button in SafariNine Players Pursue Glory at the Final Table of the Borgata Fall Poker Open $600 Kickoff
Nine players will return to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa to chase the dream of a title and big payday when the final table of the Fall Poker Open $600 Kickoff begins at noon local time.
Sebastian Crema sits atop the leaderboard at the start of the final table with 15,525,000. The Canadian already has more than $1.2 million in live earnings, with cashes so far this year from across the United States and Canada as well as in Asia. He finished in fourth place in the Salute to Warriors event at the WSOP this summer, and also won a title at the Wynn Summer Classic for a career-best $223,000.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Nguyen | United States | 3,850,000 | 26 |
| 2 | Chadd Beatty | United States | 2,375,000 | 16 |
| 3 | James Calderaro | United States | 7,350,000 | 49 |
| 4 | Thomas Yarbrough | United States | 4,300,000 | 29 |
| 5 | Jason Simone | United States | 10,200,000 | 68 |
| 6 | Rick Zhou | United States | 3,400,000 | 23 |
| 7 | Spyros Malkotsis | United States | 6,925,000 | 46 |
| 8 | Sebastian Crema | Canada | 15,525,000 | 104 |
| 9 | Nicholas Cassese | United States | 2,000,000 | 13 |
The story of the final table, though, is a man who wasn’t supposed to be here. New York City finance professional Jason Simone is on the verge of writing an incredible chip-and-a-chair story after being down to one-sixth of a big blind early yesterday, only to come back and build up a stack of 10,200,000 that puts him in second place behind Crema. Simone’s poker resume is far more modest, and he’s already nearly equaled his previous career earnings with his run in this tournament.
The unmistakable presence of James Calderaro is in third place with 7,350,000. The talkative WSOP bracelet winner and WPT champion is the most experienced player at the final table and is looking to add to his more than $6.5 million in career earnings. Spyros Malkotsis (6,925,000), Thomas Yarbrough (4,300,000), and Jason Nguyen (3,850,000) sit in the middle of the pack, while Rick Zhou (3,400,000), Chadd Beatty (2,375,000), and Nicholas Cassese (2,000,000) round out the final table lineup.
The action at the final table picks up with 10 minutes remaining in Level 29 with blinds of 75,000/150,000 and a 150,000 big blind ante. Each subsequent level will be 40 minutes. The players have already locked up $12,650 for making it this far out of a packed field of 1,862 entries, while the champion will take home $163,000.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $163,000 | ||
| 2 | $110,750 | ||
| 3 | $75,625 | ||
| 4 | $50,225 | ||
| 5 | $34,245 | ||
| 6 | $26,175 | ||
| 7 | $20,325 | ||
| 8 | $16,150 | ||
| 9 | $12,650 |
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Stay tuned as PokerNews follows along and provides live updates from the final table until a champion is crowned.