Event #10: $400 Almighty Stack NLH Day 1a | 2019 Borgata Poker Open

09-10-2019 20:56 UTC-4

Spencer Champlin Leads 2019 BPO Almighty Stack Flight A

Chad Holloway

Level 17 : 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante

The first of six starting flights in the 2019 Borgata Poker Open Event #10: $400 Almighty Stack NLH drew 346 entrants, but after 17 levels of play 74 remained. Leading the Flight A pack with 1.547 million was Spencer Champlin, who was fresh off cashing for $20K as a part of a four-way deal in Event #4: $400 Saturday Series Deepstack.

Others to bag big were Frank Funaro (1,317,000), Frank Lo (1,209,000), Matthew Mendez (1,136,000), and John McGuinness (991,000). They were joined by Josias Santos (986,000), Paul Freedman (671,000), Spencer Davies (543,000), Jimmy Lee (510,000), Bob Van Syckle (259,000), and John O’Neal (101,000).

Among those to fire and fall on Flight A were Sheree Bykofsky, Renata Colache, Jo Stagliano, Jackie Scott, and Donald Williams. Fortunately, they all have the opportunity to try again in any of the other flights if they so choose.

Day 1b of the tournament is happening now – you can follow the live updates here – while Flights C & D will take place at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. respectively on Wednesday. The two biggest flights, Days 1e and 1f, will then be held on Thursday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. respectively.

Tags: Spencer Champlin

09-10-2019 17:31 UTC-4

2019 BPO Event #1 Runner-Up John McGuinness Stacking Chips

Chad Holloway

Level 12 : 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

The under-the-gun player opened for 11,000 and was met by a three-bet to 33,000 from John McGuinness on the button. The UTG player then moved all in for 65,000 and received a call from McGuinness, who you might recall finished runner-up to Benson Tang in Event #1: $600 Deepstack Kick Off for $176,080.

McGuinness:
Opponent:

The flop was gin for McGuinness who paired his ace to take a commanding lead. Neither the turn nor river changed a thing and McGuinness score the knockout to add to his chip leader here in Flight A.

Player	Chips	Progress
John McGuinness	650,000

Tags: John McGuinness

09-10-2019 17:08 UTC-4

"I See You Haven't Studied"

Chad Holloway

Level 11 : 1,200/2,500, 2,500 ante

Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Eriquezzo moved all in for approximately 35,000 from the cutoff and Mario Trujillo called from the big blind.

Eriquezzo:
Trujillo:

"Nice call," Eriquezzo said sarcastically. He then watched helplessly as the board ran out to give Trujillo a winning pair of queens.

"I see you haven't studied since the last time we played," Eriquezzo jabbed before heading to the exit.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mario Trujillo	260,000 260,000	260,000
Ryan Erqieuzzo	Busted

Tags: Mario Trujillo Ryan Eriquezzo

09-10-2019 16:08 UTC-4

Funaro Gets Rewarded for Strong Call

Chad Holloway

Level 9 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

Frank Funaro opened for 4,000 under the gun and the player to his direct left three-bet to 12,000. Action folded back to Funaro and he called to see the flop.

Funaro check-called a bet of 16,000 and then check-called one of 30,000 on the turn.

When the paired the board on the river, Funaro checked for the third time and his opponent bet 70,000. Funaro thought long and hard before making the call and it was a good one as his opponent mucked.

Funaro still showed the before pulling in the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Frank Funaro	280,000 -25,300	-25,300

Tags: Frank Funaro

09-10-2019 15:15 UTC-4

Stagliano Straightens Out an Opponent

Chad Holloway

Level 8 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

A player limped from early position and the next player to act raised to 4,500. Another player flatted before Jo Stagliano did the same from the hijack. The big blind called before the limp raised all in for around 60,000.

The raiser and late-position flatter both folded before Stagliano jammed over the top for around 80,000. The player in the big blind released and the hands were turned up.

Stagliano:
Opponent:

Stagliano had the best of it and wound up improving to a straight after the board ran out .

Player	Chips	Progress
Jo Stagliano	150,000

Tags: Jo Stagliano

09-10-2019 12:45 UTC-4

Keyes Doubles Through Bykofsky

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 200/300, 300 ante

We happened upon Table 5 with around 20,000 in the pot and a board reading . The player on the button had 11,000 out in front and was debating what to do as Sheree Bykofsky was all in from under the gun for over 90k while Darren Keyes was also all in from early position for 87,700.

Eventually the player on the button folded and the hands were tabled.

Bykofsky:
Keyes:

Bykodsky held the nuts but Keyes had the club flush draw. Unfortunately for Bykofsky, the river completed the said flush and she was left with crumbs after Keyes doubled through. Bykofsky busted a short time later.

Player	Chips	Progress
Darren Keyes	200,000 200,000	200,000
Sheree Bykofsky	Busted

Tags: Darren Keyes Sheree Bykofsky

09-10-2019 12:40 UTC-4

Lee Wins Monster Pot with Nut Flush

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 200/300, 300 ante

With 3,400 in the pot and four players still in action, the flop came down . Jimmy Lee checked from the small blind, the players in the big and early position did the same, and finally the player on the button put in a bet of 1,500.

All three of his opponents check-called the bet before the dealer burned and turned the . Two checks saw the early-position player bet 3,200 and only Lee called to see the river.

Lee opted to lead out for 5,500 and his opponent raised it to 15,000. Lee looked back at his cards before three-betting to 30,500 and the early-position player paused for a few beats before moving all in for 86,200 total. Lee, who had 83,900, seemed surprised, double-checked his cards one last time, and slid in his stack.

Lee:
Opponent:

Both players held a flush but Lee's was the nuts to give him the early double.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jimmy Lee	200,000 200,000	200,000

Tags: Jimmy Lee

09-10-2019 10:07 UTC-4

Are You Ready for the 2019 Borgata Poker Open Almighty Stack?

Chad Holloway

One of the most anticipated tournaments on the 2019 Borgata Poker Open (BPO) schedule kicks off today. Event #10: $350+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry boasts a whopping $750,000 guarantee and over the course of this week will give players a crack at it with six starting flights.

Those begin today with Day 1a at 11 a.m. followed by Flight B at 5 p.m. Here’s a look at the schedule for this event:

Date	Time	Flight
Tuesday, September 10	11 a.m.	Day 1a
Tuesday, September 10	5 p.m.	Day 1b
Wednesday, September 11	11 a.m.	Day 1c
Wednesday, September 11	5 p.m.	Day 1c
Thursday, September 12	10 a.m.	Day 1e
Thursday, September 12	6 p.m.	Day 1f
Friday, September 13	12 p.m.	Day 2
Saturday, September 14	12 p.m.	Day 3

The tournament starts players with a massive starting stack of 100,000 in chips. Late registration and re-entries will remain open in each flight through the break at the end of Level 12. The plan for each flight is to play through Level 17. All those levels will last 30 minutes while Levels 18+ will be upped to 45 minutes. Levels at the final table will increase to one hour each.

Last year this tournament attracted 2,791 runners and created a $1,116,400 prize pool. Fernando DaCruz from Newark, New Jersey emerged victorious to capture $115,667 in prize money after a six-way deal. Others who cashed it big were Aaron Motoyama (2nd - $114,572), Oscar Menjivar (3rd - $98,109), Kory Shope (4th - $84,705), Kevin Lutz (5th - $77,373), and Richard DeVito (6th - $69,453).

Here's a look at the structure:

Level	Big Blind Ante	Blinds
1	-	100-100
2	200	100-200
3	300	200-300
4	400	200-400
5	600	300-600
6	800	400-800
7	1,000	500-1,000
8	1,200	600-1,200
9	1,600	800-1,600
10	2,000	1,000-2,000
11	2,500	1,200-2,500
12	3,000	1,500-3,000
13	4,000	2,000-4,000
14	5,000	2,500-5,000
15	6,000	3,000-6,000
16	8,000	4,000-8,000
17	10,000	5,000-10,000
18	12,000	6,000-12,000
19	16,000	8,000-16,000
20	20,000	10,000-20,000
21	25,000	12,000-25,000
22	30,000	15,000-30,000
23	40,000	20,000-40,000