Coming up September 16, 2018, the World Poker Tour returns to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City for the 16th edition of the WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship. The event has been a staple of the WPT dating back to Season II of the tour in 2003, and through the years it has produced some of the largest fields and seen some of the most prestigious players in poker walk away with its title.
Back in Season II, the WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship was held with a $5,000 buy-in. The buy-in was doubled to $10,000 for the following season and remained at that price tag through Season VII. But since Season VIII, the buy-in has been $3,500, and field sizes have benefitted because of it, producing four-figure entries each year the buy-in has been $3,500.
Season II: A Brand New Event Sees Noli Francisco Victorious
The Season II WPT Borgata Poker Open was a brand new event to Season II of the World Poker Tour, attracting 235 entries for $5,000 apiece. The top 18 places reached the money and earned a part of the $1.175 million payday, and it was Noli Francisco taking top honors for $470,000.
Carlos Mortensen (4th place) and David Oppenheim (3rd place) joined Francisco at the final table, and it was Charlie Shoten as the last player standing between Francisco and the title. In the end, Francisco won out to earn the largest payday of his career.
Season III: Daniel Negreanu Victorious at Star-Studded Final Table
The season installment of the WPT Borgata Poker Open was a truly special one. The buy-in was doubled to $10,000, entries climbed to 302, and the televised final table was packed with big names. Topping them all was none other than the legendary Daniel Negreanu, and “Kid Poker” took home $1.117 million in his first WPT victory.
At the final table, Negreanu had to beat out David Williams (2nd place), Josh Arieh (3rd place), and Phil Ivey (6th place).
The win ignited a great run for Negreanu, who went on to reach two more WPT final tables in the season, including winning one of them for his second World Poker Tour title. With those results, Negreanu scored the Season III WPT Player of the Year title.
Season IV: Field Booms with Al Ardebili Taking the Win
The Season IV WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship attracted 515 entries, and the prize pool swelled to nearly $5 million. First place was set at just shy of $1.5 million, and that amount went to Al Ardebili after he beat Ricardo Festejo in heads-up play.
Kathy Liebert finished in third place and took home $427,115, and John D’Agostino scooped $329,685 for a fourth-place finish.
Season V: Mark Newhouse Scores Big
The field size grew once again for Season V, with 540 entries ponying up the $10,000 buy-in and generating a $5.238 million prize pool. The top 54 spots reached the money, and notables David Sklansky (3rd place) and Chris Bell (5th place) reached the final six.
But, topping them all was Mark Newhouse to win the $1.519 million first-place prize. Newhouse defeated Chris McCormack in heads-up play with two red queens to earn his first WPT title.
For Newhouse, the score remains as the largest of his poker career, which is impressive considering he’s reached the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event twice in back-to-back years of 2013 and 2014.
Season VI: The Win Goes To Roy “The Oracle” Winston
Another positive uptick happened in the field size for Season VI, and the field increased to 560 entries. Those entries helped create a $5.432 million prize pool, of which the top 54 spots would get paid. Finishing in the winner’s circle was Roy “The Oracle” Winston to claim the $1.575 million first-place prize.
Winston defeated Heung Yoon in second place, and Yoon took home $832,725 for his effort. Parables Voulgaris took third, Eugene Todd took fifth, and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow took sixth.
Season VII: Vivek Rajkumar’s Largest Career Score
After the field size grew and grew during the first five seasons of the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open Championship, a slight dip occurred for Season VII when 516 entries turned up. The decline was minor and a prize pool of $5 million was up for grabs.
The lion’s share of the prize pool went to Vivek Rajkumar, who scored the victory after he defeated Sang Kim in heads-up play. Dan Heimiller (3rd place) and Mark Seif (5th place) were also at the final table, but this one belonged to Rajkumar. He earned $1.425 million for the win.
The top 54 places reached the money, and it was John Myung who bubbled the final table of six. Others to finish in the money were Mike Binger (10th place), Nam Le (24th place), Vinny Pahuja (28th place), and Brandon Cantu (32nd place).
Season VIII: Olivier Busquet Tops 1,000-Entry Field
In Season VIII of the World Poker Tour, the buy-in was dropped to $3,500 and a huge boom in the field resulted. Over 1,000 entries were tallied, with the final total coming in at 1,018. The prize pool was $3.359 million, and first place was set at $925,514.
The top 100 finishers were set to reach the money, and it was Olivier Busquet maneuvering his way to the capture the title. Busquet defeated Jeremy Brown in second place, and Brown took home $453,519.
Season IX: Dwyte Pilgrim “Shocks the World”
When the final card hit the felt, Dwyte Pilgrim was awarded the Season IX WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship title and $733,802 first-place prize. Pilgrim dropped to the floor, tears falling from his eyes, and he was overcome with emotion coming from the victory.
For Pilgrim, it was the largest payday of his live tournament career, and he beat an even bigger field than Busquet did the year prior when he topped 1,042 entries.
Others making deep runs in the event were the WPT’s own Mike Sexton (20th place), Jeff Gross (36th place), and Jonathan Little (59th place). Busquet, the event’s defending champion, also ran deep and took 25th place for $15,009.
Season X: Bobby Oboodi Beats Largest Field in Event History
A whopping field size of 1,313 entries turned up for the Season X World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open Championship, and a prize pool of $4.22 million was generated. Through the first 14 seasons, it was the largest field size this event has produced. The top 100 places reached the money, and it was Bahbak “Bobby” Oboodi taking home the win to the tune of $922,441.
Oboodi topped a final table that included Daniel Buzgon (3rd place) and Darren Elias (5th place), and you’ll be hearing more on Elias in this event when you read further.
Daniel Colman finished in 10th place, Will “The Thrill” Failla took 11th, and Matt Glantz scored 12th.
Season XI: Ben Hamnett Wins in Another Huge Field
Ben Hamnett beat out a field of 1,181 entries to win the $818,847 first-place prize in the Season XI WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship.
The top 110 places reached the money to earn a piece of the $3.897 million prize pool, and a tough final table was on display with Matthew Burnitz (2nd place), Tyler Patterson (3rd place), Ofir Mor (4th place), Steve Brecher (5th place), and David Diaz (6th place).
Bubbling the final table was Matt Brady in seventh place, and then Jeff Williams (9th place), Barry Hutter (23rd place), and Jean “Prince” Gaspard (27th place) made deep runs.
Season XII: Here Comes Anthony Zinno
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Nowadays, Anthony Zinno is a legendary World Poker Tour player. He’s won three tour titles and the Season XIII Hublot WPT Player of the Year title. All in all, he’s crushed the WPT, and Season XII at Borgata is where he got his big start.
Zinno topped a field of 1,189 entries to win the $825,099 first-place prize, and he did so by denying Vanessa Selbst in heads-up play in a spot where Selbst could’ve become the first female player to win an open WPT event on the main tour.
Jeremy Kottler (4th place) and David Randall (5th place) also reached the final table, and Dan Heimiller (13th place), Paul Volpe (39th place), and Matt Salzburg (46th place) also made deep runs.
Interestingly enough, Zinno had placed 11th n the Season XII WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship, allowing for this win to serve as a bit of redemption for him.
Season XIII: New Jersey’s Own Darren Elias Wins
We told you that you’d be hearing about Darren Elias, and here it is. In Season XIII of the World Poker Tour, Elias topped a field of 1,226 entries at Borgata to win the Borgata Poker Open Championship for $843,744.
Elias topped Kane Kalas in heads-up play at a very tough final table that included Jose Serratos (3rd place), Aaron Overton (4th place), Blake Bohn (5th place), and Ray Qartomy (6th place).
The top 120 places reached the money, with Steve Dannenmann squeaking into the money in 120th place. Some of those to make much deeper runs included Erik Cajelais (16th place), Daniel Weinman (20th place), and Ryan Riess (39th place).
Season XIV: Redemption for David Paredes
The Season XIV WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship event attracted 1,027 entries, and David Paredes emerged victorious to win the $723,227 top prize.
Paredes, who hails from nearby Massachusetts, finished runner-up in the Season XII WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship almost two years prior, but this time he pulled through to score his first WPT title and redeem himself.
Paredes defeated James Gilbert in second place, and Joe Kuether took third. Interestingly enough, Darren Elias, who won the event the prior year, took 17th.
Season XV: Jesse Sylvia’s Time to Shine
In Season XV, the WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship drew a field of 1,179 entries. Jesse Sylvia, a former runner-up in the WSOP Main Event, made his way to the final table before he defeated the well-experienced Zach Gruneberg in heads-up play to take the title. With that, Sylvia earned $821,811 in prize money and entered the prestigious WPT Champions Club.
Included in Sylvia’s winner’s share was a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions. In that event, Sylvia placed eighth for $43,600.
Also at the final table were WPT Champions Club member Simon Lam and Farid Jattin. Sylvia also had to battle through John Racener (9th place), David Prociak (10th place), Matthew Waxman (11th place), T.K. Miles (12th place), and Alex Foxen (13th place) deep in the tournament.
Season XVI: Guo Liang Chen Rides Confidence to the Winner’s Circle
The Season XVI WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship drew another wall-bursting field size to the tables at Atlantic City’s premier resort. The 1,132 entries generated a prize pool of more than $3.6 million, with the top 110 places reaching the money. Coming out on top to earn the $789,058 first-place prize was Guo Liang Chen.
Chen topped Greg Weber in heads-up place at a final table that included Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy (5th place).
“I had faith in myself,” Chen said after the win. “I’m a very gifted player, so I definitely thought I could make it.”
That’s a quick look at the history of the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open Championship. The Season XVII event will kick off on September 16 at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and expectations are high for another big event.
Click here for more information on the Season XVII WPT Borgata Poker Open.
Looking to win your way to a World Poker Tour event for your shot at becoming a WPT champion? Play for your chance on ClubWPT.com, where eligible VIP Members can play for over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, including seats to WPT events, no purchase necessary.