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

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

Ornstein Binks

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

Eric Ornstein was all in and at risk for 366,000 preflop holding {a-Diamonds}{10-Diamonds}, and he was in rough shape against Dan Wach's {j-Hearts}{j-Spades}.

The {4-Spades}{7-Diamonds}{q-Hearts} flop missed Ornstein, but the {a-Hearts} on the turn gave him a pair of aces and the lead. The {2-Spades} completed the board, Ornstein doubled to 750,000 chips, and Wach fell to 385,000.

Player Chips Progress
Eric Ornstein
Eric Ornstein
750,000
564,500
564,500
Dan Wach us
Dan Wach
385,000
-215,000
-215,000

Tags: Dan WachEric Ornstein

Ibra Adds More, Busts Morris

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

Ibra Ibraimovic is at it again, eliminating Maggie Morris in a big preflop race.

Morris was at risk with {q-Diamonds}{q-Clubs} against Ibraimovic's {a-Hearts}{k-Clubs}, and the latter hit the {5-Clubs}{3-Diamonds}{a-Spades} flop. The turn and river came {8-Clubs}{8-Hearts} respectively, and Morris was eliminated.

Ibraimovic is now up to 1.6 million chips.

By our count, there are only three women, including Melissa Burr (775,000), and Wendy Rubin (500,000).

Player Chips Progress
Ibra Ibraimovic
Ibra Ibraimovic
1,600,000
300,000
300,000
Melissa Burr us
Melissa Burr
720,000
495,000
495,000
Wendy Rubin
Wendy Rubin
500,000
284,500
284,500
Maggie Morris
Maggie Morris
Busted

Tags: Ibra IbraimovicMaggie MorrisMelissa BurrWendy Rubin

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

The Century Mark

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

The tournament clock has ticked over once more, showing that just 100 players are left in contention for the $209,470 top prize awaiting the eventual victor.

Break Time

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

The 85 players remaining in Event 1 have stood to stretch, and play will resume in 15 minutes.

Two more levels will be played after that before dinner break.

Level: 24

Blinds: 15,000/30,000

Ante: 4,000

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

Assorted Counts

Level 24 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante
Player Chips Progress
Kevin Grabel us
Kevin Grabel
2,500,000
1,400,000
1,400,000
Hieu Tran us
Hieu Tran
2,000,000
800,000
800,000
Ibra Ibraimovic
Ibra Ibraimovic
1,700,000
100,000
100,000
Mark Sykes
Mark Sykes
1,650,000
450,000
450,000
Kenny Nguyen us
Kenny Nguyen
1,200,000
650,000
650,000
Matt Cooper
Matt Cooper
1,125,000
915,000
915,000
Tommy Martone
Tommy Martone
1,075,000
708,500
708,500
Collin White
Collin White
1,020,000
20,000
20,000
Demetrios Georgous
Demetrios Georgous
980,000
393,000
393,000
Brett Richey us
Brett Richey
950,000
-300,000
-300,000
Sean Wallace us
Sean Wallace
730,000
-520,000
-520,000
Carlos Alvarado us
Carlos Alvarado
700,000
519,500
519,500
Adam Foster us
Adam Foster
650,000
150,000
150,000
Phousith Norsavanh
Phousith Norsavanh
650,000
80,000
80,000
Tim Kelliher
Tim Kelliher
600,000
325,000
325,000
Eric Ornstein
Eric Ornstein
430,000
-320,000
-320,000
Bob White
Bob White
425,000
425,000
425,000
Wendy Rubin
Wendy Rubin
415,000
-85,000
-85,000
Kirkor Tekneci us
Kirkor Tekneci
350,000
10,000
10,000
Philip Neiman us
Philip Neiman
215,000
-205,000
-205,000
Dan Wach us
Dan Wach
50,000
-335,000
-335,000