Event 1: $560 $1 Million Guaranteed Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry
Day 2 Completed
2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open
Event 1: $560 $1 Million Guaranteed Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry
Day: 2
Nieman Leads the Final 18 Players
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 15,000 ante
After two long days of poker in the 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open $1 Million Guarantee, only 18 players remain. Leading the two tables is Philip Neiman, who bagged 6.815 million chips, and two other players bagged over six million; Adam Pace (6.385 million), and John Yanni (6.1 million).
Neiman won a massive, five million-chip race against Zbigniew Fido during the penultimate level of play on Friday, and won another race on the final hand of the evening, eliminating Hieu Tran. A Flushing, New York native, Neiman can more than double his career live tournament earnings if he remains in pole position and wins the event.
Two women, Stephanie Hubbard and Kim Noun are among the final 18 players, as is Kenny Nguyen. Nguyen is very familiar with deep runs at Borgata – he finished sixth in the 2009 WPT Borgata Poker Open for $156212, and third in the 2013 Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship for $108,682.
Day 2 started with over 500 players spread apart in both the Signature Room and the Poker Room. The field size cut in half en route to the money bubble, and among the players to exit empty-handed were Luke Edwards, Anna Khait, and James Woods. Khait ran 
into an opponent’s 
, and was unable to survive the cooler.
After much confusion, the bubble burst in Level 21. Dan Dizenzo, who won a side event during the 2011 Borgata Poker Open, three-bet all in with 
, and Adam Foster, the original raiser, called with 
. The wired pair held up, and Dizenzo was the last player to hit the rail without earning a single dollar.
Unsurprisingly there was a flurry of eliminations after that point, and among the min-cashers were Joseph Mckeehen, Chris Tryba, “Mad Dog” Mike Shasho, and Maggie Morris. Shasho attempted to isolate a short-stacked shove with 
only to be called by Fido’s 
. Fido improved to a pair of aces, and Shasho was sent packing.
As the day raged on, more and more players fell to the wayside, including Ibraim Ibraimovic. Ibraimovic, who claims to be related to the all-world striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, won some big races at the start of the day, but was unable to complete a big draw against Mitchell Mantin. He moved all in with a pair and an ace-high flush draw against Mantin’s 
, and the pocket queens held up.
Eight more players fell after Ibraimovic, including Sean Wallace, Demetrious Georgous, and Tim Mullen.
Play will resume on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST in the Borgata Poker Room, and the event will run until a champion is crowned. Be sure to return to the PokerNews Live Reporting Blog for exclusive live updates straight from the tournament floor.
Day 2 Photos
Official End-of-Day Counts
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 15,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
6,815,000 | 1,575,000 |
|
6,385,000 | 1,385,000 |
|
6,100,000 | 3,400,000 |
|
5,685,000 | 1,785,000 |
|
5,215,000 | 915,000 |
|
4,570,000 | 1,020,000 |
|
3,600,000 | -1,250,000 |
|
3,565,000 | -85,000 |
|
2,970,000 | 520,000 |
|
2,950,000 | 25,000 |
|
2,825,000 | -775,000 |
|
2,500,000 | -550,000 |
|
2,025,000 | -825,000 |
|
1,925,000 | -475,000 |
|
1,710,000 | 1,260,000 |
|
1,150,000 | -2,150,000 |
|
1,050,000 | -80,000 |
|
740,000 | -35,000 |
Hieu Tran Eliminated in 19th Place ($5,299)
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 15,000 ante
After being down to less than one big blind, Hieu Tran went on a miraculous run that saw him win with 
against when he hit a flush and then doubling again with 
against Sergei Rylkov's 
when he flopped a set. That pot moved him over the 1.5 million chip mark and he was looking to push that to over three million when he moved all in against Phil Neiman. Neiman made the call with 
. It was a race as Hieu had 
.
The race was over quick when the flopped along with the 
. Any hope for another miracle was eliminated when the turn was the 
and Tran finishes in 19th place.
That concludes play for the day. They are re-drawing to two tables and bagging and tagging. We'll have full chip counts in a few moments.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Level: 30
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 15,000
Tran Crippled
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante
Hieu Tran fired out a pot-sized bet on a flop of 
, and Zbigniew Fido moved all in for an additional 1,075,000. Tran tanked for well over two minutes, but with so much money in the middle, he opted to call.
Tran: 
Fido:
The over pair held as neither the turn (
) or river () improved Tran's hand, and Fido doubled to four million chips.
Tran was crippled, and even after doubling the very next hand he only had 250,000 or so.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,900,000 | 2,000,000 |
|
|
250,000 | -3,950,000 |
Sean Wallace Eliminated in 20th Place ($5,299)
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante
Adam Pace opened to 300,000 from under the gun, Sean Wallace moved all in for around a million out of the small blind, and Pace called.
Pace: 
Wallace: 
The 
flop was clean for Wallace, but the turn was the , giving Pace a pair of kings. Only a seven could save Wallace, and it wasn't to be for the young grinder as the 
completed the board.
Pace is around five million chips, while Wallace is off to collect his winnings from the cage.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,000,000 | 1,400,000 |
|
Busted |
Foster Doubles
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante
A short-stacked Adam Foster was all in and at risk for 460,000 holding against Matthew Itkin's 
.
The wired eights remained in front after the flop (
) and the turn (), but the 
spiked on the river to give Foster the win.
He doubled to 1.13 million chips, while Itkin slipped to 3.65 million.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,650,000 | -1,050,000 |
|
|
1,130,000 | 180,000 |
Massive Double for Neiman
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante
Zbigniew Fido raised to 260,000 from the hijack seat, Sergei Rylkov called on his left, Mitch Mantin called on the button, and Philip Neiman moved all in for 2.3 million out of the big blind. Fido called, and both Rylkov and Mantin folded.
Fido:
Neiman:
There was over five million in the middle when the dealer rapped the table and delivered a flop of . Neiman snatched the lead away from Fido with a pair of kings, leaving Fido drawing to one of the two remaining queens in the deck.
The turn was the , giving Neiman a wheel draw, and just for kicks and giggles he improved to a wheel when the 
completed the board.
Neiman doubled to 5.24 million chips, while Fido fell to 1.9 million.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,240,000 | 4,040,000 |
|
|
1,900,000 | -2,950,000 |