star. He will rise again".

Jonathan plalyed a great game and ran into several suck-outs.

He'll take home $1,941 to his fiance and baby to be.

That will buy a lot of pampers.

Event 7: Mike Tees Off - 12th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Mike Tees - 12th Place - $1,941

Earlier today Mike Tees (Levittown, PA) had 900,000 chips.

He shipped it all in with A-Q but ran into the dreaded A-K of Joseph L.

A queen on the flop gave Mike hope only to be dashed when the king hit the turn.

Lucky key hand today was when Mike's Q-J flopped a straight.

This is the first time Mike ever played poker at Borgata.

Hey Ray, the email blasts are working - Mike signed up and figured he'd come down and try his luck.

Event 7: Worland's World Of Hurt - 13th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Scott Worland - 13th Place - $1,494

End of the journey for Scott Worland who was short stacked and hoping to survive to the next money level.

Worland's Q-J vs. 9-10. When a ten hit the river, Scott hit the road.

Scott is a student at George Mason and lives in Gray Falls, VA.

He outlasted the group of guys he drove down with and played in Event 7 with.

With the blinds at 20,000 / 40,000, Scott was all in with only 100,000 behind.

Event 7: Chip Stacks

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Chip Stacks

Table 1:
Allen Taylor - 500,000
Mohamed Radwan - 1,800,000
Scott Worland - 136,000
Mike Tees - 475,000
Vincent Tanico - 1,000,000
Jonathan Klein - 300,000
Joseph Lattaralo - 920,000

Table 2:
Angelo Modica - 170,000
Allan Taylor - 500,000
Bruce Frank - 435,000
Gerard Campbell 435,000
Ali "Taj" Kalid - 1,180,000
Patricia Barsanti-Chou - 1,100,000
Michael Buttacavoli - 420,000

Back from break - here are the current totals.

This tournament is running longer than Palm Sunday Mass!

Event 7: Jonathan's Golden Touch

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Jonathan "Midas" Klein has the golden touch when it comes to poker, at least according to his friend Rich who is sweating him on the rail.

Klein joined Ali in the over million club during the last level.

Jonathan says hi to his fiance Lindsey who is reading the blog at home.

Congrats to the couple who is expecting a baby in three months.

If you win tonight Jonathan maybe you could name him Colonel Poker.

Players are on a quick break. 13 players remain on two tables.

Event 7: David Manzi Done - 14th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

David Manzi (Pocono Pines, PA) - 14th Place - $1,494

Patricia's A-K outflopped David's 8-8 sending him home for the night.

David Manzi designs fancy camera lenses in PA although wasn't seeing too many good starting hands today. He had 300,000 when he got it all in with the eights.

Until the last hand, David was getting lucky exactly when he need to.

He'll take home $1,494 for his 14th place finish in Event 7. Well done.

Event 7: Sean Sisco Sidelined - 15th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Sean Sisco - 15th Place - $1,449

Sean Sisco was short stacked and shoved with K-2 and lost to K-Q with a queen hitting the flop.

Sean was disappointed with his 15th Place finish commenting $40,000 1st would have been a lot better.

Get em next time.

Event 7: Sayonara Saracino - 16th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Philip Saracino - 16th Place - $1,180

Philip Saracino a teacher from Queens, NY had as much as 800,000 chips and now is out in 16th place.

Battle of the blinds found small blind Philip holding 9-2 and forced in against K-Q. K-Q flopped two pair and the story ended there for Saracino.

$1,180 for his 16th place finish.

Event 7: Ed Is Dead - 17th Place

$300 + 50 NL (Big Stack)

Ed McCarthy - 17th Place - $1,180

Ed McCarthy (Soderton, PA) is now two for two in cashes. Tomorrow he'll tried to make it three for three in the double play.

As for tonight, it ended when Ed's A-10 lost to Muhamed's K-10, who hit two pair. Ed was in the small blind with 12,000 in and only 101,000 left in his stack.

At one point he was up to 600,000 but lost a key battle when his A-K was beat by QQ.

Good job Ed, enjoy your $1,180 cash and keep em coming...