Level 4 (Blinds 100/200/25)
Total Day 1B Entries: 430
Tyler Patterson (Everett, WA)
Tyler Patterson (Everett, WA) is one of a group of players to venture long distances in order to end up in the Event Center, traveling cross country to make it here today. The Washington native is no stranger to the Borgata though, with his largest career score coming here in 2012, when he finished third in the WPT Borgata Poker Open $3,300 Championship Event for $298,950. That cash was almost matched this past summer, when Patterson won his first WSOP bracelet in Event #48 ($1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo). Tyler would earn himself just over $270,000 to go along with the coveted piece of jewelry, pushing his career earnings north of $1,440,000.
Patterson may be passionate about the game of poker, but it pales in comparison to his allegiance to the Seattle Seahawks. Part of the “12th Man” that makes up the Seahawks fan base, Patterson stuck around after last year’s Winter Poker Open, knowing that his team would be playing in the Super Bowl (which was held at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey). With his team still alive (and headed to the NFC Championship), Patterson has his sight set on some warmer weather, hoping to take a trip to Arizona to see his team possibly win back-to-back Super Bowls.
Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Day 1B Entries: 380
Travis Greenawalt (Lancaster, PA)
One of the first things you’ll notice when you walk into the Event Center is the large bracket for the Event 14 Heads Up field. While the board is currently blank at the moment, one name you can be sure will be on there is that of Travis Greenawalt (Lancaster, PA). Travis has three runner-up finishes on his resume from past Heads Up events, cashing for $30,896 in the 2011 Borgata Poker Open, $18,624 in the 2014 Borgata Poker Open, and $6,208 during the 2014 Borgata Fall Poker Open.
That format may be the favorite of Greenawalt, but his tournament success doesn’t stop there. Travis had his breakout score last October, winning the Big Stax VIII $1,100 event for $111,974. His career earnings are now over $266,000, but Greenawalt is still searching for his first outright win here at Borgata.
Players in the Day 1B field just exited the tournament area to head on their first break, which gave us a chance to spot more recognizable faces in this second flight. Seen leaving the tables were Joe Black, Jay Sharon, Amanda Musumeci, Andrew Lydon, Alex Bolotin, Daniel Chan, Scott Blackman, Robert Boyko, Yeubin Guo, Robert Hwang, Eric Doerr, and Michael Wang.
Level 3 (Blinds 75/150)
Total Day 1B Entries: 370
Patti Haggerty (Brigantine, NJ)
The live streaming of this Event 1 final table is added incentive for players to make a deep run, as the experience of playing in front of the cameras is once in a lifetime for many in the field. When you’ve reached that point already though, it likely fuels the fire to capture that moment once again.
Patti Haggerty (Brigantine, NJ) was one of the players to grab a lot of attention during the inaugural live streamed final table last September, being the lone female of the group. Haggerty scored a few knockouts to start the afternoon, and seemed to be one of the favorites at the number of players lessened. Things began to shift though as day turned into night, and Patti would find herself exiting in fourth place, earning the largest score of her tournament career ($118,981).
Patti is off to a slow start this flight, sitting under the starting stack as players head into the third level of the evening. Haggerty is just one of the numerous notables that make up this Day 1B field, joining the likes of Antonio Payne, Jane Hitchcock, Eric Rivkin, Roman Valerstein, Tony Sinishtaj, Tyler Patterson, Mohammad Farah, Sam Taylor, Brian O’Donoghue, Justin Liberto, Chris Csik, and Dean Chen.