Event 14: $15,400 $5 Million Guaranteed WPT World Championship
Day 1a Completed
2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open
Event 14: $15,400 $5 Million Guaranteed WPT World Championship
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open
Buy-in
$15,000
Prize Pool
$4,852,400
Entries
328
Level
31
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
25
Day 1a of the WPT World Championship is Done and Dusted
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
The poker world's collective focus has undoubtedly shifted to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, where the WPT World Championship kicked off on Monday.
The season-ending event boasted a $15,400 buy-in - representing a reduction in cost for the WPT's premier tournament from its historic standard of $25,500 - but a $5 million guarantee more than made up for the lower entry fee. A total of 105 players took their shot here today - including the usual assortment of elite pros, along with professional football player Miles Austin - with many more expected to show up tomorrow for the second starting flight. There will need to be 239 more entries recorded for the guarantee to be met, but with satellites running around the clock in the Borgata Poker Room, chances are high the number will be eclipsed before the late registration ends. This reentry tournament also allows casualties from today a second chance to build and bag a stack, so many players who went bust during Day 1a will be back tomorrow looking to rebound.
The chip leader after eight full levels of deep-stacked poker was Paul Volpe, who managed to bag up a stack of 215,300 when it was all said and done. Volpe surged to the top of the leaderboard late in the evening, coming back from dinner break to bust Micah Raskin in a set-over-set-style cooler.
Just 62 runners survived the day, with the room's biggest stacks belonging to Jerry Wong (198,000), Brandon Steven (195,500), Scott Seiver (192,500), Tony Gregg (190,600), She Lok Wong (177,200), Jordan Seigel (163,500), Shannon Shorr (151,600) and Brock Parker (140,000). Phil Hellmuth made his customary late arrival just after the dinner break, managing to run his 50,000 starting stack up to 82,900 in just two levels of play. Austin hung tough throughout much of the day, patiently grinding a short stack while trying to remain incognito, but when he doubled through the chip-leading Volpe on the last deal of the night, he caught the deep ball he needed to potentially begin a deep run against this stacked championship field.
There were many notable names and elite pros who fell short of the finish line, including Robert "Uncle Krunk" Panitch, Lily Kiletto, Noah Schwartz, and Chris Moorman.
Day 1b kicks off tomorrow at 11 a.m. local time, so check in then to follow all of the action live from the floor of the Borgata's Signature Room, as the WPT World Championship rolls on.
Official End-of-Day Counts (full)
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
215,300 | 300 |
|
198,000 | 29,000 |
|
195,500 | 74,500 |
|
192,500 | 24,500 |
|
190,600 | 5,600 |
|
177,200 | 33,200 |
|
163,500 | |
|
151,600 | 39,600 |
|
131,900 | -100 |
|
130,000 | 65,000 |
|
129,200 | 11,200 |
|
127,500 | 27,500 |
|
127,300 | 2,300 |
|
123,300 | |
|
114,900 | |
|
111,500 | 82,100 |
|
110,300 | -6,700 |
|
101,700 | 51,700 |
|
97,300 | 14,300 |
|
96,400 | 21,400 |
|
93,400 | 31,900 |
|
92,200 | 4,200 |
|
91,500 | 10,500 |
|
91,300 | 6,300 |
|
88,000 | 34,500 |
Austin Doubles Through Volpe on Last Hand of Night
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
Miles Austin opened for a raise from under the gun, the action folded to Paul Volpe who three-bet in the big blind, and Austin moved all in for 40,000 even. Volpe snap-called.
Austin: 
Volpe: 
The two-time Pro Bowler was in rough shape, but the 
flop gave him aces up. It also gave Volpe a flush draw, however, and any spade on the turn or river would eliminate Austin.
Fortunately for him both the 
and the 
were bricks, and Austin doubled through. Volpe fell to 215,000 chips, and may still be the chip leader.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
215,000 | -36,000 |
|
|
85,000 | 60,000 |
Four More Hands
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
They will be playing four more hands and then bagging and tagging for the night.
Two-Time Pro Bowler in the House
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
Sitting underneath a hat and a hoodie and saying little to nothing at Table 2 is perhaps the biggest name here on Day 1a of the World Poker Tour World Championship. We didn't recognize him at first because he is doing his best to act as invisible as possible, but after a few good looks we can confirm that two-time Pro Bowler and current NFL free agent wide receiver Miles Austin is in the building.
Austin is a New Jersey native, growing up in Garfield, NJ and attending college at Monmouth. He went undrafted in 2006, but signed with the Dallas Cowboys and exploded onto the scene three years later. After never catching more than 13 balls in a single season, Austin hauled in 81 passes in 2009 for 1,320 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was voted to the Pro Bowl, and returned to Honolulu again the next season.
Currently a free agent after another injury-plagued season, Austin has chosen to take his shot against some of the best poker players in the world here at Borgata. He's off to a slow start with around 25,000 chips — half of the starting stack — but just like his own NFL career, Austin will try to heat things up during the latter stages of Day 1a and into Day 2.
Riess Railed in Last Level of Night
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
Ryan Riess looked down to find 
in the hole, and with a Byron Kaverman open to 2,200 already made, the defending World Series of Poker Main Event champion three-bet jammed for 19,000 from the hijack.
Action folded around to Tony Dunst in the small blind, and he made the call to put Riess at risk. Kaverman got out of the way and Riess found himself in a race against Dunst's 
.
The flop was a safe one for Riess, coming 
, but the turn bit him when the fell to the table. The river card came 
to complete the board and with that Riess headed for the exits.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
88,000 | 3,000 |
|
Busted |
Updated Chip Counts
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
As many current counts as we could muster during a recent pass through the Signature Room.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
251,000 | -9,000 |
|
|
185,000 | 15,000 |
|
|
169,000 | 53,000 |
|
|
168,000 | -44,000 |
|
|
144,000 | 29,000 |
|
121,000 | 54,000 |
|
|
118,000 | -2,000 |
|
|
117,000 | -8,000 |
|
|
112,000 | 10,000 |
|
96,000 | 7,000 |
|
|
81,000 | 8,000 |
|
79,000 | -36,000 |
|
79,000 | 31,000 |
|
63,000 | 63,000 |
|
56,000 | |
|
39,000 | 3,000 |
|
34,000 | -1,000 |
Bon Nite Darcourt
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
With the board showing 
and 13,000 already in the pot, Guillaume Darcourt bet 6,000 only to find himself facing a raise from Eric Baldwin that would be for his tournament life.
Darcourt was short and decided to gamble, making the call with 
. He was behind Baldwin's 
but had plenty of outs to survive. Any nine, seven, six, or four would do the deed. The river was the 
though and that would be the end of the day for the Frenchman.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
125,000 | 35,000 |
|
Busted |
Perper Busts
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
After shoving several times, Dan Perper moved all in for around 10,000 on the button, and James St. Hilaire re-shoved in the small blind. Guillaume Darcourt surrendered out of the big blind.
Perper: 
St. Hilaire: 
The dealer fanned 
, giving Perper an open-ended straight draw, and the 
on the turn gave him eight extra outs to make a flush. Unfortunately for him, the on the river was a big red brick, and he was eliminated.
"Good luck tomorrow," Matt Glantz offered.
"He had too many outs," St. Hilaire said after the hand. "If all he needed was a pair on the river, I would've started to pay him."
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
40,000 | |
|
|
Busted |