The survivors from Day 1A and 1B met on Tuesday at the Borgata in Atlantic City for Day 2 of the 2015 World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open Main Event. After late registration closed, the total field, including those who had already been eliminated, end up at 1,027 players. Just 127 runners remain heading into Day 3, led by James Gilbert with 665,500 chips. He is followed closely by Curt Kohlberg, who has 630,000 on the nose.
While the size of the field didn’t match last year’s total, it was enough to eclipse the $3 million guarantee, as the prize pool closed at $3,287,427. First prize will be $723,227 and 100 players will get paid, so the money bubble will burst on Wednesday.
One of the highlights of Day 2 came during Level 10. Pete Skyllas, holding K♠-J♠, opened the pre-flop betting with a raise to 1,700. That might not have had the desired results initially, as four players decided it was cheap enough to call. On the flop of K♥-T♠-T♣, all five players checked. The Q♠ was dealt on the turn and when it was checked over to Skyllas, he bet 3,500 with his two pair plus an open-ended straight flush draw. One player called (do you see where this is going?). The river was the A♠, giving Skyllas the magical unicorn of poker hands, a Royal Flush. He must have been elated when his opponent bet 10,000 chips, after which Skyllas himself shoved for 25,600. According to WPT.com, it took quite some time for the other player to make his decision, but he finally made the call, revealing 8♠-5♠ for a flush.
Of course, Skyllas turned over his Royal Flush and with it, won a free cruise from Royal Caribbean International. As an added bit of entertainment, the man who lost the hand thought he had been eliminated from the tournament, so he got up and left. Problem was, he actually had Skyllas covered by 10,000 chips. He booked it out of there so fast, though, that nobody was able to find him to get him back to the table.
The Borgata Poker Open Main Event is about to resume in Atlantic City. Day 3 is scheduled to begin at noon ET as the 127 remaining players attempt to cash and then continue on deep in the tournament.
2015 World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open Main Event – Day 2 Chip Leaders
1. James Gilbert – 665,500
2. Curt Kohlberg – 630,000
3. Maurice Hawkins – 609,500
4. Matt Affleck – 567,000
5. Andy Spears – 557,500
6. Victor Figueroa – 531,500
7. Brian Green – 495,000
8. Jeff Hobrecker – 494,500
9. Alan Schein – 492,000
Dan Sevigny – 479,500
