Saturday, November 12, 2011

Event 5: Break & Chip Update

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Guys just returned from a ten minute break to find blinds have gone up to 1500 / 3000 with 400 ante. As they say, "the price of poker just went up".

Here are your top five chip leaders according to my best estimates:

Table 1...Seat 6... Doug Lovelace... 340,000
Table 3...Seat 7... Rob Therese... 336,000
Table 5...Seat 7... Dave Ganley... 200,000
Table 4...Seat 8... Maruti Yarlapati... 236,000
Table 3...Seat 9... Manh Nguyen... 190,000

I'd take Doug Lovelace's picture but he's heard rumors that once the blog takes your picture your chip stack crashes down. Some sort of jinx. I told him I've seen it work in both directions.

40 players remain - everyone hoping to be one of the top 36 who will cash.

Hold on people, hold on!

Event 5: Last Notable Standing

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Mike "Little Man" Sica hits the nut flush on the turn then loses to a full house.

Mike's A10 vs. Alex Apostol (Staten Island, NY) 7-7.

Little Man shipped his the last of his 35,000 on the flop with the nut-flush draw against Apostol's set of sevens.

Flop: 10♠ K 7

Turn: J

River: K

43rd place short of the money.

Allen Chou and Bob Hwang are the last Borgata notables standing in Event 5 as David Inselberg and Gordon Eng also busted.

Allen's wife Patricia and their friend Wendy keep checking in on him from the rail to offer support.

Event 5: Rob The Blinds

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Rob Therese (Matawan, NJ) - 340,000

Meet Rob Therese (Matawan, NJ) who hasn't played poker in two years. Before his hiatus from the game he played in a weekly cash game. "I never had the patience for tournaments and have only played in two my entire life" laughed Therese.

But his father-in-law thought other-wise taking a shot on Rob and buying him into this Event. Rob was hesitant confessing that his biggest issue was an inability to play tight.

Looks like he's dealing with his problem pretty well as he's currently the chip leader with 340,000 and 4 bounty chips.

Rob just got a new zipcode as his table broke. He's now seated with position on former cl Manh Nguyen who chipped down to ~ 200,000.

45 players remain on 5 tables.

36 slice up the pie.

Event 5: Shove Shack

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

The Signature Room has turned into the Shove Shack (I stole that from one of the players). Seems to be that time in the tournament when you double up or go home.

After Opponent opens for 10,000, Richard Wilson (Baltimore, MD) shoves for 67,000 in the hi-jack seat.

David Inselberg re-shoves for 78,000. Initial raiser tanks and eventually gets out of the way.

Inselberg asks Richard if he has tens or jacks before tabling QQ. Richard flips KK.

"Wow, I'm finally on the other side of that one" exclaimed David.

Board delivered four hearts in a row causing everyone to double check for hearts. Surprisingly nobody had a heart. So cowboys held on a board of 2-J-4-7-10.

"Guess if you did have tens or jacks you would have hit a set and then I'd be mad" laughed Inselberg. After a dealer count-down, that hit dropped David to just a few thousand.

Time to re-build and shove, shove again.

Event 5: Tournament Numbers Update

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

54 players remain on 6 tables.

Top 36 make the money with a min pay of $885.

Average stack is 84,444.

Level 13 underway - Blinds 1000 / 2000 with 300 antes.

Number of Entries: 304

Total chips in play: 4,560,000.

Total Buy-In: $152,000.

Each player started with a $500 purple bounty chip.

Playing until 2am then resuming tomorrow at noon.

Event 5: Showcase Showdown

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Len Vizirov (Philadelphia, PA) picks up his 7th bounty chip in a dramatic, sick, make-you-cry-home-to-Mommy, one-outter river hand. The table could feel the pain from the ousted James Sloat in seat 2.

After a 6,600 open from James "mx4ever" Sloat (Arbutus, MD), Len announced all-in. James called and tabled AK . Len's K♣ K♠ was looking strong.

But you know nothing is easy around. What's ablog-worthy hand without a major sweat or swing?

Flop: 10 A♠ 4

Kings are ace magnets and James felt like king of the world with top pair and the nut flush draw.

Turn: 6♣

Len can only win now with one and only one card.
And the miracle river K fell and gave Vizirov the full-house.
That case king brings Len's stack up to 140,000.
I told you it was sick.

Event 5: Nguyen-ing!

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Manh Nguyen (Pittsburgh, PA) - 225,000

Event 5 chip leader, Manh Nguyen is sort of the defending champ of this event. He won the $500 + $60 NLH Event 4 in Borgata Poker Open last September where he pocked $39,941.

Manh recognized Brian Patterson as both are from Pittsburgh and have played together out there.

Ton of chips at Manh's table as Doug Lovelace sitting two to his right is sitting on 180,000.

Doug's big hand came after raising in early position with 4-2 off and spiking a 4 and a 2 on the flop.

We'll see if these two stacks battle each other or show respect.

Can Nguyen repeat and take down another $500 Borgata NLH Event?

Event 5: Purple Pride

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Table 1 has been action crazy all day long. They are playing the purple $500 bounty game like no one else.

Players claim there is an all-in every two or three hands.

The latest gave Tom Formichella (Brooklyn, NY) a much needed double up when his KK held up against 6-4 off on a board of Q-9-9-5-10.

After a celebration scoop, Tom shows his purple chip that was just at risk and says, "was this what you were looking for? We'll he's coming back this way". Inch by inch Formichella flips his chip back until it's safely in front.

57 players remain on seven tables. Average stack is 77,288.

Top 36 get the cake. Playing until 18 players or 2am.

Event 5: Last Woman Standing

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Borgata Regular Leanne Rosenblatt

The good news is Leanne Rosenblatt is the Last Woman Standing. The bad news is she busted moments after this photo was taken.

You can see her stack was on the short side about 22,000.

Her chips were not at risk the entire day (with only one or two showdowns) until now.

Brian "XXX" Patterson had bullied her blinds earlier and after looking down at AQ, Leanne was ready to fight back.

Unfortunately for her, Patterson had the goods as he tabled AK.

Board ran out 10-9-5-2-10 and the always gracious Leanne shook his hand and departed in 65th place.

So it's all men remaining and with a nickname like "XXX" Brian Patterson (Pittsburgh, PA) now with 190,000 has a good shot to make a deep run.

Event 5: Bob Busts Boatwright

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty  

Carless 'Joe' Boatwright was all-in and busted by 'Action' Bob Hwang.  Adding that bounty chip to his pocket gives Bob his third bounty of the day. 

After that hand, Bob was up to ~65k.  Then Saad Ghanem was all-in for 14,900 and Bob called. 

Saad's QT off was dominated by Bob's AQ suited, but the flop came T T 3  giving Saad trip Tens.  He doubled up and cut Bob's stack down to about 50k.

All tables are now playing 9-handed.

Down to 68 players.  Average is 67k (55 big blinds).

Event 5: Bounty Chip Leader

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty 

Boris Fidelman (Staten Island, NY) just busted two players on the same hand and collected two more bounty chips.

 Boris Fidelman

That puts his total up to 8 bounties ($4,000) and makes him the bounty chip leader.  He's up to about 95k in tournament chips.

Lee Childs just busted out at the hands of Mitch Brown, who picked up his 7th bounty of the day.

Event 5: Join The Club

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Eugene Morgovsky (Brooklyn, NY)

Live and let die by the club flush.

First Eugene Morgovsky earns his fourth bounty chip when his A♣Q four flushes on a board of 2♣ 6♣ 9♣ 5♣ 9. Opponent's pocket fours never had a chance. With the seat still warm, a new player moved in named, Alan Campbell and immediately he wakes up to K♣ J♣ . All in against Q Q♠ as Alan hits a club flush on a board of 10 A♣ 2♣ 3♣ 3. If you got clubs, play em!

Eugene is the director of sales and marketing for Russian Radio and feels lucky to still be in the tournament. "Three blind levels ago I had 10,750 got it in with pocket sixes and three callers" said Morgovsky. After a flop of A-A-2 and an Opponent tabling A-9 it looked like curtains for Eugene until a miracle six hit the river and earned the quadruple up plus blinds.

Event 5: Play Has Resumed

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty 

Play has resumed after dinner with level 11 and blinds of 600/1,200 with 200 antes.

Turns out that Dave Ganley (Colts Neck, NJ) has edged out both Manh Nguyen and John McGuiness for the chip lead.

 Dave Ganley

As of the dinner break, Dave had 185k.  He's also got 4 bounty chips in his pocket ($2,000).

80 players remain.  Average stack is 57k (47.5 big blinds).

Event 5: Payouts

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty 

Entries: 304
Total Buy-In: $152,000

Place - Amount

1st      $39,804
2nd     $22,116
3rd     $13,712
4th     $11,058
5th       $8,552
6th       $7,225
7th       $5,824
8th       $4,349
9th       $2,949
10-12   $1,917
13-15   $1,474
16-18   $1,253
19-27   $1,106
28-36      $885

Event 5: Dinner Time

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty 

Lee Childs doubled up to ~32k when his QJ suited caught a Jack on the turn to beat pocket 7s.

John McGuinness got moved to table 3 where he and Manh Nguyen are in a dead head for the chip lead.  They both have about 170k. 

At the end of the level the dinner bell chimed and players took off for a one-hour dinner break.  Play will resume at 8:30pm.

83 players remain.  36 will get paid (not counting bounties).

Event 5: Little Man Chipping Up

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

There was a three-way pre-flop all-in on table 1.

Mike 'Little Man' Sica was leading with pocket Jacks.
Seat 8 held pocket 6s and the biggest stack.
Robert Praizner held KT and the shortest stack.

The flop came Q J T and Little Man flopped a set, but Robert picked up an open-ended straight draw.

Then last two bricked off 8 5 and Little Man took the pot and his first bounty.  He's up to about 40k.

Robert was busted (no bounties) and seat 8 was left short-stacked.  Saad Ghanem took him out on the next hand and collected his first bounty of the day.

'Action' Bob Hwang was moved into the now vacant seat 8, to the right of Little Man.

Event 5: Goners

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

These folks have busted out at some point today:

Cathy Dever
Jamie Kerstetter
Austen Johnson
Mike Dentale
May Siu
Eric Doerr
Leonid Lerner
Leonardo Palermo
John Lakatosh
Steven Levy
Ryan Eriquezzo
Russell Crane
Jeffrey Papola

Event 5: Luck of the Draw

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Blinds are up to 500/1,000 with 100 antes for level 10.  99 players remain.

When tables break down, players are randomly assigned to the open seats in the room.  That random draw has resulted in two WSOP bracelet holders sharing the felt on table 7.

Arkadiy Tsinis & Jeffrey Papola

Jeffrey Papola (New York, NY) won his bracelet in a $5k NL 6-Max event during the 2010 WSOP.  He has occupied the 8 seat all day.

Arkadiy Tsinis (Las Vegas, NV) was moved into the 3 seat when his last table broke.  Arkadiy won his bracelet in a $1k NL event this summer.

Arkadiy has been on a roll this week, having cashed twice already in events 1 and 3.  Today has not been so good to him, as he's already on his third entry.

Event 5: Chip Leaders

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty 

Bret Painter (Macedonia, OH) is the current chip leader with about 140k. 

 Bret Painter

He's also got 5 bounty chips in his pocket, so he's closing in on Mitch Brown's bounty lead.

John McGuinness (Toms River, NJ) is second with about 110k and 3 bounties collected.

Event 5: Brikis Bricks

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

After three players limped, Josh Brikis shoved from the small blind.  The big blind looked him up.

Josh's AQ suited was dominated by AK.  No help for Josh on the board and he was busted.

Josh collected one $500 bounty for his efforts today, so at least he's not leaving empty handed.

Keith Crowder busted out before the break.  He also left with one bounty to his credit.

Event 5: 116 Remain

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty 

Another level gone, another break enjoyed, now 116 players are back to work.

Level 9 blinds are 400/800 with 75 antes.

Here are some tweets from the break: 

Joe Cappuccio

On break 23.5K 400/800/75  

Gordon Eng
16k good for 20bbs. No bounties yet oh well 
Eli Loewenthal 
Busto in the 1k with 500 bounties with no bounties. Had 4 shots and bricked on all of them 
Michael Hahn
32k at 4/800 now. love my table

Event 5: Bounty Leader

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Don't know who is the chip leader at this point, but I'm pretty sure that Mitch Brown (Bayonne, NJ) is the Bounty Leader.

6 Bounties ^ for Mitch Brown

Mitch has 6 -- count 'em -- six $500 Purple Bounty chips already in his possession.  That's $3,000 in cold hard cash he's already earned today.  Plus he only entered once, so he's already tripled his buy-in.

Mitch is seated at table 1 with Robert Praizner, Lee Childs, Joe Boatright, and Mike 'Little Man' Sica.

Event 5: Crowder Misses Bounty, Again

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

They're having to much fun over on table 12.  In the 6 to 9 seats are Nachman Berlin, John Lakatosh, Bob Hwang, and Keith Crowder.

While I was watching, Keith Crowder was all-in on a Jack-high flop, holding AJ for top/top.  His opponent held QJ for an inferior kicker.  The last two came J 7.

When the stacks were counted down, his opponent had 2,800 more chips than Keith, so she was not busted, so no bounty for Keith.

 Bob Hwang & Keith Crowder

Keith had Bob Hwang all-in with the worst of it before.  Keith had pocket Kings against Bob's pocket Queens.  Bob won the pot, however, so Keith missed that bounty, too. 

Then their roles reversed.  Bob was all-in with Kings and Keith had pocket Queens.  The Kings held up this time and Bob doubled up, leaving Keith short-stacked.

"That's not the worst one" said Keith.  Earlier in the day, Keith was all-in with pocket 6s and beat a player with 5s.  But Keith only had 4,100 chips and his opponent had 4,400, so Keith missed that bounty, too.

Keith does have one bounty in his pocket today, so it cold be worse.  He's currently up to ~30k.

Bob Hwang's got about 45k.

Event 5: Young Out Again

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty 

Jason Young has busted out and there's no coming back now that the re-entry period is over.

Players are dropping quickly now.  Only 15 tables (150 players) remain in action.

Level 7 is done and play continued into level 8 with blinds of 300/600 with 75 antes.

Event 5: Double, Triple

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

A short-stack Mike 'Little Man' Sica moved all-in over an opponent's raise.  He got the call and showed pocket Jacks.  His opponent was racing with AK offsuit.

The board ran out Queen-high and Little Man doubled up to about 16k.

There was a three-way all-in over on table two.  Eric Panayiotou was the shortest stack and he was all-in with pocket Jacks.  Seat 1 was ahead with pocket Aces and another player was behind, but had both covered. 

A Jack hit the board, giving Eric a set.  He tripled up to about 30k.  Seat one took the side pot with his Aces.

Event 5: Day After Veterans Day

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Robert Praizner (Westfield, NJ) is playing today and we thank him for his service.  He is a veteran who was disabled after falling out of a helicopter in Sinai, Egypt.

 Robert Praizner

Everyone at his table was admiring his watch, which is a very expensive Breitling.  He now owns a construction company (All County Waterproofing) that services the entire state of New Jersey.

Robert hasn't collected any bounties yet today, but there's plenty of play remaining.

Event 5: Break Time

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Table 4 continues to be a hot spot.  Jason Young busted 2011 Borgata Winter Poker Open $1k 6-max winner Ryan Eriquezzo.  Ryan has re-entered and is now at table 2 with Eric Panayiotou.

Level 6 expired and once again the players were herded out of the tournament area.  This time they get 15 minutes and this is their last chance to re-enter.

There is no option to surrender a short-stack in favor of re-entering (who would get the bounty?) so anyone left with even a single chip has to continue playing until it is gone.

After the break, play resumed with level 7, blinds 250/500 with 50 antes.

Event 5: Saul Sacked

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

On a flop of Q 9 6 rainbow, WPT titleist Kevin Saul was all-in with the best of it.

His AQ suited (top/top) was out-kicking Ara Melikian (New York, NY) who held KQ.

Ara Melikian

Then the last two peeled off 7 K and Ara paired his kicker on the river to take the pot, and Kevin's bounty, with two pair.

Kevin asked the dealer for a re-entry ticket before leaving the table, so he'll be back in action here shortly.

Mike Dentale, who is sharing the felt with Ara, has already collected three bounties, so he's free-rolling today.

The last few minutes of level 6 are ticking away.  Player are very aware that the break after this level will be their last chance to re-enter, so time for those short-stacks to make a move.

Event 5: Young Out and In, Again

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Jason Young just can't catch a break.  He's busted out and re-entered, again.  "Today is worse than the cheese-grater day" (referring to a particularly bad day he had here during the 2010 Borgata Spring Poker Open).

Table 4 can't catch a break, either.

After busting 2011 Borgata Poker Open $350 NL winner Roland Israelashvilli, they busted 2011 BPO $500 NL winner Manh Nguyen.

Now table 4, seat 9 has been filled by 2009 Borgata Winter Poker Open $350 NL winner and 2008 WSOP bracelet winner Jason Young, who is hoping his third time is the charm.

Event 5: Roland Routed, Re-Entered

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Table four just got a little easier.

Roland Israelashvilli moved his short-stack in and got action from a player holding AK offsuit.  Roland's AJ suited was badly dominated.  The the flop came Q J 3 and Roland took the lead with a pair of Jacks.

A 7 on the turn changed nothing, but the Ten on the river gave his opponent Broadway, the pot, and Roland's $500 bounty chip.  (Interestingly, four spades hit the board, but neither player was holding a spade.)

Roland has re-entered and is now seated at another table.

Level 6 has begun with blinds of 200/400 with 50 antes.  This will be the last level for entries and re-entries.

Event 5: Table of Champions

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

With late arriving and re-entering players, table four has turned into quite a monster.  Currently seated there are

1 - Russell Crane
5 - Ryan Eriquezzo
7 - Gordon Eng
8 - Roland Israelashvilli
9 - Manh Nguyen

Every one of these players has won at least one Borgata Open event in the past.

Down to 20 tables now in the Signature Room, but there is still time for late registrations and re-entries.

Event 4 (PLO) Recap

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

The big stack tournament brought out a lot of big name veterans, but in the end it's a 21-year-old rookie that wins the PLO title of the Borgata Fall Poker Open.

Chris Brand (Little Egg Harbor, NJ) outlasted the 144 player field to win the trophy and the $14,665 first place prize. "I played pretty well," says the College of New Jersey student, "every time I was all in, I was pretty much ahead."

Brand finished just ahead of four other players who all traded chips in crazy 5-handed play.

Stephen Boyer (Seboyeta, NM) 2nd/$8,067, Oliver Entine (Philadelphia, PA) 3rd/$4,644, Brian McCaffrey (Roosevelt, NJ), 4th/$3,911, and Michael Drabot (Riverside, NJ) 5th/$2,933 all saw there title chances slip away into the hands of Brand.

"You just have to run good at the final table," said McCaffrey, who was near the top of the chip counts throughout the 2-day tournament. "I had aces hold up three times, but the fourth time they didn't."

McCaffrey had nearly 1/3 of the chips in play when he won a 1.1 million chip pot and knocked Adam Koll (Westfield, NJ) out in 7th place ($1,956). But a few orbits later, Brand played a 400k chip pot with McCaffrey who turned the nut straight. McCaffrey folded to the all-in bet and Brand had the lead for good.

When Day 2 began, 12 players returned for their shot at the remaining part of the $50,400 total buy-in as Boyer was the chip leader. But the cowboy hat wearing player from New Mexico was in the middle of the pack when the final table began before he rallied for second place.

The field featured a gross number of players, 144 to be exact, as pointed out by WSOP bracelet winner Chris Reslock. He was joined by fellow bracelet holders Freddy Rouhani and "Miami" John Cernuto, along with WPT title holder Kevin Saul, but none of the big names made the final 18 and the money.

Notables who did cash included Larry Gold (Medford, NY) 13th/$856 and poker4life co-founders Jeremy Schwartz (New York, NY) 15th/$856 and Ethan Ruby (New York, NY) 6th/$2,444.

Rounding out the top ten were Dan Horan (Huntington, NY) 8th/$1,467, Richard Bell (Forest Hills, NY) 9th/$1,100, and Michael Farahnick (New York, NY) 10th/$978.

But in the end it's Brand who takes the title and is a rare breed when it comes to the younger generation of poker players. He says he, "doesn't like to miss class to play poker," and was glad that his schedule permitted him to play.

Event 4 Champion: Brand

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Chris Brand (Little Egg Harbor, NJ)
$14,665

After some wild and crazy five handed play, Brand walks away with the PLO title, trophy and cash.

The 21-year-old the College of New Jersey student who says he "doesn't like to miss class to play poker," had Friday clear allowing him to play in this 2-day event.

Chris Brand wins Event 4 (PLO) of the Borgata Fall Poker Open, earning him $14,665.

Event 4: 2nd Place - Boyer

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Stephen Boyer (Seboyeta, NM)
$8,067

Event 4: 3rd Place - Entine

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Oliver Entine (Philadelphia, PA)
$4,644

Event 4: 4th Place - McCaffrey

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Brian McCaffrey (Roosevelt, NJ)
$3,911

Event 4: 5th Place - Drabot

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Michael Drabot (Riverside, NJ)
$2,933

Event 5: Break-Time Tweets

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Several players in the field today are tweeting their progress at breaks, so here are the latest: 

Gordon Eng
Hovering around Initial stack still 

Lee Childs 
22k from 20k starting. $500+$500 bounty. 150/300/25 next level. 
Kevin Saul 
2nd break of borgata, I have 14,850 from 15k start 
Eli Loewenthal 
11.1k from starting stack of 15k on second break. Blinds kickin to 150/300/25. Have had three people all in for bounties and scooped none

Event 5: Dever Dispatched

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

On a flop of 95♣3♣, Cathy Dever was all-in holding 7♣4♣ for the gotshot straight-flush draw.  Her opponent held pocket Queens and was ahead, but Cathy had a lot of outs.

Unfortunately for her, the last two came A 5 and she was busted, surrendering her bounty.  Not sure if she plans to re-enter.

David Inselberg and Jamie Kerstetter have busted out and re-entered.

Arkadiy Tsinis busted out and late arrival Lee Childs has been placed in his empty seat.

Level 4 concluded and players were herded out of the Signature Room for a ten minute break.  Since there are cash bounty chips on the tables, all players must leave the tournament area during breaks.

After the break, play resumed with level 5, blinds 150/300 with 25 antes.

Event 4: 6th Place - Ruby

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Ethan Ruby (New York, NY)
$2,444

Ruby and Stephen Boyer trade chips back and forth on consecutive all ins before Boyer finally knocks out Ruby by hitting a back door flush draw.

Ruby is co-founder of poker4life, an organization that helps raise awareness to how much poker can impact the charity world. "We stress the positive power of poker," says the 35-year old, who's confined to a wheelchair, "and play for a cause bigger than yourself."

Ruby and his brother-in-law, Jeremy Schwartz, who finished 15th in this event ($856), encourage players to donate 1% of their winnings to the charity of their choice.

"As long as they're giving back, that's the most important thing," says Ruby. "The more final tables we make and the higher we finish, the more chances we have getting exposure."

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Ruby was struck by a car and suffered a severe spinal cord injury. That was 10 years ago and Ruby says his life is going "great," as he's now married and has two children (3 years & 2 months old).

Ethan Ruby finishes in 6th place for $2,444.

Event 5: Kumar Kollecting Bounties

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Sumit Kumar (Richmond, VA) has already recouped his buy-in.

 Sumit Kumar

He's up to almost 65k and has already collected three bounty chips ($1,500).

He got two at once on a Jack-high flop with two diamonds.  There were two short-stacks all-in, both holding flush draws.  Sumit had AJ for top/top and he faded the draws to bust both opponents.

Event 5: Free Rolling

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Pignataro Picking Up Purples

Players with two knockouts collect $1,000 in bounties and are essentially free rolling the rest of the tournament.

Dan Pignataro (Fairfield, NJ) is one player who already has two purple chips and says, "it's pretty sweet. If someone's all in for 3 or 4k, I can take a shot at a free $500."

Pignataro is looking for redemption after a disappointing finish in Event 1. He began Day 2 with the chip lead as 90 players returned. But after getting coolered, Pignataro finished 51st ($1,242).

"You expect to have a shot at the final table, but the next thing you know I'm out," says the recent graduate. Pignataro is taking a shot at poker as a career after finishing his degree from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY.

Event 5: Notable Names

$500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

Some more notables and regulars have appeared in the room:

Charles Furey
Steven Levy
John Lakatosh
Leonid Lerner
Jeff Papola
Kevin Saul
Mike Dentale
Doug Rosen
Joe Boatwright
Nachman Berlin
David Inselberg
Grace Sun

22 tables remain active and the entry/re-entry period is still open.

Event 4: Chip Counts

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

After coming to the final 8th in chips with 170k (11 BB), Brian McCaffrey (Roosevelt, NJ) has had pocket aces hold three times. He's now the chip leader with 1 million and more than 1/3 of the chips in play.

Players are on a 10 minute break and when play resumes blinds are 15k/30k.

Seat-Name-Chip Count

1
2
3 Michael Drabot (Riverside, NJ) 430k
4 Brian McCaffrey (Roosevelt, NJ) 1 million
5
6 Chris Brand (Little Egg Harbor, NJ) 390k
7 Ethan Ruby (New York, NY) 255k
8
9 Stephen Boyer (Seboyeta, NM) 365k
10 Oliver Entine (Philadelphia, PA) 480k

Event 4: 7th Place - Koll

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Adam Koll (Westfield, NJ)
$1,956

The biggest hand of the tournament goes to Brian McCaffrey (Roosevelt, NJ), who wins a 1.1 million chip pot and knocks out Koll in the process.

In a hand of blind vs blind, the flop of 6♠ 8♠ 6 set up the all in fireworks.

McCaffrey: A A♣ A♠ 5♠ (two pairs, nut flush draw)
Koll: 7 8 9 10 (wrap straight draw)

The 6 on the turn ends the hand as McCaffrey hits a full house to eliminate Koll and take a commanding chip lead.

Adam Koll finishes in 7th place for $1,956.

Event 4: 8th Place - Horan

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Dan Horan (Huntington, NY)
$1,467

Horan loses his last 82k when he's all in against Brian McCaffrey's pocket aces. Dan Horan, who's a CPA by day and PLO player by night finishes in 8th place for $1,467.

Event 4: 9th Place - Bell

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Richard Bell (Forest Hills, NY)
$1,100

Richard Bell loses his final hand to Oliver Entine to finish in 9th place for $1,100.

Event 4: 10th Place - Farahnick

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Michael Farahnick (New York, NY)
$978

Michael Farahnick runs kings into Brian McCaffrey's aces and is out in 10th place for $978.

Event 4: Final Table

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Top Ten

The last knockout sends Adam Koll to the final table with 576k (36 BB) and the chip lead with blinds at 8k/16k.

Seat-Name-Chip Count

1 Richard Bell (Forest Hills, NY) 112k
2 Dan Horan (Huntington, NY) 102k
3 Michael Drabot (Riverside, NJ) 532k
4 Brian McCaffrey (Roosevelt, NJ) 170k
5 Adam Koll (Westfield, NJ) 576k
6 Chris Brand (Little Egg Harbor, NJ) 356k
7 Ethan Ruby (New York, NY) 174k
8 Michael Farahnick (New York, NY) 255k
9 Stephen Boyer (Seboyeta, NM) 260k
10 Oliver Entine (Philadelphia, PA) 359k

Event 4: 11th Place - Blough

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Bob Blough (Vineland, NJ)
$978


Blough is a short stack with only 130k and is all in with 77A5 against the AAJK of Adam Koll, who hits a straight to win the hand.

"There were no diamonds to be found," says Blough, who's a solar electric panel installer when he's not at the poker tables.

The Borgata regular loves the PLO action and says, "it's a great game because of the options and configurations in putting together a hand."

Bob Blough (Vineland, NJ) finishes in 11th place for $978.


Event 4: 12th Place - Le Roy

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

Chris Le Roy (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ)
$978

Le Roy is disappointed that he came back for Day 2 to play one hand and bust in 12th place.

He's a friendly, but quiet guy, who's not looking for any publicity saying, "make up whatever you want," when asked about his poker game and personal life.

So for a guy who did not donate kidney or play in honor of a deceased relative, Le Roy says he loves PLO and will be back in January for the Borgata Winter Poker Open.

Chris Le Roy (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ) finishes in 12th place for $978.

Event 4: PLO is Back

$350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

(l-r) Adam Koll, Dan Horan & Stephen Boyer Ready to Roll

The 12 remaining PLO players are in their seats and have a head start on the noon start time. Stephen Boyer (Seboyeta, NM) is the chip leader with 466k (38 BB).

The action starts with two tables of six as they chase the $14,665 first prize.

Blinds start with 6k/12k.

Leaderboard Update (11/12)

Borgata Fall Poker Open Leaderboard Update

By participating in any Borgata Fall Poker Open event (November 9-23, 2011), players will earn points based upon the Borgata Poker Tournament Leaderboard Formula.

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
    Below are the top scores for the Borgata Fall Poker Open Leaderboard contest through November 11th events* (Final Results from events 1, 2, 3, 22 23, 24, 25, 26)
    264.000 PTS:  MICHAEL LYDON (MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY)
    226.150 PTS:  AMANDA MUSUMECI (FLEETWOOD, PA)
    194.175 PTS:  ERIC LISICA (GLEN BURNIE, MD)
    192.000 PTS:  PAUL LONGO (WHITE PLAINS, NY)
    185.888 PTS:  NAVEEN THORATI (MARLBOROUGH, MA)
    184.800 PTS:  MICHAEL MICHNIK (HOLLYWOOD, FL)
    178.475 PTS:  NORMAN RODRIGUEZ (POINCIANA, FL)
    153.025 PTS:  SAHU HABIBI (NEW YORK, NY)
    152.750 PTS:  CHARLES BARRETT (DUNKIRK CAL, MD)
    139.500 PTS:  SON NGUYEN (ELKRIDGE HO, MD)
    135.888 PTS:  JOHN DEGEORGE (TOMS RIVER, NJ)
    134.400 PTS:  LANA OBRIEN (ENGLISHTOWN, NJ)

    Event 5: Purple People Eaters

    $500 + $60 + $500 NLH Purple Chip Bounty

    Arkadiy Tsinis (Las Vegas, NV) is looking for the trifecta after cashing in the first two events he's played in the Borgata Fall Poker Open.

    Tsinis finished 17th ($2,145) in Event 1 and 12th ($1,801) in Event 3. Here's an early look at who's already taken their seats.

    In the Field:

    Jason Young
    Gordon Eng
    Eric Doerr
    Mike Sica
    Joe Brooks
    Austen Johnson
    Bob Hwang
    Leonardo Palermo
    Keith Crowder
    Cathy Dever
    Jamie Kerstetter
    Leanne Rosenblatt
    Jen Shahade
    May Sui

    Event 5: Bounty Hunters

    $500 + $60 + $500 Purple Chip Bounty NLH (Re-Entry)

    The first Main Event bounty tournament of the Borgata Fall Poker Open is underway and it's a doozy. Each knock out earns a player purple $500 chip; add in the re-entry and we're expecting fireworks.

    Players start with 15k in chips, levels are 45 minutes long and the cards are in the air!

    Saturday, November 12

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

    11AM: Event 5 - $500 + $60 + $500 Purple Chip Bounty No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
    • Players start with 15,000 in tournament chips 
    • This is a Bounty No Limit Hold'em tournament.  Players must have their Bounty Chip clearly displayed in order to remain active in tournament.
    • Players that "bust" within the first 6 Levels may Re-Enter (unlimited Re-Entries)
    • Levels will last 45 minutes each
    • 2-Day event


    4PM: Event 27 - $400 + $50 Survivor No Limit Hold'em
    • Players start with 12,000 in tournament chips 
    • Levels 1-10: each will last 30 minutes | Levels 11+: each will last 40 minutes
    • Approximately 1 in 10 will win $4,000 Cash 
    • 1-Day event

      Event 4 - Start of Day 2 Chip Counts

      Borgata Fall Poker Open
      Event 4: $350 + $50 Pot Limit Omaha High
      November 11-12, 2011

      Entries: 144
      Total Buy-In: $50,400

      Avg. Chip Stack:  240,000

      START OF DAY 2 CHIP COUNTS:

      1. STEPHEN BOYER (SEBOYETA, NM): 466,000
      2. CHRISTOPH BRAND (LITTLE EGG HBR, NJ): 327,000
      3. BRIAN MCCAFFREY (ROOSEVELT, NJ): 310,000
      4. ETHAN RUBY (NEW YORK, NY): 292,000
      5. ADAM KOLL (WESTFIELD, NJ): 284,000
      6. MICHAEL DRABOT (RIVERSIDE, NJ): 267,000
      7. OLIVER ENTINE (PHIADELPHIA, PA): 262,000
      8. ROBERT BLOUGH (VINELAND, NJ): 222,000
      9. CHRISTOPH LEROY (EGG HBR TWP, NJ): 140,000
      10. MICHAEL FARAHNICK (NEWYORK, NY): 139,000
      11. RICHARD BELL (FORESTHILL, NY): 138,000
      12. DANIEL HORAN (HUNTINGTON, NY): 59,000

      Event 3 Recap

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      11-11-11 set the backdrop for another exciting Borgata Fall Poker Open Event which is now in the books. When the dust settled, after a lengthy final table, it was Paul Longo who finished on top winning all of the 4,274,000 chips in play and hauling home the $37,401 top prize.

      Paul had the day off for Veteran's Day and came to Borgata to score the holiday hit and run.

      First lets rewind to 11AM on 11-11-11 where Tables 1-25 began in the Signature Room and another 10+ were set up in the Poker Room. Everyone loved the 30 minute levels which brought many Borgata regulars, notables, and even Veterans to the felt.

      George Medrano, Gordon Eng and Barry Leventhal were just some of the heavy hitters in the field. Other notables included: Adam Lippert, Larry Gold, Lee Kirsch, Jennifer Shahade, Joey "The B" Brooks, Cathy Dever, Austen Johnson, Dave "Z" Zeitlin, Roland Israelashvili, Mike Sica, Ryan Eriquezzo, and Josh Brikis.

      Some Veteran's in the field were John Hatalovsky (Roebling, NJ) who served in the Army in the "'40s and '50s," on tour of the Philippines and South Korea and Hector Domingues a Vietnam Vet who now lives in Carteret, NJ.

      A fun battle between the last three women standing all at the same table. Grace Sun was the first of the last women out, followed by Ashira Lavine who made the final table. Last Women honors went to Borgata regular Lana O'Brien who finished in 2nd Place and is playing for two with a baby on the way.

      WSOP bracelet winner Arkadiy Tsinis finished in 12th place for $1,801 and knocked out the bubble in 37th place with his 8-2 off-suit.

      Final Table of ten moved from the Signature room into Borgata Poker room and played until the wee hours of the morning. Paul Longo, Dan Roitman, Mark Sykes, Lana O'Brien, Jerry Maher, Mike Wolf, Ashira Lavine, Jerry Savino, Marco Grasso, and Michael Briggs were all gunning for a slice of the $142,800 Total Buy-In.

      Third place of $12,882 went to Jerry Maher (Warren, NJ) while $20,777 was awarded to Lana O'Brien for a second place finish.

      But once again the winner of the $37,401 and the Borgata trophy was Paul Longo who outlasted all 357 players and took this Event down. Congratulations!

      Event 3: 1st Place - Paul Longo

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Paul Longo (White Plains)
      $37,401


      Congratulations to Paul Longo who had the day off for Veteran's day and decided to play a little poker at Borgata. His 18 hour day-off delivered a $37,401 payday.

      It was a Longo road for Paul as he had over 700,000 chips then dusted off 500,000 right before the final table. Somehow he was able to re-built including a crucial runner, runner diamond hit in an A-K suited showdown.

      "I was patient and I picked my spots" explained Mr. Longo.

      A hit and run for Paul Longo who has to return to work and won't be able to play any more Borgata Fall Poker Open events. Enjoy the trophy and the victory!

      Paul Longo finished in 1st Place earning $37,401.


      Event 3: 2nd Place - Lana O'Brien

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Lana O'Brien (Bound Brook, NJ)
      $20,777

      I call collusion as Lana O'Brien was playing with another person at the table - her unborn child about to be born.

      $20,777 will pay for a truckload of pampers!

      Lana played fantastic the entire day and was always kind to the poor victims she knocked-out.

      Too bad this wasn't a bounty as O'Brien would have collected many.

      Lana O'Brien finished in 2nd Place earning $20,777.

      Event 3: 3rd Place - Jerry Maher

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Jerry Maher (Warren, NJ)
      $12,882

      Jerry Maher finished in 3rd Place earning $12,882.

      Event 3: 5th Place - Mark Sykes

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Mark Sykes (New Haven, CT)
      $8,034

      Once Dan Roitman was out, the final five got whacked very quickly.

      Mark Sykes finished in 5th Place earning $8,034.

      Little Bad Beat Hits

      David Grandieri (Danbury, CT) - 3-3-3-3

      At approximately 3:15 AM the little bad beat hit for $50,000 on the $5-$10 no-limit table in the far left area of Borgata Poker Room. The 8 participants jumped and shouted for joy as you would expect.

      Board ran out: 34♠ 736.

      Nina Abrahams (Livingston, NJ) with A9 flopped the nut flush and would be beat by two other opponents.

      James Gargiso (Staten Island, NY) won the hand with his 4 5 along with second place little bad beat payout money.

      But it was David Grandieri (Danbury, CT) with 3♣3♠ who turned quad three's and lost to a river straight flush and thus won the little bad beat.

      Congratulations to all the players involved!

      Event 3: 6th Place - Dan Roitman

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Dan Roitman (Westfield, NJ)
      $6,787

      Dan's farewell hand started off with a hiccup as he shipped his 200,000 short stack all-in out of turn. Paul Longo called the big blind so Dan's move would stand.

      Both players tabled the same hand, A-K suited. Paul with AK.

      Harmless enough flop of 10♣ K♣ 5 so you figure we're chopping this baby up.

      7 on the turn gives Roitman a major sweat.

      Sure enough another diamond Qfinds the river and just like that Roitman is heading home.

      Down to five players. Start brewing some coffee.

      Dan Roitman finished in 6th Place earning $6,787.

      Event 3: 4th Place - Jerry Savino

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Jerry Savino (Charlotte, NC)
      $10,389

      Avid Borgata Blog reader Jerry Savino finished in 4th Place earning $10,389.

      Event 3: 7th Place - Michael Briggs

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Michael Briggs (Hamilton, NJ )
      $5,471

      Rough exit for Micahel Briggs. Here's the hand that he couldn't get away from.

      Briggs holding 9♠ 6♠ vs. Lana O'Brien's K♠ 7♠ .

      Board runs: 10♠ 5♠ 10 4♠ 2 .

      Michael called Lana's flop shove with the flush draw but was blocked out and drawing to a miracle runner, runner.

      Lana said "nice playing with you" as Michael Briggs set sail in seventh place.

      Michael Briggs finished in 7th Place earning $5,471.

      Event 3: 8th Place - Marco Grasso

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Marco Grasso (Morris Plains, NJ)
      $4,086

      Marco Grasso shoved with A-4 and ran into Mark Sykes' pocket tens. Grasso played a great tournament and I remember when he won a huge double up early on how he stood up, shouted out in joy and kept the momentum going until the final table.

      Unfortunately at the final table he was virtually card dead, asking the dealer to wash them extra good so he would stop getting the four of clubs.

      Marco Grasso finished in 8th place earning $4,086.

      Event 3: 9th Place - Mike Wolf

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Mike Wolf - 9th Place - $2,770

      Mark Wolf got it all in pre-flop holding A-K but Paul Long's wired 7-7's held up.

      Wolf was bounced out in 9th place.

      Mike Wolf finished in 9th place earning $2,770.

      Event 3: 10th Place - Ashira Lavine

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Ashira Lavine (Rockville, MD)
      $1,801

      End of the road for Ashira Lavine who just missed out on being the Last Woman Standing but did make the final table.

      Getting very short in chips with blinds ballooning, Ashira Lavine pushed in dark holding J-6. Michael Briggs called in the big blind tabling K-2.

      A king on the river sealed Ashira's fate.

      Ashira Lavine finishes in 10th Place earning $1,801

      Event 4: End Of Night Chip Counts

      $350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

      Stephen Boyer - 466,000 - Chip Leader

      Event 4 Chip Counts:
      1. Stephen Boyer...466,000
      2. Christopher Brand...327,000
      3. Brian McCaffrey...310,000
      4. Ethan Ruby...292,000
      5. Adam Koll...284,000
      6. Michael Drabot...267,000
      7. Oliver Entine...262,000
      8. Robert Blough...222,000
      9. Christopher Leroy...140,000
      10. Michaael Farahnick...139,000
      11. Richard Bell...138,000
      12. Dan Horan...59,000

      Short stack Dan Horan told me he's been short stack since 3:30.

      The last hand of the night knocked out two players including Larry Gold who found out the tournament was two-days a few minutes before being felted.

      Event 4 resumes later today at 12:00 noon in a room to be determined.

      Event 3: Final Table Set

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      Seat...Player...Chip Count
      1. Paul Longo...245,000
      2. Dan Roitman...200,000
      3. Mark Sykes...440,000
      4. Lana O'Brien...750,000
      5. Jerry Maher...670,000
      6. Mike Wolf...260,000
      7. Ashira Lavine...235,000
      8. Jerry Savino...422,000
      9. Marco Grasso...240,000
      10. Michael Briggs...760,000

      Still anybody's game. Play has begun in Borgata Poker Room.

      Playing until we have a winner who will take home $37,401 out of the $142,800 Total Buy-In.



      Event 3: Up To The Final Table

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em

      We made it to the final table of ten which will be posted soon.

      All ten are being moved out of the Signature Room into the back of Borgata Poker Room near the PLO Event 4 tournament.

      Recent bust-outs include:

      Frank Pasquale 14th - $1,385
      Justin Friedman 13th - $1,385
      Arkadiy Tsinis 12th - $1,801
      Adam Greenfield 11th - $1,801

      Event 3: Double Knock-Out

      $400 + $50 No Limit Hold'em


      Carmine Napolitano - 15th Place



      Jerry Maher knocks out two birds with one stone. Jerry's A-K got better and better as he flopped a king and turned another king. He knocked out Carmine Napolitano in 15th place for $1,385 and Karthik in 16th place for $1,177.

      Carmine called pre-flop with AJ while Karthik was short and got it in with only J-6.

      Bryan Seckrettar busted in 17th place.

      Event 4: Bubble Burst

      $350 + $50 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha

      Down to 18 players which means we're in the money.

      Hand for hand only lasted one hand. Bang, bang the 20th player went down - followed by 19th bubble boy.

      Remaining two tables are in the money with a minimum payday of $733 and a maximum 1st place prize of $14,665.

      Playing until 2am where we'll bag and tag and come back at noon tomorrow to wrap things up.

      Bob Blough told me "It was a grind but now I can play" referring to sweating out the bubble.

      Chip leader still is Brian McCaffrey now with 500,000.