Event #1: $100K GTD Kickoff | WPT Online Borgata Series powered by partypoker US Network

09-13-2020 13:04 UTC-4

Welcome to WPT Online Borgata Series Event #1: $100K GTD Kickoff

Anthony Thompson

WPT Online Borgata Series powered by partypoker US Networ

The partypoker US Network Online Series is back and it is a special one as they’re partnering with the World Poker Tour to offer New Jersey players the first-ever WPT Online Borgata Series powered by partypoker US Network.

The series, which runs from September 13-21, is comprised of 10 events with more than $275,000 in preliminary and post-lim guarantees with Event #1: $100K GTD Kickoff getting underway today at 5:00 p.m. ET.

The $215 buy-in ($200+$15) gives players a 50,000 starting stack. Anybody in the state of New Jersey may get in on the action across any of the three platforms of partypoker US, Borgata Poker and BetMGM Poker.

Levels are 10 minutes in length for the first 15 levels and then increase to 12 minutes for the duration of the tournament.

There are unlimited entries and re-entries available for the first 15 levels of play, closing at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET. A full structure for the tournament has been provided below.

Click here to sign up for Nj.partypoker.com!

Betting Structure

Level	Blinds	Ante	Length	Level	Blinds	Ante	Length	Level	Blinds	Ante	Length
1	150/300	40	10	19	3,500/7,000	875	12	37	60,000/120,000	15,000	12
2	200/400	60	10	20	4,000/8,000	1,000	12	38	70,000/140,000	17,500	12
3	250/500	60	10	21	5,000/10,000	1,250	12	39	80,000/160,000	20,000	12
4	300/600	75	10	22	6,000/12,000	1,500	12	40	90,000/180,000	22,500	12
5	400/800	100	10	23	7,000/14,000	1,750	12	41	100,000/200,000	25,000	12
6	500/1,000	125	10	24	8,000/16,000	2,000	12	42	120,000/240,000	30,000	12
7	600/1,200	150	10	25	10,000/20,000	2,500	12	43	140,000/280,000	35,000	12
8	700/1,400	175	10	26	12,000/24,000	3,000	12	44	160,000/320,000	40,000	12
9	800/1,600	200	10	27	14,000/28,000	3,500	12	45	180,000/360,000	45,000	12
10	900/1,800	225	10	28	16,000/32,000	4,000	12	46	200,000/400,000	50,000	12
11	1,000/2,000	250	10	29	18,000/36,000	4,500	12	47	250,000/500,000	62,500	12
12	1,200/2,400	300	10	30	20,000/40,000	5,000	12	48	300,000/600,000	75,000	12
13	1,400/2,800	350	10	31	25,000/50,000	6,250	12	49	350,000/700,000	87,500	12
14	1,600/3,200	400	10	32	30,000/60,000	7,500	12	50	400,000/800,000	100,000	12
15	1,800/3,600	450	10	33	35,000/70,000	8,750	12	51	450,000/900,000	112,500	12
16	2,000/4,000	500	12	34	40,000/80,000	10,000	12	52	500,000/1,000,000	125,000	12
17	2,500/5,000	625	12	35	45,000/90,000	11,250	12	53	600,000/1,200,000	150,000	12
18	3,000/6,000	750	12	36	50,000/100,000	12,500	12	54	700,000/1,400,000	175,000	12

WPT Online Borgata Series Schedule

The highlighted tournaments will be live reported here on PokerNews.

Day	Date	Time	Event/Tournament	Buy-In
Sunday	9/13/20	5:00 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES #1: SUNDAY $100K GTD NLH	$215.00
Sunday	9/13/20	7:30 PM	QUALIFIER into WPT $215 Satellite - 5 seats GTD NLH	$45.00
Sunday	9/13/20	8:00 PM	PHASE 1 into WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event	$109.00
Sunday	9/13/20	8:30 PM	SATELLITE: WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event - 10 seats GTD NLH	$215.00

Monday	9/14/20	7:30 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES #2: $10K GTD NLH R+A	$109.00
Monday	9/14/20	7:30 PM	QUALIFIER into WPT $215 Satellite - 5 seats GTD NLH	$45.00
Monday	9/14/20	8:30 PM	SATELLITE: WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event - 10 seats GTD NLH	$215.00

Tuesday	9/15/20	7:30 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES #3: $30K GTD 8-MAX FREEZEOUT	$320.00
Tuesday	9/15/20	7:30 PM	QUALIFIER into WPT $215 Satellite - 5 seats GTD NLH	$45.00
Tuesday	9/15/20	8:00 PM	PHASE 1 into WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event	$109.00
Tuesday	9/15/20	8:30 PM	SATELLITE: WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event - 10 seats GTD NLH	$215.00

Wednesday	9/16/20	7:30 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES #4: $20K GTD NLH	$215.00
Wednesday	9/16/20	7:30 PM	QUALIFIER into WPT $215 Satellite - 5 seats GTD NLH	$45.00
Wednesday	9/16/20	8:30 PM	SATELLITE: WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event - 10 seats GTD NLH	$215.00

Thursday	9/17/20	7:30 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES #5: $25K GTD PROGRESSIVE KNOCKOUT - BOUNTY	$535.00
Thursday	9/17/20	7:30 PM	QUALIFIER into WPT $215 Satellite - 5 seats GTD NLH	$45.00
Thursday	9/17/20	8:00 PM	PHASE 1 into WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event	$109.00
Thursday	9/17/20	8:30 PM	SATELLITE: WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event - 10 seats GTD NLH	$215.00

Friday	9/18/20	7:30 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES #6: $20K GTD SIX-MAX NLH	$215.00
Friday	9/18/20	7:30 PM	QUALIFIER into WPT $215 Satellite - 5 seats GTD NLH	$45.00
Friday	9/18/20	8:30 PM	SATELLITE: WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event - 10 seats GTD NLH	$215.00

Saturday	9/19/20	7:30 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES #7: HEADS UP - 32 MAX BRACKET	$535.00
Saturday	9/19/20	7:30 PM	QUALIFIER into WPT $215 Satellite - 5 seats GTD NLH	$45.00
Saturday	9/19/20	7:30 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES #8: $30K GTD PROGRESSIVE KNOCKOUT - BOUNTY	$320.00
Saturday	9/19/20	8:00 PM	PHASE 1 into WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event	$109.00
Saturday	9/19/20	8:30 PM	SATELLITE: WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event - 10 seats GTD NLH	$215.00

Sunday	9/20/20	3:00 PM	SATELLITE: Boosted Turbo WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES Main Event - 10 seats GTD NLH	$215.00
Sunday	9/20/20	5:00 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES PHASE 2 - $1060 Buy-In Main Event powered by partypoker US Network	$1,060.00
Sunday	9/20/20	8:00 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES #9: $20K GTD TURBO PROGRESSIVE KNOCKOUT - BOUNTY	$215.00

Monday	9/21/20	7:00 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES PHASE 2 - DAY 2 LIVE STREAMED FINAL TABLE
Monday	9/21/20	8:00 PM	WPT ONLINE BORGATA SERIES #10: $20K GTD TURBO PROGRESSIVE KNOCKOUT - BOUNTY	$215.00

09-13-2020 18:24 UTC-4

"onoreally" Catches Cowboy to Double Through Gagliano

Anthony Thompson

In Level 8 with blinds at 700/1,400 and an ante of 175, "metzfan86" raised from late position, "onoreally" three-bet jammed for 16,58 from the button and Michael "Gags30" Gagliano gave them isolation after he came over the top for 85,124 from the small blind.

"onoreally":
Michael "Gags30" Gagliano:

Gagliano had his opponent dominated and nothing changed after the flop.

The paired the board on the turn and Gagliano was looking good until the appeared on the river pairing "onoreally's" king securing their double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
metzfan86	81,440 38,610	38,610
Michael "Gags30" Gagliano	68,816 24,616	24,616

onoreally	36,966

Tags: Michael Gagliano

09-13-2020 18:45 UTC-4

Buzgon Finds Life

Anthony Thompson

In Level 10 with blinds at 900/1,800 and an ante of 225, action on the table folded around to Daniel “leinad” Buzgon who raised all in for 6,649 from the button and "chen718" isolated after he came over the top for 43,365 from the small blind.

"chen718":
Daniel “leinad” Buzgon:

Buzgon was looking to pair one of his overs and did on the flop.

The turn didn't change a thing nor did the river as Buzgon secured a much-needed double.

Player	Chips	Progress
chen718	36,516
Daniel “leinad” Buzgon	19,298 -52,271	-52,271

Tags: Daniel Buzgon

09-13-2020 19:49 UTC-4

Official Prize Pool Information

Anthony Thompson

The add-on period has come and gone, and a total prize pool of $100,000 was generated via 495 entries.

The top 64 players will make it into the money and earn at least $334, with each elimination thereafter seeing an increased payout until the eventual champion earns themselves $18,080.

Position	Prize
1	$18,080
2	$13,200
3	$10,150
4	$7,658
5	$6,000
6	$4,500
7	$3,250
8	$2,250
9-10	$1,740
11-12	$1,380
13-16	$1,050
17-24	$750
25-32	$615
33-40	$525
41-48	$450
49-56	$385
57-64	$334

09-13-2020 20:04 UTC-4

Get to Know BorgataPoker.com Sponsored Pro Daniel Buzgon

Anthony Thompson

You might recall that In early 2019, Daniel "leinad" Buzgon signed on as a BorgataPoker.com Sponsored Pro – one of three alongside Michael “Gags” Gagliano and Katie Stone.

“It took a little bit of time to get all the paperwork and stuff like that,” Buzgon previously told PokerNews of becoming sponsored. “It was in December when it started but wasn’t official until just before the Borgata Winter series. Duties include mainly playing a lot online, promoting the site, and trying to get new players on the site.”

According to HendonMob, Buzgon has more than $2.3 million in lifetime live tournament earnings since 2007. He’s a four-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner has played for big money before. In 2001, he finished third in the WPT Borgata Poker Open for $335,433, and last year he finished fifth in the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event for $202,942. He also finished fourth in the 2012 WPT bestbet Jacksonville for $94,624.

Additionally, Buzgon is a beast online where he’s amassed more than $3.1 million in earnings, of which $435,457 has come on BorgataPoker.com where he plays under the screen name “leinad.”

Tags: Daniel Buzgon

09-13-2020 20:37 UTC-4

Lopez Rivers the Goods

Anthony Thompson

In Level 19 with blinds at 3,500/7,000 (875 ante), Angel "chromeking" Lopez raised all in for 46,610 from middle position and "MoZZyNJ" isolated after they came over the top for 99,592 from the cutoff.

"MoZZyNJ":
Angel "chromeking" Lopez:

Lopez was behind and in need of help but didn't come on the flop.

The turn didn't change a thing as Lopez needed a lady on the river to stay alive.

Luckily for Lopez, his prayer was answered as the dropped on the river securing his double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Angel "chromeking" Lopez	107,475
MoZZyNJ	52,232

Tags: Angel Lopez

09-13-2020 20:49 UTC-4

Dodd Falls to "Moebearz"

Anthony Thompson

In Level 20 with blinds at 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante), "Moebearz" raised from under the gun and then called Ryan "Whosyourdoddy" Dodd's 115,667 three-bet jam from the hijack.

"Moebearz":
Ryan "Whosyourdoddy" Dodd:

Dodd was in rough shape looking for a set but couldn't find it with the runout ending his tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Moebearz	514,078 164,635	164,635
Ryan "Whosyourdoddy" Dodd	Busted

Tags: Ryan Dodd

09-13-2020 21:08 UTC-4

Gagliano Dusted

Anthony Thompson

In Level 21 with blinds at 5,000/10,000 (1,250 ante), action folded around to Michael "Gags30" Gagliano who raised all in for 90,171 from the small blind and was snapped-off by "Chalmisi6" from the big blind.

"Chalmisi6":
Michael "Gags30" Gagliano:

Gagliano was behind looking to pair his either of his overs but couldn't find a connection with the runout ending his tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chalmisi6	294,451
Michael "Gags30" Gagliano	Busted

Tags: Michael Gagliano

09-13-2020 21:30 UTC-4

Sherrier Falls Short of Money After Nasty River; "BrigBeach" Bubbles

Anthony Thompson

In Level 22 with blinds at 6,000/12,000 (1,500 ante), action folded to "mooseman1710" who raised all in from the button and Brian “TopCreature” Sherrier called for less from the big blind.

"mooseman1710":
Brian “TopCreature” Sherrier:

Sherrier had his opponent crushed and nothing changed after the flop.

The turn was safe for Sherrier as he was looking good to score the double until the dropped on the river ending his tournament just shy of the money.

Sherrier Falls Short of Money After Nasty River

In the same Level, "BrigBeach" raised all in from under the gun and action folded around to Alex “JinYang” Butcher who called from the big blind.

"BrigBeach":
Alex “JinYang” Butcher:

Butcher was behind but held live cards and he pulled ahead after the flop.

The turn didn't change a thing and Butcher faded the river as it came the to eliminate "BrigBeach" on the money bubble.

Butcher Fades River Sending "BrigBeach" Home on the Money Bubble

Player	Chips	Progress
mooseman1710	760,624
Alex “JinYang” Butcher	760,192
Brian “TopCreature” Sherrier	Busted

Tags: Brian Sherrier Alex Butcher

09-13-2020 21:45 UTC-4

Eric “alwaysliquid” Vanauken Looking for More partypoker US Success

Anthony Thompson

Eric “alwaysliquid” Vanauken is a name you should know as he's become on of the most accomplished players on the partypoker US Network.

A couple of months ago, Vanauken accomplished the incredible feat of capturing back-to-back titles not once, but twice.

In the July 6-12 series, he topped a 134-entry field to win Event #4: $15,000 GTD NLH for nearly $7,500, and then the next night bested 144 runners to win Event #5: $,7500 GTD Green Chip Bounty for $3,145. Then, at the end of July, he won the $320 buy-in Event #3: $15,000 GTD PKO Bounty for $6,393 and a day later emerged victorious in the $215 buy-in Event #4: $12,000 GTD PKO Bounty Boost for $5.691.

PokerNews recently had the chance to chat with Vanauken about his recent successes.

Money Never Sleeps

For the 43-year-old Vanauken, who is married with three kids ages 7, 10, and 19, he’s never really had a nine-to-five job. Instead, he fancies himself a real estate broker engaging in flips and investments while playing poker on the side of course.

“I first learned playing $4/$8 limit at Foxwoods in early 2000 and now play now $20/$40 and $30/$60 when I can find a game, or settle on $1/$2 or $2/$5 NLH," he said. "I have played the WSOP Main Event two times with no luck busting on Day 2 both times.”

Additionally, Vanauken grinds a decent amount on the virtual tables under the screen name “alwaysliquid,” which stems from the movie Wall Street when Gordon Gekko tells Bud Fox about how money never sleeps and you need to always be liquid.

“Since New Jersey went legal I play on Borgata and WSOP. I used to play PokerStars but had an issue with them over a year ago and have since boycotted them. I do very well on Borgata. I even shipped the Mega Thursday [not long ago] on my phone from an Applebee’s parking lot as I had no WiFi at home due to power outage.”

As for his recent successes on partypoker US, Vanauken was pleased but wanted to remain humble.

“I am humbled to be able to compete with all of the great players in New Jersey,” he said. “I’m proud that all of my studying and grinding has been producing favorable results in the past few years, taking me from an average breakeven player to a profitable one. At the same time, I try to maintain being humble with this great game and what it has provided for me and my family.”

Proudest Poker Accomplishments

For Vanauken, the scores rank up there among his proudest poker accomplishments, which includes beating a poker legend.

“In 2013, I beat Joe McKeehen for the Borgata Limit Championship,” Vanauken said. “I think that was the last limit event held at Borgata.”

Other highlights on his poker résumé include finishing sixth in the 2018 WSOP Circuit at Canada’s Playground Poker Club and finishing runner-up in a pair of WSOP Circuit online events back in March.

“So close to a ring but the two cashes of $35k and $20k within a few days definitely eased the quarantine pain,” Vanauken said.

With the latest partypoker US Network Online Series happening now, only time will tell if Vanauken can keep his streak of winning back-to-back events alive.

Click here to sign up for Nj.partypoker.com!