Event 14: $15,400 $5 Million Guaranteed WPT World Championship
Day 1b Completed
2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open
Event 14: $15,400 $5 Million Guaranteed WPT World Championship
Day: 1b
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 1b In The Books
![[user272102]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
Play continued today in the World Poker Tour's premiere event, the $15,400 World Championship Event, at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and an impressive 223 players ponied up the entry fee to take their shot at part of the $5 million guaranteed prize pool.
Combined with the 105 players that took part on Day 1a, there were a total of 328 entrants meaning they were just shy of meeting the guarantee. Despite that, the 200 players that will return tomorrow at noon have a lot to play for including a seven figure first place prize and their name etched on the WPT Champions Cup.
The chip leader for the second flight of this star-studded field was none other than Jason Koon who ended the day with an impressive chip stack of 252,800. This moves him ahead of the Day 1a chip leader Paul Volpe who ended with 215,300.
Out of the 138 players that made it through the day, some of the biggest stacks would belong to Athanasios Polychronopoulos (223,100), Keith Lehr (220,900), Lee Markholt (217,700), Kevin Rabichov (189,700), Bart Dowling (186,200), Abraham Korotki (172,300), and Justin Young (166,000).
There were numerous big names that would survive to move on to Day 2 including the likes of Jesse Sylvia (137,500), Christina Lindley (127,600), James Carroll (122,000), Joe McKeehen (114,000), Sean Jazayeri (90,100), Jeff Madsen (59,800), John Hennigan (58,600), Dan Kelly (58,500), Nick Schulman (47,900), John Racener (42,900), Allen Bari (39,700), and Lily Kiletto (79,700) who would take down a big pot against George Wong to move her stack in a positive direction.
Unfortunately for others, any dreams and aspirations they had of becoming the WPT Champion would be dashed when they were eliminated before play concluded. Those names included the likes of Aaron Massey, Jonathan Jaffe, Kara Scott, Anthony Merulla, Amanda Musumeci, Dan Smith, Eugene Katchalov, Scott Clements, Ryan Riess, Mike Matusow, and James Calderaro who would receive an unusually cruel exit when the case King came on the river to send him to the rail.
Day Two kicks off tomorrow at noon local time in the Signature Room of the Borgata. PokerNews will be there from start to finish to bring you all of the exciting poker action.
Unofficial End of Day Chip Counts
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
The final scores for the big stacks and notables after Day 1b.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
252,800 | 44,800 |
|
223,100 | 23,100 |
|
220,700 | 85,700 |
|
217,700 | 92,700 |
|
|
189,700 | |
|
|
186,200 | |
|
172,300 | 95,300 |
|
166,000 | 56,000 |
|
162,700 | |
|
149,200 | |
|
|
137,500 | |
|
130,200 | 24,200 |
|
127,600 | |
|
122,000 | 32,000 |
|
117,700 | 39,700 |
|
114,000 | 57,000 |
|
109,000 | 65,000 |
|
96,600 | 12,000 |
|
90,100 | 25,100 |
|
|
89,900 | |
|
83,400 | -10,600 |
|
81,900 | |
|
79,900 | |
|
79,700 | -65,300 |
|
78,900 | -1,100 |
Snuffer Sent Out, Alabsi Eliminated
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
Two of the room's most colorful characters just headed for the exits, and while we were told bad beat stories by both Emad Alabsi and Cotton Snuffer, you know what they say about those.
In one ear and out the other. In any event, both players were eliminated late in Level 8, with Alabsi falling to Justin Young when both players made sets.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Four More Hands
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
They have just announced that there will be four more hands and then play will be done for the evening.
Ahmadian Rises From the Grave
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
Elia Ahmadian has experienced the full spectrum of emotions during a long day on the felt here today, but all the while he never stopped smiling.
Ahmadian filled us in on the details of an epic comeback recently, after he stormed back from 9,000 to 67,000 in a the span of a few hands.
He chipped up to 13,000 by grinding for blinds and antes, before a player told him "I'm calling you the next time you move all in." When Ahmadian woke up with 
in the hole he did just that, "jammin'" over the top of an open and getting his mark to call off with 
. The board ran out clean and Ahmadian notched the much-needed double to get back on track.
Soon afterward Ahamdian found another double when he flopped top two holding 
on the 
. Men Nguyen paid him off when he turned multiple draws with his 
, but the river bricked off to bring Ahmadian back from the brink.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
67,000 | 17,000 |
Poker is Fun!
Calderaro Busts When Case King Hits River
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
James Calderaro got the last of his chips in with 
and was up against Allen Kessler's 
. Things looked good for Calderaro when the flop came 
and even better when the turn was the 
but the case King, the 
on the river was the end of Calderaro's World Poker Tour Championship Event dreams. It's been a great WPT season for Calderaro so he'll take some consolation in that.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
125,000 | 45,000 |
|
Busted |
Playing for Peter Update
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
Chris Tryba is an experienced poker pro who has played on the game's biggest and brightest stages, as the gold bracelet he won during the 2012 World Series of Poker proves.
Despite playing for - and winning - prizes well over the six-figure mark, Tryba is here today playing for what may be the most important reason in anybody's life: family.
His cousin Peter Tryba - a devoted husband and father - is in desperate need of a kidney transplant within the next 3-6 months. With organ donor lists notoriously long Peter is in a race against time, and who better to have on his side than a man who wins races for a living.
Chris has decided to donate 10 percent of his potential winnings from the Borgata Spring Poker Open to help fund his cousin's cause, a truly admirable move in a game where selfishness is often lauded as a virtue.
Peter's wife Rachel explained the situation further on a Facebook group page dedicated to finding a solution:
My husband Peter Tryba has suffered from chronic kidney disease (CKD) for the past 13 years. The condition is a result of an autoimmune disease called IgA nephropathy. His condition has been managed with medications to lower his blood pressure and keep his kidney function stable. Unfortunately he is now at the end stage of the kidney disease (ESRD) where his kidneys are only functioning at 13%. He will need a kidney transplant from a donor with a matching blood type (He is A+). We will be going to Tufts to meet with the transplant specialists and get put on a list of people waiting for donors. This can potentially take years to find someone. In the meantime, Peter will need to be put on dialysis, 3 days a week, for 3 hours a session in order to help boost his kidneys in eliminating toxins from his body. Peter is otherwise a young, healthy person who has done everything to manage his condition, but now he needs help. He needs a donor. I am willing to donate my kidney to my husband, but we have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and so I feel that I need to be there to care for both of them during this difficult time. The best option is for someone to volunteer. We wanted to let everyone know that this is what we will be going through in the next few months and would appreciate any information, support, guidance, or advice as we embark upon this journey. Thank you,
Sincerely,
Rachel & Peter Tryba
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
78,000 | -36,000 |
And the Bag's in the River
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 100 ante
During a recent pass around the table we caught up with Cotton Snuffer (the Iverson is just for his driver's license) - and the man known as Heisenberg filled us in with a postmortem on a recent loss.
According to Snuffer, he held 
and flopped an up-and-down draw on the 
. The flop contained two clubs as well, and when Maurice Hawkins bet into Snuffer, he flatted to see fourth street complete his hand with the 
. With the nuts and a check to him, Snuffer made it 6,200 to go looking for a little value, and Hawkins came along to see the 
drop on the river.
Now it was Hawkins' turn to bet, and he fired 6,500 into the man sitting to his left. Snuffer made the call and discovered that the bag was in the river, as Hawkins rolled over 
for a flush.
Hawkins had about 190,000 after that hand, but he seems to hit a speed bump or two since then, with just over 100,000 to play with in the last level of the evening.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
106,000 | -74,000 |
|
|
24,500 | -7,500 |