button in SafariEvent 1: $560 $1 Million Guaranteed Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry
Day 1a Completed
2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open
Event 1: $560 $1 Million Guaranteed Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry
Day: 1a
Players Left 1 / 2,482
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Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 400 ante
The 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open is officially underway at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Tommy Martone is the chip leader after Day 1a of Event 1 with 366,500. John Gulino, who finished the day at Martone’s table, also finished with a large stack; 267,000.
Marton rocketed above 200,000 chips in the penultimate level of the evening, eliminating three players in a four-way all in. The last player to go all in committed the remainder of his stack with 
, and Marton showed 
. The other two players held 
and 
, and Marton extended his lead with a set of nines on the flop. He filled up on the turn, and after a brick completed the board, he was up to 260,000.
Gulino chipped up through the entire day, but he too secured a large knockout during the final hours of Day 1a. An opponent moved all in preflop for 30 big blinds or so holding 
, and Gulino had him crushed with . The black aces held up as the board rolled out 
, and Gulino found himself was over 200,000 chips. He added a few more pots during the final level of the evening, and bagged the largest stack in the room.
Registration for the first flight closed after Level 9, and the total number of entries was 359. Activity is expected to pick up later in the week, particularly on Thursday, when the property will host both Day 1c and Day 1d.
Other survivors of Day 1a include Jane Stanton Hitchcock, Joe McKeehen, and Chris Tryba. Tryba steadily climbed the ranks all day, and bagged 174,500 chips. Tryba has pledged to donate 10 percent of his potential winnings at Borgata to help his cousin Peter fight chronic kidney disease.
Several player were unable to survive the first flight, including Micah Raskin, Maureen Merdinger, Jim Boyd, Robert Hwang, and Meir Yedid.
Raskin had a turbulent day, making a flush and nearly doubling on one of the first hands he played only to bust his first bullet shortly thereafter. He later reentered and dipped below the starting stack of 25,000, then tripled up in a preflop, three-way all in. Raskin was at risk with 
against 
, and 
, and he flopped a pair of kings. The turn and river both produced blanks. With three hands remaining, Raskin was eliminated in a 180,000-chip, blind vs. blind pot with 
against 
. The flop produced a queen, and Raskin will have to reenter tomorrow.
Day 1b kicks off at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, and even players who bagged stacks will be allowed to reenter if they choose. PokerNews will be on hand to bring you live updates straight from the tournament floor.
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 400 ante
Tommy Martone took top honors after 15 levels of play, accumulating 366,500 chips to give himself a wide lead over John Gulino (267,000) and the rest of the field.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
366,500
106,500
|
106,500 |
|
267,000
49,000
|
49,000 |
|
|
249,000
249,000
|
249,000 |
|
|
248,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
|
237,500
78,500
|
78,500 |
|
225,500
225,500
|
225,500 |
|
225,000
161,000
|
161,000 |
|
|
210,500
210,500
|
210,500 |
|
192,500
192,500
|
192,500 |
|
||
|
|
186,000
186,000
|
186,000 |
|
|
186,000
186,000
|
186,000 |
|
|
184,000
184,000
|
184,000 |
|
174,500
68,500
|
68,500 |
|
|
||
|
174,500
174,500
|
174,500 |
|
|
174,500
123,500
|
123,500 |
|
173,000
173,000
|
173,000 |
|
|
173,000
173,000
|
173,000 |
|
|
171,500
171,500
|
171,500 |
|
170,000
170,000
|
170,000 |
|
||
|
|
169,000
169,000
|
169,000 |
|
|
160,000
160,000
|
160,000 |
|
|
155,500
155,500
|
155,500 |
|
|
147,000
82,000
|
82,000 |
|
138,000
138,000
|
138,000 |
|
|
134,500
134,500
|
134,500 |
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 400 ante
The remaining players will play three more hands before bagging and tagging for the evening.
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 400 ante
The final board read 
by the river and a pot chock full of baby blue T5000 chips was up for grabs.
Chip leader John Gulino was faced with a large bet of 34,000, and despite having enough to afford a call, he agonized over his decision for several minutes until a clock was finally called.
Compelled by the time ticking down, Gulino suddenly grabbed a heap of chips and made the call, waiting to see his opponent's hand. When he saw the 
hit the table, Gulino triumphantly revealed his 
to claim the massive pot. Gulino had flopped the nut flush draw with a straight flush possibility, and although he whiffed on the hearts, an ace on the river was good enough.
With the win Gulino soared above the 315,000 plateau, putting himself in position to bag the biggest stack in the room when play concludes in 15 minutes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
316,000
81,000
|
81,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 400
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 400 ante
Bill Miller shoved all in to force a short-stacked Maureen Merdinger to the test, and although she held the lowly 
, her dwindling stack compelled her to call.
Merdinger was dismayed when Miller turned over the , commenting on the fact that her flush outs were now nullified.
The final board ran out 
to leave Miller out on front with ace-high, and with that Merdinger headed to the exits.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
42,000 | |
|
|
Busted |
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 400 ante
A short-stacked Micah Raskin was all in and at risk for around 11,600 against two opponents. His was racing against the big stack's , and a third player was also at risk with .
The suicide king - - peaked through the window of the flop was followed by the and . Raskin held as the turn and river bricked off , respectively, and tripled to around 40,000 chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
40,000
1,000
|
1,000 |
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 400 ante
After peering down to see the prettiest card in the deck - the - a short-stacked Al Nugent made his move with an open-shove for 11,800.
A lone caller looked him up with 
, and when he did Nugent announced that made a "one-card shove" - tabling the aforementioned before flipping up a fairly strong companion in the .
The two headed off to the races and Nugent sprinted out to the lead when the flop fell 
. The race ended soon afterward when the turn () and river () filled Nugent up, and he doubled through late in the day to keep himself in contention.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
26,900 |
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 400 ante
John Gulino just eliminated a player holding aces, and is also over 200,000 chips.
The cards were on their backs before the flop when we arrived at the table, and Gulino's dominated an opponent's . The board ran out , and the player was eliminated. Gulino now has around 235,000 chips, and is two spots to the left of Tommy Martone, who has around a quarter of a million.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
235,000
105,000
|
105,000 |
