Gelman Claims Day 1a Chip Lead in Event #10: $300 Deepest Stack Double Header; Stone and Buzgon Also In
Day 1a of Event #10: $300 Deepest Stack Double Header has come to an end after 16 30-minute levels with 105 survivors making it through to Day 2. The first twelve levels of the day attracted 650 entries giving the tenth tournament on the schedule of the 2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open a great shot at surpassing last year’s attendance numbers.
Grabbing the chip lead honors for Day 1a is Gary Gelman with 647,000 in chips. He has collected over $270,000 in live tournament cashes in just over a decade according to The Hendon Mob with his biggest score a few months back when he finished in 16th place in the Black Chip Bounty tournament during the Borgata Fall Poker Open. As a matter of fact, four out of his top five cashes were collected at the payout desk here at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa.
Gelman is accompanied by Artur Dukaj (596,000) and She Lok Wong (535,000) on the podium. The top five is completed by Rob Saladin and John Manzella. Other notable big stacks include Adam Harrow, Albert Nguyen, Michael Haberman, Po Ying, Ryan Eriquezzo, Steven Snyder, and many more players.
Event #10: $300 Deepest Stack Double Header Day 1a Top 5 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Gelman | United States | 647,000 | 81 |
| 2 | Artur Dukaj | United States | 596,000 | 75 |
| 3 | She Lok Wong | United States | 535,000 | 67 |
| 4 | Rob Saladin | United States | 511,000 | 64 |
| 5 | John Manzella | United States | 497,000 | 62 |
BorgataPoker.com Pros Katie Stone and Daniel Buzgon also made Day 2 with 276,000 and 191,000 in chips respectively. Another familiar name to the Borgata regulars is David Jackson. The 2019 Borgata Spring and Fall Poker Open Championship winner will be returning to the felt with 181,000 in chips.
Not everyone was that fortunate though, Kevin Mathers, Men Nguyen, Erik Cajelais, and the defending champion Ralph Macri fell at one of the many hurdles Day 1a brought them but most players who busted in the first starting flight have taken another shot by entering Day 1b which started at 5 p.m. local time.
When the players return at noon on Tuesday, January 21, they will join the players who managed to make the cut on Day 1b to battle it out for their share of the prize pool which has already surpassed the $200,000 guarantee. The full chip counts of all surviving players will be posted before the start of the day with the corresponding seat draw.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be there from the first cards in the air until the winner has been crowned so make sure to follow along to see who else will be bringing a BWPO trophy home with them!
against Seat 10 with 
and Seat 2, who had pocket Kings.
and Kordys had rivered a straight to scoop both main and side pots. Seat 10 was felted and Seat 2 was left short, busting out on the next hand.
with almost 40,000 in the middle.
for top pair. Macri held 
for the flopped two pair.
to keep Macri ahead and double him up.
with Mike Dentale all-in for 12,900 preflop with 
. The runout of 
was too little, too late, for Gottlieb, who was felted. (He's got the option to re-enter, however.) Tien took the pot with queens-up.
