Event 22 – ‘Deepest Stack’
Level 20: Blinds 6,000/12,000/2,000 ante
Total Entries: 544
Players Remaining: 90
Average Stack: 302,000
Allen Hopkins (Elizabeth, NJ)
There’s a legend among the final 90 players, at least among folks who follow the sport of billiards, or pool. Allen Hopkins is a hall-of-fame pool player who has won just about every pool championship in the books, including the US Open 9-Ball Championship, the Championship of Champions, and the International Challenge of Champions. If you’ve watched any pool on ESPN in the past four decades, odds are you’ve seen Allen run the table against someone. Wherever Allen goes, odds are he’s the best pool player in the entire room.
Right now, he’s here trying to see if he can cash in this, the final Deepest Stack event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open.
Event 22 – ‘Deepest Stack’
End of Level 19: Blinds 5,000/10,000/1,000 ante
Total Entries: 544
Players Remaining: 97
Average Stack: 280,000
The remaining 97 players on 11 tables are on a 15-minute break, and will be playing down to a single winner tonight, capping off another successful Borgata Winter Poker Open. Just because the WPT Championship is over, doesn’t mean there isn’t more poker to be had! Stay tuned.
Event 21 ‘Deeper Stack’
Level 31: Blinds 80,000/160,000/20,000 ante
Total Entries: 340
Players Remaining: 1
Thomas Pomponio (Winner of Event #21)
Thomas Pomponio wins Event #21, $23,150, and the extremely heavy Tiny Borgata trophy. Thomas tells us that he went pro around 2010, but things started to turn around for him when he won a preliminary event at the PCA in the Bahamas in 2011, then two weeks later, won the $350 + $50 No-Limit Hold’em event at the Summer Poker Open, right here. He tells us that he then final tabled two huge online tournaments right after that, and then kept going from there.
Like Kevin Campbell, Thomas is primarily an online player under the name pompyouup on all the New Jersey sites, including BorgataPoker.com. He’s planning on playing the Borgata Spring Poker Open in a couple months, for sure, and we’ll keep an eye out for Thomas (and his beard) then. Congratulations to Thomas Pomponio!
That’s it for our second-to-last day of poker coverage at the Borgata Winter Poker Open, but stay tuned for Friday’s WPT Main Event final table, as well as the Deepest Stack event, where you’ll get even more chips to start with! See you then.
Event 21 ‘Deeper Stack’
Level 31: Blinds 80,000/160,000/20,000 ante
Total Entries: 340
Players Remaining: 1
Kevin Campbell (Out in 2nd)
Thomas Pomponio dismantled Kevin Campbell’s remaining stack in short order, and it all ended about the tenth hand of heads up:
Kevin went all in and Thomas called.
Kevin: {Qs}{7d}
Thomas: {Js}{3d}
Thomas caught up with a {Jh} door card, then the rest ran out {7c}{6s}{10h}{4d} to send Kevin out of the tournament in second place. This puts Kevin’s lifetime winnings over $128,000, including a pair of 6-Max final tables here at Borgata in 2015. Kevin has far greater success online, where he’s earned more than $333,000. Congratulations to Kevin Campbell!
Event 21 ‘Deeper Stack’
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000/10,000 ante
Total Entries: 340
Players Remaining: 2
Average Stack: 4,250,000
Brian “Zeke” Zekes Out in 3rd ($8,000)
Brian “Zeke” Zekes limped in on the small blind and Thomas Pomponio checked the big blind option.
The flop came {Jc}{8c}{2c} and Zeke bet, Thomas raised and Zeke called.
The turn was {7h} and Zeke checked, Thomas bet and Zeke called.
The river was {3d} and Zeke checked, Thomas jammed all in and Zeke called.
Thomas: {Jx}{8x}
Zeke: {Jx}{10x}
Thomas’s flopped top two pair held up and Zeke was sent out in third place. The remaining two players, Kevin Campbell and Thomas Pomponio, are on a five-minute break. Kevin has 1,800,000 and Thomas has 6,700,000.
Event 21 ‘Deeper Stack’
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000/10,000 ante
Total Entries: 340
Players Remaining: 3
Average Stack: 2,800,000
Carolyn Mevorah (Out in 4th)
Carolyn Mevorah’s {Jx}{6x} ran into the {Kh}{7h} of Thomas Pomponio, and Carolyn exited in 4th, our last woman standing.
Event 21 ‘Deeper Stack’
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000/10,000 ante
Total Entries: 340
Players Remaining: 4
Average Stack: 2,125,000
Bob McMahon (Out in 5th)
Bob McMahon is all in, and Thomas Pomponio re-raises all in to isolate. It works, and Bob flips over {Qc}{Js} to Thomas’s {Kh}{Kd}.
The flop, turn and river are {7c}{9d}{9s}{Qh}{7s} and Bob is out in fifth place.
Event 21 ‘Deeper Stack’
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000/10,000 ante
Total Entries: 340
Players Remaining: 5
Average Stack: 1,700,000
Mike McGuinness (Out in 5th)
Mike McGuinness went out immediately after the double bustout, and he’ll earn just over four grand.
Five players remain!
Event 21 ‘Deeper Stack’
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000/10,000 ante
Total Entries: 340
Players Remaining: 6
Average Stack: 1,425,000
David Inselberg (Out in 7th)
Michael Riotto (Out in 8th)
David Inselberg shoves, then Thomas Polponio re-shoves, then Michael Riotto re-re-shoves!
David: {Kc}{Qs}
Thomas: {Ks}{Kh}
Michael: {10c}{10d}
This time, the favored hand stayed ahead, as the cards went {3s}{Jh}{5s}{Ad}{9h}. Thomas takes the whole pot and busts two players in the process.
Event 21 ‘Deeper Stack’
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000/10,000 ante
Total Entries: 340
Players Remaining: 8
Average Stack: 1,060,000
Amir Moshiri-Azad (Out in 9th)
Amir Moshiri-Azad and Brian “Zeke” Zekes get it all in.
Amir: {Ac}{Kd}
Zeke: {Qs}{Js}
The hand from behind has come back a bunch in these all-in situations, and this is no exception, as it runs out {Kc}{9s}{3s}{3d}{10s} for a spade flush, sending Amir out in 9th place.