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Christian Lusardi leads the way heading into Day 2.
Players are streaming in to the main Borgata WInter Poker Open tournament area to take their seats for the start of Day 2.
A total of 867 players survived the three opening flights, and the fields have combined to fight for a prize pool based on 4,814 entries. The tournament officials are still calculating how that prize pool will be divvied up.
Players leading the way include Christian Lusardi (519,000), James Woods (410,500) Michael Dobbs (391,000), Coleem Chestnut (387,500), Torrey Korsog (372,000), Johnson Nguyen (361,000), Roger Wellmann (361,000), Johnny Lam (355,000) and Randall Pfeifer (345,000).
PokerNews will be on site bring you all the relevant updates from this tournament.
donpeters
Vazquez in action at the NAPT Bounty Shootout televised final table
One of the big stacks returning for Day 2 of the first event on the Borgata Winter Poker Open schedule was Luis Vazquez.
Better known to many by his nickname "Bachy," Vazquez is a local New England poker player from Massachusetts. After his first day in the $2 Million Guarantee Big Stack NLHE Re-Entry, Vazquez bagged up an impressive 315,500 in chips, but the Taunton, Massachusetts native knows there is a long way to go if he wants to lock up another big poker score.
With nearly $470,000 in live tournament earnings and four victories, Vazquez knows a thing or two about tournament poker. In fact, one of those four victories came right here at the Borgata when he won a $230 no-limit holdem event in 2012 at the Borgata Guaranteed Three Play Poker Tournament. For that win, Vazquez defeated a field of 943 entries and earned $41,102.
His biggest live score, which was also his first-ever victory, earned Vazquez $144,286. The event was the $3,500 Foxwoods Poker Classic Championship Event in 2010 where he topped a field of 224 entries for the title.
Outside of those victories, one of the more notable cashes on Vazquez's record came from the 2010 North American Poker Tour $25,000 Bounty Shootout held at Mohegan Sun. Vazquez won his seat into the televised event through a live satellite and parlayed that into a $70,000 score. After winning his first table, Vazquez made the final table and finished in sixth place.
A proud Puerto Rican that loves to stay involved at the poker table with aggressive, tricky play, Vazquez will surely be someone we'll be keeping our eyes on.
In one of the last hands before break, James Woods fired 18,000 into two opponents after a flop of . Tom McKeough called in the cutoff, while the early position player folded. The turn brought a and a check from Woods. McKeough fired 40,000, and Woods wasted little time before announcing all in. McKeough shrugged and made the call.
McKeough:
Woods:
Woods had turned two pair but was still in bad shape against McKeough's set. The river brought a blank , and Woods' stack has taken a huge hit since he started the day in second place.
"I can't get a break," he said, lamenting his poor luck.
The prize pool for this $2 Million Guarantee Big Stack NLHE Re-Entry has been calculated, and the eventual winner will receive $372,123 for his or her efforts.
The runner-up will earn $241,899, while third place is good for a $163,984 payday.
Those players who slide into a min-cash will take home $1,082, but with the re-entry format of the event, any player who already fired multiple bullets will more than likely need to climb higher on the ladder to generate a profit.
It's not every day that the opening event of a tournament series attracts more than 4,800 entries, while awarding a total of five six-figure scores. It's safe to say that the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open is off to a tremendous start, having exceeded its guarantee by compiling a total prize pool of $2,325,835.
[user253757]
Bubble Boy Bob Romanowski (right), Eliminated by Dylan G. (Photo Credit: Eddie Malluk/PokerNews)
After a lengthy delay to sort through extremely close chip stacks, the unfortunate bubble boy was determined to be Bob Romanowski.
His tournament life came to an end after Romanowski got his last 95,000 or so into the middle holding against two other opponents.
One of those players held , but Romanowski's tormentor proved to be a young man named Dylan G., who came to the party armed with .
With dozens of players crowding around the table hoping to see somebody eliminated in 451st place, the dealer fanned a flop of across the felt. Dylan G.'s pocket rockets were well out in front on the clean flop, but a on the turn provided Romanowksi with a glimmer of hope.
River:
With that, Dylan G. just barely nipped Romanowski, having him covered by just 10,000 chips, or a single big blind. The player with queens had both opponents covered, and thus he remained alive, making Romanowski the first bubble boy of the 2014 Winter Poker Open.
For his part, Romanowski took the beat in stride, smiling all the while as hundreds of players applauded his elimination.
Steve Dannenmann fired a river bet after a king fell in a pot he'd raised and then checked down against one opponent.
"Well, I just found out you were second to Hachem, so I'm folding," the player said in reference to Dannenmann's runner-up finish at the 2005 Main Event. "You just look like an ordinary guy to me."
[user253757]
James Woods Was Eliminated Shortly Before the Bubble Burst
Despite entering Day 2 with one of the biggest stacks in the room, actor and poker enthusiast James Woods was eliminated just before the money bubble burst.
We caught Woods with all his chips pushed forward, and experienced tournament veteran Nick Guagenti considering the call.
"Double me up, come on, let's do it!" said Woods, exhorting Guagenti to get involved. "I like my hand."
Guagenti obliged by moving a stack forward to signal a call. Woods tabled the for top two pair, and it was clear his table talk was based on the truth.
Unfortunately for Woods, he was up against a better hand, as Guagenti held for a flopped set.
"Jeez!" exclaimed Woods. "I cannot run any worse than I am today. Fifth set I've run into in three levels!"
When the turn () and river () failed to fill Woods up, he was eliminated just short of a min-cash despite holding the second-largest stack entering Day 2. He didn't seem to be too bothered though, as we spotted Woods wandering the Signature Room downstairs trying to register for today's Survivor No-Limit Hold'em event.
A player in early position raised to 40,000, and Coleem Chestnut three-bet to 120,000 from the cutoff. Alex Ivan shipped his stack of roughly 500,000 in from the big blind. The original raiser quickly folded, and Chestnut announced a call.
Ivan:
Chestnut:
Chestnut had caught Ivan trying to steal the pot, and Ivan was in awful shape. The board ran out , and the daring play had come up empty.
Christian Lusardi entered Day 2 of this event as the biggest stack in the room, and after six hours of competition he is still going strong.
Passing through the tournament floor, we saw Lusardi quietly adding another wing to his expansive chip castle, and a quick eyeball of his stacks indicated he sits with around 1.6 million.
Lusardi plays the game with a inscrutable poker face, but noticing us hovering around the table, he took a moment away from the game to focus on what really matters.
"This goes out to Tiffany," he said. "Make sure that goes in: Chris loves Tiffany."
Hearing this heartfelt announcement, Lusardi's neighbor at the table quickly stuck the needle in, pulling out a heart-shaped rock from his pocket and saying, "here kid, give this to her too."
Lusardi simply smiled in that way only a man in love can, before returning his focus to the task at hand.
[user253757]
Johnny Lam Was Just Eliminated by Kathleen Long
Moments after spiking a straight on the river to stack an unlucky opponent, the boisterous Kathleen Long has done it again.
This time, Johnny Lam was victimized by Long's sudden heater, after the two players got the chips on the middle on a flop.
Showdown:
Long:
Lam:
Lam had the best of it with his pair of tens, and Long was once again behind in a huge pot, needing a nine or a king to take the lead.
Turn:
Just like that, Long had turned coal into a diamond, and when the river () failed to change things, Lam's tournament had suddenly come to an end. Long continued to climb up the leaderboard, thanks to a pair of fortuitous cards arriving exactly when she needed them.
. Tom McKeough called in the cutoff, while the early position player folded. The turn brought a 
and a check from Woods. McKeough fired 40,000, and Woods wasted little time before announcing all in. McKeough shrugged and made the call.
, and Woods' stack has taken a huge hit since he started the day in second place.
against two other opponents.
, but Romanowski's tormentor proved to be a young man named Dylan G., who came to the party armed with 
across the felt. Dylan G.'s pocket rockets were well out in front on the clean flop, but a 
on the turn provided Romanowksi with a glimmer of hope.
for top two pair, and it was clear his table talk was based on the truth.
) and river (
) failed to fill Woods up, he was eliminated just short of a min-cash despite holding the second-largest stack entering Day 2. He didn't seem to be too bothered though, as we spotted Woods wandering the Signature Room downstairs trying to register for today's Survivor No-Limit Hold'em event.
, and the daring play had come up empty.
