Level 7 (250/500/50)
Total Entries: 580
Since we are on the topic, here are some updates from around the room as players took to twitter to post their updates during the last break.
First hand back dealt AA on button open to 1100 sb flats bb misclick 3 bets to 12500 with 15k back effective. #TeamRunGood #preciatecha
— Joseph Hebda (@joeyhebs) January 13, 2015
25k at 2nd break. Not a ton to play at a pretty aggressive table. Heading back to 500bb I believe.
— Jake Perry (@JakePerry12) January 13, 2015
27.7k going on 2nd break. #BWPO
— Mike (@JDramaNJ) January 13, 2015
@BorgataPoker not a bad start at #borgatapoker #winterpokeropen level 7 50k
— Kyle Carey KaHmA (@KaHmA3) January 13, 2015
Continue to tweet using the hashtags #WinterPokerOpen and #WPO to not only get posted on the blog, but also the @BorgataPoker WPO Twitter Wall here in the Event Center.
Level 7 (250/500/50)
Total Entries: 580
The uses for twitter are almost endless and the poker community has certainly embraced the social media application as players take to the twitterverse to post chip counts, results, and various serious and “nonsensical” hashtags.
Use #BorgataPoker or #WinterPokerOpen in your tweets and you could see your updates on the big screen in the Event Center!
— BorgataPoker (@BorgataPoker) January 13, 2015
In terms of “serious” hashtags, use the ones listed in the tweet above to get mentioned on the Borgata WPO Twitter Wall and join in on the Winter Poker Open conversation.
In terms of “nonsensical” hashtags, we also enjoy the #blessed, #prayforme, #due tags we see throughout tournament updates from players, so keep those coming as well, but if nothing else, remember to tag @BorgataPoker in all your WPO tweets.
Level 7 (250/500/50)
Total Entries: 580
Players are now back from their second break of the day and will return to Level 7.
This leaves just over an hour and a half remaining to late register or re-enter into Day 1A of the $2,000,000 GTD Event 1.
Players buying in at this stage of the tournament will still have close to 40 big blinds to work with, as all players will be sold a full starting stack.
Players are reminded that if they do not choose to play Day 1A or want to wait to re-enter into another flight, Day 1B will be starting tonight at 6 PM.
Day 1C and 1D will also be running tomorrow, starting at 10 AM and 6 PM respectfully.
Players are also reminded that this is NOT a best stack forward event, meaning that if you bag chips in any starting flight, playing in a subsequent starting flight will forfeit those already bagged chips.
Level 6 (200/400/50)
Total Entries: 560
Mukul Pahuja (Long Island, NY)
The tournament field is about to go on their second break of the day and the field should be on high alert as Mukul Pahuja (Long Island, NY) was recently seen taking his seat at an outer table.
Why should the field be on high alert? Well, as blogger Drew Amato so eloquently stated, “Oh yeah, he wins everything.” and a recent run of results seems to back that statement up.
While Pahuja has been a tournament professional for a couple years now, 2014 was his coming out party, as he made deep runs in some of the biggest events on nearly every series on top of being named 2014 WPT Player of the Year.
He opened the year in February, making the “unofficial” Final Table of the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship, finishing in 8th place for $36,000.
The next two months would be his time to shine, as he would finish 30th in the WPT LA Poker Classic, 4th in the WPT Shooting Stars Main Event and then 2nd in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, with those three scores netting him close to $1,100,000 in winnings.
Pahuja didn’t slow down heading into last summer’s WSOP, as he cashed in both the Little One for One Drop and the Main Event, earning another $55,000 in winnings from those two scores.
Pahuja then picked up where he left off on his WPT domination cashing in the WPT BPO Championship and then finishing 3rd in the WPT Montreal Playground.
He then won his second WSOP Circuit Ring, as he outlasted a field of 460 players to win the WSOPC Main Event at Harrahs, taking home close to $150,000 for the victory.
In total, Pahuja took in nearly $1,500,000 in winnings in 2014 and seems to be continuing his run good into 2015, as he just finished 29th in the LAPT Bahamas Main Event.
One thing he hasn’t done in his poker career yet? Win a Borgata Poker title, something that he will surely look to cross of his “to-do list” here as he looks to continue his run good in the opening event of the Winter Poker Open.
Level 6 (200/400/50)
Total Entries: 555
Dan DiZenzo (Sussex, NJ)
While there are no “official” Borgata Poker Open leader board standings, since we cover every event, by the end of each series, we’d usually be able to give you an “off the top of our head” top five or so from each series and Dan DiZenzo (Sussex, NJ) would certainly have been on that list during the WPT BPO held in September.
DiZenzo recorded four cashes during that series, but three of those scores came in the biggest events offered, including the opening $2,000,000 GTD, the $1,000,000 GTD and the $100,000 GTD Saturday Series.
DiZenzo got off to a fast start, posting a top stack coming out of the Day 1 sessions, but couldn’t get anything going on Day 2 of the opening Event 1 and bowed out just short of the 150 player mark.
DiZenzo would get a lot going on Day 2 of the $1,000,000 GTD Event 10 and would turn that second day run into a Final Table appearance and a 3rd place finish on the “live stream”, making just over $70,000 for his efforts.
Just a few days later, DiZenzo was making another deep run in a massive field, making a top 20 finish in the $100,000 GTD Saturday Series.
Throw in another top 20 finish before the series was over and DiZenzo was solidifying himself as one of top players on our “estimated” WPT BPO leader board.
DiZenzo then continued his Borgata run good to Parx, where he made three cashes, including deep runs in both the 300 Big Stax and 500 Big Stax event, as well as recording a min-cash in the Fall Poker Open Championship.
He’s been quiet since then, but if the last WPT series was any indication, DiZenzo will be a forced to be reckoned with over the next few weeks.
He is currently working an average stack, mid-way through Level 6.
Level 5 (150/300/25)
Total Entries: 548
James Woods Sits Stoic
It is no surprise when you have a celebrity at a poker table, there will always be someone trying their best to eliminate them. From the celebrities stand point, this can be either beneficial or detrimental. James Woods was a huge benefactor in a situation that ended up with him securing a double up here in the early stages of Day 1A.
Three players saw the dealer spread the flop of {Jd}{Jh}{Ks}. The first two players checked their action over to James Woods on the button and he would fire in a bet of 2,000. The small blind folded and the big blind tagged along to see the {Jc} on the turn.
After a slight deliberation the big blind led out for a bet of 5,000 which essentially put Woods all in. Before the dealer could even announced the action to the table, Woods tossed in his remaining chips and stood out of his seat.
“If you have a jack, you got me!” Woods exclaimed as he turned over {Ah}{Ac}.
“You win” His opponent said as he tossed his cards into the muck, visibly frustrated.
A meaningless {6c} hit the river and Woods would rake in the pot as he now sits with around 18,000 in chips.
Level 5 (150/300/25)
Total Entries: 545
Peter Lew (New York, NY)
During last month’s Deep Stacks Challenge series held at the Borgata, Peter Lew (New York, NY) was one of the most talked about player throughout the series, as he recorded three deep runs, which included back-to-back Final Tables in Events 2 and 3 of that series.
Those two Final Table runs netted Lew close to $8,000 in prize money, setting himself up for what he hopes to be a breakout Winter Poker Open series.
Lew will have a slightly bigger challenge ahead of him though, as opposed to the DSC, in which events topped out at near 300-400 players, this series and this opening event, looks to have field numbers in the thousands.
But, if Lew showed anything during last month’s series, it’s that he knows how to go deep and will look to parlay his DSC run good into a bag-able stack by the end of today’s Day 1A and make his first “major” score here at the Borgata.
Level 4 (100/200)
Total Entries: 530
As players continue to file into the Event Center, the Day 1A flight has quickly surpassed the 500 entry mark. Here is a look at some of the familiar faces that have already taken their seats here in the first flight.
Jamie Kerstetter
Mike Nye
Ralph Massey
Amanda Musumeci
James Woods
Level 4 (100/200)
Total Entries: 525
David Jackson (Atlanta, GA)
During the last World Poker Tour stop at the Borgata, the WPT Borgata Poker Open held in September, one player stood out from the crowd almost from the onset and that player was David Jackson (Atlanta, GA).
Jackson stood out for a couple reasons, first off, how could you not notice someone who keeps an “Easy Button” in front of them at the table, but more importantly, Jackson was coming off the biggest score of his career during the 2014 WSOP and then followed that score up with a few deep runs, including his first Borgata Poker title during the WPT BPO.
Jackson’s breakout score at the WSOP came in one of the final events of the series, as he finished 4th in Event 55 for just over $180,000, he then wasted no time getting back to the grind, as he posted scores at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open and then recored a cash in the opening $2,000,000 GTD event of the BPO.
But, Jackson’s biggest score from the last Borgata series came when he recorded his first Borgata championship, winning a $450 NLH event for just under $20,000.
Jackson hasn’t slowed down since then, recording multiple scores at the WPT Bounty Scramble held in Jacksonville and the Rock ‘n Roll Poker Open, both held in November.
Jackson will certainly be a player to watch over the course of this series as he looks to open his Borgata Winter Open win a good Day 1A of the $2,000,0000 GTD Event 1.
Level 4 (100/200)
Total Entries: 525
Players are now back from a quick 10 minute break and will return to Level 4.
Players buying in at this level, or re-entering, will still have a 100 big blind stack to work with, as all players will be sold a full 20,000 chip starting stack.
That late registration/re-entry period will continue through the end of Level 9, meaning that there are over three hours remaining to get into this Day 1A starting flight.
We have seen more familiar faces take their seats in the $2,000,000 GTD Event 1 and will be featuring them over the next few posts.