$3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship Day 1a | 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open

01-26-2014 23:22 UTC-4

Cristos Putting Stack to Use

mnuwwarah

Level 8 : 250/500, 50 ante

Jordan Cristos on Day 1a of the 2014 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open

Jordan Cristos bet 2,500 when an opponent checked to him with the board reading . The player called, and the two took in an river. The first player checked to Cristos, and he turned up the heat considerably, betting 25,000. His opponent quickly folded, and Cristos appears to be putting his big stack to use to bully the opposition.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jordan Cristos	169,000	23,000

Tags: Jordan Cristos

01-26-2014 23:13 UTC-4

JohnnyBax Down

[user253757]

Level 8 : 250/500, 50 ante

Cliff Josephy on Day 1a of the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event

We caught the tail end of a hand in which three players decided to wager around 21,000 on the turn, with Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy and Jeremy Menard both risking the last of their stacks in doing so.

The board read by the turn and Roland Israelashvili had bet 11,200 into a pot containing more than 14,000. According to Nick Guagenti - who was out of the hand and thus free to fill us in - the pot was played six-handed to the flop, and four-handed to the turn.

With a sizable bet now to him, one worth more than half of his stack, Josephy decided to move all in over the top, putting 18,825 in the middle and waiting for Menard's response. That came soon enough, as Menard's 21,375 was shipped in as well, putting Israelashvili to a decision that, mathematically speaking, shouldn't have been too difficult given the bet-sizing.

Despite only needing to call about 10,000 more to have a chance at a huge pot with more than 65,000 up for grabs, Israelashvili tanked for about a minute while standing and asking the dealer to spread the chips in the middle. Eventually, Israelashvili announced the call though, and after a lengthy delay the cards that created this collision were revealed.

Showdown:

Israelashvili:
Josephy:
Menard:

Menard had flopped the joint with his nut straight, Josephy hit the butt end and was drawing dead to a chop, and Israelashvili was searching for spades to scoop one of the biggest pots of the day.

River:

"Four!" said Josephy with a sardonic smile. "I win right?"

"I did flop it..." answered Menard as the two talked the hand over quickly while Josephy headed off.

"I know you did," replied Josephy, smiling like a man who knows he can fire another bullet or five at will tomorrow without denting his bankroll. "It's a re-entry... I couldn't help myself."

Player	Chips	Progress
Jeremy Menard	67,600	67,600
Roland Israelashvili	22,000	-14,400
Cliff Josephy	Busted

Tags: Cliff Josephy Jeremy Menard Nick Guagenti Roland Israelashvili

01-26-2014 23:00 UTC-4

Blewitt Takes Multi-Way Pot

mnuwwarah

Level 8 : 250/500, 50 ante

Action checked to Mike Dentale on an flop, and he fired 1,200 from the cutoff. The player to his left popped it to 5,000, and the two players who had checked both made the call. Dentale called as well, and the turn came . Everyone checked to the aggressor, who bet 16,000 this time, Only Kevin Blewitt called. The river brought a , and both players checked.

Blewitt rolled over the for middle two on the flop, and his opponent mucked.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kevin Blewitt	70,500

Tags: Mike Dentale Kevin Blewitt

Level: 8

Blinds: 250/500

Ante: 50

01-26-2014 22:48 UTC-4

Some Updated Counts

[user253757]

Level 7 : 200/400, 50 ante

Barry Ostad on Day 1a of the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event

Here is a round of updated chip counts from the latest pass through the room.

Player	Chips	Progress
"English" Barry Ostad	185,000	185,000
Noah Schwartz	100,000	6,000
Blake Purvis	94,000	94,000
Ryan Eriquezzo	82,000	60,500
John Racener	80,000	47,700
Ebony Kenney	76,000	76,000
Melissa Burr	67,000	67,000
Aaron Massey	56,000	26,000
Josh Field	50,000	50,000
Ana Marquez	32,000	32,000
Keven Stammen	23,000	23,000

01-26-2014 22:45 UTC-4

Less Than Little

[user253757]

Level 7 : 200/400, 50 ante

Jonathan Little Will Have to Try Again on Day 1b After Busting Out Late Here Today

Jonathan Little's last hand went down a few minutes ago, and when five board cards were revealed his hand turned out to be second-best.

We'll let Little take it from there, courtesy of this recent Twitter postmortem:

Jonathan Little @JonathanLittle

I lost again with 96 vs KT on 987 in a fun 3bet pot. Tomorrow is 1b for me.January 26, 2014

Reply Retweet Favorite

Follow @JonathanLittle

Player	Chips	Progress
Jonathan Little	Busted

Tags: Jonathan Little

01-26-2014 22:31 UTC-4

Selbst Sent Out

mnuwwarah

Level 7 : 200/400, 50 ante

We didn't see the hand, but according to a player at the table she ran into and busted out.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vanessa Selbst	Busted

Tags: Vanessa Selbst

01-26-2014 22:28 UTC-4

Ladies in Waiting

[user253757]

Level 7 : 200/400, 50 ante

Eddy Sabat on Day 1a of the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event

After an opening raise to 900 by a player in middle position, the player on the button three-bet jammed for his last 17,700.

Eddie Sabat was laying in wait with his though, and he moved all in himself, putting about 19,000 in the pot before trying to goad the original raiser into a light call.

"Could be an early Christmas for you..." said Sabat, feigning weakness.

The bait failed to attract any fish, however, and the preflop opener mucked his cards. Sabat rolled over his queens and found himself far in front of the jammer's .

The final board ran out to keep the ladies in the lead, and Sabat earned the double up to move back above the starting stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Eddie Sabat	39,500	39,500

Tags: Eddie Sabat

01-26-2014 22:26 UTC-4

Player	Chips	Progress
Jordan Cristos	146,000	6,000
Steve Levy	132,000	115,500
Ryan Olisar	78,000	-4,000
Drazen Ilich	65,500	-11,500
Chris Reslock	55,400	19,400
Matt Affleck	51,100	23,600
Greg Merson	51,000	-12,000
Dan Heimiller	39,000	9,000
Nick Guagenti	39,000	-32,000
Isaac Baron	26,800
Russell Crane	26,500	26,500
Cliff Josephy	22,000	-29,000
Andy Hwang	10,400	-12,150

Main Men

[user253757]

Level 7 : 200/400, 50 ante

John Racener, Jacob Bazeley, and Allen Kessler on Day 1a of the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event

Every stop on the World Poker Tour attracts the game's best players and brightest stars, so inevitably the random nature of the table re-draw process ensures that a few pros sit down together for yet another friendly game of cards. With the Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event now in full swing, we've found a table to worth talking about to be sure.

Tonight the place to be is Table 9, where a foursome of feared professional players are holding court and building big stacks.

Jacob Bazeley, John Racener, Allen Kessler and Jonathan Little are all accomplished players who have taken down the biggest tourneys on the circuit a time or two in their careers. Take a look at the lifetime career earnings for these four - an amount in excess of $15 million - and you can see why all eyes will be on Table 9 to see who emerges from this clash of poker titans.