Blackjack

$2500 + $200 CHAMPIONSHIP Double Play Re-Entry NLH

Emmanuel's New Stack & Last $5

Emmanuel Kouhaiz (West Hartford, CT via France) has had a roller coaster day, both at, and away from the poker table.

Kouhaiz says it started when he had to borrow $300 to cover the Championship Event entry fee because he had trouble accessing bank funds. A few hours later his pocket aces were cracked and he was left with only $75 in his pocket.

So Kouhaiz's headed to the blackjack table and that's when his luck turned around. After a few hands he hits three straight 21s and was sitting with $1,500.

"I told the dealer let it ride," Kouhaiz says, knowing he was still $1,200 short to re-enter the Championship Event.

Kouhaiz's poker tournament was now riding on one hand of Borgata blackjack. The scuba diver that we featured in September, is dealt 7 3 and takes a hit.

A 5 gives him a total of 15 and with dealer showing a 9, he takes another hit. Another 5 gives him 20, but still has to sweat the dealer, who ends up with 19.

Kouhaiz gets his double-up and heads back to the Poker Room. "I had $3,000, bought my ticket, paid back the money, and now I have $5 left," he says with a huge smile.

After re-entering the tournament, Kouhaiz gets another double-up and is now at 60k. "This is going to be a great story if I come back to win it," he says.

When told he needs to save the money for parking, Kouhaiz is quick to point out that he's a Black Label card holder and he parks free.

This good fortune is similar to the story of Hakima Muhammad who turned one roulette wheel spin into an entry for 2009 Borgata Poker Open Championship.