$3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship Day 1a | 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open

01-27-2014 00:29 UTC-4

End of Day Chip Counts, Part Two

[user253757]

Level 8 : 250/500, 50 ante

John Racener Bagged One of the Bigger Stacks We Saw at the End of Day 1a

Here is where a slew of players stand at the end of Day 1a, with some comfortably assured of a Day 2 big stack, and others planning to return on Day 1b for a chance to run up a higher count.

Player	Chips	Progress
Laz Hernandez	258,175 78,175	78,175
John Racener	186,250 106,250	106,250

Derrick Rosenbarger	115,050 115,050	115,050

Scott Baumstein	102,775 102,775	102,775
Lee Childs	74,300 -5,700	-5,700
Shawn Suller	61,900 61,900	61,900
Seth Berger	58,250 30,750	30,750
Chris Reslock	50,850 -4,550	-4,550

Allen Kessler	50,625 -5,375	-5,375

Jacob Bazeley	27,900 -82,100	-82,100
Erick Lindgren	22,600 -8,400	-8,400

Andy Hwang	19,475 9,075	9,075
Matt Waxman	13,900 -13,300	-13,300

01-27-2014 00:56 UTC-4

The Grand Finale

[user253757]

Level 8 : 250/500, 50 ante

In the last hand of the night a true firework display could be seen, as three well-known pros played a huge pot despite nobody holding a hand to speak of.

We heard the commotion and chaos of a memorable hand going down, and when we arrived it was Maurice "Mo" Hawkins shouting loudly to let us know the score.

"Boom!" shouted Hawkins, his congratulatory yells let loose in the direction of fellow pro Matt Glantz. "You scooped it with king-high!"

Sure enough, a quick survey of the scene showed that Glantz' had prevailed to earn him a 100,000 pot - despite not pairing either of his hole cards.

According to Glantz - who was more than happy to relay the exact details of this incredible hand - the action started innocently enough, with Men "The Master" Nguyen limping in for 500 to kick things off. Hawkins raised it up to 1,300 holding , and Glantz flatted that bet before all hell broke loose.

A player who Hawkins and Glantz readily admit was tilting badly after losing a huge stack in a few major clashes made a big overbet - shoving all in for his last 28,000. The action back on him, Nguyen decided to push all in as well, with his last 24,000 going into the middle. Hawkins decided to release his ace-jack (something he would come to regret moments later), and the action was back on Glantz.

As Glantz tells it, he didn't really feel king-jack was good in this spot, but he found additional incentive in the form of his opponent.

"The added value of busting Men Nguyen definitely made it an easy call," joked Glantz. "Busting him is always sweet."

With his decision made, Glantz made the call and tabled his hand expecting to be in bad shape, but he was actually out in front against the held by the tilting shover and Nguyen's dominated . Of course, no drama is complete without a little sweat, and the flop came to give Nguyen an up-and-down straight draw. The turn () and river () were bricks for everybody though, and with that Hawkins began his earlier announcement.

"I play this game so good sometimes..." said Glantz, the devilish grin on his face breaking wider as he did so. "I figured the one guy's just tilting and Men's planning on the re-entry, so why not play the king-jack for all of it?"

Why not indeed Mr. Glantz... why not?

Player	Chips	Progress
Matt Glantz	85,000 12,700	12,700

Maurice Hawkins	83,350 51,350	51,350
Men Nguyen	Busted

Tags: Men Nguyen Maurice Hawkins Matt Glantz

01-27-2014 01:10 UTC-4

Laz Hernandez Leads $3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship Day 1a

mnuwwarah

Level 8 : 250/500, 50 ante

After nearly two weeks of relatively anonymous fields dotted by the occasional well-known pro, a slew of notable names and faces descended on the Borgata for the $3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship. Ironically, at the end of Day 1a, it's one of the anonymous faces who bagged up a massive chip lead.

Laz Hernandez, who has one recorded cash for $1,536, bagged 258,175, more than 70,000 clear of second-place stack John Racener (186,250). Rounding out the top five were Calvin Lee (169,050), Randy Pfeifer (150,100), and George Lampert (146,000). Other notables bagging solid stacks include Matt Brady (145,200), Steve Levy (144,250), Bob Panitch (140,000), Jordan Cristos (125,000), and Noah Schwartz (124,325).

Hernandez, who was reportedly down to about 3,000 early, won two huge hands to vault to the top of the counts, and he seemed to only keep climbing from there.

Notable players not bagging stacks for the day included Vanessa Selbst, Jonathan Little, Cliff Josephy, Chino Rheem, Men Nguyen, Kevin Eyster, and Roland Israelashvili.

Tags: Calvin Lee John Racener Jordan Cristos Laz Hernandez Noah Schwartz Robert Panitch Steve Levy

$3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Day 1a Completed