The World Poker Tour (WPT) continues its stint in the States this week with the WPT Borgata Poker Open Main Event in Atlantic City. The $3,500 tournament features two starting flights and will run through Friday. Sunday’s Day 1A saw 376 players register and just 166 make it all the way through still holding chips. Cong Pham leads the pack that will see Day 2, ending the night with 191,025 chips.
The first day of the Borgata Poker Open was a fairly competitive one; unlike many recent events, the chip leader did not create much separation from the field. The second through fourth place players – Besnik Ziba, Thomas Campbell, and Tayfun Akbasli – all have over 180,000 chips. Another six have over 150,000.
Pham is looking for his first World Poker Tour victory and while off to a great start, he obviously has a long way to go. According to his profile at TheHendonMob.com, Pham has six cashes in his live tournament career and no wins. His largest cash was also his only one in 2013: $46,540 for a 28th place finish at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship Event in August. Pham has seen success at the Borgata Poker Open, finishing 49th in 2010.
Pham took the chip lead on a movie hand. While we don’t have the exact betting figures, three players, including Pham, were all-in after a flop of 8-8-5. The other two players had excellent hands – K-8 and Q-8, respectively, but Pham had them both nailed with pocket Fives, good for a full house. That hand took Pham’s stack up to 140,000 chips at the time.
A number of recognizable names did well on Sunday, advancing to Day 2. Among the survivors are Eric Baldwin, Cliff Josephy, Christian Harder, Vanessa Selbst, Allen Kessler, Jeff Madsen, Matt Glantz, Steve Brecher (who finished fifth in this event last year), Lee Childs, Steve Dannenmann, and Jonathan Little.
Day 1B is already underway at the Borgata in Atlantic City as another group of players starts the quest towards a World Poker Tour championship.
2013 World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open Main Event – Day 1A Chip Leaders
1. Cong Pham – 191,025
2. Besnik Ziba – 183,375
3. Thomas Campbell – 181,025
4. Tayfun Akbasli – 180,750
5. Jeffrey Fielder – 175,400
6. Tony Sinishtaj – 165,000
7. Peter Vitantonio – 158,000
8. Jeremy Kottler – 152,850
9. Cherish Andrews – 152,325
10. Joshua Levkov – 150,025
