The record books were re-written over the weekend, as 1,042 players turned out for the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Borgata Poker Open in Atlantic City, the largest WPT field ever assembled. Last year, the tournament, which sports a $3,500 buy-in, drew 1,018 players, meaning that attendance this year was up 2%.
Over 300 players turned out on Saturday for Day 1A of the WPT Borgata Poker Open, while nearly 750 showed up for Day 1B to make up the milestone field. Vincenzo Abate leads the way after two Day 1s with a stack of 201,450, the only player to cross 200,000, and Jeremy Maher owns the second spot on the leaderboard at 176,875. A total of 641 players remain entering Day 2 on Monday.
Also making waves at Borgata was Foxwoods sponsored pro and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee. After an opponent moved all-in on a board reading 6-4-3, Lee made the call with a wired pair of kings and found himself up against J-8 for a miserably failed bluff. No miracle cards came on the turn or river and Lee moved to 119,000 in chips. He ended the day at nearly the same amount, good for 16th in the Borgata poker tournament.
Lee Tweeted in celebration at the end of Day 1B on Sunday, “Great day 1 – ended night with 120k, average stack around 50k – about 650 players return.”
2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Niner Eric Buchman moved all-in on a board of A-K-10-2 with two hearts. Another player called with A-9 of clubs and Buchman tabled Q-6 of hearts for straight and flush draws. The river was the jackpot card for Buchman, who watched as another heart hit to fill his flush. Buchman ended the day with a stack of 76,700, the 96th largest total in the Borgata Poker Open entering Day 2.
One of the most controversial pots of the two starting days saw Mike Dentale raise all-in pre-flop. When the first three cards came 7-4-2 with two clubs, Dentale “bid his table goodbye,” according to WPT officials, and walked away. The dealer mucked his cards in the process, thinking that Dentale had conceded, and an ace hit on the turn.
Then, fireworks went off. According to coverage found on WorldPokerTour.com, “Dentale immediately begins to protest and calls the floor over. The staff rules that Dentale’s hand is irretrievable and he is out of the tournament. Dentale can only stand and watch as the player in the big blind makes a small bet and the third player in the hand folds.” Dentale managed to reach into the muck and flip over a nine, queen, and king, none of which would have helped him in the hand. Perhaps soothing the pain, an opponent said he held A-Q for a pair of aces.
Following the drama, here’s how the top 10 in chips looked after two Day 1s had played out:
1. Vincenzo Abate – 201,450
2. Jeremy Maher – 176,875
3. Adel Jo – 160,525
4. Jeff “jpapola” Papola – 156,200
5. Guiseppe Pantaleo – 148,300
6. Marc Lome – 147,675
7. Jacobo Fernandez – 145,100
8. Anthony Licastro – 139,000
9. Dajuan Whorley – 137,500
10. Ruslan Dykshteyn – 132,150
Other poker pros in contention in the WPT Borgata Poker Open and who sit in the top 100 in chips entering Day 2 include:
13. Darren Elias – 122,750
16. Bernard Lee – 120,025
20. Lisa Hamilton – 115,575
43. Nick Binger – 96,975
53. Chris Bell – 93,750
54. John D’Agostino – 92,800
96. Eric Buchman – 76,700
To open play on Monday, two players’ stacks were forfeited. Benjamin Butler ended Day 1 with less than one big blind and consequently no-showed Day 2. Former WPT champ Stan Weiss assumed he was eliminated in a hand on Day 1A, but that was not the case, as he still had a stack of 3,600. Nevertheless, his stack was also forfeited.
Check back to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT Borgata Poker Open headlines.