Could this be the year that Mike Sexton takes down a World Poker Tour (WPT) title? Entering the play down day in the WPT Borgata Poker Open, Sexton, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, owned the 19th largest stack out of 27 players remaining. The top spot pays out $733,000 and every player left in the field is guaranteed to take home $15,000.
Sexton told WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage following his first in the money finish, “It’s very nice to get in the cash column for a change.” On what would happen if Sexton were to make the final table and consequently be unable to fulfill his announcing role, he speculated, “I don’t really know. That’s going to be the WPT’s problem to figure out. Just mic me up at the table. I’m pretty sure they’ll find a player or somebody to go up there.” Sexton calls the action from the WPT alongside Vince Van Patten.
The final elimination on Wednesday belonged to Saturnino Rodriguez. He was all-in on an all-club flop of 9-7-2 with A-K for ace-high against the set of nines of John D’Agostino. Neither player held a club and a running 8-10 didn’t change matters; Rodriguez departed in 28th place. D’Agostino Tweeted the hand to his loyal followers: “Broke the guy in 28th, 972 3 club flop 99 vs ak no club, not sure how he called off 750k. 1.933 million, done for tonight.”
Reigning champ Olivier “livb112” Busquet survived Day 3 of the Borgata Poker Open, but took 25th place after being knocked out on Wednesday morning. Busquet moved all-in with K-3 on a K-8-5 flop, but received a call from Brandon Novena, who held a wired pair of fives for bottom set. The turn and river came running queens and Busquet was relegated to the sidelines. He picked up $15,000 in impressive back-to-back runs in the Borgata Poker Open. Last year, Busquet banked $925,000 and the title.
Sexton doubled up on Tuesday through online poker pro Jeffrey “jpapola” Papola after getting it all-in with pocket tens against Papola’s A-10. Sexton, a PartyPoker sponsored pro, hit an ace on the flop and the case ten didn’t fall for Papola. Sexton quipped following his win in the hand, “I made the wrong move at the right time.”
One of the other stories in this year’s Borgata Poker Open has been the deep run of Dwyte Pilgrim. One of the most successful players in World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit history, Pilgrim owns three rings. He’s also dominated regional events like the Southern Poker Championship, but has yet to make a splash in a high-profile tournament. Accordingly, a win in the WPT Borgata Poker Open could be just what the doctor ordered.
Sexton is on life support with 20 players remaining at the time of writing. According to chip counts found on WorldPokerTour.com, here’s how the final group stacks up:
1. Brandon Novena – 5,040,000
2. Andrew Youngblood – 2,500,000
3. John D’Agostino – 1,850,000
4. David Grana – 1,750,000
5. Daniel “amichaikk” Makowsky – 1,710,000
6. Lee Childs – 1,700,000
7. Sean Nolan – 1,600,000
8. Emad Alabsi – 1,500,000
9. Jeff “jpapola” Papola – 1,350,000
10. Christian Iacobellis – 1,350,000
11. Rick Bordian – 1,250,000
12. Dwyte Pilgrim – 1,200,000
13. Benjamin Klier – 1,200,000
14. Vichien Siprajim – 1,150,000
15. Ofir Mor – 1,100,000
16. Kent Beaver – 950,000
17. Kia Mohajeri – 950,000
18. Mike Sexton – 760,000
19. Michael Simhai – 550,000
20. Douglas Kim – 355,000
Others who landed in the money included:
38. Nick Binger – $11,674
59. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little – $9,339
66. Carter Gill – $8,339
The blinds stood at 15,000/30,000 with an ante of 3,000, meaning that Sexton has about 25 big blinds to work with. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT results.
