Live Tournament Updates
Day One is Done
Level 27: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante
The day is done, ladies and gentlemen. Seven seventy-five minute rounds have come and gone here at Borgata, the chips are being counted and everyone who’s left can breathe easy for the night. We started the day with 540 players and now almost half are gone, the field reduced to 280. 279 more will fall, leaving one lucky, skillful player with $1.5 million for their troubles. Who will it be? - Maybe Chad Brown. The actor-turned-poker pro went on a huge rush at the end of the day that left him with a little more than 160,000 - Maybe Men the Master. The three-time Player of the Year has surged in the late hours, finishing the day with 150,000 - Maybe Jen Tilly. For the second WPT in a row, she’s survived murderous tables of hardcore pros, leaving with more than she came with. She’s in the high five digits, surviving boyfriend Phil Laak - Maybe John Phan. The perennial bridesmaid has 128,000 going into day two along with that supreme confidence. Get he and the Master on a table together and the chips and beers will flow. Kathy Leibert, Paul Darden, Sean McCabe, Barry Greenstein, Missy Hayden, Nick Schulman…they all have the skills and the stacks to make a run at this thing along with the usually unknown up-and-comers. Tomorrow, we’ll play another seven rounds to cut the legs out from under this field. Check back tomorrow for our up-to-date updates and all the goings on in Atlantic City. Have a good night.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Borgata, Borgata Poker Open, Season V09:00 PM, 09/15/06
IT'S GOTTA BE THE BORGATA!!!
Level 27: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante
Greetings from Atlantic City! Call it the Las Vegas of the east coast. As we approached the Borgata, I felt nostalgic for my childhood. Seeing street signs for Ventnor and Marvin Gardens, I wanted to move my thimble directly to jail without passing go. However, if I did that, I’d miss Tommy Lee at Club Mixx tonight. And really, can I afford to miss a life experience like that? Always good to see our old friends and make some new ones. Have you been watching the PPT? Fantastic poker action, and we talk exclusively with PPT host Mark Seif. Evelyn Ng stops by as does Season 4’s WPT Player of the Year Gavin Smith. Don’t look now but Joe Sebok may be gunning for the silver screen, his name up in lights. Is he the next Clooney or Guttenberg? And meet the Borgata Babes. Their job is to hold signs up signaling when each new level begins. Sound easy? Don’t bet on it. Listen to them detail their angst at this challenging occupation. And I’m sure the swimsuit judging was no walk in the park either. More tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Sorted In: Tournaments, Borgata, Borgata Poker Open, Season V08:58 PM, 09/15/06
Day 1 is in the bag
Level 27: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante
Level 7 is over. Stay tune for the recap.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Borgata, Borgata Poker Open, Season V07:44 PM, 09/15/06
Amir Vahedi moves ALL-IN
Level 27: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante
Gioi Luong (mid position) raises to 2800, Amir Vahedi (big blind) reraises to 9800, and Luong calls.
The flop comes J
3
3
.
Vahedi declares ALL-IN for 27k and Luong calls.
Vahedi shows QQ.
Luong shows AJ.
The turn comes 9.
Luong can win with a club, an Ace, or a Jack.
The river comes A.
Vahedi goes home early.
07:32 PM, 09/15/06
Jennifer Tilly in action
Level 27: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante
Jennifer Tilly (mid position) raises to 2300 and Player (big blind) calls.
The flop comes AQ6.
Player checks, Tilly bets 3000, and Player calls.
The turn comes Q
.
Player checks, Tilly bets 6000, and Player folds.
07:28 PM, 09/15/06
Recent knockouts
Level 27: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante
Allen Cunningham and Hasan Habib are among the notables knocked out recently.
Sorted In: Allen Cunningham, Hasan Habib, Tournaments, Borgata, Borgata Poker Open, Season V06:48 PM, 09/15/06
What's Going On?
Level 27: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante
With a little less than an hour and a half of play left in the day, we’re getting down to the good stuff. Thirty-three tables are left, 40% of the field gone, amongst them Gavin Smith, Grinder and T.J. Cloutier, three of my horses from the start-of-day draft. At least, they were until I stopped acknowledging the existence of said draft when Tony and Tuan started constantly reminding me of how my men had fallen. In their places, others have risen. Our chip leader is Ariel Schneller, who has somewhere in the vicinity of 170,000-180,000. James English is over 120,000. Eric Froehlich has hovered around the 100,000 mark for the last three hours as has John Phan. Kathy Leibert, Nick Schulman, Paul Darden…these are all names at or near the top of the standings that we’re used to seeing at or near the top of the standings. One name you may not know is Melissa Heyden. Missy, Allen Cunningham’s wife, is sitting in the top five in chips after solid finishes in the World Series and Legends of Poker. I sat with Missy as she watched Allen grinding towards the final table in the series and she was (by her own admission) a bit of a wreck. Here, she’s looking cool and calm, playing with the big boys and taking their chips. We’ll keep the updates coming, with my next entry a recap of the day. Stay tuned over the next hour as we whittle away the clock.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Borgata, Borgata Poker Open, Season V06:29 PM, 09/15/06
Level 7
Level 27: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante
Players are back from their break. Blinds: 400-800 Ante: 100
Sorted In: Tournaments, Borgata, Borgata Poker Open, Season V06:22 PM, 09/15/06
Break
Level 27: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante
Players are on a 20 minute break to conclude Level 6.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Borgata, Borgata Poker Open, Season V05:55 PM, 09/15/06
Barry Greenstein doubles up
Level 27: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante
Barry Greenstein moves ALL-IN for 18k and John Phan calls.
Greenstein shows AK.
Phan shows 88.
The board comes A32K5.
Greenstein doubles up.
05:36 PM, 09/15/06
