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Jenni Chang found a pocket pair early in the ten-handed final table, and with her stack already short, she moved all in hoping for the best.
Unfortunately for Chang, her 
was no good against Dawn Wilnow and her 
. A clean board ran out and Chang stood to hug Wilnow before heading out to collect her prize money.
Steve Saklad got all in preflop against Richard Gargel.
Saklad: 
Gargel: 
Gargel had a slight lead, and he stayed in front on the 
flop. The turn card was an interesting one: 
, giving Saklad an open-ender and a chop if a diamond hit the board. The river brought a 
though, and Saklad was done in 4th.
When Richard Gargel was young and first learning the gambler's lifestyle, he had a role model who showed him the way.
"My family were gamblers," he said. "They love the horses."
Gargel said his uncle Johnny showed him what to do when he was fortunate enough to book a nice win.
"I take 40 percent and spend it on my family," he said. "I take 10 percent and spend it on myself. And I take the other 50 percent and add it to my poker stash."
That philosophy allows him to share his wins with loved ones while also adding a little bit to his bankroll. Gargel, who described himself as a recreational player who averages about a session per week, finds himself four-handed in the $340 Seniors event. His family and his bankroll will be enjoying the spoils of his success here soon.
The Brigantine, N.J., native said he plays a little bit of cash but focuses most of his poker time on tournaments. He particularly enjoys the seniors events.
"I love them," he said, adding that he missed the last two here at Borgata due to family commitments. "It's different, it's a lot of fun. There's more laughs."
Not that he doesn't enjoy a more serious competition. On the contrary, if he can score a big cash here at the Winter Poker Open, he plans to parlay that into a buy-in to the World Series of Poker Main Event. He's never been there, and he hopes to take $15,000 or so to Las Vegas next summer. First, he has to rake in a big cash here, and his voice trailed off as he thought of the possibilities.
"If I can walk away with $10,000..."
After the elimination of Leslie Sewell, the final ten ladies just redrew and reconvened at the final table. Here are their seat assignments and chip counts when ten-handed play began:
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denise Ronca | 455,000 |
| 2 | Jenni Chang | 151,000 |
| 3 | Dawn Santoli | 205,000 |
| 4 | Megan Milburn | 530,000 |
| 5 | Teresa Sexton | 615,000 |
| 6 | Valerie Novak | 226,000 |
| 7 | Deb Qualey | 271,000 |
| 8 | Pat Knoll | 150,000 |
| 9 | Roseanne Musillo | 340,000 |
| 10 | Dawn Wilnow | 170,000 |
| Player | Stack |
|---|---|
| Steve Saklad | 725,000 |
| Richard Gargel | 940,000 |
| Alan Sansone | 700,000 |
| Natale Kuey | 1,300,000 |
Richard Gargel raised to 200,000 under the gun, and Alan Sansone pushed all in from the button for 306,000. Steve Saklad moved in over the top of that from the big blind. Gargel folded.
Sansone: 
Saklad: 
The dealer rolled out a flop of 
, and Sansone went from completely dominated to completely in command.
"So far, so good," he said. Things stayed good when the 
and 
completed the board, and Sansone doubled up to about 900,000.
Leslie Sewell had the best of it when the chips went in, holding 
against Megan Milburn's 
, but in a coin flip situation, both hands nearly the same chances of coming up on top.
The flop of 
provided Milburn with an additional set of outs to the Broadway straight, but it was the 
on the turn which put Sewell on the brink. When the river blanked off and failed to bring a saving set of eights, Sewell headed to the payout desk just short of the ten-handed final table.
Diane Grippo's tournament life came to an end when her 
failed to catch up to the held by Deb Qualey.
An ace on the flop put her far behind, and another on the turn made it official. Despite falling just short of the final table, Grippo earned $676 for the deep run, enough to take a shot in one of the flights of tomorrow's $250,000 guaranteed event.
Doug Conover got the last of his chips all in preflop against Natale Kuey.
Kuey: 
Conover: 
The board ran out 
, no help to Conover.
"Nice playing with you guys," he said.
With the rush of excitement filling the room tournament area during our recent royal flush sighting, the last hand played by Andy Rizzo was lost in the commotion.
For her 13th place finish here in the Ladies event, Rizzo pocketed $591 in prize money.