Event 8
The first week of the Winter Poker Open saw six players walk away with WPO trophies and since then, ten more players have walked away with “tiny glass Borgatas”. Those trophies have been awarded through a wide variety of events and the first saw Marc Matz take home the Event 7 ‘Omaha/Stud H/L’ title and an over $6,000 score. That was Matz’s first career tournament win and that kicked off a busy week, with ‘The General’ claiming the next WPO trophy.
That came in the Event 8 ‘Super Stack Elevator’ and prior to the ‘Borgata Million’ starting on Tuesday, James Chen won the Event 9 ‘Pot Limit Omaha High’. The trophies were then kept out of sight for a few days, as that ‘Borgata Million’ played through six starting flights but ‘All-Star Weekend’ did not disappoint, creating plenty of headlines and storylines over the last few days.
The biggest of those storylines was Joe ‘Black’ Reddick claiming his first career title in the $1,000,000 GTD Event 10. Reddick took home just over $215,000 for his ‘Borgata Million’ win and while that wasn’t the first title awarded during ‘All-Star Weekend’, Reddick was the weekend’s highest earner.
Mike Rees was the second biggest earner, after he claimed the Event 11 ‘$1,000 Six Max’ title early Sunday morning. After a nearly seven hour final table, Rees outlasted a stacked field to take home $80,000 and his first BPO title, with Rex Clinkscales doing the same on Saturday night. He won the Event 12 ’40 Big Blind Bounty’ for just over $30,000.
Those two wins bookended Allan Vrooman‘s $100,000 GTD ‘Saturday Series’ win, as he claimed the Event 13 title for his first career Borgata victory. The final trophy awarded on a busy Saturday, saw partypoker’s Jamie Kerstetter take down the Event 16 ‘Charity Series of Poker’ title. That was a win-win for both Kerstetter and the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, as over $13,000 were raised through another extremely successful CSOP event.
While Saturday saw plenty of hardware get handed out, Sunday was a slightly less hectic schedule, with only two players claiming WPO trophies. The first was Alex Benyayev, who outlasted a 75 player field to win the Event 15 ‘Pot Limit Omaha High’, the second event of it’s kind during this WPO series.
The big winner from Sunday though was Matt Emmel, who claimed potentially the most prestigious non-main event title, when he outlasted a 64 player bracket to win Event 14. Emmel, who is a heads up sit & go specialist used that experience to claim the ‘Heads Up Championship’ title and a nearly $50,000 score. Emmel was the last WPO title winner but over the next few days, five more trophies are up for grabs, including the WPT Champions Cup.
The WPO blog will be here to bring you all of that action but if you want to go back and catch up on what’s happened over the last week, the links at the top of this post will bring you to each event’s individual coverage. It should also be noted, that a complete list of results from each event are linked as well.
Event 8 – ‘Super Stack Elevator’
Level 28: Blinds 30,000/60,000/5,000 ante (75 Minutes)
Total Entries: 274
“The General” requested removal of his photo.
When the Elevator finally stopped on the 75-minute level, all the chips sat in front of the player known only as “The General”. Although he did not want to be photographed during play on Day 2, he finally relented and allowed us to take his photo with the trophy. His win here today was good for $37,205 and the hefty new trophy modeled after the Borgata Hotel tower.
The post-game interview, however, was also declined. We do know that this is his first title in a major event and he has a few prior small cashes here at Borgata.
The Super Stack Elevator event has quickly become a favorite since it’s introduction to the Borgata Open Series lineup in 2015. The continually increasing length of the levels gives players plenty of time to play solid poker.
The final table was packed with poker pros, including reigning WPT World Champion Asher Conniff, Harrison Gimbel, Dan Buzgon, Jake Schwartz, and David Jackson.
Super Stack Elevator Final Table Results
- The General (Portland, ME) $37,205
- Daniel Charrette (Joliette, Quebec, Canada) $21,927
- Jake Schwartz (Atlanta, GA) $12,625
- David Jackson (Jonesboro, GA) $10,233
- Dan Buzgon (Marlton, NJ) $7,973
- Aaron Belardo (Newry, ME) $6,645
- Carmen Labruto (Ocean City, MD) $5,316
- Daniel Magnuson (Cary, NC) $3,987
- Harrison Gimbel (Jupiter, FL) $2,658
- Asher Conniff (Brooklyn, NY) $1,728
Event 8 – ‘Super Stack Elevator’
Level 28: Blinds 30,000/60,000/5,000 ante (75 Minutes)
Total Entries: 274
Daniel Charrette (Joliette, Quebec, Canada)
After losing a little more ground, Daniel Charrette decided to commit all his chips holding {kd}{3h} and ran into The General’s {th}{tc}.
The board was spread, {qc}{7h}{4s}{4c}{qh}, and was no help to Daniel. The Canadian earned $21,927 for his second place finish.
The General gets the win and $37,205.
Event 8 – ‘Super Stack Elevator’
Level 28: Blinds 30,000/60,000/5,000 ante (75 Minutes)
Total Entries: 274
Players Remaining: 2
Average Stack: 5,480,000
Blinds are up and heads-up play continues.
The General opened for 185,000 on the button, then Daniel Charrette shoved. The General called happily, showing pocket Jacks. Daniel had pocket deuces. The board ran out 9 7 3 4 4 and The General doubled up and took a big chip lead.
The General – 8.26 million (138 big blinds)
Daniel Charrette – 2.7 million (45 big blinds)
Event 8 – ‘Super Stack Elevator’
Level 27: Blinds 25,000/50,000/5,000 ante (75 Minutes)
Total Entries: 274
Players Remaining: 2
Average Stack: 5,480,000
The General (out of frame) vs. Daniel Charrette Heads-Up for the Borgata replica trophy
The heads-up battle continues. The General (who does not want to be photographed) has been up and down around the 3 million chip mark since the duel began.
Daniel Charrette – ~7.7 million
The General – ~3 million
Event 8 – ‘Super Stack Elevator’
Level 27: Blinds 25,000/50,000/5,000 ante (75 Minutes)
Total Entries: 274
Players Remaining: 2
Average Stack: 5,480,000
Jake Schwartz (Atlanta, GA)
Jake Schwartz got his short-stack in holding {ac}{th} only to run into Daniel Charrett’s {qd}{qc}. The runout of {Ks}{8s}{8c}{9s}{4d} was not helpful to Jake, who watched as the last of his chips slid over to Daniel’s big stack.
Jake Schwartz finished in 3rd place, earning $12,625.
Heads-up play began with Daniel in the lead by more than 3:1:
Daniel Charrette – 8,320,000
The General – 2,640,000
Event 8 – ‘Super Stack Elevator’
End of Level 26: Blinds 20,000/40,000/4,000 ante (70 Minutes)
Total Entries: 274
Players Remaining: 3
Average Stack: 3,653,000
David Jackson (Jonesboro, GA)
David Jackson found the last of his chips in the middle holding {qc}{jd} and was trailing Jake Schwartz’ {ah}{2c}.
The board came {7h}{7c}{3h}{th}{7d} and completely missed both players. Jake took the pot with his Ace-kicker to the board.
David Jackson will collect $10,233 for his 4th place finish.
That’s a wrap on level 26 and the final three are taking a break. Play will resume shortly.
Here are the chip counts:
Daniel Charrette – 5,838,000
The General – 2,752,000
Jake Schwartz – 2,370,000
and a reminder what they’re playing for:
- $37,205
- $21,927
- $12,625
Event 8 – ‘Super Stack Elevator’
Level 26: Blinds 20,000/40,000/4,000 ante (70 Minutes)
Total Entries: 274
Players Remaining: 4
Average Stack: 2,740,000
Dan Buzgon (Marlton, NJ)
Dan Buzgon opened on the button and got a call from Daniel Charrette in the big blind. On the flop of {ah}{kc}{jc}, Charrette checked, Buzgon bet 75,000, and Charette called.
Turn was the {9h} and again it went check, bet 190,000, and call. River was the {8s} and Charrette shoved. Buzgon showed {7d}{4d} and said “they never let me bluff it off.” That dropped Buzgon down to about 700,000.
Not too long after, he shoved under-the-gun for 615,000 and got looked up by Charette. Buzgon had {qc}{jc} and was trailing Charrette’s {ac}{th}.
The flop brought something for everyone when it fell {ks}{qs}{ts}. No one held a spade, so Buzgon took the lead with a pair of Queen over Charrette’s pair of Tens.
Then the {td} came on the turn, giving Charrette trips. The {3d} on the river sealed Buzgon’s fate. He finished in 5th place, earning $7,973.
Daniel Charrette is up over 5 million now as the final four continue to battle.
Event 8 – ‘Super Stack Elevator’
Level 26: Blinds 20,000/40,000/4,000 ante (70 Minutes)
Total Entries: 274
Players Remaining: 5
Average Stack: 2,192,000
Daniel Charrette (Joliette, Quebec, Canada)
Daniel Charrette (cutoff) got all-in for 1,782,000 against David Jackson (sb). David was ahead with {qs}{qd} but was racing against Daniel’s {Ah}{KH}.
The flop fell {Qh}{5s}{3h} giving David a set, but also giving Daniel a flush draw. When the {jh} landed on the turn Daniel completed his flush and actually picked up a Royal draw. That didn’t matter to David, who needed he board to pair to take the pot.
The river was the {tc} however, and Daniel doubled up to ~4 million and claimed the chip lead. David was left with about 1.1 million.
The General has a little more than 3 million, Jake Schwartz has about 1.4 million, and Dan Buzgon has roughly 1.25 million.
Event 8 – ‘Super Stack Elevator’
Level 26: Blinds 20,000/40,000/4,000 ante (70 Minutes)
Total Entries: 274
Players Remaining: 5
Average Stack: 2,192,000
Aaron Belardo (Newry, ME)
Aaron Belardo got his last 14 big blind in holding A4 and got looked up by David Jackson, who had AK. The flop of 7 5 5 didn’t mean much, but when the King came on the turn, it was all over for Aaron. David chipped up to ~2.7 million.
Aaron Belardo hit the rail in 6th place, earning $6,645.