Jerry Maher Leads Day 2 of Deepstack Kick-Off with $383,867 Up for Grabs!
The 2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open has now seen the second day of Event #1: $600 Deepstack Kick-Off come to an end. A total of 754 returned for Day 2 and after 14 levels of play, only 31 remain, with Jerry Maher holding the chip lead by night's end.
Maher is a Borgata regular who boasts over half a million in tournament earnings and his biggest cash came right here in this very building just last September. The Warren, NJ resident took fifth place in the $3,500 WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship for $171,386. Maher is starting the final day of this opening event as an overwhelming leader and will be sitting down with 11,915,000 when play resumes tomorrow.
Kirkwood Saccardo will be closest to Maher on the totem pole after bagging 8,550,000 and is already guaranteed a new career cash with his previous best coming last year for $ 3,238. Rounding out the top are Jackob Datashvili (7,605,000), Gary Fitzsimons (6,645,000), and birthday boy Ricardo Eyzaguirre (6,455,000).
The first event of the series held a $2,000,000 guarantee and it was easily surpassed as 4,375 entries were gathered, accumulating a total prize pool of $2,291,625. All of the 31 players to make Day 3 are getting at least a payday of $6,302 but every player that remains will have their eye set on that $383,867 first-place prize money, along with a new Borgata trophy.
Many notable players found a bag for Day 3 and that list includes Alida Veliu (6,085,000), Day 1a chipleader Emanuele "Manny" Gugliuzza (5,395,000), Leonard Sande (4,400,000), BorgataPoker.com sponsored pro Dan Buzgon (2,295,000), Borgata regular Zachary Gruneberg (2,235,000), Soheb Porbandarwala (2,140,000), and Joe Cappuccio (1,040,000).
Players will return tomorrow at noon with the blinds of 60,000/120,000 and a big blind ante of 120,000. The tournament will not stop until a winner is crowned, leaving with a Borgata trophy and all of the $383,867 first-place money.
That wraps it up for PokerNews coverage of Day 2 in the first event of the 2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open, but tune in tomorrow for all of the action of the final day.
and Niceta needed to catch to stay alive. An 
peeled off on the turn, shifting the lead to Niceta and the 
river sealed the deal for him, sending one player home as he doubled through another with his three aces.
against big stack Guillermo Vargas' 
. Dodd was one of three players all-in and at risk on the same round of hand-for-hand play.
and Dodd doubled to ~140,000. Vargas still has 907,000 and appears to be the chip leader, having overtaken Joseph Rich.
against Alida Veliu's 
. 
and made no difference. Another player reported to the rail and three-time Borgata Ladies Event Champion Veliu chipped up to ~300,000.
gave Tong a flush draw to go with his one overcard and the 
against the 
, giving Nera kings-up to beat Azzaro's queens-up. Azzaro reported to the rail and Nera stacked up to ~625,000.
