2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open

$3,500 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship
Day: 1a
Event Info

2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open

Event Info
Buy-in
$3,500
Prize Pool
$4,129,290
Entries
1,290
Players Left
6
Average Chip Stack
8,600,000
Total Chips
51,600,000
Next Payout
Place 6
$143,264
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Players Info - Day 1a
Entries
382
Players Left
199

$3,500 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Day 1a Completed

Leonard "LJ" Sande Bags the Lead in Day 1a of WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

Level 8 : 400/800, 800 ante
Leonard "LJ" Sande
Leonard "LJ" Sande

The first flight of the WPT Borgata Poker Open $3,500 Championship saw a total of 382 entry slips sold and when the last chance saloon had closed for business 199 remained. The biggest stack to emerge from Day 1a was Leonard "LJ" Sande who bagged an impressive 245,700.

Sande took off shortly after the last break of the day and jumped to the top of the counts, a spot he locked up by night's end. Sande is a well-known grinder from West Haven, CT, who has amassed over a million in live tournament cashes with his latest coming just two weeks ago in the first event of the series, finishing sixth for $83,644. Watch for Sande on Day 2 to make another deep run and continue his hot start to 2020.

A familiar face is close behind the leader as WPT Champions Club Member Tony Dunst bagged a healthy 224,900 after eight levels. Dunst built his stack early in the day and will be a sure contender on Day 2 with his impressive resume that includes almost $4 million in career earnings. Rounding out the top five are Renata Colache (216,000), Jeremy Joseph (195,600), and Steven Sarmiento (179,100).

WPT Champions Club Member Tony Dunst
WPT Champions Club Member Tony Dunst

Day 1a saw many notables walk through the Borgata doors and not all could find a bag but some who did are John Lytle (171,000), Curt Kohlberg (170,900), Will Givens (165,400), Ory Hen (156,200), Ben Keeline (151,800), Shaun Deeb (128,900), Darren Elias (127,900), Jake Schwartz (127,100), Anthony Zinno (118,900), Galen Hall (94,500), Brian Yoon (73,500), and BorgataPoker.com Sponsored Pro Katie Stone (23,700).

The Day 1b flight will begin tomorrow at 11 a.m. local time on Monday, January 27. A total of eight 60-minute levels will be played before players bag up for the night. Players may register or re-enter until the beginning of level 11 on Day 2 and there is no limit to the number of times one player enters. Players may bag more than one stack but the smaller stack will be forfeited at the beginning of the second day.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be here to provide you with all of the updates, so stay tuned as all of the action unfolds.

Tags: Anthony ZinnoBen KeelineBrian YoonCurt KohlbergDarren EliasGalen HallJake SchwartzJohn LytleKatie StoneLeonard SandeOry HenRenata ColacheShaun DeebSteven SarmientoTony DunstWill Givens

End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)

Level 8 : 400/800, 800 ante
Player Chips Progress
Leonard Sande us
Leonard Sande
245,700 15,700
Day 1A Chip Leader
Tony Dunst us
Tony Dunst
224,900 89,900
WSOP 2X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
Renata Colache us
Renata Colache
216,100 86,100
Jeremy Joseph us
Jeremy Joseph
195,600 75,600
Steven Sarmiento us
Steven Sarmiento
179,100 179,100
Greg Himmelbrand us
Greg Himmelbrand
176,400 -28,600
Christopher Sparks us
Christopher Sparks
173,000
John Lytle us
John Lytle
171,000 -4,000
Curt Kohlberg us
Curt Kohlberg
170,500 30,500
Will Givens us
Will Givens
165,400 -22,600
WSOP 1X Winner
Ap Garza us
Ap Garza
160,300
WSOP 1X Winner
Ryan Messick us
Ryan Messick
158,000 158,000
Ory Hen us
Ory Hen
156,200 -23,800
Ben Keeline us
Ben Keeline
151,800 151,800
Alex Muscarella us
Alex Muscarella
150,000 150,000
Benedetto Bianco us
Benedetto Bianco
146,400
Jonathan West us
Jonathan West
146,000
Emile Schiff jm
Emile Schiff
141,700 -3,300
Brian O'Donoghue us
Brian O'Donoghue
139,100
Lara Eisenberg us
Lara Eisenberg
136,600 121,600
WSOP 1X Winner
Stanislav Angelov us
Stanislav Angelov
136,500 -8,500
Vinod Moorjani us
Vinod Moorjani
130,700
Grigoriy Shvarts us
Grigoriy Shvarts
129,500
Shaun Deeb us
Shaun Deeb
128,900 -1,100
WSOP 6X Winner
Chad Gallimore us
Chad Gallimore
128,400

Read full

Assorted Chip Counts

Level 8 : 400/800, 800 ante
Player Chips Progress
Ory Hen us
Ory Hen
180,000 30,000
Emile Schiff jm
Emile Schiff
145,000 -35,000
Jake Schwartz us
Jake Schwartz
145,000
Stanislav Angelov us
Stanislav Angelov
145,000 15,000
Tony Dunst us
Tony Dunst
135,000 65,000
WSOP 2X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
Shaun Deeb us
Shaun Deeb
130,000
WSOP 6X Winner
Victor Ramdin us
Victor Ramdin
75,000 37,000
Shannon Shorr us
Shannon Shorr
72,000 15,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Tom Wheaton us
Tom Wheaton
55,000
Maria Konnikova us
Maria Konnikova
50,000
Femi Fashakin us
Femi Fashakin
40,000
WSOP 1X Winner
David Jackson us
David Jackson
35,000 -20,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Matt Stout us
Matt Stout
34,000
Asher Conniff us
Asher Conniff
32,000
WPT 1X Winner

Elias Climbs Through Givens

Level 8 : 400/800, 800 ante

Will Givens three-bet to 3,500 from middle position, a player in the hijack called and Darren Elias called as well on the button. The dealer fanned out {q-Hearts}{9-Hearts}{6-Clubs} on the flop and action checked to Givens who bet 5,800.

The hijack opponent folded, Elias quickly raised to 17,500 and Givens hit the tank. Ultimately he called and the {5-Clubs} peeled off as a turn card.

Givens tapped the table to Elias, he pushed in 32,000 and Givens threw his cards into the muck, shipping the pot to Elias.

Player Chips Progress
Darren Elias us
Darren Elias
155,000 45,000
Will Givens us
Will Givens
85,000 44,500
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Darren EliasWill Givens

Double Knockout Vaults Lytle to the Top

Level 8 : 400/800, 800 ante
John Lytle
John Lytle

John Lytle just send two players to the rail in one of the largest pots of the day. Lytle was tight lipped about the hand history that vaulted him to the top of the chip counts.

"It was a double knockout, that's all I'm saying" Lytle told PokerNews with a smile and he will look to finish with less than one level of play remaining.

Player Chips Progress
John Lytle us
John Lytle
175,000 5,000

Tags: John Lytle

Sande Stacking Chips

Level 8 : 400/800, 800 ante
Leonard "LJ" Sande
Leonard "LJ" Sande

We have just entered the last level of play here on Day 1a and the big stacks are starting to emerge. Leonard "LJ" Sande sent Brian Altman to the rail early in a monster pot and he continues to add to his stack.

Sande is now sitting behind a massive stack of 230,000 and he's now in contention for the Day 1a chip lead.

Player Chips Progress
Leonard Sande us
Leonard Sande
230,000 230,000
Day 1A Chip Leader

Tags: Brian AltmanLeonard Sande

Level: 8

Blinds: 400/800

Ante: 800

Assorted Chip Counts

Level 7 : 300/600, 600 ante
Player Chips Progress
Emile Schiff jm
Emile Schiff
180,000 6,000
John Lytle us
John Lytle
170,000
Ory Hen us
Ory Hen
150,000
Stanislav Angelov us
Stanislav Angelov
130,000
Jeremy Joseph us
Jeremy Joseph
120,000
Nicholas Verderamo us
Nicholas Verderamo
120,000
Darren Elias us
Darren Elias
110,000 6,000
Hiroki Harada us
Hiroki Harada
110,000
Alberto Sabogali us
Alberto Sabogali
100,000
Brian Yoon us
Brian Yoon
75,000
WSOP 5X Winner
Ryan McKnight us
Ryan McKnight
70,000
Brett Apter us
Brett Apter
70,000
WSOP 1X Winner
David Jackson us
David Jackson
55,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Ryan Eriquezzo us
Ryan Eriquezzo
35,000
WSOP 3X Winner
Spencer Champlin us
Spencer Champlin
33,000 -4,000
Zachary Gruneberg us
Zachary Gruneberg
30,000 -8,000
Katie Stone us
Katie Stone
25,000 -15,000