Six more players are going to Las Vegas to play at HyperX Esports Arena and Dave Farah (pictured) leads the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open. Farah surged into the lead late on Day 4 at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and is in the best position to win the $728,430 first-place prize on March 13.
A record-breaking field at Borgata of 1,415 entries was down to just 29 when Day 4 kicked off. The prize pool of more than $4.5 million started to get handed out in large chunks and notables who took their portion back to the New Jersey Turnpike inlcude Taylor Wilson (29th), Adam Hendrix (28th), Dan Wach (25th), Jonas Wexler (24th), Chase Bianchi (22nd), Andrew Crookston (21st), A.J. Kelsall (20th), Joe Liberta (19th), Melad Marji (16th), and Hublot WPT Player of the Year points leader Ping Liu (15th).
Liu and Tony Ruberto both have 1,850 points so far in Season XVII. However, Liu currently holds the tiebreaker with more prize money won this season. Expect to see Liu and Ruberto battle for the title for the remainder of the season heading into the meat of the 2019 portion.
Nick Schwarmann started Day 4 as the chip leader but his elimination versus Brandon Hall cut his run short of a first WPT final table appearance in 11th place. Dylan Gang followed him out in 10th place, also eliminated by Hall, and the field was down to the unofficial final table.
Perpetually short-stacked Michael Cannon was finally cut down in ninth place by Hall, who held the chip lead for most of nine-handed play. Cannon was all-in for 1.925 million with 
and had to hit versus the 
of Hall. Not help arrived for Cannon and he left Borgata with $72,842 for his four days of play.
Play continued until Hand #55 before serious action took place. Ian O’Hara shoved for 1.725 million with 
and Steven Sarmiento woke up with 
in the big blind. The 
flop was good for Sarmiento but the 
turn surged O’Hara ahead. No diamond, jack, or king came on the river and O’Hara doubled.
Three hands later, O’Hara busted Brandon Shane in eighth place. A button raise to 325,000 from O’Hara was shoved on by Shane for 2.1 million. O’Hara called with to dominate the 
of Shane. The 
board favored O’Hara and Shane earned $92,693 for his first WPT cash.
Farah took the chip lead from Hall in an exciting pot that brought a bluff out from the chip leader. Hall opened to 275,000, O’Hara flatted the small blind and Farah three-bet to 650,000 out of the big blind. Only Hall called and Farah bet 675,000 on the 
flop. Hall stayed with him and called 1.1 million on the 
turn.
Farah fired 2.2 million on the river and showed when Hall folded.
Sarmiento was on the shortest stack of the final seven and met his end at the hands of Farah. In Hand #72 of nine-handed play, Sarmiento moved all-in for 2.225 million with 
on the button and Farah looked him up with . The 
board gave Farah a pair on the river and close to one-third of the total chips in play.
The WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open final table takes place on March 13 and will be filmed for FOX Sports Regional Networks at HyperX Esports Arena.
The next event on the WPT Main Tour calendar is the WPT Fallsview Poker Classic from February 23-25 at Fallsview Casino Resort.
WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Final Table
Seat 1. Ian O’Hara – 5,100,000 (34 bb)
Seat 2. Dave Farah – 18,850,000 (126 bb)
Seat 3. Joseph Di Rosa Rojas – 5,800,000 (39 bb)
Seat 4. Brandon Hall – 14,100,000 (94 bb)
Seat 5. Vinicius Lima – 3,550,000 (24 bb)
Seat 6. Daniel Buzgon – 9,100,000 (61 bb)
The button is on Ian O’Hara and there is 60:00 remaining in Level 31 (75,000-150,000 and a 150,000-big blind ante).
WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Final Table Payouts
1st: $728,430*
2nd: $485,611
3rd: $359,555
4th: $268,810
5th: $202,942
6th: $154,734
* First-prize amount includes the winner’s $15,000 buy-in into the season-ending Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions.
Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive
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