After 18 levels of play on Day 1, Joseph Cambareri emerged as the chip leader from the record-setting field of 105 entrants in Event #12: $340 OE H/L 8B, with an impressive 354,000. He will lead the charge as they play down to a winner today, starting at 12 noon, here in the Borgata Event Center.
Nineteen other hopefuls will join Cambareri in the hunt for the final 12 seats which will earn a payout, but most have their sights set on the top prize of $10,693 and the hefty Borgata Winter Poker Open trophy. Zach Gruneberg is his closest rival, returning with 200,000 and a thirst for victory. Last September, he won two titles during the Borgata Poker Open, taking home trophies for both the Black Chip Bounty NLH and the Purple Chip Bounty NLH events.
Coming into Day 2 fifth in chips is four-time Borgata titleist Glenn Engelbert, with 150,000. He won his titles between 2011 and 2015 in many variants of poker, including Limit Hold'em, H.O.S.E., Omaha H/L, and Seven-Card Stud, so he's got the two games in this mix mastered, but it's been a while since his last visit to the winners circle.
Play will resume with Level 19: Limits 10,000/20,000, so the stacks are getting short. It shouldn't take long before twenty players are whittled down to thirteen and they reach the battle for the bubble. Play will continue until another BWPO trophy finds a new home and all of the $30,555 prize pool has been distributed.
As soon as play resumed at the final two tables, the tournament lost three players in short order!
Glenn Engelbert will not be adding a fifth Borgata title to his resume here today and he was followed out the door by Zach Gruneberg, another player with previous Borgata wins. Joel Gumbiner's departure brought them down to the bubble.
Hand-for-hand action only lasted a couple of rounds before the short-stacked Eddie [Removed:363] was felted. His departure in 13th place propelled the remaining 12 players into the money, guaranteed to earn at least $550.
Enter for your chance to win the $5,000 grand prize! Participants will have 1 minute to throw 10 Wilson NFL mini footballs at four different targets from ten yards. The top 16 scores will advance to the final round.
One re-entry is permitted for Round 1. Participants must have a M life® Rewards Card
Date: Saturday, February 1, 2020
Location: Signature Room
Buy-in Location: Borgata Poker Room from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
On the last hand of the Stud/8 round, it was heads-up between Pamela Jamison and Joseph Cambareri.
On fifth street:
Jamison:
Cambareri:
Cambareri bet (40,000) and Jamison moved in for 54,000 total. He called the extra 14,000 and rolled over his hole cards: . He was way ahead of her in the hole, but on sixth street, she caught the to improve to a set of sixes while he caught the useless .
At the river, neither player had made a qualifying low and her set was good for the scoop.
They got to 5th street when the last of Menachem Rosenberg's chips went in against John Reiss.
Rosenberg: ()
Reiss: ()
Rosenberg started the hand with rolled-up kings and had no low draw. Reiss started with three to a steel wheel, adding a flush draw on fourth street and a pair of Aces on fifth.
Sixth street brought a useless for Rosenberg, but Reiss caught the to take the lead with a set of Aces. Neither hand improved beyond that and Reiss scooped the pot.
Menachem Rosenberg, who won two titles here during the 2019 Fall Poker Open last November, (HOSE & PLO/8) was ejected in seventh place ($1,222).
Start of Day 2 chip leader Joseph Cambareri and Leonardo Palermo both got all their chips in against Paula Jamison on a Stud/8 hand.
As the cards ran out, Cambareri made a set of Kings and no low. Palermo had a pair of Aces and failed to make a qualifying low. Jamison made a six-high straight and wheel for the nut low to scoop it all, scoring the double knockout in the process.
Since Cambareri had fewer chips at the start of the hand, he got sixth place and $1,681. Palermo finished 5th for $1,986.
Tim D'Alessandro got his last chips in holding against Federico Ottenio's .
The board fell the wrong way for D'Alessandro as it came , giving Ottenio a set of tens for the high and an 86-low, while D'Alessandro's best was a set of sixes and no qualifying low. He was eliminated in fourth place ($5,000*).
Ottenio takes a huge chip lead and is the first player over one million chips.
There’s a new poker tour in town as a trio of MGM properties – MGM National Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Borgata – have joined forces to establish the MGM East Coast Poker Tour (ECPT).
The tour will consist of the following stops:
Potomac Winter Poker Open at MGM National Harbor February 5-17
Borgata Spring Poker Open April 7-24
Borgata Summer Poker Open July 7-24
Potomac Summer Poker Open at MGM National Harbor July 22-August 3
The Armory Classic at MGM Springfield August 12-24
“MGM Resorts offers players the best poker product on the East Coast,” said Jorge Perez, Portfolio President. “Our East Coast Poker Tour is a great way for us to showcase three of our industry-leading properties while creating an exciting tournament series for our guests and poker enthusiasts.”
The Points Leaderboard
Linking the five events will be a leaderboard where players can earn points by participating in any qualifying events.
Leaderboard prizes consist of the following: the top 90 finishers on the leaderboard will earn entry into Borgata Fall Poker Open/MGM Resorts East Coast Poker Tour $2,000,000 Guaranteed Championship on November 15-20, 2020 ($3,500 value) including complimentary overnight stays. Others can win $250 room credits, Cartier watch ($2,500 value) and $500 MGM Resorts promotional gift cards.
Players can earn points in a variety of ways including “Participation Points” for buying into tournaments, “Entry Points” based on field sizes, and “Placement Points” for making the final table. Click here for more details on the point system.
The leaderboard will be posted to MGMECPT.com and updated daily when qualifying events are occurring. Points for the leaderboard will be finalized on August 25, 2020.
Previewing the Potomac Winter Poker Open
The upcoming Potomac Winter Poker Open at MGM National Harbor, which runs from February 5-17, 2020, will offer over $1,000,000 in guarantees over 14 events. It marks the first time a winter edition of the PPO has been held to complement its annual late-summer series.
Highlights on the schedule include the $400 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed Opener and the $3,000 buy-in, $500,000 guarantee Main Event. What’s more, PokerNews is slated to be on-site to offer live updates from both of those events as well as the $400 Large Stack BB Ante from February 12-13.
On a flop of , Federico Ottenio (small blind) bet, Pamela Jamison (big blind) raised, Ottenio re-raised, and Jamison committed the last of her chips.
Ottenio:
Jamison:
Ottenio had two pair with a low draw, while Jamison had a low draw and some straight possibilities. The board completed with , voiding all lows and draws. Ottenio took the pot with his ace-jack kicker to the trips on board.
Pamela Jamison was busted in third place, earning $5,244*.
![Eddie [Removed:363]](https://s.pnimg.net/5xEz3yDZbNKuMLt9SdEWwf5oVpq0Qn3qhL9Y5Ign8xc/pr:reporting-leading-desktop/aHR0cHM6Ly9wbmlt/Zy5uZXQvbHJlcC8y/MDI3LzIyL3hmMjc5/ZmVhNWEwLmpwZw.webp)
. He was way ahead of her 
in the hole, but on sixth street, she caught the 
to improve to a set of sixes while he caught the useless 
.
) 
for Rosenberg, but Reiss caught the 
. Ottenio had aces in the hole, starting with 
.
, voiding all lows and draws. Ottenio took the pot with his ace-jack kicker to the trips on board.