Bros in Cards: McGuinness Brothers Cash Big in WPT Borgata Poker Open

By Sean Chaffin

There’s been some brotherly love in the WPT Borgata Poker Open. John and Michael McGuinness (pictured) are regulars in the property’s poker scene with some nice history of taking home some winnings. The residents of Tom’s River, New Jersey, repeated that here again in the WPT Borgata Poker Open.

The McGuinness brothers both now have a cash in the championship event. John earned $10,183 after finishing 60th. There’s a shot Michael could earn an even bigger score and he was among the chip leaders after the dinner break on Day 3.

“I really haven’t been getting anything good,” Michael says of his run through the tournament. “Then today I picked up Aces three times. I probably haven’t had Aces in six months, so they all came today.”

A former New Jersey state trooper, Michael has almost $280,000 in live tournament winnings including numerous wins and big finishes here at the Borgata, where he is a regular player. His biggest win came in 2012 in a $345 World Series of Poker Circuit event here in Atlantic City for $39,790.

Michael now runs a construction business after retiring from the force. When not working or spending time with family, the Borgata poker room is a regular stop.

“We play a lot at the Borgata, all the series that comes around,” he says. “I’ve won a bunch, he’s won a bunch, we just enjoy it.”

John (pictured/photo credit Borgata) has almost $534,000 in live tournament winnings, but Michael now has a chance to catch him if the deep WPT run continues. He works as a salesman in the construction industry, and is also a regular at the Borgata. With numerous big scores at the property, John also notched a nice cash during the BPO. In the $600 Deepstack Kickoff, he scored the biggest cash of his career after finishing runner-up for $176,080.

Who is the best player between the McGuinness brothers?

“I think honestly him,” Michael says. “He’s got a lot different style. He plays a lot tighter. I’m more of a loose cannon. On days like today, where we’re playing bigger tournaments, he kind of talks me down a little bit and help me tighten up a bit where I need to. He’s a great player.”

Both grew up playing poker in high school and also with family members. Michael is now 50 years old and his brother is 42. Both have flexible work schedules that allow them to play poker quite a bit. John travels to Las Vegas a bit to play cards while Michael prefers to keep his play local.

Their father is also a poker player and taught them how to play growing up. As a state trooper, Michael also was involved with many games against other members of law enforcement.

“I was a cop for a long time and cops all play poker,” he says. “We’d lay house games usually. You work with a bunch of guys and we’d all get together on our days off and play poker.”

If Michael can finish his run here at the Borgata with a WPT final table appearance, his brother John should be on the rail cheering him. With the final table being streamed on WPT.com, it’s a good bet a few of those poker-playing cop buddies will be following along.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.