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

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
Anthony Merulla us
Anthony Merulla
505,000 -195,000

Tags: Ramy IbrahimRobert Merulla

Gimbel Bests Baron

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Harrison Gimbel forced Isaac Baron to fold.
Harrison Gimbel forced Isaac Baron to fold.

Isaac Baron opened for 23,000 under the gun, and Harrison Gimbel raised to 46,000 after action folded to him in the hijack. Everyone else folded, and Baron went up to 100,000. After about a minute, Gimbel softly proclaimed he was all in, dropping four T25000 chips. Baron quickly folded.

Player Chips Progress
Harrison Gimbel us
Harrison Gimbel
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
815,000 265,000
Isaac Baron us
Isaac Baron
WSOP 1X Winner
330,000 -70,000

Tags: Harrison GimbelIsaac Baron

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
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
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

Tags: Robert Panitch

Choi Takes a Bite Out of Kaverman

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Byron Kaverman couldn't complete his draw.
Byron Kaverman couldn't complete his draw.

Bryan Choi opened for 23,000 in the hijack, and Byron Kaverman raised to 66,000 from the small blind. Choi made the call, and the two saw a flop of {4-Spades}{9-Diamonds}{3-Diamonds}.

Kaverman continuation-bet 63,000, and Choi raised to 126,000.

"All in," Kaverman said very quietly. He repeated himself when the dealer asked him to clarify. Choi called right away.

Choi: {3-Hearts}{3-Clubs}
Kaverman: {a-Diamonds}{5-Diamonds}

Both players had flopped big, but Kaverman needed to improve to catch Choi's set. Neither the {j-Hearts} nor the {k-Spades} did it for him, and He lost more than half of his remaining chips to Choi.

Player Chips Progress
Bryan Choi
Bryan Choi
1,150,000 840,000
Byron Kaverman us
Byron Kaverman
WSOP 1X Winner
450,000 205,000

Tags: Byron KavermaBryan Choi

Rough Rugged and Raw

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

Ronit Chamani is best known for her contributions to the raw food culinary scene, but the South African poker player has made a splash on the felt as of late.

Chamani has nearly $300,000 in career live tourney earnings, and she is likely to push across that mark here today, as she currently holds a stack of more than 800,000. This continues a nice run for Chamani in WPT events, after she final tabled the WPT Main Event held in Johannesburg, South Africa - finishing in 6th place while representing her homeland in admirable fashion. She also has enjoyed success at this Borgata Winter Poker Open, recording an 11th place finish for $4,342 in the Six-Max event.

You can learn more about Chamani and her passion for raw food by taking a look at this Stay Stacked video featuring Lynn Gilmartin, and we'll track her progress throughout the night to if she continues her impressive performance here on Day 3, in an attempt to make second WPT Main Event final table in four months.

Player Chips Progress
Ronit Chamani za
Ronit Chamani
810,000 270,000

Tags: Ronit Chamani

Morris Doubles Through Hernandez

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante

Laz Hernandez's charmed run has finally hit a few snags, as he's down to 700,000 or so.

In a recent pot, he called a four-bet before the flop for about 130,000 from Naveh Morris. Hernandez then called Morris' shove for about 200,000 after an eight-high flop.

Morris: {q-Diamonds}{q-Hearts}
Hernandez: {a-Spades}{j-Hearts}

Hernandez didn't improve, and Morris doubled up.

Player Chips Progress
Naveh Morris us
Naveh Morris
850,000 772,500
Laz Hernandez us
Laz Hernandez
700,000 -1,200,000

Tags: Laz HernandezNaveh Morris

Goners

Level 21 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Dan O'Brien Finished in 80th Place and Pocketed $7,758 for the Deep Run
Dan O'Brien Finished in 80th Place and Pocketed $7,758 for the Deep Run

Here are the players who busted out before the dinner break, and you can check the payouts tab to see exactly where each player finished, along with the prizes they pocketed.

Player Chips Progress
Christopher Leveroni us
Christopher Leveroni
Busted
D.J. Mackinnon
D.J. Mackinnon
Busted
Eugene Fouksman
Eugene Fouksman
Busted
Taha Maruf us
Taha Maruf
Busted
Matthew Silberzweig us
Matthew Silberzweig
Busted
Dan O’Brien
Dan O’Brien
Busted
Victor Figueroa us
Victor Figueroa
Busted
Nick Raymond
Nick Raymond
Busted
Peter Ippolito us
Peter Ippolito
Busted
Jay Sharon us
Jay Sharon
Busted
Julio Belluscio ar
Julio Belluscio
WSOP 1X Winner
Busted
Alexander Rosenblatt
Alexander Rosenblatt
Busted
Natale Kuey us
Natale Kuey
Busted
Timothy Chang us
Timothy Chang
Busted
Shawn Cunix us
Shawn Cunix
WPT 1X Winner
Busted
Jeffrey Chang us
Jeffrey Chang
Busted
Catherine Dever us
Catherine Dever
Busted
Vince Palma us
Vince Palma
Busted
Mitchell Nong us
Mitchell Nong
Busted
Alex Berdichevskiy
Alex Berdichevskiy
Busted
Eric Fields us
Eric Fields
Busted
John Andress us
John Andress
Busted
Maxwell Mccurdy
Maxwell Mccurdy
Busted
Maxwell Girteit
Maxwell Girteit
Busted

Level: 21

Blinds: 5,000/10,000

Ante: 1,000