partypoker US Network Online Series (Nov. 29 - Dec.6)

BorgataPoker.com has a trio of sponsored pros — Katie Stone, Daniel Buzgon, and Michael "Gags30" Gagliano — all of whom have been active this year in the partypoker US Network Online events.

In regards to the man known as "Gags," he has been playing poker professionally for a decade and has amassed more than $2 million in live tournament cashes. That includes a career-best $448,463 for winning the 2016 World Series of Poker Event #25: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em, good for his first bracelet. He also finished third in the 2017 WSOP Event #27: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em - 6 Handed for $210,139.

He also has more than $4 million in online scores. Of that, $338,315 has come on BorgataPoker.com.

According to his website, "before poker he worked in an elementary school, which has given him a great background to become a premier poker instructor. Coaching for more than seven years he has helped more than 50 students from all over the world improve their game. These students have gone on to win multiple championships including the WSOP Main Event. Michael has also worked as a consultant for several major casinos and online poker sites to help them improve their product and better serve their customers."

It's been a good day for Gagliano so far, as he has already doubled his starting stack. Stay tuned to find out if he can keep this momentum going!

For more on Gagliano, be sure to follow him on Twitter at @Gags30poker.

In Level 18 with blinds of 4,000/8,000 and an ante of 1,000, "deerpathdave" jammed for 107,000 in the cutoff and was called by "pay4medsch00l" in the big blind.

"deerpathdave":
"pay4medsch00l":

"deerpathdave" found a helpful flop of , giving them a double gutshot straight draw and nut flush draw in addition to three overcard pair outs. The turn left them sweating, but the river came to complete the straight draw and score them the lucky double.

Less fortunate was "jaehoez24", who was eliminated on the other table simultaneously by "njpokeraa". "shaggydo" and Matt "MattEMenz" Mendez were also eliminated at the end of last level, and the trio of eliminations brings the field down to 13. Three more bust outs are needed for the tournament to make it into the money.

Player	Chips	Progress
njpokeraa	621,250 96,582	96,582
pay4medsch00l	475,589 -132,921	-132,921
deerpathdave	225,342 42,331	42,331
shaggydo	Busted
Matt "MattEMenz" Mendez	Busted
jaehoez24	Busted

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In Level 19 with blinds of 5,000/10,000 and an ante of 1,250, Dan "mj23style" Sewnig raised to 22,000 in the hijack and "Borgatcha" three-bet jammed for Sewnig's effective stack of 231,850. Sewnig found a call to send the two off to the races.

Dan "mj23style" Sewnig:
"Borgatcha":

Sewnig was not ahead for long as the flop came to give his opponent a pair of kings. The turn was of no avail, and the river was just as useless towards keeping Sewnig alive in the tournament, and he took 12th place as a result. Just one more elimination is needed for play to reach the money.

Player	Chips	Progress
Borgatcha	651,364 208,515	208,515
Dan "mj23style" Sewnig	Busted

Play is two-thirds of the way through Level 19 (5,000/10,000/1,250) and 11 players still remain with the tournament on the direct money bubble upon reaching a five-minute break. Updated chip counts for all remaining players have been provided below.

Player	Chips	Progress
Borgatcha	1,318,978 667,614	667,614
BoozeHound	607,112 231,282	231,282
SnashuaJ	604,897 47,421	47,421
njpokeraa	579,250 -42,000	-42,000
pay4medsch00l	494,189 18,600	18,600
Karibou	466,714 55,667	55,667
deerpathdave	320,242 94,900	94,900
Cara2Cacra	239,108 -81,375	-81,375
Daniel "centrfieldr23" Lupo	238,700 -56,625	-56,625
Ryan "simlSgg" Hagerty	191,492 -106,338	-106,338
Gohednpopoff	189,318 -948,670	-948,670

If you’ve ever played poker either at Borgata or online in New Jersey, there’s a good chance you’ve crossed paths with Don Himpele, who has more than $630K in online lifetime tournament earnings and $89K in live scores on HendonMob.

Himpele, a father of five who has been married for 24 years, graduated from Gettysburg College with a degree in Business and Economics, and for the last 25 years he has worked as a trader on the New York Stock Exchange as a Managing Director for Goldman Sachs and IMC Trading. So how did the professional family man find poker?

“I began playing as a teenager,” he told PokerNews. “My mother was an early influence and taught me many ‘gameplay skills.’ I have combined that and my skills as a trader to make strong decisions on the felt.”

He continued: “I consider myself a recreational player, as family and work obligations don't allow for a robust live game tournament schedule. I do play the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main yearly, and many Parx Big Stax tournaments. I am a regular online tournament player who targets buy-ins usually ranging from $200-$2,000. I play in local cash games – usually $5/$10.”

While he only plays when his schedule allows, it’s worth noting Himpele has been playing for a long time. In fact, one of his favorite poker memories stems all the way back to the 2004 WSOP Main Event.

“My most notable experience was my first WSOP Main Event in 2004 and sitting at ESPN feature TV table with top pros,” he recalled. “Also, I cashed in the 2010 WSOP Main Event after being sponsored by Absolute Poker.”

While his Absolute Poker days are behind him, Himpele does spend a fair amount of time competing on the partypoker US Network, which is comprised of partypoker US, Borgata Poker and BetMGM Poker.

“partypoker US brings a strong level of competition and I particularly like when they run a series as it brings a variety of games and a strong turnout with a commensurate prize pool,” said Himpele. “I have a lot of respect for New Jersey's top pros such as Mike Lavenburg, Mike Gagliano, Katie Stone and David Coleman. I enjoy the challenge of battling against them as a test of skill.”

In Level 20 with blinds of 6,000/12,000 and an ante of 1,500, "Karibou" limped under the gun and "SnashuaJ" limped behind in the hijack. Daniel "centrfieldr23" Lupo completed his small blind and "deerpathdave" checked their option in the big blind to take action four ways to a flop of . All four players checked.

Three checks brought action onto "SnashuaJ" on the turn and they bet 30,000. Only "Karibou" called and action went heads up to the river , where both players checked to go to showdown.

"Karibou" showed and saw that the river gave "SnashuaJ" the best hand with their . With no other pots of note nearing the end of Level 20, the bubble continues with 11 still remaining.

Player	Chips	Progress
SnashuaJ	722,897 118,000	118,000
deerpathdave	463,992 143,750	143,750
Karibou	313,714 -153,000	-153,000
Daniel "centrfieldr23" Lupo	158,700 -80,000	-80,000