2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open

Event 14: $15,400 $5 Million Guaranteed WPT World Championship
Day: 2
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

Four Men and a Four-Bet

Level 14 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
Ryan D'Angelo
Ryan D'Angelo

The pot was opened to 11,000 and Ryan D'Angelo made it 25,000 to play, with Abraham Korotki flatting and the action folding to Roland Israelashvili.

The seasoned veteran decided on a four-bet to 72,000, leaving himself right around 200,000 behind. The opener took a last peek at his cards before folding, and with the action now on him D'Angelo announced himself all in. The big bet forced a quick fold from Korotki, with Israelashvili tanking long and hard after being put to a decision for his tournament life.

Eventually though, Israelashvili decided to fold and fight another day, sending one fourth of his stack across the table to D'Angelo, but preserving nearly an average stack with which to mount a comeback.

Player Chips Progress
Ryan D'Angelo us
Ryan D'Angelo
WSOP 1X Winner
498,000 121,000
Roland Israelashvili us
Roland Israelashvili
205,000 -47,000

Tags: Abraham KorotkiRoland IsraelashviliRyan D'Angelo

"Bink"

Level 14 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
Justin Young
Justin Young

Justin Young opened to 8,000 from the hijack, Ryan D'Angelo three-bet to 22,000 on the button, and Simon Lam cold four-bet to 51,000 from the big blind.

"All in," Young announced after a few minutes of deliberation, shoving for 194,000.

D'Angelo quickly mucked, and Lam thought for a bit before calling.

Lam: {j-Spades}{j-Hearts}
Young: {k-Spades}{k-Clubs}

Young was in great shape to double, but the dealer rapped the table and delivered a flop of {10-Diamonds}{j-Clubs}{8-Spades}. Lam was suddenly in the lead with his set of jacks, and the {8-Clubs} on the turn was a brick.

"Bink," D'Angelo uttered right before the dealer burned and turned the final card.

Bink it was, as the {k-Hearts} spiked onto the felt to give Young a set of kings and keep him in the tournament. Young gave D'Angelo a fist bump - almost as a 'thank you' - and doubled through to 415,000 chips.

Player Chips Progress
Justin Young us
Justin Young
WPT 1X Winner
415,000 180,000
Ryan D'Angelo us
Ryan D'Angelo
WSOP 1X Winner
377,000 67,000
Simon Lam us
Simon Lam
65,500 -184,500

Tags: Ryan D'AngeloJustin YoungSimon Lam

The Mad Kings

Level 14 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante
Jeff Madsen
Jeff Madsen

Jeff Madsen opened to 9,000 from late position and watched as the big blind player three-bet to 25,000.

Madsen pondered his options for a few seconds before electing on a four-bet to 43,000, and his opponent also took his time to study the situation before he flatted to see flop fall {j-Hearts}{8-Spades}{7-Spades}.

First to act, the big blind player checked to Madsen, before calling off his 120,000 or so when Madsen shoved all in.

Madsen: {k-Hearts}{k-Diamonds}
Big Blind: {q-}{q-}

Madsen held the higher end of a cooler, and when it was all said and done the turn ({8-Diamonds}) and river ({4-Spades}) changed nothing.

"Good game," offered the downed player, while Madsen and Jason Koon commiserated on the latter's uncanny ability to be at the table whenever Madsen runs hot.

Player Chips Progress
Jeff Madsen us
Jeff Madsen
WSOP 4X Winner
472,000 197,000

Tags: Jeff MadsenJason Koon

Level: 14

Blinds: 2,000/4,000

Ante: 500

She Lok Wong Slipping, Doubles Up Glenn Lafaye

Level 13 : 1,500/3,000, 500 ante

The Cinderella story going by the name She Lok Wong has hit a bump in the road after losing a substantial pot to Glenn Lafaye when both players flopped two pair on a {K-Hearts}{Q-Diamonds}{10-Clubs} flop with Lafaye holding the better two pair with his {K-Spades}{Q-Clubs} to best Wong's {Q-}{10-}.

Lafaye wanted his wife to know that he's still in and doing well!

Player Chips Progress
Glenn Lafaye us
Glenn Lafaye
292,000 96,000
She Lok Wong us
She Lok Wong
203,000 -163,000

Tags: Glenn LafayeShe Lok Wong

Eric Afriat Wins Huge Pot to Move Into Chip Lead

Level 13 : 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
Eric Afriat
Eric Afriat

There was a raise to 6,500 and Harrison Gimbel flatted. It was folded over to Eric Afriat who made it 20,000 to go out of the blinds. The original raiser and Gimbel called.

The flop came {K-Spades}{10-Spades}{6-Hearts} and Afriat led out for 24,000. The original raiser folded and Harrison Gimbel raised it to 64,000. Afriat made it 130,000 to go and Gimbel moved all in for roughly 280,000 total. This concerned Afriat who looked at Gimbel and asked him "did you flop a set of 6's?"

Gimbel sat there motionless as Afriat tanked. "Take your time," players at the table told him, knowing this was a huge decision.

Finally, Afriat made the call, turning over {A-Spades}{A-Clubs}. Gimbel didn't have a set. He did have a flush draw though with the {7-Spades}{6-Spades}. He would pick up a few more outs when the {8-Diamonds} was delivered on the turn.

When you're running hot, as Afriat is having just won the Seminole Hard Rock $5 million Guarantee event last week, you're running hot. The river bricked out for Gimbel... the {J-Hearts} and Afriat scooped the huge pot to move into the chip lead.

Player Chips Progress
Eric Afriat ca
Eric Afriat
WPT 3X Winner
800,000 410,000
Harrison Gimbel us
Harrison Gimbel
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Eric AfriatHarrison Gimbel

Man on the Moon

Level 13 : 1,500/3,000, 500 ante
She Lok Wong
She Lok Wong

She Lok Wong has enjoyed a spectacularly successful past six months, finishing as the runner-up in the $2,700 buy-in Borgata Fall Poker Open Main Event Championship last November for a bankroll-building $203,394 score, before taking down top honors at the $2,700 Foxwoods Poker Classic Main Event Championship for another $95,000 haul.

A poker fan first, Wong has made mention of his awestruck attitude several times during the tournament - even as he ran up the biggest stack in the room heading into the dinner break.

Wong just let us know about a recent hand in which his incredible respect for Phil Hellmuth as a player led to a little loss of self-respect for his own game. According to Wong, he peeked down to find {a-}{a-} under the gun and limped into the pot, with Scott Seiver raising and Hellmuth flatting. Having prompted the raise he was looking for with a well-concealed monster, Wong had a chance to three-bet and build a big pot (or at least take down the pot right then and there), but instead he simply smooth-called to see a {10-}{7-}{8-} flop.

By the end of the hand Seiver had made a straight, and as Wong revealed after he called off a chunk of change to pay Siever off, "I knew he had the straight but I cannot fold my hand... so stupid!" Wong was smiling nonetheless even as he chided his own "bad play." With so many champions in the room today, Wong has every reason to be a little starstruck, but we'll see if being the man on the moon eventually ends his amazing act under one of poker's brightest spotlights.

Player Chips Progress
She Lok Wong us
She Lok Wong
366,000 -99,000
Scott Seiver us
Scott Seiver
WSOP 4X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
203,000 3,000
Phil Hellmuth us
Phil Hellmuth
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 17X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
76,000 -4,000

Tags: Phil HellmuthScott SeiverShe Lok Wong