Atlantic City, NJ is a town where fortune often favors the strong and the brave, as proven by Ben Hamnett who electrified the crowd at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa by running over one of the largest fields in World Poker Tour history to become the newest WPT Borgata Poker Open champion.
Matthew Burnitz, the only amateur player at the table, started the day with the chip lead, but quickly lost more than half his stack when he doubled up Ben Hamnett on the third hand of play. Burnitz didn’t panic and had rebuilt much of his stack by the time the day’s first elimination occurred as David Diaz was sent to the rail courtesy of the table’s oldest player, Steve Brecher. Brecher’s good fortune didn’t last long, however, as he was next player eliminated, followed quickly by Ofir Mor, who finished in fourth place.
When Tyler Patterson was eliminated by Ben Hamnett, the stage was set for heads-up play. Hamnett, a professional from Pittsburgh, PA, started with a more than 2-1 chip advantage over the amateur Burnitz and never looked back, taking just 30 hands to collect the remaining chips, more than $818,000 in prize money, and etch his name on the prestigious WPT Champions cup alongside past winners such as Daniel Negreanu, Vivek Rajkumar, and Season X champion, Bobby Oboodi.
“I’m glad I played my best. That’s the most I could hope for. I’m glad I got lucky, and I’m glad it all worked out,” Hamnett said after his win. “There were a few places where I blinked. Maybe I backed off when I didn’t need to, but everything worked out and I feel like I did everything as best I could.”
With 1,181 entries, this year’s WPT Borgata Poker Open became the second-largest event in World Poker Tour history and marked the fourth consecutive 1,000+ Championship field at Borgata. Some of this year’s notable players included WPT Champions Club members Carlos Mortensen, Gavin Smith, Will “The Thrill” Failla, and Barry Greenstein. Other recognizable faces belonged to WPT Season IX Player of the Year Andy Frankenberger, past Borgata Poker Open winners Dwyte Pilgrim, and Olivier Busquet, and ClubWPT online qualifiers Dale Lloyd and Howie Eintracht.
Off the felt, all tournament players got the chance to mix, mingle, and enjoy a fun-filled evening with the WPT Royal Flush Girls at a welcome party held at Borgata’s bi-level, high-energy, city-inspired nightclub MIXX. WPT Champions Club members including Carlos Mortensen, Jonathan Little, Tommy Vedes, and Matt Salsberg were also treated to an exclusive dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s American Grille, where they were joined by the ClubWPT qualifiers and Paul Fox, who won his seat at this invitation-only meal through an online charity auction at www.Charitybuzz.com/WPT, where people can bid on exclusive prizes offered by World Poker Tour and its partners in support of charities of excellence around the globe.
World Poker Tour’s next tournament will be a truly historic event, as WPT makes its first-ever stop in South Africa for the WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic in Johannesburg, starting October 22.
Final Table Pay-Outs
1. Ben Hamnett — $818,847, including entry into the $25,000 WPT World Championship
2. Matthew Burnitz – $488,850
3. Tyler Patterson – $298,950
4. Ofir Mor – $250,065
5. Steve Brecher – $206,821
6. David Diaz – $167,377