2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open
Chip Counts
"I flopped a queen-high flush and he flopped a straight flush," Vittorio Abbate told the live reporting team when he walked out of the tournament area and a quick look at his former table confirmed that by multiple players.
Abbatte's Q♠10♠ ran into the 8♠6♠ of Jason Seller, who got the entire stack of the Charity Event qualifier who received the entry for free but bowed out before the money.
Corbin Avery in early position and Austen Yueh in the hijack got all their chips in the middle before the flop, with Yueh having Avery's remaining 150,000 covered.
Corbin Avery: K♦K♣
Austen Yueh: A♣A♥
"Every Main Event this happens to me," Avery lamented after finding out he had run his kings into Yueh's aces. The board ran out 4♣2♠8♠6♠10♦, and Yueh took the big pot to send Avery to the rail.
Jason Seller was moved tables and limped in by mistake from under the gun, then added another five T-1,000 chips on top. The floor was called and it was ruled as a limp only after which Vittorio Abbate then raised top 18,000. Bin Weng in the big blind squeezed to 62,000 and forced out all opponents.
One hand later, Weng raised the small blind for Seller to defend the big blind. The K♣4♥2♠ flop saw Weng check-call for 10,000 and he did so again on the Q♠ turn for 20,000.
Both checked the 8♦ on the river and Weng won the pot with the K♠3♣.
Weng and Michael Renna are the massive stacks on the table which has been selected to go on stream after the break.
Lucas Bernui raised to 10,000 and Colin Moll flat-called. Jason Seller in the big blind then three-bet to 35,000 and Bernui folded while Moll called.
Seller bet the 7♦3♦3♥ flop for 40,000 and Moll called before they headed to the 5♠ turn.
Seller now pushed all in and Moll sighed while he asked for an exact count. The shove was deemed to be for 109,000 total.
"I mean, you are screaming aces or queens ..." Moll said a few seconds before he called.
Jason Seller: Q♣Q♥
Colin Moll: 10♣10♥
Moll could barely see the cards from the other side of the table and asked "what is it?" before he was told pocket queens, then added "nice hand" when the blank 7♠ river completed the board.
They parted ways after the hand because the table broke.
Ryan Hohner opened to 10,000 from middle position and was called by Adnan Mohammad in the hijack and Ricky Landais in the big blind.
The K♥9♦3♦ flop checked through to the A♦ turn which saw Hohner lead for 24,000 and only Mohammad would call.
On the 6♥ river, Hohner took some time before he led for 54,000, leaving himself just 5,000 behind. Mohammad contemplated for 30 seconds before he flashed the A♥ and folded, conceding the pot to Hohner without showdown.
Daniel Lim raised to 10,000 in early position and John McDonald called in the cutoff. Po Ying then three-bet to 38,000 on the button and Lim moved all in. McDonald folded, but Ying snap-called for 142,000.
Po Ying: A♦A♥
Daniel Lim: J♦J♥
Ying had Lim crushed with his aces and improved to top set on the A♣9♣2♣ flop. The rest of the board ran out 7♥7♠ to give Ying a full house, and he doubled up.
John McDonald raised to 10,000 in early position before John Botticello three-bet to 45,000 in middle position. McDonald then moved all in, and Botticello snap-called.
John Botticello: K♥K♣
John McDonald: A♠K♠
Botticello remained in the lead on the 8♠3♦3♥ flop, while the 4♠ came on the turn to give McDonald a flush draw. The river was the J♠, and McDonald made his flush to win the pot.
"Come on. How do you shove with that?" Botticello fumed on his way to the rail. Meanwhile, the dealer counted down the stacks and determined that Botticello actually had McDonald covered.
The table called Botticello back, but then a tournament official came by to confirm the counts and it was determined that McDonald had Botticello's 145,000 covered by 5,000.
Mike Dentale raised and then had two shorter stacks get their chips into the middle in Omar Taveras and Mario Damiao.
Mario Damiao: A♦9♥
Omar Taveras: A♠10♥
Mike Dentale: A♥J♠
"I am dead," Damiao said when he had the worst kicker.
The board ran out 5♦3♠2♥7♥10♣ and Taveras rivered the ten to more than double, while Damiao was eliminated.
"I mean, I raise a lot. They jam ace ten into one of my fifty raises," Dentale shrugged.