Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Table 6 Insanity Continues

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Pablo Paez still can't believe this table. Four times in the Signature room KK cracked AA and now another crazy hand in Borgata Poker Room. Guess moving everybody over here didn't change the table dynamics.

Son Nguyen wakes up to AA and is up against Paul Mazarella's A-K of clubs.

Even though all the chips were all in pre-flop, they would have tumbled forward on a club heavy flop of 8-10-Q.

Another Q on the turn pairs the board then a miracle J hit the river giving Mazarella Broadway.

"No fuel in those rockets" said Paez who claims he'll muck AA if he gets them.

Son's stack gets whacked and Team X Factor doubles up.

Update Time

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Number of Entrants: 970
Players Remaining: 125
Chips In Play: 29 million

Average Stack: 376,360
Big Stack: 520k

Next Blinds: 3000/6000/500

Total Buy-In: $388,000
First Prize: $84,682
Places Paid: 90

Son Is Shining

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Son Came To Nguyen

Son Nguyen (Myrtle Beach, SC) has one of the biggest stacks in the room. He left the Signature room with 460,000 and pads another 50,000 here after his A-8 four flushes against a set of threes.

Cat & Wolf

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Cat Pisaturo (Maryland) - 85,000

Cat Pisaturo is one of two women remaining in Day 1A. Hoping to be the last woman standing but more importantly she wants to make the money.

Cat comes out for each season of Borgata Poker Opens and enjoys the big tournaments.

At the same table, Mike Wolf open shoved with 9-10 of hearts. He found top pair and two hearts on the flop scoring the needed double up over A-K off.

Wolf is up to 220,000.

Will Wolf devour Cat or does she have 9 lives?

16 tables all together in the Borgata Poker Room.

156 players remain.

Level 17 - 500 ante 2500 / 5000 blinds.

Bag & Tag Part I

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Six tables from the Signature room have bagged and tagged their chips and are on a twenty-five minute breaks.

The floor will color up and transfer the chips to Borgata Poker Room.

These six tables will join the remaining tables playing in the Poker room already.

90th place will receive a min pay of $828.

Everbody will play together after the break until 2am when all will bag and tag again.

Two Players At 500,000

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Sead Duraku - 500,000



Richard Hall (Bristow, VA) - 500,000

Richard Hall hit a few 60,000 pots then a monster for over 100,000 to propel him to a co-chiplead tie with Sead Duraku.

Both players are at different tables in Borgata Poker Room and have taken control.

Sound The Trumpets

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Greg Glassman - Brooklyn, NY - 420,000

Greg Glassman is your Day 1A chipleader despite losing 120,000 when his KK ran into AA, and despite losing 80,000 when his QQ ran into a set of sixes. In between those two hands it was all good said Glassman.

If you think Greg is tooting his own horn, you can't blame the kid - he is in fact a professional jazz trumpet player. So his poker face has sore red lips, most likely. Could be a tell.

Our chip leader says hi to Meg Brown checking out the blog back home.

With a lot of poker left to play in the night we'll see if Greg adds to his stack, sits back, or takes a hit.

Sica Soars

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Love The Hat Little Man!

It wouldn't be a Borgata Poker Open without crowd favorite Mike "Little Man" Sica who just scooped a nice pot and sent a player to the showers.

Mike checked his Q-10 off-suit in the dark and his opponent fired out after hitting second pair on the flop. The dark check worked for once as Mike actually hit top pair.

Diamond heavy flop: 7-10-8.

Opponent fired again when a third diamond 3 hit the turn.

Mike announced all-in, was called, and tabled the winner.

Q-10 vs. K-8 was enough to pad Little Man's stack to 240,000.

Mr. Rogers used to change shoes during each episode. I caught Mike Sica Jr. changing glasses. Sun-glasses on to win the pot - Eye-glasses on to stack the spoils. Both glasses off for the picture.

Kings Crack Aces Again

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

It's the worst feeling in poker when you go all in holding KK and your opponent tables AA. On the contrary, the best feeling is when you spike a King and scoop the pot.

That exact scenario happened three, count em, three times at table 6 in the Signature Room. And it happened twice since the dinner break.

First Paul "X Factor" Mazarella (Union, NJ) turns a set of kings and cracks AA knocking a player to the rail.

Then the same table exploded after Asa Berger ships it all in pre-flop with cowboys up against pocket rockets. Asa turns a king and doubles up. Someone shouted out, "This is the voo-doo table."

Another opponent admitted he folded QQ after the re-raises and all-in jams became suspect.

In all my time blogging I don't remember seeing KK crack AA three times at the same table ever. Beware if you look down at AA....maybe even toss it in the muck!

Chipmunk Leader

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Protecting Chips

With all the players on dinner break Dealer Thao is kept company only by this chipmunk card protector. At least I think it's a chipmunk.

With a less than average stack this rodent just might become roadkill in the next level.

Event 1 resumes at 8:20 pm.

Event 1: Numbers Game

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Number of Entrants: 970
Players Remaining: 246
Chips In Play: 24.3 million

Average Stack: 99k (41 BB)
Big Stack: 380k (158 BB)

Next Blinds: 1,200/2,400/300
Play Resumes: 8:20 pm

Total Buy-In: $388,000
First Prize: $84,682
Places Paid: 90

Pre-Dinner Chip Leaders (Both Rooms)

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Players have their dinner vouchers and are ready to feast however a few Borgata vampires have been feeding well all day.

Signature Room Leaders...
Greg Glassman was the chip leader with 420,000 but now has chipped down to 370,000.
Paul "Team X Factor" Mazarella... 248,600
Harry Frankel... 240,000
Mike Lydon... 195,000
Mike "Little Man" Sica... 150,000


Borgata Poker Room Leaders...
Michael Dobbs... 380,000
Sead Duraku... 330,000
Matthew Lope... 290,000
Melad Marji... 250,000
Daniel Assiran... 212,000

Players are on dinner break and will be back at 8:20 to resume play until 2:00 AM.

We will combine into one room sometime after dinner.

Event 1: Brutal Beat

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Supsak Staying Around

Josh Supsak (New York, NY) has one foot out the door before a jack on the river reels him back in.

"It's a brutal beat, he owned me," says Supsak as he apologizes to Wayne Lewis (Galloway, NJ) for hitting a two outer to win a 230k pot.

"It doesn't matter," quips Lewis, "I'll never win a tournament here," as he laments flopping trip 4s only to lose to pocket jacks when Supsak hits a full house.

"I'll admit it, I was walking away," adds Supsak, "it doesn't matter, I won't cash."

Lewis is crippled to less than 10k and busts shortly after the bad beat.

From Elected To Ejected

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Sam Pham (pictured) Felts Re-Elected Mayor Steven Langert.

Steven D. Langert has been the mayor of Lakewood, NJ for the past three years and after a victory last night, he's happy and proud he'll be the Mayor for another three years.

No sweat really, despite attack ads from his opponent surrounding poker.

"We had good support town-wide in all areas. It was all very rewarding and gratifying" explained Langert.

Fortunately Steven did not take a bad beat last night. Unfortunately, he just busted after Sam Pham spiked a case 7 on the river.

Steven held Q-J and saw a flop of J-Q-7 for top two pair. He raised half of his short stack causing Sam to isolate with an all-in. The remaining two opponents folded.

Sam tabled A-7 off drawing extremely thin.
6 on the turn.
7 on the river scores trip sevens and the knock-out.
Another player announced he folded A-7 pre-flop giving Pham the one-outter case 7.

Steven lost this showcase showdown but the voters spoke last night.

Now make on-line gambling legal already!

Set of QQ QQ QQ

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Lee Kirsh - Queeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeens

Lee Kirsh woke up to pocket queens three times in fifteen hands sailing from 30,000 to 192,000 which is amongst the chip leaders.

His Queens doubled up through one opponent then Queens again knocked him out a few hands later.

But the big hand for Lee came when his QQ held up against AJ who had a ton of outs and a monster pot.

"I faded his straight and flush draws and knocked him out" explained Kirsh.

We'll let you know if Lee keeps getting queens and if they keep holding up.

Event 1: Payouts!

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Entries: 970
Total Buy-In: $388,000

Place - Amount

1st $84,682
2nd $49,868
3rd $30,109
4th $25,216
5th $20,700
6th $16,748
7th $13,361
8th $10,162
9th $6,963
10-12 $4,516
13-15 $3,387
16-18 $2,145
19-27 $1,769
28-36 $1,543
37-45 $1,393
46-54 $1,242
55-63 $1,129
64-72 $1,016
73-81 $903
82-90 $828

Event 1: Ryan Express Derailed

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Ryan Eriquezzo's roller coaster day ends on a board of 10 10 5 6 K.

Wayne Lewis (Galloway, NJ) checks the river and Eriquezzo moves all in for his last 50k. Lewis calls and Eriquezzo says he has "nothing," as Lewis shows pocket queens to take the 130k pot.

Eriquezzo was up and down all day fluctuating between 25k and 125k and says he lost a big pot when his aces were cracked by queens before finally busting.

Level 11 (600/1,200/200 ante) continues.

Event 1: Kings Hold

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Matt Jacobi (Durham, NC) has been on a roll and his latest victim is Dave Zeitlin (Brooklyn, NY).

Jacobi's KK holds against Zeitlin's AQ and he now has 225k.

Event 1: Going Green

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

As the field shrinks to 47 tables, players are getting rambunctious and looking forward to the the 7:30 pm dinner break.

The floor managers are coloring-up the green (25) chips during this 15 minute break.

Play resumes with Level 10 (500/1k/100 ante).

Event 1: Room Buzzing

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Signature Room

In addition to nearly 1,000 players in the field, the Borgata Poker Room has 30 live tournament games and the 4 pm Survivor tournament ($200 + $30, 1 in 10 wins $2,000) is underway.

The cage is currently verifying the total number of entries in today's Main Event and the prize pool will be announced shortly.

Event 1: Big Stack

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Vincent DeVita

With players spread across the Signature and Poker rooms, and violent fluctuations in chip stacks, it's hard to find the chip leader.

One big stack is Vincent DeVita (Bayville, NJ) who says his pocket kings held in a three-way all in to win a big hand to help take his stack to 195k.

Anyone in the 200k neighborhood is well ahead of the pack; players are on a 15 minute break.

Event 1: Crackin' Aces

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Mike's AK Miracle

Mike Jimenez (Staten Island, NY) not only cracked pocket aces, but he cracked a set of them with AK offsuit.

On an ace high flop with two diamonds, Jimenez goes runner-runner diamonds to win
with the nut flush.

Jimenez wins the 90k pot and is now up to 115k as the stacks are quickly climbing past the 100k mark.

Event 1: Action Flop

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Harry Hits the River

A big hand in the back of the Signature Room unfolds on a flop of 3 4 5. "Action" Bob Hwang bets 2,600 and Harry Frankel (Monsey, NY) quickly makes it 8k.

Hwang reraises to 19k, Frankel moves all in, and Hwang calls off for 50k total and is at risk.

Hwang: 55 (set of 5s)
Frankel: 66 (pair of 6s, open ended straight draw)

Turn: Q

River: 7

Frankel hits his straight and is the unofficial chip leader with 225k. Hwang is out and joins Josh Brikis, Eric Siegel, and Keith Crowder on the rail as all are recent casualties.

Event 1: Re-Entry Over

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Siegle Savoring Borgata

The first six levels are in the books and the re-entry period is over. Eric Siegel (Melville, NY) is still in the mix after one re-entry and is looking forward to taking advantage of Savor Borgata's Restaurant Week as he's a self admitted "foodie," and enjoys his dinner breaks.

"I love Izakaya, Bobby Flay and SeaBlue," says Siegel, who's nursing a 15k stack and adds that last night's homemade chicken cutlet was on par with the fine dinning you find at Borgata.

The latest head count has the field at more than 950 players.

Level 7 (250/500/50) is underway and levels are now 40 minutes long.

Event 1: Winding Down

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

As level 6 winds down (200/400/50 ante), the short stacks are running out of time to re-enter. The philosophy is to either double-up or bust out and re-enter with a fresh 25k stack.

Another late arrival is Borgata regular Matt "Muffins" Mazzeo, whose table just broke and he's now reseated in the Signature Room.

We also spotted Jim Stenella, who's pledging 10% of any cashes to the American Cancer Society, this is on top of his 1% pledge to Nephcure he makes through PPI.

Keith Crowder and Leanne Rosenblatt are also in the house.

Event 1: Brick House

$400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Brikis Bringing Knowledge

Borgata regular Josh Brikis (Pittsburgh, PA) arrived late, but is settling in. He's the first of the "Inside the Minds" crew on-site as he's locked and loaded for the full series.

Brikis, Jason Young, and Lee Childs are holding a training session next week here at Borgata.

Click here for details as these pros will share the keys to their success, along with in-person instruction and hands-on analysis.

Borgata Fall Poker Open Tournament Leaderboard

Borgata Fall Poker Open Tournament Leaderboard
Win prizes for the Borgata Fall Poker Open Tournament Leaderboard promotion

How To Qualify:
By participating in any Borgata Fall Poker Open event (November 9 - 23, 2011), players will earn points based upon Borgata’s poker tournament leaderboard formula, which takes into consideration three criteria:
  • Tournament Buy-In Amount 
  • Total Event Entries 
  • Place Finished
    Borgata Tournament Leaderboard points are calculated by multiplying the point factors from all three criteria.  The Borgata Tournament Leaderboard will be updated throughout the tournament.

    Winners will be announced Monday, November 28:
    • 1st Place: $3,500 entry into Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship event (January 29 - February 3, 2012) 
    • 2nd - 4th Place: Apple iPod Touch 
    • 5th - 7th Place: Keurig coffee maker 
    • 8th - 10th Place: Nikon digital camera

    Event 1: Ryan Express

    $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    Ryan Rolling Along

    Admittedly Ryan Eriquezzo (Danbury, CT) seems to quietly accumulate chips early in tournaments, but sometimes hits a speed bump along the way. "The key is hanging on to them," says the Borgata regular who's sitting with 110k.

    "Gradual stacking," says one player who's watched Eriquezzo send several people to the rail without winning any huge pots.

    "I always have the nuts," says Eriquezzo about today's play, as he looks to continue his 2011 success.

    Eriquezzo made a deep run in the last Borgata Poker Open Championship Event (22nd/$19,000) to make up for a disappointing finish in Event 2 of the series after he was third in chips heading into Day 2.

    Eriquezzo now has 14 Borgata cashes including the biggest cash of his career ($72,000) when he won the won the 6-max tournament during the Winter Open.

    Event 1: Lady Luck?

    $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    Amanda not Perfect with 10s

    A couple of players are on the opposite side of Lady Luck.

    Amanda Musumeci (Philadelphia, PA) ends up on the wrong side of a 60k pot when she 4-bet jams with pocket 10s and gets unlucky against Scott Eininger (Montebello, NY) who calls with KQ. Eininger flops a queen and cripples Musumeci down to 4k, but then she doubles-up with pocket jacks.

    At the other end of the spectrum is Renata Colache (Clayton, NJ) who's feeling lucky after hitting quad kings on her first hand of the day. She says she squeezed out 7k from the pot and has been hovering around 30k ever since.

    Colache Collects with Quads

    Event 1: 800+

    $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    The early numbers have more than 800 entries in the field as level 4 (100/200) is underway. Players have through level 6 to re-enter the tournament.

    The dealer's cry of, "seat open," is becoming more prevalent as short stacks are busting out and heading to the re-entry line. James Boyle, Tony "Muscles" Campagna, and Jenny So are just some of the notables who busted and are starting with a fresh 25k.

    Event 1: Tax Man

    $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    John "Sykes" Out Opponents

    After flopping set over set to knock out Austen Johnson in the tournament's first 10 minutes, John Sykes (Brooklyn, NY) is still on a roll.

    On back-to-back hands, Sykes shows down a queen high flush and then hits a set of 7s to scoop both pots to take his stack to 65k.

    Sykes says it's quiet in his office as he took the day off from his job as a tax lawyer.

    Players are on a 10 minute break.

    Event 1: More Arrivals

    $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    Alex Queen, the 2010 Borgata Spring Poker Open Champion, is in the field as are Fatty crew members Mike "the Nose" Castaldo and Scott Eininger.

    Two Lancaster county residents and Borgata regulars, Cathy Dever and Fritz Stoner, are also here. Other notables include Tony "Muscles" Campagna, Yat Cheng and Adam "Lippy" Lippert.

    Also in the Field

    Joey "the B" Brooks
    Mike Dentale
    Dave "Coldstone" Inselberg
    Jamie Kerstetter
    Al Riccobono

    Level 3 (75/150) is underway.

    Event 1: Play it Again, Sam

    $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    Despite this headline, "Play it Again, Sam," being misquoted from the classic film Casablanca, the sentiment pertains in this re-entry tournament.

    Austen Johnson (Woodsboro, MD) feels the pain on his first hand when he flops set over set and is back in the registration line. He's now at the same table as James Boyle and Kelly Armentrout.

    Also starting with a fresh 25k stack is Eric Siegel (Melville, NY), who was a victim of flush over flush and says, "does it matter how high in a re-entry tournament," as he sheepishly admits his 8-high flush was no good.

    All re-entry players are seated in the 10 seat as all tables began play 9-handed.

    As for the movie, Ingrid Bergman's actual line was, "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'," a song that Humphrey Bogart's character had strictly forbid the house pianist from playing.

    Event 1: Bling, Bling

    $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    Olga on her Own

    Borgata regulars "Miami" John Cernuto and Mike "Little Man" Sica are in the Signature Room and between them have 4 WSOP bracelets.

    Another familiar face is Olga Varkonyi, who prefers to be known for her 11 career cashes ($121,000), instead of the wife of Robert Varkonyi, the 2002 WSOP Main Event Champion. "We take turns (playing)," says Olga, who left her husband home in Great Neck, NY to manage the two kids.

    Olga hit the road at 5 am to make it here in time for the 11 am start.

    Also in the field is WPT title holder Kevin Saul (Forest Park, IL), who beat Mike Matusow heads-up to win the $1.3 million first prize

    Blinds up to 50/100.

    Event 1: Early Arrivals

    $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    Berger Bagging Chips

    As the registration line is a steady 50 deep, players with seats are settling in. Asa Berger (Chalfont, PA) is taking advantage of the two empty seats to his left as he's been all in two out of the first three hands.

    "I'll do it again if it folds to me," Berger says with a smile after taking the blinds (25/50) with no risk.

    Familiar Faces Already in Action

    James Boyle
    Kelly Armentrout
    Jenny So
    Steve Ryan
    Sirous Jamshidi
    Eric Siegel
    Ryan Eriquezzo
    Gordon Eng
    Larry Gold
    Howard Wolper

    Event 1: Raking Chips

    $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

    Signature Moment
    Fall Open Underway

    The inaugural Borgata Fall Poker Open is off and running with a full house in both the Signature and Poker rooms. The kick off of this 15-day event is a heavy hitter with a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool creating great value for the $450 entry.

    Players love the deep stack (25k) and the 30 minute levels to start with re-entry available for the first six levels.

    The button starts in the 9 seat with blinds at 25/50 as table signs are down and the cards in the air.

    The motto for the Fall Poker Open: Forget Leaves, Rake Chips.

    Wednesday, November 9

    Today's Events (Poker Room/The Signature Room)

    11AM: Event 1 - $400 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
    • Players start with 25,000 in tournament chips 
    • Levels 1-6: will last 30 minutes each | Levels 7+: will last 40 minutes each 
    • Players may Re-Enter during first 6 Levels (unlimited Re-Entry) 
    • 2-Day event
    4PM: Event 22 - $200 + $30 Survivor NLH
    • Players start with 10,000 in tournament chips 
    • Levels 1-10: will last 20 minutes each | Levels 11+: will last 25 minutes each 
    • Approximately 1 in 10 will win $2,000 CASH 
    • 1-Day event

    7PM: Event 23 - $150 + $30 No Limit Hold'em
    • Players start with 10,000 in tournament chips 
    • Levels 1will last 20 minutes each 
    • 1-Day event

      Exclusive Offers for Tournament Participants

      Present your Borgata Fall Poker Open Tournament Receipt and receive the following offers:
      • 20% off beverages at Starbucks 
      • 20% off all new fall merchandise at Hugo Boss
      • 15% off Roma, The Metropolitan, Bread+Butter, Borgata Buffet, Tony Luke's and Lettuce Head
        (Sunday through Saturday*)
      • $20 haircut or Sports Manicure at The Barbershop (reservations required call x7555) 
      • $30 for an Express Manicure or Face Shave at The Barbershop
      • $30 Day Pass to Spa Toccare Men's spa (includes use of spa lounge, whirlpools, steam room, sauna and locker area in men's spa, and use of Pump Room)
      • Tournament hotel rates (based upon availability)
      Exclusions apply. Management reserves all rights. Only valid November 9 - 23, 2011 at Borgata. Tax and gratuity not included. Certain restrictions apply. Must present tournament receipt along with valid identification at time of purchase/service to receive offers. Hotel room reservation must be made in advance to receive special rates. Must present tournament receipt at checkout to receive tournament rate quoted at time of reservation. Subject to change or cancellation.

      * Food offers are not valid in conjunction with other promotions. Must surrender blue tournament receipt at time of redemption.