The World Poker Tour is back on the east coast of the United States this week with the WPT Borgata Poker Open. The Main Event got going on Sunday with the first of two Day 1 flights. There were 917 total entries for the two flights combined, allowing the $3 million guarantee to be met and surpassed. Each flight played eight levels, leaving 490 players to advance to Tuesday’s Day 2. Registration is open through Level 10 and those who were eliminated on Day 1 have the chance to re-enter prior to the registration’s closure, so the final field tally will increase before all is said and done. Going into Day 2, it is the Day 1B chip leader Gene Quinn who has the overall lead, holding 328,000 chips. Nobody else has more than 250,000.
According to the tournament database at TheHendonMob.com, Quinn has less than $70,000 in live tournament cashes in his career. Most of his cashes have come this year, with a few in 2017. None are for more than four figures.
The Borgata, needless to say, is one of the poker hubs on the east coast, home to multiple major events each year. It’s hard to believe (for me at least), but this is the 16th running of the WPT Borgata Poker Open. WPT.com had a nice, brief overview of how this Main Event has been witness to some milestones in poker history:
Daniel Negreanu won the first of his two WPT titles here in Season III, and it also marked his first of many seven-figure scores over his career. Anthony Zinno won his first WPT title here in Season XII, leading to two more WPT titles and WPT Player of the Year honors the following season. Finally, four-time WPT Champion Darren Elias’ dominance of the WPT began with his victory here in Season XIII. Since then, no player has more final tables made or cashes on tour than Elias.
Day 2 is already underway at the Borgata. Interestingly, though the field will play through eight levels again, the first two were 60 minutes, while the rest are 75 minutes.
2018 World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open Main Event – Day 1A Chip Leaders
1. Josh Gordon – 250,000
2. Patrick Maritato – 197,600
3. Sanjay Dulabh – 192,600
4. Richard Kirsch – 190,000
5. Aaron Kweskin – 183,700
6. Matthew Leecy – 180,200
7. Alex Muscarella – 180,000
8. Ray Qartomy – 179,800
9. Akash Seth – 178,100
10. Annee Ngo – 168,000
2018 World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open Main Event – Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. Gene Quinn – 328,000
2. Vinny Pahuja – 225,300
3. Aaron Schaff – 222,800
4. Paul Lambrakis – 206,200
5. Athanasios Polychronopoulos – 182,000
6. Mark Sandy – 178,300
7. Joe McKeehen – 173,900
8. Robert Constable – 165,200
9. Kevin Lutz – 160,700
10. Ming Li – 159,700
2018 World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open Main Event – Overall Day 1 Chip Leaders
1. Gene Quinn – 328,000
2. Josh Gordon – 250,000
3. Vinny Pahuja – 225,300
4. Aaron Schaff – 222,800
5. Paul Lambrakis – 206,200
6. Patrick Maritato – 197,600
7. Sanjay Dulabh – 192,600
8. Richard Kirsch – 190,000
9. Aaron Kweskin – 183,700
10. Athanasios Polychronopoulos – 182,000
