Event 10: 300+

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Sykes (left) Stacking Ludwick's Chips,
Who Regroups in the Background

Mark Sykes (New Haven, CT) wins a big pot against Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ) and the two trade the chip lead.

On a board of J♥ 3♥ A♦ A♥ 8♠, Sykes checks and Ludwick makes a smallish 33k bet.

Sykes tanks, calls and Ludwick says, "I missed," and throws his cards into the muck. Ludwick turns over K♠ J♣ for two pairs and Sykes complements his foe with a, "great call."

Sykes isn't afraid of the aces or flush and now has 360k, and wants to make sure we mention Indi on her birthday. Ludwick drops to 280k.

Dan Pignataro (Fairfield, NJ) is second in chips with 350k, while Kalid Ali (Silver Spring, MD) is at 305k.

Matt Brady (Havertown, PA) is on the rail when his A 9 runs into KK, as 44 players remain, including Amanda Musumeci (Philadelphia, PA), who's the last woman standing.

The money bubble looms as the top 30 cash.

Event 11: 8th Place - Pellicone

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Joseph Pellicone (Westfield, NJ)
$1,518

This Event was the first live tournament Joseph Pellicone has ever played. Imagine winning $1,518 right off the bat in your first tournament ever. Sure, Joseph has played a little on-line and knows the game but this was his first actual live tournament.

He was getting short stacked so shipped it with Q-10. He hit a Queen on the flop but Opponent who held A-8, hit an ace on the turn.

He enjoyed the final table and had fun playing poker with the other Seniors.

Joseph Pellicone finished in 8th Place earning $1,518.

Event 11: 9th Place - Halpern

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

William Halpern (Princeton, NJ)
$1,138

William enjoys a higher payday since he had more chips than Dean Potashner going into the hand.

William was frustrated since he had the best hand going in and only lost on the rivered flush.

William Halpern finished in 9th Place earning $1,138.

Event 11: 10th Place - Potashner

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Dean Potashner (Harding, NJ)

$1,012

Crazy final hand ousted Dean Potashner in 10th and William Halpern in 9th.

Jim Paluszek had A♦ K♦ vs. Dean's K♠Q♠ vs. William's Q♣Q♥.

Board ran out 8♠ 7♦ J♦ 5♣ 10♦ .

William had the hand until Jim rivered a diamond flush.

Dean Potashner finished in 10th place earning $1,012.

Event 11: Final Table Set

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Final Table:

Player....Chips
1. Kevin Smith...55,000
2. Alan Moon...100,000
3. Padraic Bradley...228,000
4. Joseph Pellicone...32,000
5. Jim Paluszek...300,000
6. William Halpern...122,000
7. Dean Potashner...69,000
8. Henry Porcaro...290,000
9. John Whitworth...170,000
10. Arthur Bressler...210,000

Congrats to our final ten.

Guy Tull (Annapolis, MD) was the final table bubble as he finished in 11th place for $1,012.

Guy got it in with A-8 and ran into A-J which held up. Guy said he was happy to get that far since he was so short before the bubble.

2 for 2 cashes for Guy at Borgata. 7th in yesterday's Omaha H/L.

Steve Crafcheck (Slatington, PA) said farewell in 12th place right before Guy busted.

Players are on a ten minute break.

Event 10: Payouts

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Entries: 299
Total Buy-In: $119,600

Place - Amount

1st $29,586
2nd $17,576
3rd $13,341
4th $10,731
5th $8,411
6th $6,091
7th $4,640
8th $3,190
9th $1,740
10-12 $1,450
13-18 $1,160
19-24 $870
25-30 $696

Event 11: Quads Bust Cousin

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Robert "Cousin" Reusing (Reading, PA)
$885

If you're gonna exit a tournament it might as well be after your Opponent flops quad aces.

That's what just happened to Robert "Cousin" Reusing who got it in good holding deuces pre-flop but was called by Opponent's A-7 suited.

Triple A club on the flop had Cousin seeing quads and the rail.

Down to the dirty dozen.

Robert Reusing finished in 13th Place earning $885.

Event 11: Senior Send-Off

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Here are some fast bust-outs from Event 11.

18th...Victor McCoy...$759
17th...Denny Gross...$759
16th...David Schulman (Scarbarough, NY)...$759
15th...Robert Scarazzini (Bronx, NY)...$885
14th...John Albertsen (Ridge, MD)...$885

Closing in on our Final Senior Table located in the Poker Room.

Jim "Mailman" Paluszek is still the tournament chip leader getting close to 300,000.

Event 10: Chip Leaders

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Mark Sykes has seized the chip lead with 255k and is just ahead of Kalid Ali who has 248k.

Harry Korotki, the Event 5 winner ($39,804) is quietly making his way up the leaderboard as there are a lot of stacks in the 200k range. Heading in the opposite direction is dinner break chip leader Chris Leong, who's been cut by 1/3 from 300k.

72 players remain with an average stack of 103k, as the top 30 cash.

Big Stacks

Mark Sykes (New Haven, CT) 255k
Kalid Ali (Silver Spring, MD) 248k
Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ) 230k
Harry Korotki, (Owings Mills, MD) 200k
Chris Leong (New York, NY) 200k

Still Playing

Mike Castaldo
Dave Inselberg
James Boyle
Matt Brady
Amanda Musumeci

Event 11: Final Two Tables

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Eighteen Seniors have made the money.

Table 1:
1. Kevin Smith
2. Padraic Bradley
3. Jim "Mailman" Paluszek
4. William Halpern
5. Robert Scarazzini
6. Dean Potashner
7. John Albertsen
8. David Schulman
9. Victor McCoy

Table 2:
1. Arthur Bressler
2. Alan Moon
3. Joseph Pellicone
4. Guy Tull
5. Henry Porcaro
6. Denny Gross
7. John Whitworth
8. Robert "Cousin" Reusing
9. Steve Crafcheck

Henry Porcaro (Warwick, NJ) shared a funny quote with the table.
"These people are so old they were Seniors in High School" - Henry Porcaro.

Playing this tournament until it's conclusion. Good luck Seniors!

Event 11: In The Money

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Steve Rinker (Taney Town, MD) - Bubble Boy

Steve Rinker is your Event 11 bubble going out in 19th place. Everyone felt so bad they each bought him a cup of coffee on the way out. Nice guys!

Steve was short stacked and got it in holding Q-3. He hit his Queen but lost to Opponent's A-8 on a board of 5-A-Q-2-A.

Congratulations to the remaining 18 players who will take a quick break as we redraw for seats.

Guy Tull who finished 7th in Omaha was ecstatic to make the money since he was so short just a few orbits ago. Another cash for Tull.

Event 11: Double Bubble

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Robert "Bertman" Scarazzini & Girlfriend Dawn Marie

Tom Bessoir (New York, NY) called the all-in shove of Robert Scarazzini.

Robert had AA vs. Tom's 10-10. Aces held on a board of 3-J-K-6-7.

Tom is the double bubble. He explained, "I'm playing to win it...Can't fold tens there."

Dawn Marie cheered her man from the rail and rewarded him with a kiss.

These Seniors are having more fun than the young guns.

One away from the money!

Event 11: Full House Time

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Steve Crafcheck (Allentown, PA) brings the field one closer to the cash once his J-Q discovers a full house on a board of 2-10-Q-10-Q. Steve sent his upset Opponent home holding A-10.

With that scoop, Crafcheck's stack soars up around 100,000.

21 players remain.

Top 18 get the Prune Juice.

Event 8 Recap

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

It was a veteran player with 100 career tournament cashes heads up against a man playing in his first ever tournament, and in the end it's the newbie who takes down Event 8 of the Borgata Fall Poker Open.

Harry Zhou (Baltimore, MD) outlasted Mike "Little Man" Sica (N. Brunswick, NJ) to take the title and the $48,351.

"It's great," says Zhou, a computer science professor at Towson University, "but I play for fun, it's not about the money, it's about the decision making process."

Zhou, who normally plays $2/$5 no limit cash games, decided to take his shot because he "wanted to try out a tournament," as he normally doesn't have the time to spend 20+ hours over two days for one event.

"He played great," said Sica, who was impressed with Zhou's aggression that kept opponent's on their heels. This was Sica's 100th career cash, according to pokerpages.com, for more than $1.1 million in career earnings, including a WSOP bracelet in 2004.

But he almost wasn't around to see it.

Just before the bubble on Day 1, Sica was down to 18k (3 BB) and not only survived to make the money, but grinded the short stack all the way to the final table.

"It proves never give in, never give up," says Sica, "I'm an excellent short stack player. It's what I had to do to win my bracelet."

Day 2 began with 41 players and surprisingly Sica, who was 38th in chips (110k/7 BB), wasn't the only short stack to make the final table. Mike Tauman (Metchen, NJ) also made a deep run (4th/$13,885) despite starting the day 39th (95k/6 BB).

But while the short stacks struggled to survive, Zhou dominated the final table as the chip leader, including a dramatic double knockout for a 6 million chip pot.

Zhou flopped two pairs against Ryan Eriquezzo (Danbury, CT), who finished 8th/$5,535 and Jonathan Rice (Cumberland, MD) 7th place/$7,088, as the two eliminations gave him more than half the chips in play 6-handed.

Sica leveled the playing field by eliminating three of the next four players including Adam Sloan (New York, NY) 6th/$8,933, Tauman in 4th, and Steven Rodriguez (Staten Island, NY) 3rd/$17,477 to set up the 75 minute heads up match.

572 players were chasing their piece of the $200,200 total buy-in and the field featured many of the Borgata regulars including Event 1 winner Mike Lydon, Event 2 winner Amanda Musumeci, and Event 5 winner Harry Korotki.

Rounding out the final table were Matthew Wantman (Stonehand, MA) 5th/$10,875, Tommy Flanagan (Brooklyn, NY) 9th/$3,884, and Henri Berberian (Aix En Provence, France) 10th/$2,525, who was stunned by his exit.

Berberian pocket jacks were run over by Sica's pocket 5s when he flopped quads, but Sica couldn't keep the magic going against Zhou, who's teaching specializes in artificial intelligence that he applies to poker.

"It assumes you have intelligence to play the game," he joked while smiling and holding the Event 8 championship trophy.

Event 8 Champion - Zhou

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Harry Zhou (Baltimore, MD)
$48,351

The first hand after the first break in heads up play Zhou beats Mike "Little Man" Sica to win the title.

Harry Zhou, who's a computer science professor at Towson University, and playing in his first ever tournament, takes the trophy and $48,351.

Event 8: 2nd Place - Sica

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Mike Sica (N. Brunswick, NJ)
$27,187

"Little Man" Sica, who was down to 18k (3 BB) as the bubble approached on Day 1, not only survived to make the money, but grinds the short stack all the way to the final table and finishes runner-up to Harry Zhou.

Mike Sica finishes in second place for $27,187.

Sica & Zhou

Event 11: Check Raise Is In The Mail

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Jim "Mailman" Paluszek sits on top of the Seniors with 200,000. The Opponent to his left chimed in, "I helped" which got a laugh. Jim took a small hit as the bubble looms.

Guy Tull shipped his last 8200 in on the button causing sb to call and Jim to jam. Sb folded Jim's isolation bet and the two raced away.

Jim's 5-5 fell to Guy's A-Q suited once and Ace hit the flop.

Guy final tabled yesterday's Omaha H/L.

Event 8: Trading Chips

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Sica & Zhou

"Little Man" Sica and Harry Zhou have been playing heads up for one hour and we've yet to see a river showdown.

Zhou has extended his chip lead slightly to a 9.1 million (46 BB) to 5.2 million (26 BB) advantage as blinds are 100k/200k/30k ante.

Event 10: Dinner Break

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

The 91 remaining players are on dinner and Chris Leong (New York, NY) continues to lead the chip counts with 305k. There are a host of other stacks in the 200k range include Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ).

Play resumes at 8:30 pm.

Event 11: Numbers Game

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Number of Entries: 149
Players Remaining: 24
Chips In Play: 1.5 million

Average Stack: 62k
Big Stack: 224k

Play Resumes: 8:10 pm
Next Blinds: 1,500/3k/400 ante

Total Buy-In: $52,150
First Prize: $15,175
Places Paid: 18

Event 8: 3rd Place - Rodriguez

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

After Harry Zhou folded on the button, Steven Rodriguez moved all-in from the small blind.

Mike 'Little Man' Sica called from the big, tabling pocket Tens.

 Steven Rodriguez (Staten Island, NY)

$17,477

Steven held KJ suited and was racing for his tournament life.

The board came 7 7 4 4 A and Mike claimed another pot.

Steven Rodriguez finished 3rd for $17,477.

Heads-up play began with Harry Zhou in the lead with about 8 million to Mike's 6.3 million.

Event 8: 4th Place - Tauman

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

On the second hand back from break, Mike Sica opened for 425k utg.  Action folded to Mike Tauman's big blind, who moved all-in.

 Mike Tauman (Metuchen, NJ)

$13,885

Sica snap-called, tabling pocket Jacks.  Tauman had QJ offsuit.  The board ran out K 6 3 A 4 and Mike's Jacks held up.  He's now up to ~4.5 million.

Mike Tauman finished in 4th place, earning $13,885.

Three players remain.

Event 11: Dinner Break

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Jim "Mailman" Paluszek

Jim Paluszek is the chip leader with 224k as the final 24 players are on dinner break, just six spots off the money.

Henry Poracaro (Warwick, NY) is second overall with 130k.

When play resumes at 8:10 pm blinds are 1,500/3k/400 ante.

Event 8: Final Four Chip Counts

 $350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Here are some rough chip counts as of the break:

Harry Zhou - 8 million
Mike Sica - 3.2 million
Steve Rodriguez - 1.7 million
Mike Tauman - 1.35 million

Play resumed with blinds of 80k/160k with 20k antes.

Event 8: 5th Place - Wantman

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Harry Zhou moved in from the button and Matthew Wantman called all-in from the small blind (bb folded).

 Matthew Wantman (Stonehand, MA)

$10,875

Harry tabled 94 off.  Matthew was ahead with pocket 7s.  The flop and turn were clean, but then a 9 hit the river, giving Harry the bigger pair and yet another pot.

Matthew Wantman was busted in 5th place.

That's also the end of the level and players are taking ten.

Event 11: Payouts

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Entries: 149
Total Buy-In: $52,150

Place - Amount

1st $15,175
2nd $8,347
3rd $4,806
4th $4,047
5th $3,035
6th $2,529
7th $2,023
8th $1,518
9th $1,138
10-12 $1,012
13-15 $885
16-18 $759

Event 8: 6th Place - Sloan

 $350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Mike 'Little Man' Sica raised to 300k on the button, then Adam Sloan announced he was all-in from the big blind.  Mike asked for the count and their stacks were close, but Adam had a tad more.

Mike called all-in, tabling AT off.  Adam was dominated with A8 off.

The board came K 9 7 J 5 and Little Man doubled up to ~3.6 million.

 Adam 'slug' Sloan (New York, NY)

$8,933

Adam was left with less than 100k and was all-in for 75k in the small blind on the next hand.

After two players called the 120k big blind, Harry Zhou moved all in, folding the field.  He had pocket Queens and was facing Adam's K7 suited.  The board came A K Q 3 2 and Harry took the pot.

Adam Sloan finished in 6th place, earning $8,933.

Event 8: Chip Counts

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Blinds are now up to 60k/120k with 20k antes.

Rough chip counts:
Harry Zhou - 6.4 million
Steven Rodriguez - 2.1 million
Adam Sloan - 1.9 million
Mike Sica - 1.4 million
Matthew Wantman - 1.3 million

Event 8: By The Numbers

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Number of Entrants: 572
Players Remaining: 6
Chips In Play: 14.3 million

Average Stack: 2.3 million (23 BB)
Current Blinds: 50k/100k, 10k antes
Big Stack: 6.8 million (68 BB)

Total Buy-In: $200,200
Places Paid: 54

Remaining Payouts:
1st    $48,351
2nd  $27,187
3rd   $17,477
4th   $13,885
5th   $10,875
6th     $8,933

Event 10: On The March

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

7 or 8 remaining tables from the Poker room have bagged and tagged and are finding a new zipcode over in the Signature Room.

Signature Room players are currently on a 20 minute color-off break with lime 25's racing off.

So a lot of traffic activity as players are scrambling to find their seats and re-set.

When we return from break Level 10 kicks in with 500 / 1000 blinds and 100 antes.

What the Duck?

Mystery player seated to the left of chip leader Christopher Leong now with 265,000.

Event 8: Chip Counts

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Name-Chip Count

Harry Zhou (Baltimore, MD) 7.5 million
Mike Tauman (Metuchen, NJ) 2.3 million
Adam Sloan (New York, NY) 1.5 million
Mike Sica (N. Brunswick, NJ) 1.3 million
Steven Rodriguez (Staten Island, NY) 800k
Matthew Wantman (Stoneham, MA) 645k

Event 10: Love The Structures

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

David Inselberg (Long Beach, NY) - 118,000

Okay, so it's not quite Byan Devonshire's castles from the WSOP coverage but David Inselberg is still showing off some creativity with his 118,000.

Wonder how long it will take before James Boyle knocks it down.

14 tables remain in the Signature Room.
7 tables remain in the Poker Room.

Blinds are 500 / 1000 with 100 antes.

This is a two day tournament so players will bag and tag tonight and finish up tomorrow at noon.

Dinner break in a couple hours at 7:30 pm.

Event 8: 7th Place - Rice

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Jonathan Rice (Cumberland, MD)
$7,088

Event 8: 8th Place - Eriquezzo

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Ryan Eriquezzo (Danbury, CT)
$5,535

Event 8: 2 Knockouts for 6 Million Chip Pot

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Eriquezzo, Zhou & Rice

Ryan Eriquezzo moves all in for 1.4 million, Harry Zhou quickly calls, and Jonathan Rice reraises all in for another 850k.

After thinking for a short time, Zhou calls and has both players covered.

Eriquezzo: K♦ J♦ (gutshot straight draw)
Zhou: A♠ Q♣ (top two pairs)
Rice: J♥ J♠

Flop: A♣ Q♥ 8♣

Turn: 6♠

River: 8♥

Zhou flops top two pairs and wins the hand with a double knockout, he now has more than half the chips in play.

Ryan Eriquezzo (Danbury, CT) was the shorter of the two stacks and finishes in 8th place for $5,535.

Jonathan Rice (Cumberland, MD) finishes in 7th place for $7,088.

Event 8: 9th Place - Flanagan

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Tommy Flanagan (Brooklyn, NY)

$3,884

Event 11: Moon Rocks

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Alan Moon (Syracuse, NY) - 108,000

Alan Moon is the top Senior in the room leading with 108,000 chips.

Moon has Dave Kressel (Brooklyn, NY) in his rear view mirror in 2nd Place with 85,000.

Players are on a color-up break as the floor is removing the 100 chips.

Next blind level is 600 / 1200 with 200 antes.

44 Seniors remain.

Event 10: Poker Room Leader

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Kalid Ali (Silver Spring, MD) - 185,000

Kalid Ali's 185,000 makes him the dominant chip leader from the remaining 7 tables betting, calling, and folding in the Borgata Poker Room.

After Kalid was set-mining, he dug up three deuces on an Ace high flop taking down a ton of chips from Opponent holding A-9. In another key hand Ali's got paid off after hitting a King high flush.

When you add the seven tables there and the 85 players here - you got approximately 110 players remaining.

Christopher Leong has chipped up to 270,000 in the Signature Room.

The 6-Max right now has two monster leaders vs. the rest of the field.

Event 8: 10th Place - Berberian

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Henri Berberian (Aix En Provence, France)

$2,525

"Little Man" Sica is all in from early position before Berberian makes the call for 600k.

Sica: 5♠ 5♥
Berberian: J♥ J♥

Flop: 5♦ J♦ 5♣

The table and rail birds explode as Sica flops quads. Little Man turns to his fans and says, "trick or treat," as he takes his stack to 1.5 million.

Berberian is stunned that flopping a full house isn't good enough.

Henri Berberian is out in 10th place for $2,525

Event 8: Final Table Chip Counts

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Here's the final table lineup with rough chip counts:

Seat - Player - Chips
1 - Mike Sica - 1 million
2 - Ryan Eriquezzo - 500m
3 - Harry Zhou - 4 million
4 - Jonathan Rice - 2.3 million
5 - Adam Sloan -1 million
6 - Matthew Wantman - 1 million
7 - Steven Rodriguez - 1 million
8 - Henri Berberian - 700k
9 - Mike Tauman - 800k
10 - Tommy Flanagan - 950k

Event 10: "Bro"-gatas

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Matthew & James Piccolo

Big brother Borgata noteable Matthew Piccolo taught his little brother how to play poker. Now he's sweating James on the rail. James is sitting on 40,000 and mixing it up when he needs to.

It's a family affair for the Piccolo's who live in Dumont, NJ. Well except for their sister but you never know - winning money is contagious and perhaps someday sis will get the poker bug too.

I asked who amongst the brothers was the better player and James quickly bowed to his older brother.

Down to 16 tables in the Signature room.

Event 8: 11th Place - Flek

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

Leonid Flek got all-in holding AT against the pocket Tens of Harry Zhou. 

 Leonid Flek (Fort Lee, NJ)

$2,525

The board was Ace-less and Harry collected more chips.  Leonid will collect $2,525 for 11th place.

The final ten players drew for seats and moved to the final table.

Event 10: Elbow Room

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Poker Pro Larry Gold is experiencing giant swings. His stack keeps going up, gets chopped down, then he rebuilds again etc. Right now he's on the downswing to just a few thousand and anxious to stack-up. "I'm all-in" says short stacked Gold.

Alas Josh Supsak (New York, NY) doesn't want to double him up. Perhaps Josh is a little gun-shy after his K-K was rundown by Gold's Q-Q a couple orbits ago. Perhaps Josh doesn't want to gamble his 30,000 stack since he also was down in chips - as low as 6500.

I asked Supsak, who said he's played many 6-max tournaments, what he loves best about them? He answered, "the extra room at the table". Everyone at the table immediately agreed.

Event 8: 12th Place - Fratzola

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Leonid Flek's AQ was good for a double-up through Mike Sica's AT.

Adam Sloan's pocket Tens were good for a double-up against Michael Tauman's JT suited.

Mike 'Little Man' Sica shoved from the button and Frank Fratzola called all-in from the small blind.

 Frank Fratzola (Scranton, PA)

$2,525

Mike's K3 suited was behind Frank's AJ, but the board came 9 7 3 6 2 and Mike took the pot.  He had Frank covered by just 5k and Frank was busted in 12th place. 

Mike chipped up to about 1 million.

Event 10: Borgata Regulars Having Fun

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

There's a vacant space between David Inselberg and James Boyle after they both sort of double-teamed a short stack player. Sounds like that poor lad decided to pick on the wrong two guys.

Whereas they teamed up, now they're talking like bitter enemies (in a fun poker kind of way). Both were comparing stacks and both claiming they had the other out-chipped by 1000.

Let's just say both stacks are around 50,000.

"I got moved here ten hands ago...Now I have to avoid James Boyle and his fury" laughed Inselberg.

Inselberg took the day off yesterday from the 2011 Borgata Fall Poker Open to play some football with his kids.

Well see how deep both Borgata regulars can make it in the 6-max.

Ten minute break is over - back to business.

Level 8: 300 / 600 with 75 antes.

Event 8: 13th Place - Faroni

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

After Abraham Faroni shoved from the small blind, Mike 'Little Man' Sica called all-in from the big.

Abraham's 74 suited was behind Mike's KQ off.  The board came A K J 8 9 and Little Man doubled up.

 Abraham Faroni (Penn Valley, PA)

$1,942

Abraham was then all-in holding A7 against the KJ of big stack Harry Zhou.  The board came K T 3 2 T and Harry's big stack got bigger.

Abraham finished in 13th place, earning $1,942.

Event 10: Steal The Color Blinds

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ)

Lot of chips over at table 9 and it's currently four handed.

Jordan Ludwick just busted Gordon Eng sort of by accident. Jordan had 8?6? and was up against A♥K♦. Flop fell J♠ 8♥ 2♠.

Gordon's A-K pushed in for his remaining 25,000 and Jordan snap called.

He proudly slapped his hand down and announced, "I have a pair and a flush draw." The dealer and players begged to differ.

No flush draw - Jordan who is partially color blind, misread his suits. Whoopsie - no monster draw. Fortunately for him he faded the turn and river and scored the knock-out despite the mishap.

Ludwick is up to 90,000 which is a very decent size stack in the room. Melad Marji to Jordan's right has him outchipped at 95,000 after his AA held up on yet another bust-out at the table.

Event 8: Chip Counts

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

End of level and time for a color-up break.  Here are the rough chip counts:

Table One
1 - Leonid Flek -400k
2 - Henri Berberian - 900k
3 - Jonathan Rice - 2.2 million
4 - Michael Tauman - 1.55 million
5 - Adam Sloan - 500k
6 - Matthew Wantman - 900k
7 - ThomasFlanagan -800k

Table Two
1 - Mike Sica - 600k
2 - Frank Fratzola - 650k
3 - Harry Zhou - 2.9 million
4 - Ryan Eriquezzo - 800k
6 - Steven Rodriguez - 1.3 million
8 - Abraham Faroni - 800k


Play resumed after the break with blinds of  30k/60k with 5k antes.

Average stack is 1.1 million (18 big blinds).

Event 10: Leong Drive Deep Right Field

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Christopher Leong - Chip Leader

Chip leader in the Signature room is Christopher Leong (New York, NY) on T-12, S-5 with 168,000.

Christopher doesn't have any giant knock-out hands to report just a steady stream of small pot take-downs.

Twenty tables in the Signature Room.

Level 7 Blinds are 250 / 500 with 50 antes.

Lots of action around the spacious felts.

Event 8: Likovic's Luck Runs Out

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

On a flop of A 8 3, Abraham Faroni bet 295k.  After some thought, Harry Zhou shoved.  Abraham mucked and Harry collected a pot worth about 1.2 million.

Ryan Eriquezzo got all-in holding pocket 9s against Muhamed Likovic (Long Island City, NY) who held AK.  The board bricked and Ryan doubled up to about 900k.

Muhamed was left short-stacked and busted out a couple of hands later in 14th place ($1,942).

Event 8: Lippy Loses Race to Tauman

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Adam Lippert (Brooklyn, NY) was all-in holding AK offsuit.

Michael Tauman held the lead with pocket Tens and had Lippy covered.

The board bricked out and brought no help for Adam.  He finished 15th for $1,942.

14 players remain.  Average stack is now over 1 million.  At 15k/30k blinds, that's 33 big blinds for an average stack.

Event 8: Rice Aces Cheng

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Yat Cheng (Brooklyn, NY) is all in for 550k and Jonathan Rice quickly calls with pocket aces. Rice's pocket rockets hold and he's now up to 1.9 million and is now second in chips behind Steven Rodriguez's 2.2 million

Cheng is out in 16th place for $1,456.

Event 8: Battle of the Blinds

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Hayong Zhou (sb) and Ryan Eriquezzo (bb) had a little raising war preflop.  On the flop of Q♠Q♥J♥, Zhou bet 140k and Ryan gave it some thought, then called.

Turn was a very interesting K♥.  Both players checked.  River was the 7♥.

 Hayong 'Harry' Zhou and Ryan Eriquezzo after the hand

Zhou fired 300k.  Ryan tanked for a minute, then said "call".  Zhou asked "Heart?" as he rolled over his T♠5♥ for a very weak flush.

Ryan slammed the table and mucked his hand.  With that pot, Zhou chipped up to about 1.8 million.

Event 10: Familiar Faces

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

More than 266 entries are in the field and another familiar face in Matt Brady is making his first Borgata Fall Poker Open appearance. He joins Christian Harder who made his debut yesterday.

Still Playing:

Matt Brady
Christian Harder
Gionni Demers
Austen Johnson
Larry Gold
Christian Harder
James Boyle
Gordon Eng
Dave Inselberg
Amanda Musumeci
Marguerite Spagnuolo
Russel Crane
James Salters
Mike Castaldo
Eric Doerr
Dao Bui
Alex Nepomnyaschiy
Dave Zeitlin

Event 11: Registration Closed

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

Rob Robinson

Nearly 150 players are in the field and now that registration is closed 110 remain with an average stack of 14k (35 BB).

The big stacks are in the 35k (88 BB) range and Rob Robinson (Boston, MA) is the unofficial leader, with Victor McCoy (Vorhees, NJ) hot on his trail.

Level 6 (200/400/50 ante) is underway.

Event 8: 16 Remain

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Greg Rudolph (Oceanside, NY) was next to report to the rail.  He finished 17th for $1,456.

Steven Rodriguez is way out in front with about 2 million chips.

Here are the final 16:

Table One
1 - Leonid Flek
2 - Henri Berberian
3 - Jonathan Rice
4 - Michael Tauman
5 - Adam Sloan
6 -
7 - ThomasFlanagan
8 - Adam Lippert
9 - Yat Cheng

Table Two
1 - Mike Sica
2 - Frank Fratzola
3 - Hayong Zhou
4 - Ryan Eriquezzo
5 -
6 - Steven Rodriguez
7 - Matthew Wantman
8 - Abraham Faroni
9 - Muhamed Likovic

Event 8: Redraw

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

After the break, play resumed with blinds of 15k/30k with 4k antes.

Eddie Lai (Lanham, MD) got his last chips in with KT, but was dominated by Henri Berberian's AK.  The board fell A 9 8 A 5 and Henri took the pot.

Eddie finished 19th ($1,068).

The final 18 drew for seats and moved to the final two tables.  All are guaranteed to earn at least $1,456.

Ryan Baptiste (Shamong, NJ) was nest to bust.  He finished 18th ($1,456).

Event 8: Double Bustage

  $350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Another three-way pre-flop all-in:

Vladimir Geykhman (Brooklyn, NY) - J9 - 20th place
James Sloat (Halethorpe, MD) - A6 suited - 21st place
Jonathan Rice - AA

The board came K 9 8 T 4 and Jonathan's Aces held to scoop and bust both opponents.  They both earned $1,068.

19 players remain.  They're taking a break now after finishing up the level.

Event 10: Break Time Tweets

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)


Play has just resumed with blinds of 150/300 and 25 antes.

Here are some tweets from the break:

X18robbase Robby Devries
16,500 card dead that level!!!

TheReaLMander Amanda Musumeci
Back @ starting stack (25k @ 200)

Flashgordon227 Gordon Eng
27k from 25k initial stack nearing 2nd break @BorgataPoker 6 max reentry

SugDpoker David Zeitlin
43.5k at 2nd break, smooth sailing so far. Over 250 entries now.

KevinSauLivePro Kevin Saul
2nd break..10,400...u could say it was a rough 2 levels

poochpoker Joe Cappuccio
34K 150/300/25

Hutch3276 Brian O'Donoghue
27k on 2nd break. The owning continued but she just runs too well

Eli_Loewenthal Eli Loewenthal
Second break of deep stack 6max re-entry. Have 30,275 from starting 25k. Blinds kickin to 150/300. #borgatafallopen

TooBusyWINNING Chris Kusha
Antes are here. Level 5 150/300/25 I have 44k. Table is playing somewhat aggressively

 

Event 8: 21 Players Remain

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Owen Haynes, Jr. (Gibbstown, NJ) finished in 24th place.

Tony Shurilla (Alburtis, PA) got his chips in with A8 suited, getting action from Michael Tauman, who held pocket 5s.  Tony flopped a flush draw, but bricked the last two as the board came 9 9 2 Q 7.  Tony finished in 23rd place.

Evan Lash (Bayside, NY) busted out in 22nd place.

All three earned $1,068.

Down to 21 players after only two hours of play.  Average stack is 680k (28 big blinds).

Looks like Hayong Zhou is the chip leader with about 1.4 million, but there are three players right around 1.2 million (Ryan Eriquezzo, Thomas Flanagan, and Steven Rodriguez).

Event 8: Two Dozen

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Blinds are up to 12k/24k with 3k antes.

Three more are history:

27th - Greg Pogarsky (Rexford, NY)
26th - David Goldberger (Monroe, NY)
25th - Mikhail Patish (Edison, NJ)

All three players earned $1,068.

24 players remain.  Average is over 595k (almost 25 big blinds).

Event 8: Five More Felted

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry) 

Three-way pre-flop all-in on table 3:

Steven Rodriguez opened for 50k, Arslan Arslanoski flatted, John Edwards (Rosedale, MD) raised to 215k, Steve shoved, Arslan all-in, and John all-in.

Steven was ahead with pocket Aces.  Arslan had AK suited and John had AJ suited.  The board came 9 9 5 3 7 and Steven's Aces held.  John was busted in 32nd place.  Arslan was left with only about 25k.

Three-way pre-flop all-in on table 2:

Thomas Flanagan - KK
Frank Dire (Columbus, NJ) - QQ
Joel Bemmelen (Bryn Mawr, PA) - 55

Board was T T 8 T 6 and Thomas scooped it all.  Joel had fewer chips, so he finished 30th.  Frank finished 31st.

 Colin Maneval (Newton, MA) busted ou in 29th place.

The short-stacked Arslan Arslanoski (Brielle, NJ) then busted out in 28th place.

All these players will pick up $971 for their efforts.

Down to 27 players at three tables.  Average is almost 530k (26.5 big blinds).

Event 8: 32 Players Remain

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Blinds are now 10k/20k with 3k antes.

Joshua Mischel (Baltimore, MD) got all-in with JT suited and was racing against Hayong Zhou's pocket 7s.  The board fell A 9 6 9 6 and Hayong took the pot.  Joshua took 34th place and $971.

Steve Ryan (New York, NY) got his last chips in with KT, only to run into Vladimir Geykhman's pocket Aces.  Board came K Q 4 9 Q and despite picking up a pair and a gutshot, Steve whiffed the river.  He finished 33rd for $971.

32 players remain.  Average stack is almost 447k (22 big blinds).

Event 8: Two More Gone

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

The action just keeps coming!

Paul Weidenfeld (Alexandria, VA) busted out in 36th place.

Adam Lippert doubled up through chip leader Jessy Pulido, (Pembroke Pines, FL) leaving Jessy short-stacks.  Jessy was then all-in holding JT suited against Mike Sica's AK.  An Ace on the board spelled the end for Jessy, who finished 35th.

Mike, who started the day with 110k, is now up to 720k.

Both of these players earned $971.

Event 8: Four More Out the Door

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Gennaro Cammarota (Hawthorne, NJ) and Anthony Raimone (Bardonia, NY) busted out on the same hand, finishing 39th and 40th.  They will both earn $874.

Joseph Pitti (East Meadow, NY) doubled up early when his A9 beat AQ with a 9 on the river, but he later got all-in with pocket Jacks against Q9 suited.  This time the board was Q 8 5 A 9 and Joseph was felted.  He finished 38th for $874.

Vincent Devita (Bayville, NJ)  was next to go.  He finished 37th and also earned $874.

Table 5 was broken and now they're at 4 table of 9 -- 36 players remain and the next nine to go will pocket $971.

Event 8: Early Action

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Day two of the $350 Deep Stack is underway with 41 returning players.  33 minutes remain in the 8k/16k with 2k ante level.

In early action, Mike 'Little Man' Sica doubled up when his 54 suited flopped a pair and hit a gutshot on the river.

A 3-way pre-flop all-in on table 3 had Emil Mardakhayev (Brooklyn, NY) ahead with pocket Kings.  Muhamed Likovic had him covered, but was behind with AQ suited.  Short-stacked Joshua Mischel was trailing with J8 offsuit.

Then the board came 9 8 3 J A and Joshua tripled up with two pair.  Muhamed took the side pot with a pair of Aces, and Emil was busted in 41st place ($874).

Event 11: Seniors Underway

$350 + $50 Seniors NLH

The Seniors are underway here in the Poker Room.

They began with 10,000 chips and levels are 30 minutes long.  This is a one-day event, so they'll play as long as it takes to find a winner.

Level 1 blinds are 25/50.

Cards are in the air.

Event 10: More Familiar Faces

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

These folks are tearing up the felt in the Poker Room:

Ed Abendschein
Mike Castaldo
James 'Suits' Salters
Matt Brady
Allan Lubin

and Tweeting their progress:
Brian O'Donoghue
Chris Kusha
Gionni Demers
Nelson Robinson
Amanda Musumeci
Robby Devries
Joe Cappuccio

Late registration is available through level 6, which is also the end of the re-entry period.

Blinds are up to 50/100 for level 2.

Event 10: Familiar Faces

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Many familiar faces already in action in the 6-max in the Signature Room:

Scott Wardell and Steven Levy are sharing the felt.
Kevin Saul and Tony Sinishtaj are sharing their patch of green.
Marguerite Spagnuolo and Nancy Martin are seated together.
Sach Ramrakhani
Larry Gold
Austen Johnson
Dao Bui
Andrew Interdonato
Charlie Marchese
Eric Doerr
Gordon Eng
James Boyle
Doug Lovelace
Fritz Stoner

Event 10: Cards Are In The Air

$400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Today's first event is a big favorite - the Six-Max.  This event has been rising in popularity over the last couple of years since the entire tournament is played short-handed.

It is a Deep-Stack, which means players began with 25k in chips.  Players who lose all those chips during the first 6 levels may opt to re-enter and get a fresh 25k stack.

Levels are 40 minutes long.  They'll play until about 2am, then bag up their chips and come back at noon Wednesday for the finale.

Level 1 blinds are 25/50. 

Tables 1-25 are in the Signature Room.  26+ are in the Poker Room.

Cards and chips are flying!

Tuesday, November 15

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

11AM: Event 10 - $400 + $50 Six-Max Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

• Players start with 25,000 in tournament chips 
• Players that "bust" within first 6 Levels may Re-Enter (unlimited Re-Entries) 
• Levels will last 40 minutes each
• 2-Day event

12PM: Event 11 - $350 + $50 Seniors (50+) No Limit Hold'em

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

3PM: Event 32 - $125 + $25 + $25 Green Chip Bounty NLH

• Players start with 10,000 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.
• Levels will last 20 minutes each 
• 1-Day event

7PM: Event 33 - $150 + $30 No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

• Players start with 10,000 in tournament chips 
• Players that "bust" within the first 6 Levels may Re-Enter (unlimited Re-Entries)
• Levels will last 20 minutes each 
• 1-Day event

Event 8 - Start of Day 2 Chip Counts

Borgata Fall Poker Open
Event 8: $350 + $50 Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em
November 14-15, 2011

Entries: 572
Total Buy-In: $200,200

Avg. Chip Stack:  349,000

START OF DAY 2 CHIP COUNTS:

1. YESNIEL PULIDO (PEMBROKE PINES, FL):  937,000

2. RYAN ERIQUEZZO (DANBURY, CT):  801,000

3. ABRAHAM FARONI (PENN VALLEY, PA):  695,000

4. THOMAS FLANAGAN (BROOKLYN, NY):  654,000

5. EDDIE LAI (LANHAM, MD):  603,000

6. RYAN BAPTISTE (SHAMONG, NJ):  586,000

7. JONATHAN RICE (CUMBERLAND, MD):  563,000

8. COLIN MANEVAL (NEWTON, MA):  534,000

9. FRANK FRATZOLA (SCRANTON, PA):  510,000

10. YAT CHENG (BROOKLYN, NY):  501,000

11. JOHN EDWARDS (ROSEDALE, MD):  497,000

12. ARSLAN ARSLANOSKI (BRIELLE, NJ):  459,000

13. JOEL BEMMELEN (BRYN MAWR, PA):  437,000

14. HAYONG ZHOU (BALTIMORE, MD):  416,000

15. EVAN LASH (BAYSIDE, NY):  398,000

16. JAMES SLOAT (HALETHORPE, MD):  378,000

17. STEVEN RODRIGUEZ (STATEN ISLAND, NY):  349,000

18. ADAM LIPPERT (BROOKLYN, NY):  344,000

19. MUHAMED LIKOVIC (LONG ISLAND CITY, NY):  342,000

20. MIKHAIL PATISH (EDISON, NJ):  308,000

21. ANTHONY SHURILLA (ALBURTIS, PA):  293,000

22. GREG POGARSKY (REXFORD, NY):  290,000

23. EMIL MARDAKHAYEV (BROOKLYN, NY):  277,000

24. ADAM SLOAN (NEW YORK, NY):  253,000

25. PAUL WEIDENFELD (ALEXANDRIA, VA):  246,000

26. FRANK DIRE (COLUMBUS, NJ):  236,000

27. GREGORY RUDOLPH (OCEANSIDE, NY):  233,000

28. VLADIMIR GEYKHMAN (BROOKLYN, NY):  228,000

29. HENRI BERBERIAN (AIX EN PROVENCE, FRA):  213,000

30. STEVE RYAN (NEW YORK, NY):  210,000

31. OWEN HAYNES JR (GIBBSTOWN, NJ):  196,000

32. DAVID GOLDBERGER (MONROE, NY):  193,000

33. MATTHEW WANTMAN (STONEHAM, MA):  186,000

34. GENNARO CAMMAROTA (HAWTHORNE, NJ):  169,000

35. ANTHONY RAIMONE (BARDONIA, NY):  155,000

36. LEONID FLEK (FORT LEE, NJ):  145,000

37. VINCENT DEVITA (BAYVILLE, NJ):  138,000

38. MICHAEL SICA JR (N BRUNSWICK, NJ):  110,000

39. MICHAEL TAUMAN (METUCHEN, NJ):  95,000

40. JOSEPH PITTI (E MEADOW, NY):  41,000

41. JOSHUA MISCHEL (BALTIMORE, MD):  17,000

Event 9 Recap

$400 + $50 Omaha H/L

Barry Levy is your Omaha H/L 8B Borgata champion - again. He defended his title from September 2010 and successfully repeated in this Event. It was a tough field of 113 Omaholics including Gloria Lorusso, Bo Toft, Miami John Cernuto, Jeff Hunter, Ron Schiffman, Paul Spitzberg, Charlie Brahmi, Chris Reslock, Glenn Englebert, and Barry Hartheimer.

11 tables-full of Omaha Hi/Lo action kicked off at 12 noon in the Poker Room. Players started with 12,000 with 30 minute levels.

All of our mixed-game specialists took the felt and battle it out over the course of thirteen hours.
As the money bubble got closer, Gloria Lo Russo and Melissa Burr cat clawed it out for the Last Woman Standing. Gloria won that title and finished overall in 6th place.

After dinner break a most interesting All-Star table formed including Miami John Cenuto, Bill Munley, Charlie Brahmi, Chris Reslock, and Barry Levy. Between all these heavy hitters there were 5 WSOP bracelets along with millions and millions of career earngings under their belts.

Andy Hajohn was the happiest bubble boy I've seen in a while. It was Andy's first ever Omaha tournament and he was proud of his 19th place finish. Impressive run for your first tournament.

It seemed like in the blink of an eye the field went from 18 to a final table of ten.

Final nine included, Barry Levy, Chris Reslock, John Klodie, Gloria LoRusso, Jeff Jerome, Wayne Pineault, Guy Tull, Peter Toft, and Jack Guzdowski.

They say the more chips you have, the more you feel like talking - this was true with Barry who was talking at the table and having fun with the other players.

Once Barry got the chip at the money bubble, experience took over and he never looked back.

2nd and 3rd place put up a fight but just fell short. Jack Guzdowski (Haymarket, VA) captured 2nd for $7,234 while Jeff Jerome from Philly took 3rd for $4,165.

But it was Borgata Barry who basically ran the final table and in the end captured the first place trophy along with the $13,153 prize.

Very impressive back to back Omaha wins for Barry who will go for the three-peat next time.

Event 9: 1st Place - Levy

$400 + $50 Omaha H/L

Barry Levy (Brooklyn, NY)
$13,151

Congratulations to Barry Levy who successfully defended his title and once again took down the Omaha H/L 8B tournament. Last September 13th, 2010 Barry won this event in the Borgata Poker Open and tonight he did it again. Another $13,151 added onto Barry's impressive Bankroll.

Once Barry got the chip lead he refused to let it go. First he survived a tough table including Miami John Cernuto, Bill "Bumperino" Munley, Chris Reslock, and Charlie Brahmi.

Next he took out player after player at the final table like an assassin.

Jeff Jerome gave him some battles but in the end Barry Levy ended up on top.

He gets the trophy and retains the title as Champion of Omaha H/L eights or better.

One of Borgata's favorite son's Barry Levy is definitely a force in the arena of mixed games.

Congrats again on navigating through such a tough field of big named players.

Barry Levy finished 1st and earned $13,153.

Event 9: 2nd Place - Guzdowski

$400 + $50 Omaha H/L

Jack Guzdowski (Haymarket, VA)
$7,234

Jack says hi to his son David and to the fellow Donkeys in the PSOP - Piedmont Series of Poker, his weekly Friday night home game.

Jack is an investigator for Lockheed Martin. He played great and made a nice run at the final table that brought him to the final three and ultimately a second place finish.

Big Dog was on Guzdowski's shirt and today he was indeed a BIG DOG.

Jack Guzdowski finished in 2nd Place earning $7,234.

Event 8: End Of Night Chips

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Yesniel "Jessy" Polido - 937,000 - Chip Leader

Player.......................Chip Count
1. Yesniel “Jessy” Polido 937,000

2. Ryan Eriquizzo 801,000

3. Abraham Faroni 695,000

4. Thomas Flannagan 654,000

5. Ryan Baptiste 586,000

6. Jonathan Price 560,000

7. Colin Maneval 534,000

8. Frank Fratzola 510,000

9. Yat Cheng 501,000

10. Harry Zhun 416,000

11. Evan Lash 398,000

12. James Sloat 378,000

13. Adam Lippert 344,000

Some notables stacks include:

-Little Man Sica 110,000

-Tony Shurilla 293,000

-Steve Ryan 210,000

Average stack is 349,000. There are 33 minutes left in the 8000 / 16,000 blind level 2k ante. Average stack has 22 big blinds.

The 41 surviving players return at 12 noon tomorrow.

Big hand for Jessy came as the bubble was looming. He made a move with K-5 and found two pair on the flop with his equally big stacked Opponent betting into him. Jessy flatted every street then his Opponent mucked on the river surrendering.

Congrats to the final 41! See everyone tomorrow.

Event 9: 3rd Place - Jerome

$400 + $50 Omaha H/L

Jeff Jerome (Philadelphia, PA)
$4,165

Well Jeff, you didn't finish in 18th place. A running joke every time I approached the table. Jeff's first goal was to make the cash then not to finish in 18th place when we were down to two tables.

Jerome mixed it up with Barry Levy but once 3 players were left the boys got down to business and Jeff ended up with third place. Pretty good day at the office for this Omaha-er.

Jeff Jerome finished in 3rd earning $4,165.

Event 9: 4th Place - Toft

$400 + $50 Omaha H/L

Peter Toft
$3,508

Peter Toft had a roller coaster run flirting with the chip lead from time to time...but in the end, he fell to the bigger stacks and exited in 4th Place.

Peter's son Bo who also plays poker at Borgata and Peter wanted to say "hi".

Pop did good tonight to the tune of $3,508.

Peter Toft finished in 4th Place earning $3,508.

Event 8: Bubble Finally Breaks

$350 + $50 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Hand for hand action began when there were 56 players remaining.

Vinny DeVita survived when his A-J vs. A-Q chopped up a double paired board.

Mike "Little Man" Sica doubled up and survived his at risk jam.

After twenty minutes, Owen Haynes' QQ knocked out the double bubble who held 10-10.

Finally after another half hour, I guess the bubble boy just gave up.

A player raised 40,000 UTG with 8-8. Ryan Eriquezzo tanked then shipped holding 7-7. Short stack at the table called in the dark and tabled 6-8 off suit. Initial raiser folded to Ryan's shove.

You played all day, this close to making the money, then your entire tournament rests on 6-8 off after a guy folded 8-8.

7-7 held up on a dry board and Ryan knocked out the bubble.

Remaining 54 players celebrated and will continue playing until 2am when they'll bag and tag their chips.