Event 1: Break it Down
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The tournament is now on a 15-minute break, and approximately 350 players remain in contention for the $372,123 grand prize.
2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open
Event 1: $2 Million Guarantee Big Stack NLHE Re-Entry
Day: 2
Top
Chip Counts
Chip Counts
4
5,610,000
7
4,510,000
10
4,000,000
Event 1: Break's Done
Players have returned to their seats and cards are back in the air with blinds of 8,000-16,000 and a 2,000 ante.
Event 1: Callahan Out
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Event 1: Alexandre the Great
With so many players riding stacks of similar size, and the blinds rising every 40 minutes, there have been multiple three-way all-in confrontations.
The latest clash between three players saw 
go up against 
and 
, with the man holding nines at risk of being eliminated.
"Black nine dealer, put a black nine out there!" bellowed the man with the worst hand. "One time!"
As commanded, the dealer fanned the flop with a flourish, and the first card in the window was, of course, the 
to fulfill the short-stacked player's wish.
The nine-ball was soon followed by a 
and an 
, however, meaning the set of nines was second-best to Alexandre Navalnii's set of tens. The unfortunate woman holding pocket rockets could only watch as her dominating hand was dashed by a pair of two-outers.
The turn (
) and river (
) changed nothing, and with that, Navalnii vaulted to nearly a million chips to put himself in contention for a deep run here on Day 2.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
950,000
950,000
|
950,000 |
Event 1: Nguyen's Tank Runs Dry
We found Men "The Master" Nguyen contemplating a 430,000 all-in bet from Alynna Le. The board read 
, and Nguyen counted out his stack; it was about 80,000 short so he would be calling off everything.
Nguyen went deep into the tank, thinking for about four minutes. He twice told the dealer he would need considerable time for this decision. For their part, the other players at the table seemed unwilling to call the clock on the seven-time bracelet winner. Finally, Andrew Badecker called for time. When the countdown hit five seconds, Nguyen finally slid his cards to the dealer, saying he was sure he was against ace-king and he folded a combo draw.
Le, who had been staring straight ahead while covering her mouth with a pink scarf, turned over the 
as she collected the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
670,000
583,000
|
583,000 |
|
350,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
||
Event 1: Nguyen Leads Out
Johnson Nguyen raised to 37,000 from middle position, and a fellow big stack on the button made it 88,000 to go. Nguyen made the call, and the two saw a flop of 
. Nguyen switched gears, firing out 125,000. His opponent tanked for a bit, finally folding his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
835,000
648,875
|
648,875 |
More Photos
Event 1: Ivan Bluffs Off to Chestnut
A player in early position raised to 40,000, and Coleem Chestnut three-bet to 120,000 from the cutoff. Alex Ivan shipped his stack of roughly 500,000 in from the big blind. The original raiser quickly folded, and Chestnut announced a call.
Ivan: 
Chestnut:
Chestnut had caught Ivan trying to steal the pot, and Ivan was in awful shape. The board ran out 
, and the daring play had come up empty.
"Nice hand," Ivan said with a wry smile.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,000,000
913,000
|
913,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Event 1: To His Better Half
Christian Lusardi entered Day 2 of this event as the biggest stack in the room, and after six hours of competition he is still going strong.
Passing through the tournament floor, we saw Lusardi quietly adding another wing to his expansive chip castle, and a quick eyeball of his stacks indicated he sits with around 1.6 million.
Lusardi plays the game with a inscrutable poker face, but noticing us hovering around the table, he took a moment away from the game to focus on what really matters.
"This goes out to Tiffany," he said. "Make sure that goes in: Chris loves Tiffany."
Hearing this heartfelt announcement, Lusardi's neighbor at the table quickly stuck the needle in, pulling out a heart-shaped rock from his pocket and saying, "here kid, give this to her too."
Lusardi simply smiled in that way only a man in love can, before returning his focus to the task at hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,600,000
1,081,000
|
1,081,000 |
Event 1: Like Lightning From the Sky
Maurice "Reece" Lightner ran his 
into the 
held by an unidentified opponent, and after the first four board cards rolled out 
, he appeared to be on the brink of taking a major dent to his stack.
River:
Just like that, Lightner went from roughly a 19:1 underdog to a million chip man, and with the dinner break fast approaching, he will have plenty to chew on for the next hour.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,200,000
1,200,000
|
1,200,000 |