WPT Borgata Winter Open, Day 1B Recap

Level 9: 300-600, 75 ante

By BJ Nemeth


Here's a look back at some of the highlights from Day 1B of the WPT Borgata Winter Open.



As expected, Day 1B was much larger than Day 1A, with 645 entrants, creating a total field size of 1,042 -- tied for the fourth-largest WPT field in history.

Jamie Kerstetter (center) can only smile as she checks the live updates on her phone and sees that she is the chipleader in the middle of the day.



ClubWPT qualifier Charlie Hill earned his entry by playing at ClubWPT.com. Hill has made the most of his opportunity so far, surviving the day with an above-average chip stack.



The Borgata is known for hosting huge fields on the World Poker Tour, and was home to five of the six largest fields in WPT history. The 1,042 entrants in this field created a prizepool of $3,335,442, with $730,053 waiting for the winner.



Reigning WPT Player of the Year Joe Serock flew into Atlantic City on his birthday to make it to the Borgata in time to join the field on Day 1B. Serock was among the chipleaders for most of the day, and finished with more than 100,000 in chips.



Royal Flush Girl Danielle Ruiz walks thru the field at the start of Level 3, with the Royal Flush Girls Social Bar in the background.



Two-time WPT winner Jonathan Little was also in the field, and even though he fired three bullets (buying in three times), the third was the charm as he finished the day with 128,800 and was named the ClubWPT Player of the Day.



Jamie Kerstetter (right) shares a laugh with WPT reporter Jeanine Deeb during an interview on one of the breaks.



The Borgata offers an end-of-day chipleader bonus for the players with the top two chip counts at the end of each starting day, so the floor staff has to verify the counts of the big stacks. Floorperson Andrew verifies the stack of Nimer Ltaif (seated) to be 163,725, but it fell a little bit short of the top two spots.



The Day 1B chipleader ended up being Mark Ketteringham, who finished with 193,775, which makes him the overall chipleader heading into Day 2. Ketteringham received $5,000 for "winning the day," and Chris Barnes collected $3,500 for finishing second with 189,500.

The chipleader bonuses only apply to the two starting days, so from this point forward, players will need to reach the final 100 to cash in this tournament.



Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard from Day 1B:

1.  Mark Ketteringham  -  193,775  (322 bb)
2.  Chris Barnes  -  189,500  (315 bb)
3.  Filippo Bonura  -  172,275  (287 bb)
4.  Nimer Ltaif  -  163,725  (272 bb)
5.  Travis Williams  -  155,575  (259 bb)

Day 2 begins Tuesday at 12:00 noon ET. Stay tuned to WPT.com for live coverage and chip counts throughout the day.

Day 1B ClubWPT Player of the Day - Jonathan Little

Level 8: 250-500, 50 ante

Day 1B Ends With Record Winter Field of 1,042 Players

Level 8: 250-500, 50 ante

Day 1B has come to a close at the World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open and the turnout on Monday was 645 players. The total attendance during both Day 1 flights is 1,042. This is a record turnout for the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open.

The total prizepool stands at $3,335,442 and the eventual champion will walk away with $730,053 on Friday, February 1, which includes a $25,500 seat in the season-ending WPT World Championship. The top 100 players will be guaranteed at least $6,637, and the six final tablists at the WPT Final Table are guaranteed at least $147,671.

Approximately 396 players made it through Day 1B and they will join the 209 survivors from Day 1A for Day 2 action on Tuesday. The chip leader at the end of play was Mark Ketteringham with 193,775. He will take home $5,000 from the Borgata as the Day 1B chip leader. Other big stacks near the top include Chris Barnes (189,500), Filippo Bonura (172,275), Jonathan Little (128,800), and Jamie Kerstetter (122,725).

Once registration closed after the end of Level 6 some big names busted before the night ended. Players who made their final exit today include Jeff Madsen, Vinny Pahuja, Shawn Cunix, Robert Varkonyi, Andy Philachack, Bernard Lee, Ebony Kenney, and David Williams.

Check back in at noon ET tomorrow for eight more 75-minute levels of poker action from the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Nice One For Barnes

Level 8: 250-500, 50 ante

With the board reading QJT and about 15,000 in the middle, a player in early position bets 8,500 before a player in middle position moves all in for about 24,000. Chris Barnes re-raises all in with the bigger stack from late position and isolates the pot.

Barnes tables K9, leading his opponent's QT. The 7 turn and K river are safe for Barnes and he is in the hunt for the end-of-day chip lead.

Chris Barnes - 185,000 (370 bb)

Five More Hands

Level 8: 250-500, 50 ante

The tournament clock has been stopped and the field was informed that they will play five more hands. There are 250 players that have survived according to the tournament clock.

Stay tuned as we will be collecting chip count information from the bag and tag and catching the final hands of the night, which will be posted soon.

Official Payouts: $730,053 For 1st Place

Level 8: 250-500, 50 ante

The official prizepool information has been released, and the 1,042 entrants into this event have created a prizepool worth $3,335,442.

The top 100 players will finish in the money, guaranteed at least $6,637, and first place is worth $730,053. (That amount includes his or her $25,500 buy-in for the season-ending WPT World Championship.)

The full list of payouts can be found by clicking the "Payout Structure" link on the lower-right-hand side of this webpage.

Stammen Calls One Down

Level 8: 250-500, 50 ante

Keven Stammen opens to 1,100 from UTG+1  and the player in the cutoff three-bets to 2,275. Action folds back to Stammen who calls, landing a Q32 flop to the board. 

Stammen check-calls 2,550 on the flop and does the same for 4,225 on the 5 turn. The 5 hits the river and Stammen checks for a third time. His opponent bets 14,650 and sends Stammen into the tank for about three minutes before he calls. His opponent shows 98 for air and falls to Stammen's KQ.

Keven Stamman - 74,000 (148 bb)

The Twitternet: Busquet Busts

Level 8: 250-500, 50 ante

Busted WPT borgata first level after rebuys with KK to AA for 60k pot

— Olivier Busquet (@olivierbusquet) January 29, 2013

Brett Richey Takes a Slight Fall

Level 8: 250-500, 50 ante

The small blind raises to 1,500 preflop and Brett Richey calls on the big blind. The flop is dealt 663 and the small blind fires out 2,000. Richey calls and the turn delivers the 8.

The small blind leads out again, this time for 4,000. Richey calls and the river finishes off the board with the 2. Both players check and the small blind flips over 1010. Richey is down to 22,500 after the hand.

Brett Richey - 22,500 (45 bb)

A Long Talk WIth Jason Koon

Level 8: 250-500, 50 ante

Jason Koon has the day off after bagging up a top-five stack on Day 1A of the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open. He was loitering around the media table, so Jeanine Deeb cornered him for a chat about staying in shape and who he thinks are the best players in the game.