Event 22
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
Jean “Prince” Gaspard
Event 22 of the Borgata Winter Poker Open was the $230 Deeper Stack NLH with a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool. There were 352 entries creating a prize pool of over $68,000. When the smoke cleared it was the Illinois based poker pro Jean “Prince” Gaspard holding the trophy.
Gaspard took the chip lead early in the night and never looked back. He caught fire at the final table knocking out player after player on his way to victory.
Gaspard will take home $18,441 and his second Borgata Poker title for his Event 22 win and he has now earned over $2,600,000 throughout his poker career.
Below is a full look at the Event 22 final table results.
1. Jean “Prince” Gaspard-$18,441+BWPO Trophy
2. Joe Romagnano- $10,243
3. Predrag Zaliac- $6,371
4. Maurice Hawkins- $5,122
5. John Evensen- $4,029
6. John Sykes- $3,312
7. Paul Colwell- $2,663
8. Anthony Anastasi- $2,016
9. Rick Zorn- $1,366
10. Frank Esposito- $888
$200 + $30 Deeper Stack NLH
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 31: Blinds 80,000/160,000/160,000
Total Entries: 352
Players Remaining: 1
Joe Romagnano
A short stacked Joe Romagnano moved all in and Jean Gaspard called. Romagnano showed 
but was crushed by the 
of Gaspard.
The board ran out 
and Gaspard improved to the nut flush to score the knockout.
Romagnano is our Event 22 runner-up and takes home $10,243 for his efforts.
$200 + $30 Deeper Stack NLH
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 31: Blinds 80,000/160,000/160,000
Total Entries: 352
Players Remaining: 2
Predrag Zailac
Predrag Zaliac raised to 980,000 and Jean Gaspard called. They went heads up to the 
flop and Zaliac moved all in for 2,000,000. Gaspard snap called turning over 
for trip tens and Zaliac showed 
.
The turn 
and river 
sealed the deal for Gaspard and Zaliac was eliminated in 3rd place earning $6,371 for his efforts.
Jean Gaspard- 10,000,000
$200 + $30 Deeper Stack NLH
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000/120,000
Total Entries: 352
Players Remaining: 3
4th Place- Maurice Hawkins ($5,127)
The Jean “Prince” Gaspard show continues and he has just sent three players in a row to the rail. John Sykes got the last of chips all in pre-flop holding 
but was outflopped by the 
of Gaspard.
Sykes was eliminated in 6th place taking home $3,312 for his efforts.
5th Place- John Evensen ($4,029)
John Evensen was the next to go when he got his last 455,000 all in pre-flop with 
against Gaspard’s
The 
runout paired Gaspard and Evensen was eliminated in 5th place earning $4,029.
Maurice Hawkins was the next player to go in 4th place earning $5,122. Three handed play has now begun and Gasbard is closing in on his second Borgata Poker title.
Jean Gaspard- 9,000,000
6th Place- John Sykes ($3,312)
$200 + $30 Deeper Stack NLH
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000/100,000
Total Entries: 352
Players Remaining: 6
Paul Colwell
Paul Colwell got the last of his chips all in pre-flop holding 
but he was dominated by Jean Gaspard’s .
The board ran out clean for Gaspard and Colwell was eliminated in 7th place earning $2,663 for his efforts.
Jean Gaspard- 5,300,000
$200 + $30 Deeper Stack NLH
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000/100,000
Total Entries: 352
Players Remaining: 7
Anthony Anastasi
The pace of play has been a slow one here at the Event 22 final table and we our down to the final seven. Anthony Anastasi was the latest player to hit the rail.
Anastasi is our 8th place Event 22 finisher and will take home $2,014 for his efforts.
$200 + $30 Deeper Stack NLH
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000/80,000
Total Entries: 352
Players Remaining: 8
Jean “Prince” Gaspard
The under the gun player raised to 180,000 and Jean Gaspard called. The big blind called and they went three handed to the 
flop.
The action checked to Gaspard who tossed out a bet of 350,000. The big blind quickly folded and after giving it some thought the under the gun player threw his hand into the muck.
Gaspard added another pot to his stack and he’s still in the lead with just under 5,000,000.
$200 + $30 Deeper Stack NLH
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000/60,000
Total Entries: 352
Players Remaining: 8
Predrag Zailac
Predrag Zailac got his stack of 1,100,000 all in pre-flop holding 
against the 
of Jean Gaspard. The board ran out 
and Zailac’s pocket nines held up to earn him the double up.
Gaspard’s monster stack took a slight hit but he was undeterred taking down the very next two pots.
Jean Gaspard- 4,500,000
Predrag Zailac-
$200 + $30 Deeper Stack NLH
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 26: Blinds 25,000/50,000/50,000
Total Entries: 352
Players Remaining: 9
Jean “Prince” Gaspard
The action folded around to Jean Gaspard on the button and he threw out a raised. Frank Esposito moved all in from the small blind for about 300,000.
The big blind folded and Gaspard snap called turning over and Esposito showed .
The board ran out 
and Gaspard’s pocket rockets held up to earn him the knockout.
Jean “Prince” Gaspard- 5,000,000
Frank Esposito- Eliminated in 10th Place ($888)
