Sauntering through the tournament floor examining similarly sized stacks can become a bit repetitive, but every so often a castle is spotted that makes it all worthwhile.
We noticed a stack in excess of 200,000 and inquired as to the holder's name, discovering that Mike Ortiz was the proud owner.
Asked if there were any highlight hands he'd like to recap, Ortiz flashed a sinner's smile and said simply "not in public."
A friend along the rail chimed in to say "that means three-barrels, all day," and against a field comprised largely of amateurs and aspirants, that aggressive style may well be an optimal strategy. Judging from Ortiz' massive stack, that looks to be the case late on Day 1A of Event 1 ($500+$60 NLHE Re-Entry).
We saw the aftermath of an all in between Randy Pfeifer and another opponent with a big stack. Pfeifer's had flopped two pair when hit the board. According to Pfeifer, his opponent held , and Pfeifer was able to dodge an ace when the and completed the board. Pfeifer said he feared his opponent held a set, but the top two was good for Pfeifer, who broke the 300,000 mark.
[user253757]
Damon Ferrante (Seen Here at a Previous Edition of the Borgata Winter Poker Open)
We heard a player yell out "Yes!" while shooting up from his chair, and after hustling over to take a look, we found Damon Ferrante excitedly comparing his stack to another.
The final board read , and Ferrante's gave him the immortal nuts with a heart flush. His downed opponent held the , and after both players got it all-in before the flop, the worst hand vaulted into the lead with the jack on the flop.
A heart on the turn made things interesting, however, and another on the river compelled Ferrante to jump for joy.
After a bit of accounting, Ferrante's stack was deemed to be the larger of the two, and with that he sent a crestfallen opponent to the rail with a runner-runner tale to tell.
For a local player like Ferrante, who has seven cashes on his Hendon Mob résumé, all occuring in Atlantic City, New Jersey, today's Day 1A of the Borgata Winter Poker Open provides a chance to shine on his home turf. With his most recent win, Ferrante inched a little closer to adding an eighth Atlantic City cash to his career record.
We found Nick Guagenti doubling up an opponent who had flopped a set with on a board of . Guagenti had the in front of him, and he shipped just over 19,000 to the short stack.
Erik Lefkowitz may have lapped the field chips-wise, as we haven't seen anyone within 100,000 of him.
Lefkowitz was a bit fortunate in amassing such a massive stack, but you need a little luck to win at this game anyhow.
Holding , Lefkowitz called two players' all-in bets, and found himself ahead of one opponent, but behind the of another.
The first four board cards rolled off innocently enough, and Lefkowitz was in danger of having his stack decimated, but a on the river turned the tide in an instant. With his set on the river, Lefkowitz scored the double elimination, and built what has to be the biggest stack in the room.
[user253757]
Men "The Master" Nguyen Has Been Eliminated Here on Day 1A
Shortly after becoming crippled in an earlier hand, we watched Men "The Master" Nguyen make his stand with an all-in shove from early position.
With his last 5,600 in the middle and at risk, Nguyen watched as a player in the cutoff re-shoved for 35,500. When a second player opted to do the same, Nguyen knew he was in trouble, and when both opponent's tabled and , "The Master" found his to be far behind.
"I can't believe this..." Nguyen said as he saw the bad news. "They both have a real hand... always have a hand."
A final rollout of left all three players with ace-high, but the king kickers did the trick, sending Nguyen home in the latter stages of Day 1A.
We didn't catch the hand, but we noticed the dealer counting out a large chunk of Men Nguyen's stack to pay off an opponent's double. Nguyen's cards were already in the muck, but he evidently couldn't beat on a community of . "The Master" has just a few big blinds remaining.
The players are back in their seats, and cards are in the air for the final few levels of the day. The blinds are currently 1,000-2,000 with a 300 ante.
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
had flopped two pair when 
hit the board. According to Pfeifer, his opponent held 
, and Pfeifer was able to dodge an ace when the 
and 
completed the board. Pfeifer said he feared his opponent held a set, but the top two was good for Pfeifer, who broke the 300,000 mark.
, and Ferrante's 
, and after both players got it all-in before the flop, the worst hand vaulted into the lead with the jack on the flop.
on a board of 
in front of him, and he shipped just over 19,000 to the short stack.
, Lefkowitz called two players' all-in bets, and found himself ahead of one opponent, but behind the 
on the river turned the tide in an instant. With his set on the river, Lefkowitz scored the double elimination, and built what has to be the biggest stack in the room.
on a community of 
. "The Master" has just a few big blinds remaining.