Level: 3
Blinds: 100/200
Ante:
2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open
Event 1: $560 $1 Million Guaranteed Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry
Day: 1a
Playing Poker for All the Right Reasons
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 2
: 75/150, 0 ante
Chris Tryba is an accomplished professional player who has earned nearly $1.5 million in live play during a storied career on the felt.
With a World Series of Poker bracelet to his credit, in addition to dozens of final table appearances in regional events around the country, Tryba is one of the more experienced players spotted in today's field. With a $1 million guarantee at stake today, everybody with a stack to work with has high hopes, but a recent tweet issued by Tryba indicates that today is more than just another tournament on the schedule:
Its go time inda @BorgataPoker openin 1 Milly Gtd. 10% of my profits goin to my cousins @PeterTryba kidney fund!! http://t.co/Wi0N00QSPMFollow @christryba
Raskin Flush With Chips
Level 2
: 75/150, 0 ante
When we arrived at the table, a severely short-stacked player was already all in, and Micah Raskin and an opponent were playing for a much bigger side pot on a board of 
.
The player led out for 800, and Raskin bumped it up, raising to 2,500. Raskin's opponent grinned, to which Raskin shrugged innocently, and the player made the call. Raskin showed 
for a rivered flush, and raked in the entire pot.
Raskin is already over 30,000 chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
33,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
Kenneth Natal Notches Early Double
Level 2
: 75/150, 0 ante
A starting stack of 25,000 is usually enough to sit on during the first few levels of a tournament, but with unlimited re-entries available in this $1 million guaranteed opening event, some players are willing to risk them all early on.
Kenneth Natal is appreciative of that fact, after notching a full double up and sending an opponent to the registration desk in the process.
Natal held the 
and hit his gin card on fourth street with the board reading 
. Armed with a full house, Natal was more than willing to risk his first 25,000-chip bullet, as was an unfortunate player holding 
in the hole.
Although his opponent had flopped trip sevens, Natal caught up with a boat on the turn, and the 
on the river kept his hand in front. With more than 50,000 to work with now, Natal is the early chip leader, so we'll be sure to track his progress as the day continues.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
51,000
51,000
|
51,000 |
Set of Ducks
Level 2
: 75/150, 0 ante
Megan Milburn fired out 400 on a board of 
, and only one of her three opponents made the call. The river was a third diamond - the - and both Milburn and her opponent checked.
Milburn rolled over 
for a set of deuces, winning the pot.
Martino... Shaken, Not Stirred
Level 2
: 75/150, 0 ante
With the first level of play in every poker tournament consisting of a feeling out process, as players test the waters and probe for information, major chip movement is rare in the early going.
Martino Scuturro must have missed that memo though. Just a few orbits into the tournament Scuturro has chipped up quite nicely, first making two pair with 
and extracting value from an opponent with top pair/top kicker.
A few hands later, we watched Scuturro take a flop of 
against two opponents, before taking the pot down with a c-bet.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
34,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 75/150
Ante:
Buzgon Drags an Early One
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
We're still in our infancy here on Day 1a of Event 1: $560 $1 Million Guaranteed Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry, but we've already spotted a few familiar faces. Among them are World Series of Poker Bracelet winner Chris Tryba, 2011 Borgata Fall Poker Open Ladies Event champion Lana O'Brien, and 2011 WPT Borgata Poker Open finalist Daniel Buzgon.
Buzgon just pulled in an early pot, betting into two opponents on a flop of 
and after the fell on the turn. Both players called on the flop, but released their hands on the turn.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
||
|
25,000 | |
Local Flavor
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
We've spotted a few familiar faces in attendance already, with local grinders Megan Milburn, Natale Kuey and Michael Marder mixing it up in the first level of play.
Milburn is no stranger to success here the Borgata, after scoring a runner-up finish in the Ladies event at the recently concluded Spring Poker Open.
Kuey is another runner-up finisher from the Spring Poker Open, after taking home $13,012 in a side event.
Marder is an East Coast grinder who came up cutting his teeth against the region's best players, and helped in paying homage to the recently deceased local legend Mike "Little Man" Sica during the Spring Poker Open.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
25,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
Let's Play Some Poker
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Veteran tournament director Tab Duchateau just gave his blessing and play is now underway in Event 1.
Players are still streaming into the room, however, and many tables are delayed while awaiting the arrival of enough players (four or more) to begin.