2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open

$3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship
Day: 3
Event Info

2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q3
Prize
$842,379
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,300
Entries
1,229
Level Info
Level
39
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
75,000

Dan Heimiller Eliminated

Level 22 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Dan Heimiller on Day 2 of the 2014 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event
Dan Heimiller on Day 2 of the 2014 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event

Dan Heimiller shoved all in before the flop, and Onofrio Reina got it in with {j-}{j-}. Heimiller outran him with {a-}{k-} when he flopped an ace, and he doubled up.

A bit later, Heimiller opened and Reina shoved a short stack over his raise.

"I'm forced to call," Heimiller said, sliding 102,000 in.

Heimiller: {a-Hearts}{10-Clubs}
Reina: {q-Diamonds}{q-Hearts}

Reina's hand held easily on the {6-Spades}{2-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}{q-Spades}{5-Diamonds} runout, and he took back what was once his.

A crippled Heimiller shoved his last 105,000 from the small blind when action folded to him, and the big blind woke up with {a-Spades}{k-Clubs}. Heimiller was able to outflop his opponent with {9-Diamonds}{3-Spades} when the flop came {9-Hearts}{q-Diamonds}{8-Hearts}, but a {j-Diamonds} and {10-Diamonds} fourth and fifth streets meant Heimiller was done in by a broadway straight.

Player Chips Progress
Onofrio Reina
Onofrio Reina
240,000
33,500
33,500
Dan Heimiller us
Dan Heimiller
Busted
WSOP 2X Winner

Tags: Dan HeimillerOnofrio Reina

Noah More Bronstein

Level 22 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
John Holley Has Climbed Above the Million Chip Mark by Busting Noah Bronstein
John Holley Has Climbed Above the Million Chip Mark by Busting Noah Bronstein

John Holley opened from early position and made it 26,000 to play, with a pair of callers coming along before Noah Bronstein joined the party from the big blind. The flop fell {k-Clubs}{8-Clubs}{4-Diamonds} and Bronstein tapped the table, prompting Holley to fire out a c-bet. When the other two players in the pot get out of the way, Bronstein went for the check-raise and Holley refused to budge, flatting to see the turn come {10-Spades}.

Bronstein immediately moved all in on fourth street and Holley looked him up with {k-Diamonds}{j-Diamonds} for top pair, Bronstein could only muster over {a-Clubs}{4-Clubs} for bottom pair and the nut flush draw, now needing any four or club to come from behind

River: {9-Spades}

A black card rained down but spades were the wrong suit for Bronstein, sending him to the payout desk to collect $9,795 for his 60th place finish. Holley, meanwhile, moved above the 1.1 million mark to put himself well above the current average.

Player Chips Progress
John Holley us
John Holley
1,195,000
779,500
779,500
Noah Bronstein us
Noah Bronstein
Busted

Tags: John HolleyNoah Bronstein

K.K.

Level 22 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Katayon Khaterzai Found KK in the Hole and another K on the Flop to Double Up
Katayon Khaterzai Found KK in the Hole and another K on the Flop to Double Up

After Harrison Gimbel opened for 24,000 in early position, Wade Woelful made his stand from the hijack holding {a-Spades}{j-Spades}, and his last 240,000 went into the middle.

The action moved to Katayon Khaterzai who called off her last 154,000 with {k-Hearts}{k-Clubs}. Gimbel got out of the way and the dealer prepared to deliver their destiny with the flash of a flop.

Flop: {7-Hearts}{10-Spades}{k-Spades}

Both players fit their hole cards nicely with the flop, as Woelfel found gutshot straight, nut flush and even royal flush possibilities, while Katayon improved to top set. Despite the exciting flop though, the turn card came {5-Clubs} to miss everybody, and the river blanked off as well coming {10-Clubs}.

Katayon remarked on the amount of outs she had to fade while collecting most of her neighbor's chips, having dodged the deck after hitting the flop hard.

Player Chips Progress
Katayon Khaterzai us
Katayon Khaterzai
335,000
156,000
156,000
Wade Woelfel
Wade Woelfel
79,000
-73,500
-73,500

Tags: Harrison GimbelWade WoelfulKatayon Khaterzai

J-Dag Adds a Bit

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
John D'Agostino on Day 3 of the 2014 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event
John D'Agostino on Day 3 of the 2014 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event

A player opened for 23,000 in late position and JohnD'Agostino made it 53,000 to go with the three-bet, defending his small blind by putting the pressure back on his opponent.

The other player called to see the flop come {7-Clubs}{6-Clubs}{8-Hearts}, but he quickly folded when "J-Dag" c-bet for 60,000. The pot pushed D'Agostino closer to the average, but he still has work to do if he hopes to make a legitimate final table run.

Player Chips Progress
John D'Agostino us
John D'Agostino
576,000
-774,000
-774,000

Tags: John D'Agostino

The Ground Floor

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Matt Affleck is Among the Latest Round of Casualties, Falling in 65th Place for a $8,424 Cash
Matt Affleck is Among the Latest Round of Casualties, Falling in 65th Place for a $8,424 Cash

These are the most recent eliminations recorded (74th - 61st), and you can check the payouts tab to see the exact finishing order and the earnings added to each player's record.

Player Chips Progress
John Owens
John Owens
Busted
Michael Murphy us
Michael Murphy
Busted
Brett Levitzke us
Brett Levitzke
Busted
Sara Stohler us
Sara Stohler
Busted
Patrick Eskandar us
Patrick Eskandar
Busted
Robert Panitch
Robert Panitch
Busted
Mike Gogliormella us
Mike Gogliormella
Busted
James Kohl
James Kohl
Busted
Paul Spitzberg us
Paul Spitzberg
Busted
Matt Affleck us
Matt Affleck
Busted
Jack Kashishian us
Jack Kashishian
Busted
Vittorio Abbate us
Vittorio Abbate
Busted
Tony Hartman
Tony Hartman
Busted

High Society

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
David Paredes Has Taken Over the Lead Here on Day 3
David Paredes Has Taken Over the Lead Here on Day 3

Here are the biggest stacks in the room at this point and their current counts, with David Paredes leading the way over Jared Jaffee and Laz Hernandez.

Player Chips Progress
David Paredes us
David Paredes
1,750,000
850,000
850,000
WPT 1X Winner
Jared Jaffee us
Jared Jaffee
1,630,000
1,392,000
1,392,000
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 2X Winner
Laz Hernandez us
Laz Hernandez
1,520,000
-30,000
-30,000
Kunal Patel us
Kunal Patel
1,240,000
680,000
680,000
Farid Jattin co
Farid Jattin
1,150,000
650,000
650,000
Chad Brown us
Chad Brown
1,100,000
644,500
644,500

Merulla Mucks

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Robert Merulla on Day 3 of the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event Championship
Robert Merulla on Day 3 of the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event Championship

Robert Merulla opened to 22,000 from middle position and watched Rami Ibrahim three-bet to 47,000 from the hijack. After Merulla called the bet, the flop came {4-Diamonds}{9-Spades}{9-Hearts} and both players slowed down by checking.

When the turn card came {7-Diamonds} Merulla led out for a bet of 53,000, and Ibrahim flatted to see the river card come {q-Hearts}. After both players checked fifth street neither seemed willing to show their cards, and it was Ibrahim who eventually tabled the {a-Hearts}{k-Hearts} for just ace-king high.

Merulla stared hard at his opponent's hand and began shaking his head, but he never did reveal his holding, and after a beat or two his cards went into the muck. Merulla's stack is still mostly where he left it though, as he only dropped about 100,000 to leave himself with a still healthy 505,000.

Player Chips Progress
Ramy Ibrahim
Ramy Ibrahim
515,000
92,500
92,500
Anthony Merulla us
Anthony Merulla
505,000
-195,000
-195,000

Tags: Ramy IbrahimRobert Merulla

Laz Hernandez Leads Again

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Laz Hernandez is a Force to be Reckoned With Once Again
Laz Hernandez is a Force to be Reckoned With Once Again

We heard the familiar refrain of "seat open!" coming from Laz Hernandez' table, but this time it was not the dealer making the call but Paul Spitzberg.

Spitzberg had just shipped his last 180,000 directly into the force of nature known as Laz Hernandez, our wire-to-wire chip leader in this Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event.

Although the two were flipping as Spitzberg brought his {2-}{2-} up against Hernandez' {A-Diamonds}{k-Hearts}, the flop fell just like so many others today, yesterday and two days before that: in the big man's favor. A king high flop hit Hernandez' hand perfectly, and he held up through the turn and river to notch what must be his twentieth knockout of the tournament thus far.

After losing a big hand earlier to drop down to 700,000 or so, Hernandez has made a resurgence to reclaim his familiar seat atop the leaderboard.

Player Chips Progress
Laz Hernandez us
Laz Hernandez
1,550,000
850,000
850,000
Paul Spitzberg us
Paul Spitzberg
Busted

Tags: Laz Hernandez

Merulla Spikes a set

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Robert Merulla on Day 3 of the 2014 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship
Robert Merulla on Day 3 of the 2014 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship

After a three-way preflop all in, Robert Merulla's {q-Diamonds}{q-Hearts} flopped a set on {8-Spades}{q-Clubs}{10-Spades} against Vittorio Abbate - who held {a-Diamonds}{a-Hearts} - and Mike Gogliormella - who held {a-Clubs}{k-Spades}. The set held up when the {9-Diamonds} and {5-Clubs} hit the board, and Merulla had both of his opponents covered.

Player Chips Progress
Anthony Merulla us
Anthony Merulla
700,000
446,000
446,000
Vittorio Abbate us
Vittorio Abbate
Busted
Mike Gogliormella us
Mike Gogliormella
Busted

Tags: Robert Merulla

Bob's Bold Bluff Blasted by Bullets

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Robert "Uncle Krunk" Panitch on Day 2 of the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event
Robert "Uncle Krunk" Panitch on Day 2 of the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event

We saw Robert "Uncle Krunk" Panitch bet 60,000 at his opponent with a flop of {7-Spades}{a-Diamonds}{10-Diamonds} already on board.

When the other player made the minimum raise and slid 120,000 forward, Panitch got krunk with it, raising all-in for 460,000 effective. His opponent snapped it off though, and before he could even table his hand Panitch told the tale.

"Uh oh..." he said, knowing his {6-Spades}{7-Clubs} was far behind. When he saw the {a-Clubs}{a-Spades} hit the table, Panitch didn't say anything more, knowing he was about to ship most of his stack across the table. The turn card came {9-Hearts} and Panitch piped up a bit, asking for an eight, but the river came {q-Hearts} to do justice to the set of aces.

"That was a big one..." Panitch muttered as he counted out the loss. "That was it."

It wasn't over for Panitch, as he still held 160,000 or so with which to mount a comeback attempt, but he seemed to believe the ride had come to an end. We'll let you know if Panitch's premonition proves to be correct.

Player Chips Progress
Robert Panitch
Robert Panitch
165,000
-375,500
-375,500

Tags: Robert Panitch