Event 20
Update: The final table of the World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship was held as scheduled March 13th at the Luxor HyperX Esports Arena.
1st Place – Vinicius ‘Viny’ Lima
Vinicius ‘Viny’ Lima had the biggest climb of the final six players, starting play at the bottom of the chip counts. At the end, it was the youngest player, Viny, at only 24 years old, against the oldest, David Farah, who was twice his age at 48 years young.
Viny emerged victorious, winning $728,430, which includes $15,000 for a seat in the WPT season-ending Baccarat Crystal Tournament of Champions, along with a Hublot Big Bang Steel Watch, and the WPT Champions Cup trophy.
The $2 Million Guaranteed Kick-Off Deep Stack drew a massive 5,130 entrants, which is the second-largest WPO Kick-Off field on record, behind 2017’s 5,512 entrants. The total buy-ins of more than $2.77 million did set a new record, due to the increased buy-in of $540.
Pascal Zaklama – 1st Place – 2019 BWPO Kick-Off
The final 500 players shared in the massive prize pool and thanks to a three-way adjusted payout agreement at the final table, the final two earned better than second-place prize money. Pascal Zaklama was the chip leader and claimed 1st place and the BWPO trophy, along with $328,695.
Vladimir Alexandrov
Also notable was the 3rd place finisher, Vladimir Alexandrov. He won his entry through a BorgataPoker.com online satellite. Alexandrov managed to parlay his $45 satellite entry into his largest career tournament score, earning a $216,000 payday.
Barry Leventhal wins 4th Seniors Event
Barry Leventhal won his record fourth Borgata Seniors Event, which was also his eighth Borgata title, putting him in a tie for second-most wins at this venue, trailing only Abraham Korotki with nine Borgata titles.
Raj Desai – 1st Place – Almighty Million
The $1 Million Guaranteed Almighty Stack generated total buy-ins in excess of $1.4 million with a BWPO Almighty record of 3,508 entrants. Raj Desai held the chip lead wire-to-wire on Day 3, from 37 players down to the final three, who agreed on adjusted payouts based on chip counts. As the leader, Raj took the lion’s share of $175,429 and his first-ever Borgata trophy!
The first-ever “Ladies Brunch and Learn” was hosted by the Borgata and the World Poker Tour, with guest lecturers WSOP Ladies Champion Jessica Dawley and Loni Harwood, a professional poker player with nearly $3 million in tournament earnings. The sold out seminar was held the morning of the Ladies event, to give the Ladies some beginner instruction on tournament basics and tips to improve their play. In addition to brunch and mimosas, there were gifts and prizes for the attendees. (Due to the event’s popularity, it may appear again on a future tournament schedule!)
Kujdes Galiardi takes down the CSOP event and poses with her sister Alida Veliu, who won the Ladies Event.
The Ladies NLH tournament followed the seminar and drew a field of 154 entries. The eventual winner was Alida Veliu, who took home her second Borgata Ladies Event trophy and claimed her fifth lifetime Ladies Event win. Just a couple of hours earlier on the other end of the Event Center, Alida’s sister, Kujdes Gagliardi, won the CSOP NLH event, accomplishing something we believe has never happened before in the history of poker — two sisters winning trophy events on the same day!
Phil Hellmuth claims BWPO Heads-Up title
For the first time in probably a decade, Phil Hellmuth made an appearance at Borgata, arriving in time to play the Heads-Up Championship. The WSOP bracelet record-holder (15) and new World Poker Tour Raw Deal host blazed a path through the 64-player bracket to take the title and $37,245. He followed that up with a cash in the WPT BWPO Championship for another $7,176.
Speaking of the WPT BWPO Championship, it was another record-breaking turnout. The final tally of entrants was 1,415, beating both the 2017 WPT BWPO Championship record (1,312 entries) and the largest of all WPT Borgata Open Championships, which was in 2011 (1,313 entrants). The prize pool of nearly $4.7 million crushed the $3 million guarantee.
BorgataPoker.com Ambassador Dan Buzgon
The field played down to the final six, who bagged up their chips and paused the clock until March 13th, when they will reconvene at the new HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor in Las Vegas to play it out under the lights and cameras of the World Poker Tour. BorgataPoker.com Ambassador and tournament grinder Dan Buzgon will make his third WPT final table appearance. He will start in the middle of the pack with an average stack when play resumes.
With more than $728,000 waiting for the eventual winner, the “HyperX Six” finalists must be chomping at the bit to get started, but they still have four weeks to wait. Make sure to check back here in the Winter Poker Open Blog for updates on that final table which begins the evening of Wednesday March 13th.
A list of main event winners is below, along with their earnings.
* Indicates Adjusted Payout
Thank you to all the participants and congratulations to all the winners! A special thanks goes out to all Borgata tournament staff and dealers for a terrific series.
On behalf of Borgata Poker Bloggers Tim Kelliher, Chris Murray, and myself, thank you for reading! Mark your calendars now for the Borgata Spring Poker Open, which takes place April 2nd-19th. Hope to see you then!
@Kaelaine
$1,000+$60+$200 Double Black Chip Bounty 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Level 26: Blinds 20,000/40,000/40,000
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 1
Joe Cheong
Joe Cheong moved all in for his last 560,000 and the anonymous player called. Cheong turned over 
but his opponent did one better showing 
.
The dealer fanned the 
flop and the player paired his five while Cheong picked up a gutshot straight draw. The turn 
and river 
were no help to Cheong and he is our Event 20 runner-up earning $17,877.
The two players shook hands after the nearly four hour heads-up battle.
Below is a full look at the Event 20 final table results.
1. Anonymous- $32,931+BWPO Trophy
2. Joe Cheong- $17,877
3. Will “The Thrill” Failla- $11,291
4. Javier Zarco- $8,468
5. Lou Galasso- $6,586
6. Mike Nye- $5,645
7. Dave Stefanski- $4,705
8. Brock Wilson- $3,764
9. Thai Ha- $2,823
$1,000+$60+$200 Double Black Chip Bounty 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Level 26: Blinds 20,000/40,000/40,000
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 2
Joe Cheong
In the latest hand of our heads-up battle the players got to the river on the 
board. The anonymous player moved all in and Joe Cheong snap called.
The player showed 
for the flopped nut straight and it looked like the end of the road for Cheong.
That was not the case however as Cheong also rolled over 
for the nut straight. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a heads-up match like this in ten years” joked Cheong “We both thought we won.”
Joe Cheong- 1,040,000
Opponent- 900,000
$1,000+$60+$200 Double Black Chip Bounty 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Level 25: Blinds 15,000/30,000/30,000
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 2
Joe Cheong moved all in for 458,000 and his opponent quickly called. Cheong tabled and would need to improve against the 
of his opponent.
The dealer fanned the 
flop and Cheong flopped two pair to take control of the hand. The turn 
and river 
sealed the deal for Cheong and he doubled up.
The stacks are now back to nearly even and the heads-up Event 20 battle continues.
Joe Cheong- 946,000
Opponent: 994,000
Payouts
1. $32,931
2. $17,877
$1,000+$60+$200 Double Black Chip Bounty 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Level 24: Blinds 12,000/25,000/25,000
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 2
Joe Cheong limped in and the anonymous player checked. The dealer fanned the 
flop and the anonymous player checked.
Cheong bet 25,000 and the player called. The turn was the 
and the player check-called a bet of 75,000 from Cheong. The 
completed the board and both players knuckled the felt.
The anonymous player showed 
for two pair and Cheong fired his hand face down into the muck.
Anonymous- 1,100,000
Joe Cheong- 840,000
Payouts
1. $32,931+BWPO Trophy
2. $17.877
$1,000+$60+$200 Double Black Chip Bounty 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Level 23: Blinds 10,000/20,000/20,000
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 2
Joe Cheong and Cliff Josephy
Joe Cheong raised to 65,000 and his opponent called. They saw a flop of 
and Cheong fired out a bet of 50,000.
The player called and both players checked the 
turn card. The 
hit the river and Cheong threw out a bet of 300,000. His opponent quickly folded and the lengthy Event 20 heads-up battle continues.
Joe Cheong- 940,000
Opponent- 1,000,000
$1,000+$60+$200 Double Black Chip Bounty 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Level 22: Blinds 8,000/15,000/15,000
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 2
The Event 20 heads-up battle has been going on for over an hour and the mystery man is battling back. The player that wishes to remain anonymous started with more than a 3-1 chip deficit.
He has steadily chipped away at Joe Cheong and the stacks are now nearly identical. Joseph Cheong is now playing 1,000,000 while his opponent has chipped up to 940,000.
Payouts
1. $32,931
2. $17,877
$1,000+$60+$200 Double Black Chip Bounty 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Level 21: Blinds 6,000/12,000/12,000
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 2
The heads-up Event 20 battle continues and not much has changed. The anonymous player has slightly chipped up to 640,000 and Joe Cheong is still holding more than a 2-1 chip advantage with 1,300,000.
We are now approaching the 15 minute break and we will pick back up on the heads-up action when play resumes.
Payouts
1. $32,931+BWPO Trophy
2. $17,877
$1,000+$60+$200 Double Black Chip Bounty 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Level 20: Blinds 5,000/10,000/10,000
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 2
The heads-up Event 20 battle continues and the pace of play has been slow. The players are trading pots back and forth and the stacks have barely changed.
Joseph Cheong is still holding the lead with 1,240,000 to the 700,000 of his anonymous opponent.
One of these players will be crowned the Event 20 champion here tonight and take home $32,931 and the BWPO trophy.
$1,000+$60+$200 Double Black Chip Bounty 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Level 19: Blinds 4,000/8,000/8,000
Total Entries: 97
Players Remaining: 2
With the elimination of Will Failla in 3rd place heads-up play is now underway here in Event 20. Joe Cheong is holding more than a 3-1 chip lead against his anonymous opponent.
Cheong is playing 1,500,000 to the 440,000 of his opponent and he’s closing in on his first Borgata Poker Open title.
Payouts
1. $32,931
2. $17,877