Day 2 of the $3,500 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship is in the books and it's Patrick Serda at the top of the chip counts with 994,000.
Brian Altman is right on his heels with 923,000 and Nathan Russler rounds out the top three chip stacks with 914,000.
There are plenty of players within striking distance of the chip leader including Abraham Korotki (788,000), Peter Vitantonio (782,000), Shawn Cunix (737,000), Larry Abrams (733,000) and Stephen Press (717,000).
Some of the other familiar faces that are advancing include Matt Glantz (673,000), Craig Varnell (642,000), Ari Engel (497,000) and Joe McKeehen (426,000).
A total of 174 players will return to the Event Center on Wednesday January 28 at 12:00 PM local time to resume play. A full list of day two chip counts and seating assignments will be posted before the start of play.
Donald Maloney raised to 13,000 from the cutoff and the player in the small blind re-raised to 45,000. The big blind folded and Maloney moved all in for 124,000.
His opponent snap called turning over but would need to improve against the of Maloney.
The board ran out and Maloney's pocket kings held up to earn him the double up with less than one level of play left in the night.
The chips are flying in the Event Center and the money bubble is rapidly approaching. The field is thinning down and once again the chip lead has changed hands.
Fikret Kovac is now out in front with 840,000 and Borgata tournament regular Larry Abrams is right on his heels with 800,000.
The under the gun player raised to 10,000 and Baitai Li called from middle position. Zachary Gruneberg called from the small blind and they went three handed to the flop.
Gruneberg checked and the under the gun player bet 10,000. Li called and the dealer burned and turned the .
The player check-called a bet of 10,000 from Li and the completed the board. The player checked to Li who bet 30,000 and the player called.
Li turned over for deuces full of kings and his opponent flashed his before tossing them into the muck. Li took the pot and he now looks to be the chip leader with over 700,000.
David Jackson has already won the Borgata Spring and Fall Editions of this event and is still in the running to add the Winter Title to his name.
The board read with 96,500 in the middle already. The player in the middle position checked and then tanked for a long time when David Jackson shoved for 56,500 from the late position. After a while, he called with while Jackson held .
The board was completed with the to keep Jackson ahead and double him up.
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.
Matthew Emmel raised to 6,500 from under the gun and was called by Alberto Sabogali on his left and the player in the small blind.
The flop came , the small blind check-folded to the 8,000 bet of Emmel which Sabogali did call.
The turn was the , Emmel put in 100,000 and Sabogali snap-called for the 61,000 he had behind and flipped over for quad nines. Emmel held for the flush draw.
The river completed the board with the for Emmel to lose a chunk of his stack.
Jeremy Joseph raised to 6,000 from the early position and Galen Hall three-bet to 18,000 from the button. The blinds folded and Joseph called.
The flop came , Joseph check-called the 12,000 continuation-bet of Hall.
The turn brought them the , Joseph checked again. Hall bet 29,000 this time for Joseph to consider his options for a while before putting a big stack of 5,000-value chips over the line. Hall responded with a shove immediately for 140,500 which Joseph called.
Galen Hall:
Jeremy Joseph:
Hall had the overpair while Joseph was sitting on the double gutshot to a straight.
The river completed the board with the to keep Hall ahead and double him up.