Level: 33
Blinds: 100,000/200,000
Ante: 30,000
Level: 33
Blinds: 100,000/200,000
Ante: 30,000
Anthony Caruso found himself taken aback when Amanda Musumeci started training him to improve his poker game.
"She was the first person who ever called me middle-aged," the 47-year-old said with a laugh. "She helped me with my table image. She was really, really helpful."
"I see improvements all the time," he added. "It's more fun when you can win a little."
Caruso, a Marlton, N.J., native, has done a bit of winning recently. Last fall, he took down a Pot-Limit Omaha tournament here, and he's back for more. He's currently four-handed in the $450 PLO tournament.
Caruso said PLO is his favorite game "by far."
"I like the action," he said, adding that he enjoys playing $5/10 PLO when he plays cash games.
Poker is a mere hobby for Caruso, though. Most of his life, he said, revolves around his children. He has two daughters, ages 14 and 11, and a 16-year-old son. Caruso and his son spend a lot of time working for a charity called Wish Upon a Hero, Caruso said. He also runs a shipping company called luggageahead.com.
Those commitments mean he lags behind players more focused on the game. Every day that they log more hours than Caruso, he has more of a gap to make up, which is where his training with Musumeci helps.
Still, he's optimistic about making a big run in the main event here at the Borgata Winter Poker Open, where he could add considerably to his $74,424 in recorded cashes. He said there's always an amateur or two running up a big stack and making a run.
"Maybe I could be that guy," he said.
Andrew Carnevale was riding a short stack when the action folded around to him in the small blind. He looked down to find the ![]()
in the hole, and with just Jason Tulloss left to fade, he made his move with an all-in shove for 1.905 million.
Tulloss happened to have a big hand, however, and he made the call with ![]()
to put Canevale at risk of elimination.
Flop: ![]()
![]()
![]()
Both players flopped a piece, but Tulloss' pair of aces kept him out in front. Nothing had changed, however, and Carnevale still needed to catch a king or eight to keep his seat.
Turn: ![]()
"No!," was Tulloss' anguished cry at the sight of the five-outter coming on board.
The river was the
to keep Carnevale's lead intact, and after a bit of stack accounting, the two players essentially traded places on the leaderboard.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,205,000
1,805,000
|
1,805,000 |
|
|
2,100,000
1,100,000
|
1,100,000 |
The last of James Governa's stack was just shipped across the table to David Heck, after his ![]()
failed to overcome Heck's ![]()
.
A final runout of ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
left the ladies out in front, and Governa was busted in 8th place for a $11,665 score.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,400,000
2,100,000
|
2,100,000 |
|
|
Busted |
David Gerassi's magical ride was just derailed, and after he built a big stack throughout the day by playing untraditional hands like ![]()
and ![]()
, of course he crashed and burned holding a monster.
Gerassi moved all-in over the top of an opening raise by Nicholas Immekus - our chip leader going into the hand - but he was snapped off.
Showdown:
Gerassi: ![]()
![]()
Immekus: ![]()
![]()
Despite finding a pair of cowboys in the hole, the second-best hand in poker was second-best for Gerassi, as Immekus tabled aces for the second time at this final table.
The final board failed to bring Gerassi any more miracles, and after the ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
hit the board, Gerassi stood up to make his exit. The gracious Gerassi shook Immekus' hand and told him "nice hand" before heading to the cashier's cage to collect his $8,399 for an 8th place finish.
Immekus continues to run over the final table, and he now holds the biggest stack in the room by a large margin.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
16,300,000
6,160,000
|
6,160,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Level: 32
Blinds: 80,000/160,000
Ante: 20,000
After an opening raise by Nicholas Imeekus, the sight of ![]()
in the hole must have seemed like a sight for sore eyes, because Jim Stinella jammed his last 2 million or so into the middle.
Immekus snapped the bet off and tabled his ![]()
, putting Stenella's over-matched underpair in a deep hole.
The final board rolled out ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
to keep the rockets out in front, and with the win Stenella became the first player in the tournament to cross the coveted 10 million chip mark.
Stenella took home $5,529 for his deep run here today.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
10,140,000
2,190,000
|
2,190,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Here are your final ten players, their chip counts and the table draw:
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicholas Immekus | 7,950,000 |
| 2 | Jim Stenella | 2,100,000 |
| 3 | Allyn Marshall | 8,240,000 |
| 4 | Andrew Carnavale | 2,400,000 |
| 5 | Jason Tulloss | 3,200,000 |
| 6 | James Governa | 2,200,000 |
| 7 | David Gerassi | 4,200,000 |
| 8 | David Gerard | 3,400,000 |
| 9 | Eric Rappaport | 2,500,000 |
| 10 | David Heck | 1,300,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,240,000
4,340,000
|
4,340,000 |
|
|
7,950,000
3,850,000
|
3,850,000 |
|
|
4,350,000
2,350,000
|
2,350,000 |
|
|
3,200,000
2,340,000
|
2,340,000 |
|
|
2,500,000
1,100,000
|
1,100,000 |
|
|
2,400,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
2,200,000
1,050,000
|
1,050,000 |
|
|
2,100,000
2,000,000
|
2,000,000 |
|
|
1,300,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
340,000
4,560,000
|
4,560,000 |
The final ten players have reassembled for the unofficial final table. Current chip counts will be coming shortly.
These are the last 12 players left with chips in Event 8 ($400 Deeper Stack No-Limit Hold'em $250,000 Guaranteed).