2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open

Event 14: $15,400 $5 Million Guaranteed WPT World Championship
Day: 3
Event Info

2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a8
Prize
$1,350,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$15,000
Prize Pool
$4,852,400
Entries
328
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
25

Event 14: $15,400 $5 Million Guaranteed WPT World Championship

Day 3 Completed

Afriat Remains in Pole Position After Day 3

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante
Eric Afriat
Eric Afriat

Only two tables remain in the Season XII WPT World Championship at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and once again the overnight chip leader is Eric Afriat. Afriat, who became a member of the WPT Champions Club just over a week ago at the penultimate stop in Hollywood, Florida, bagged 2.029 million chips after another productive day on the felt.

The French-Canadian’s biggest hand came in Level 19, when Blake Bohn five-bet shoved for over 50 big blinds with {a-Spades}{k-Clubs} and Afriat snapped him off with {a-Hearts}{a-Clubs}. The pocket rockets held up, and Afriat added to his already monster stack.

Afriat is the only player with over two million chips, but four players joined him in the seven-figure club; Abraham Korotki (1.616 million), Tony Gregg, (1.499 million), Ryan D’Angelo (1.369 million), and Curt Kohlberg (1.097 million). Korotki, the winner of the 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship Event, eliminated 2012 WSOP Main Event runner-up Jesse Sylvia in a big cooler in Level 19. Sylvia open-shoved with top two pair on the turn, and Korotki called with bottom set. The river was a brick, and Sylvia was eliminated.

Gregg, like Afriat, is a member of the WPT Champions Club, winning the Parx Open Poker Classic in Season XI. He too was on the positive side of a cooler, eliminating Scott Eskenazi with aces against kings in Level 19.

Also among the final 18 players are Justin Young, Byron Kaverman, Keven Stammen, Brock Parker, and WPT Raw Deal Analyst and Champions Club member Tony Dunst.

The day started with 68 players, and the bust outs were fast and furious as the money bubble approached. Among the players who exited with no money were NFL free agent wide receiver Miles Austin and 13-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. Austin found himself in a three-way all in with pocket fives against George Kelly’s pocket kings – Austin wasn’t fortunate enough to hit a two-outer – and Hellmuth ran {a-Spades}{6-Hearts} into Kaverman’s {a-Hearts}{q-Spades}.

Right as the dinner break was starting, the bubble burst in a very unique way. There were 38 players still alive – 36 would earn a minimum of $30,085 – and most of the players were exiting the room to wine and dine for 75 minutes. While they were filing out, Nick Schulman and Michael Lavoie were eliminated at the exact same time on two different tables. Some short-stacked players, like Cathy Dever, were elated the find out they were in the money after the surprise, concurrent eliminations.

After dinner break, it only took three hours for the field to halve from 36 to 18. Among the post-dinner, in-the-money causalities were Athanasios Polychronopoulos (34th, $30,085), Brian Yoon (33rd, $30,085), Jason Koon (32nd, $30,085), Matt Stout (30th, $30,085), Loni Harwood (29th, $30,085), Jonathan Tamayo (28th, $30,085), Cathy Dever (24th, $33,967), Club WPT winner David Daggett (22nd, $33,967), Scott Seiver (21st, $33,967), and Jeff Madsen (19th, $33,967).

Tamayo, who won his way into the WPT World Championship thanks to DraftKings.com and a game-winning home run from New York Mets backup catcher Anthony Recker, lost a race with {a-Spades}{q-Diamonds} against the {7-Diamonds}{7-Hearts} of Ray Qartomy.

The final two tables will return at noon on Friday to play down to an official final table of six. PokerNews will be on hand for all of the updates, so be sure to check back then.

Official End of Day Chip Counts (full)

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante

Check out the final tallies for the last 18 players left in contention for this WPT World Championship.

Player Chips Progress
Eric Afriat ca
Eric Afriat
WPT 3X Winner
2,029,000 209,000
Abraham Korotki us
Abraham Korotki
1,616,000 86,000
Tony Gregg us
Tony Gregg
1,499,000 259,000
Ryan D'Angelo us
Ryan D'Angelo
WSOP 1X Winner
1,369,000 249,000
Curt Kohlberg us
Curt Kohlberg
1,097,000 177,000
Justin Young us
Justin Young
WPT 1X Winner
993,000 -98,000
Byron Kaverman us
Byron Kaverman
WSOP 1X Winner
974,000 85,000
Ray Qartomy us
Ray Qartomy
955,000 280,000
Keven Stammen us
Keven Stammen
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
867,000
Brock Parker us
Brock Parker
819,000 245,000
Tom Dobrilovic
Tom Dobrilovic
786,000 -88,000
Chris O'Rourke
Chris O'Rourke
670,000
Tony Dunst us
Tony Dunst
WSOP 2X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
622,000 -13,000
Corey Hochman (Cory Hochman)
Corey Hochman (Cory Hochman)
598,000 61,000
Bobby Oboodi us
Bobby Oboodi
525,000 -15,000
Glen Lafaye
Glen Lafaye
395,000
Hans Winzeler us
Hans Winzeler
329,000 -518,000
David Grandieri us
David Grandieri
269,000 100,000

Read full

Jeff Madsen Eliminated in 19th Place ($33,967)

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante
Jeff Madsen - 19th Place
Jeff Madsen - 19th Place

Jeff Madsen had just two big blinds left to work with, so he open-shoved from under the gun.

Keven Stammen called to put Madsen at risk, as did Glen Lafaye in the big blind.

The dealer fanned {7-Diamonds}{3-Clubs}{a-Diamonds} and Lafaye checked, prompting a bet of 35,000 by Stammen. This folded Lafaye and Madsen said "I have something..." while tabling {7-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}, but Stammen had something better with {a-Spades}{9-Hearts}.

The turn ({2-Spades}) and river ({4-Clubs}) changed nothing and Madsen headed to the payout desk to collect, while the 18 players remaining prepared to bag and tag.

Player Chips Progress
Keven Stammen us
Keven Stammen
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
867,000 337,000
Jeff Madsen us
Jeff Madsen
WSOP 4X Winner
Busted

Tags: Glenn LafayeJeff MadsenKeven Stammen

Leonardo Palermo Eliminated in 20th Place ($33,967)

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante
Leonardo Palermo - 20th Place
Leonardo Palermo - 20th Place

Chris O'Rourke opened the action for a raise from under the gun and it was folded to Jeff Madsen in the small blind who moved all in. Leonardo Palermo in the big blind announced that he was also all in and when the action got back to O'Rourke he quickly said "call, call, call" as he turned over {A-Spades}{A-Hearts}. It was a cooler of a hand for the other two as Madsen had {A-Clubs}{K-Diamonds} and Palermo {Q-Clubs}{Q-Diamonds}.

The board ran out {10-Spades}{5-Spades}{4-Clubs}{7-Clubs}{5-Clubs} and Palermo is eliminated in 20th place while Madsen was crippled.

"Is this real," said O'Rourke after the hand. "That was like fantasy land."

Player Chips Progress
Chris O'Rourke
Chris O'Rourke
670,000 244,000
Jeff Madsen us
Jeff Madsen
WSOP 4X Winner
32,000 -294,000
Leonardo Palermo us
Leonardo Palermo
Busted

Tags: Chris O'RourkeJeff MadsenLeonardo Palermo

Scott Seiver Eliminated in 21st Place ($33,967)

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante
Scott Seiver - 21st Place
Scott Seiver - 21st Place

Curt Kohlberg opened to 36,000 from the hijack and Scott Seiver moved all in for just over 300,000 from the cutoff. It was folded back to Kohlberg who made the easy call with {K-Hearts}{K-Clubs}. Seiver had been making a move of sorts with {A-Spades}{9-Hearts} and would need some help if he was going to stay alive.

The flop came {10-Clubs}{8-Clubs}{6-Spades} to give Seiver an inside straight draw to go with his Ace. The turn was the {5-Diamonds} and the river was the {6-Clubs} and the amiable Seiver is eliminated in 21st place while Kohlberg moved his stack to 920,000.

Player Chips Progress
Curt Kohlberg us
Curt Kohlberg
920,000 240,000
Scott Seiver us
Scott Seiver
WSOP 4X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Curt KohlbergScott Seiver

David Daggett Eliminated in 22nd Place ($33,967)

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante
David Daggett - 22nd Place
David Daggett - 22nd Place

After qualifying for this WPT World Championship through the Club WPT online poker platform, David Daggett proved he can play poker with real money on the line.

He made a deep run against this stacked field, surviving for three days of play against the game's elite players, but his Cinderella story just came to an abrupt end.

Bobby Oboodi opened for 36,000 from the hijack and Daggett three-bet shoved for 189,000, folding the button and the blinds. Oboodi wasn't going anywhere with his {A-Spades}{q-Diamonds} though, and he was dominating Daggett's {a-Diamonds}{8-Diamonds} - until the flop fell {10-Clubs}{8-Clubs}{7-Hearts} that is.

The turn came {j-Clubs} to give Oboodi additional outs to oust the amateur, and one of those additions floated down the river when the {k-Spades} hit the table. Oboodi's runner-runner spike to make Broadway did the job, and Daggett headed for the payout cage with a story to take home - along with $33,967 for his 22nd place finish.

Daggett was overheard talking to a Royal Flush girl on the rail (run better Mr. Daggett... run better), saying "twenty-five bucks a month for thirty thousand? I'll take it."

Player Chips Progress
Bobby Oboodi us
Bobby Oboodi
540,000 70,000
David Daggett
David Daggett
Busted

Tags: Bobby OboodiDavid Daggett

Yuval Harosh Eliminated in 23rd Place ($33,967)

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante
Yuval Harosh - 23rd Place
Yuval Harosh - 23rd Place

Yuval Harosh raised to 50,000 from the hijack, Tony Dunst moved all in on his left, and the action folded back to Harosh, who called all-in for 200,000.

Harosh: {10-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}
Dunst: {a-Diamonds}{k-Spades}

The flop fell {q-Spades}{10-Clubs}{5-Spades}, giving Harosh a set of tens.

"Jack on the river," Dunst requested.

He was one step ahead of the dealer, who delivered the {j-Spades} on the turn to give Dunst Broadway.

"...or a brick," Dunst corrected himself.

Of course, if the river was another {j-}, Harosh would've made a full house to stay alive. The river was the {4-Hearts}, an inconsequential card, and Harosh hit the rail in 23rd place.

Player Chips Progress
Tony Dunst us
Tony Dunst
WSOP 2X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
635,000 45,000
Yuval Harosh
Yuval Harosh
Busted

Tags: Tony DunstYuval Harosh

Madsen and Dobrilovic Double

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante
Jeff Madsen
Jeff Madsen

Glenn Lafaye raised to 36,000 in early position, Jeff Madsen moved all in for 143,000 on his left, and the action folded back to Lafaye who tank-called.

Lafaye: {k-Diamonds}{q-Hearts}
Madsen: {3-Spades}{3-Clubs}

Madsen improved to a set when the dealer fanned {q-Spades}{3-Hearts}{2-Spades}, and Lafaye was drawing dead when the turn brought the {7-Hearts}. The {2-Hearts} on the river was but a formality, and Madsen doubled through.

At the table behind it, Tom Dobrilovic was all in and at risk for 418,000 with {q-Clubs}{q-Hearts} after preflop betting with Curt Kohlberg. Kohlberg held two overs with {a-Clubs}{k-Spades}, and the wired queens held up as the board ran out {8-Spades}{10-Hearts}{2-Hearts}{2-Diamonds}{9-Clubs}.

Player Chips Progress
Tom Dobrilovic
Tom Dobrilovic
874,000 524,000
Curt Kohlberg us
Curt Kohlberg
680,000 -555,000
Glenn Lafaye us
Glenn Lafaye
372,000 59,000
Jeff Madsen us
Jeff Madsen
WSOP 4X Winner
326,000 193,000

Tags: Curt KohlbergGlenn LafayeJeff MadsenTom Dobrilovic

Cathy Dever Eliminated in 24th Place ($33,967)

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante
Cathy Dever - 24th Place
Cathy Dever - 24th Place

After losing a small pot to Curt Kohlberg, Cathy Dever was down to 106,000. It was folded to her on the hijack and she moved all in. Tom Dobrilovic made the call from the small blind and curiously Eric Afriat folded {8-}{8-} face up despite having the biggest stack at the table. Someone at the table joked "give me those eights" as Dever turned over {J-Clubs}{9-Clubs} and Dobrilovic {A-Clubs}{10-Clubs}.

Afriat would have hit a set if he had seen the flop as it came {A-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}{5-Diamonds}. The turn was the {4-Spades} and Dever was drawing dead. The river was the {3-Diamonds} and Dever is sent home in 24th place. An excellent finish for the Borgata regular who was thrilled earlier when she found out she had made the money.

Cathy DeverIn the $$$ WPT main event. Wahooooo. Yeah baby!!!!!
Player Chips Progress
Tom Dobrilovic
Tom Dobrilovic
350,000 105,000
Cathy Dever us
Cathy Dever
Busted

Tags: Cathy DeverCurt KohlbergEric AfriatTom Dobrilovic