2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open

Event 1: $560 $1 Million Guaranteed Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry
Day: 2
Event Info

2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open

Final Results
Winner
Carlos Alvarado
Prize
$127,652
Event Info
Buy-in
$500
Entries
2,482
Level Info
Level
35
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
40,000

Huge Double for Ibra

Level 22 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Ibra Ibraimovic
Ibra Ibraimovic

After a preflop raising war, Ibra Ibraimovic was all in and at risk for over half of a million chips with {5-}{5-} against Brett Richey's {k-}{k-}. Richey was "running hot" to start the day, and if his hand held he would've chipped up to nearly two million, but there was a {5-} in the window of the flop.

Richey was unable to run down a straight or hit a two-outer of his own, and plummeted to 600,000 chips. Ibraimovic rocketed up to 1.3 million.

Player Chips Progress
Ibra Ibraimovic
Ibra Ibraimovic
1,300,000
872,000
872,000
Brett Richey us
Brett Richey
600,000
-700,000
-700,000

Tags: Brett RicheyIbra Ibraimovic

A Round of Counts on Us

Level 22 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Sean Wallace
Sean Wallace

Peruse some updated chip counts for the biggest stacks and notable names still left in contention.

Player Chips Progress
Sean Wallace us
Sean Wallace
1,250,000
570,000
570,000
Mark Sykes
Mark Sykes
1,200,000
100,000
100,000
Kevin Grabel us
Kevin Grabel
1,100,000
730,000
730,000
Matt Cooper
Matt Cooper
625,000
285,000
285,000
Demetrios Georgous
Demetrios Georgous
587,000
-2,000
-2,000
Philip Neiman us
Philip Neiman
420,000
201,000
201,000
Anthony Maio us
Anthony Maio
255,000
174,500
174,500
Melissa Burr us
Melissa Burr
225,000
-41,000
-41,000

Mad Dog Done

Level 23 : 12,000/24,000, 3,000 ante
Mike Shasho
Mike Shasho

"Mad Dog" Mike Shasho was all in for 430,000 when we arrived at the table. A very short-stacked player was already committed from the blinds - he only looked like he had a few dozen thousand - and Zbigniew Fido was in the tank.

Fido opted to make the call, creating a 1.1 million-chip pot, and the hands were tabled.

Shasho: {k-Clubs}{10-Clubs}
Short-stacked player: {9-Hearts}{6-Clubs}
Fido: {a-Hearts}{j-Hearts}

The {10-Spades} peaked through the window of the flop, getting Shasho excited, but it was followed by the {a-Clubs} and the {2-Diamonds}. At the sight of the ace, he slammed the table in disgust. The {7-Clubs} on the turn gave him extra outs to make a flush, but the {6-Hearts} on the river was a big red brick.

Shasho and the short-stacked player were eliminated, while Fido is up to 1.2 million chips.

Player Chips Progress
Zbigniew Fido us
Zbigniew Fido
1,200,000
1,079,500
1,079,500
Mike Shasho
Mike Shasho
Busted

Tags: Mike ShashoZbigniew Fido

From the One-Outhouse to the Penthouse, and Back Again

Level 23 : 12,000/24,000, 3,000 ante
Bryan Choi
Bryan Choi

Matt Cooper dominated through much of Day 1c, building one of the biggest stacks in the room and pummeling his opponents into submission.

Cooper rode the momentum into the money here on Day 2, but a recent hand saw him ship about half of his stack across the table to Bryan Choi.

Choi's name may ring a bell as well, what with his deep run to a 9th place finish in the Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event last January.

The action began when Cooper shoved all in before the flop (this may have been an open-shove or a three-bet), putting his last 382,000 into the middle from early position. The action quickly folded around to Choi, who quickly called off his last 168,000.

Choi: {9-Hearts}{9-Spades}
Cooper: {7-Diamonds}{7-Spades}

Cooper had brought a pocket pair to bear with his sevens, but Choi had him crushed with a pair of nines. As the dealer prepared to burn and turn, Philip Neiman mentioned aloud that Cooper would need to spike a one-outer, as he had folded the {7-Clubs}. Choi perked up at this revelation, saying "hold up one time" while watching the dealer and the deck decide his fate.

Proving that poker is one of the most dramatic games we play, the door card was the {7-Hearts} and the table let loose a collective gasp with the aforementioned one-outer coming through. Cooper barely had time to crack a smile though, as the {k-Hearts} and {9-Diamonds} were slid out from underneath his saving seven.

With that, Cooper acknowledged that he was now drawing dead, before cutting out the chips which now belonged to Choi.

Player Chips Progress
Bryan Choi
Bryan Choi
365,000
121,000
121,000
Matt Cooper
Matt Cooper
210,000
-415,000
-415,000

Tags: Bryan ChoiMatt Cooper

Brothers in Arms

Level 24 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante
From left to right, Marcus Cohen, Joseph Wang, and Alex Ortiz Vazquez show that poker doesn't always have to be a game defined by grim faces and grudges
From left to right, Marcus Cohen, Joseph Wang, and Alex Ortiz Vazquez show that poker doesn't always have to be a game defined by grim faces and grudges

In one of the last hands played before the recent break, Marcus Cohen opened for 55,000 from early position (this hand occurred in Level 23, when blinds were set at 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante).

Next to act, Joe "J.J." Wang flatted the bet, but when the action moved to Alex Ortiz Vazquez he decided on a three-bet jam for 526,000.

The action then folded around to Cohen, who tanked long and hard before deciding to lay his hand down. Before he did so, Cohen commented on how he "can't ever fold here," before ultimately contradicting himself.

Wang did the same, deliberating for a long while and talking himself through the hand before sliding his hand into the muck.

As Ortiz dragged the pot in, all three players began to exchange notes, commiserating on the strength of their respective hands. Wang claimed to have laid down {a-}{q-}, while Cohen mentioned not wanting to flip a coin with his {10-}{10-}.

Ortiz, for his part, said he held {A-}{K-}, confirming that a coin flip would have decided the hand.

After the hand was long over, a second visit to the table saw Cohen state that he "played this well to get the chips, not trying to flip a coin for all of 'em. That's not tournament poker. I'm trying to win this thing."

Countless amateurs who have looked down at a pocket pair and refused to find the fold button may disagree, but Cohen's disciplined laydown was the sign of a player looking to make good on his word.

Player Chips Progress
Marcus Cohen
Marcus Cohen
925,000
-75,000
-75,000
Alex Ortiz Vazquez
Alex Ortiz Vazquez
655,000
505,000
505,000
Joseph Wang
Joseph Wang
243,000
79,000
79,000

Tags: Alex Ortiz VazquezJoseph WangMarcus Cohen

Miotto Playing Favorites

Level 24 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante
Phousith Norsavanh can't bear to look after his queens were dethroned by a lone king
Phousith Norsavanh can't bear to look after his queens were dethroned by a lone king

We passed by Eric Miotto's table in time to see the dealer counting out his 674,000 stack, as he had just doubled through Phousith Norsavanh.

The final board read {k-Clubs}{2-Clubs}{2-Spades}{8-Clubs}{10-Hearts} and Miotto had the {K-Spades}{Q-Clubs} displayed in front of his soon to be doubled stack.

According to Miotto, he had open-shoved for his last 22.4 big blinds holding his "all-time favorite hand in Hold'em."

Norsavanh had snapped the bet off with his {Q-}{q-} to find himself dodging kings, but a cowboy on the flop shot his hopes down.

Player Chips Progress
Eric Miotto
Eric Miotto
1,340,000
1,093,500
1,093,500
Phousith Norsavanh
Phousith Norsavanh
320,000
-330,000
-330,000

Tags: Phousith NorsavanhEric Miotto

Payout Information for Places 1-45

Level 25 : 20,000/40,000, 4,000 ante
Cash rules everything around me
Cash rules everything around me

With the money bubble already burst and under a hundred players left in contention, here is the official payout information for Event 1. For the remaining payout information consult the Payouts tab.

PlacePayout
1$209,547
2$136,081
3$89,115
4$75,868
5$63,233
6$51,181
7$39,740
8$28,902
9$21,074
10-12$13,849
13-15$9,032
16-18$6,262
19-27$5,299
28-36$4,444
37-45$3,781

Tran Wins a (Hieu)ge Hand

Level 25 : 20,000/40,000, 4,000 ante
Hieu Tran is now the man to beat after his cowboys crushed a pair of nines
Hieu Tran is now the man to beat after his cowboys crushed a pair of nines

One of the biggest pots of the entire tournament just went down, with more 2.5 million chips being claimed by Hieu Tran.

Tran opened for 85,000 from middle position and Collin White three-bet to 185,000 from late position.

This move did not impress Tran though, and he coolly four-bet to 350,000 even. Both players started the hand with more than 1.2 million chips, and soon enough White's entire stack was shipped into the middle.

Tran snapped the bet off with his {K-Spades}{k-Clubs} and found himself in great shape against White's {9-}{9-}. After the final board rolled out {4-Clubs}{j-Hearts}{8-Hearts}{k-Hearts}{a-Diamonds}, Tran had secured the massive double through with his set of kings, while White sent the vast majority of his stack across the table.

Player Chips Progress
Hieu Tran us
Hieu Tran
2,850,000
1,650,000
1,650,000
Collin White
Collin White
345,000
-675,000
-675,000

Tags: Collin WhiteHieu Tran

Sykes Sent Packing

Level 26 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante
Mark Sykes - Eliminated
Mark Sykes - Eliminated

Mark Sykes moved all in for around 10 big blinds or so on the button, Stephanie Hubbard re-shoved from the small blind, and the player in the big blind folded.

Sykes: {j-Diamonds}{3-Clubs}
Hubbard: {a-Clubs}{q-Diamonds}

Hubbard improved to a pair of aces on the flop of {10-Spades}{a-Hearts}{7-Clubs}, but Sykes could survive with running cards to make trips, two pair, or a straight.

It was all over for Sykes when the {5-Diamonds} bricked off on the turn, however, and the {8-Diamonds} completed the board.

Player Chips Progress
Stephanie Hubbard us
Stephanie Hubbard
1,800,000
700,000
700,000
Mark Sykes
Mark Sykes
Busted

Tags: Mark SykesStephanie Hubbard

Demetrious Georgous Eliminated in 21st Place ($5,299)

Level 29 : 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante
Demetrios Georgous - 21st Place
Demetrios Georgous - 21st Place

Demetrious Georgous opened for a raise in late position, Matthew Itkin called from the big blind, and the flop came down {9-Spades}{3-Diamonds}{5-Spades}. The money went in the middle, and the cards went on their backs.

Georgous: {j-Spades}{10-Spades}
Itkin: {j-Diamonds}{9-Hearts}

Both the turn and river were fours ({4-Diamonds} and {4-Clubs}), and Georgous was eliminated.

Player Chips Progress
Matthew Itkin
Matthew Itkin
4,700,000
800,000
800,000
Demetrios Georgous
Demetrios Georgous
Busted

Tags: Demetrios GeorgousMatthew Itkin