$3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship
Day 1a Completed
2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open
$3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open
Buy-in
$3,300
Entries
1,229
Level
39
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
75,000
Laz Hernandez Leads $3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship Day 1a
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.
The Grand Finale
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
85,000 | 12,700 |
|
83,350 | 51,350 |
|
Busted |
End of Day Chip Counts, Part Two
Level 8
: 250/500, 50 ante
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
258,175 | 78,175 |
|
186,250 | 106,250 |
|
115,050 | 115,050 |
|
102,775 | 102,775 |
|
74,300 | -5,700 |
|
|
61,900 | 61,900 |
|
58,250 | 30,750 |
|
50,850 | -4,550 |
|
50,625 | -5,375 |
|
27,900 | -82,100 |
|
22,600 | -8,400 |
|
19,475 | 9,075 |
|
13,900 | -13,300 |
End of Day Counts, Part One
Level 8
: 250/500, 50 ante
Here are some counts at the end of Day 1a.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
169,050 | 12,050 |
|
150,100 | 150,100 |
|
|
146,000 | 146,000 |
|
145,200 | 145,200 |
|
144,250 | 12,250 |
|
140,000 | 102,500 |
|
139,325 | 139,325 |
|
135,975 | 135,975 |
|
109,975 | 109,975 |
|
101,500 | 101,500 |
|
87,525 | 23,525 |
|
69,025 | 39,025 |
|
67,050 | 16,050 |
|
65,075 | 65,075 |
|
59,850 | 20,850 |
|
58,925 | 22,725 |
|
58,350 | -6,650 |
|
53,325 | 2,225 |
|
50,000 | -33,000 |
|
46,650 | 11,650 |
|
42,950 | 42,950 |
|
41,400 | 18,400 |
|
36,175 | -2,825 |
|
27,500 | -2,500 |
|
23,000 | -3,500 |
Lee Jams for Value
Level 8
: 250/500, 50 ante
We found Calvin Lee all in and covering his opponent, who had about 40,000 left. The pot had about another 40,000 in it, and the board read 
. The player thought for a couple of minutes before telling the dealer she called.
"She called you," the dealer said to Lee, who had headphones in. He flipped over 
for a king-high flush, and his opponent mucked her hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
157,000 |
Set to Bag and Tag
Level 8
: 250/500, 50 ante
The chips will soon be counted up and bagged for later, as the last three hands of Day 1a are now upon us.
After eight full levels of intense Main Event action, the field played down from approximately 430 entries to the current 24 or so tables.
A full round of unofficial chip counts for notables and big stacks will be coming up before the ink on the bags dry, so stay tuned.
Roland Rolled, Martino Mopped Up and Menard Moving
Level 8
: 250/500, 50 ante
After a recent three-way all-in confrontation went his way, Jeremy Menard went from being one card away from a bustout to owning a 60,000 stack in one fell swoop.
Just a moment ago Menard turned the trick again, scooping a huge pot and knocking two players out in the process.
We missed the betting action before flop but with the board reading 
it was a veritable shove-fest, as Roland Israelashvili and Paul Martino both joined Menard with all-in bets. The short-stacked Israelashvili made his move with just 
, while Martino bluffed the flop with his big slick 
.
Menard had the best of it the whole way with his 
, and the turn () and river () kept him out in front to take down the enormous haul. He now sits with more than 120,000, making Menard a force to be reckoned with during the last level of the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
121,000 | 53,400 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Eyster Runs Into a Monster
Level 8
: 250/500, 50 ante
Seth Berger and Kevin Eyster checked out of the blinds to Michael Gagliano on the button, who fired 1,800 on the 
flop. Berger thought for a bit before folding, and Eyster immediately pushed his remaining 7,000 or so forward. Gagliano snap-called.
Gagliano: 
Eyster: 
"There it is," someone at the table said as the dealer flipped over the 
for the turn, rendering Eyster's flush draw meaningless. A six completed the board, and Eyster was ousted.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
58,000 | 4,200 |
|
Busted |
Well, Do You Feel Lucky?
Level 8
: 250/500, 50 ante
No matter how a player approaches the game of poker - calculating every decision to achieve optimal results, going with their gut or simply letting their cards dictate the action - everybody at the table needs a little luck to get by. Whether in the form of superstitious habits, favorite card protectors or even a particular meal before a long session, poker players all hope to have luck at their back when they sail out into the tempestuous seas of a long tournament.
For one player here today at the Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event, luck is squarely on his side and it will be for as long he's here. Shaun Suller made sure of that.
Suller decided to don an Indianapolis Colts jersey featuring the name and number of that team's phenom quarterback. And while an Andrew Luck jersey sighting a month or two ago would have been standard fare for a football fan on the felt, with the Super Bowl slated for next Sunday and the Colts sitting at home, we suspect Suller's fashion statement is more superstition than super fandom.