A $3,500 buy-in attracted over 1,000 players to the Borgata Poker Open, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT) circuit. As of Noon ET on Sunday, 1,003 players had entered, which included the 326 player field from Day 1A.
Over 675 players had thrown their hats into the ring on Day 1B. The tournament coincides with World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festivities in London, but still attracted a bevy of poker superstars to the East Coast casino. At the end of Day 1A, Frank Molinari stood tall over the rest of the field with 169,000 chips. Hot on his heels was Jeremy Brown, who will come armed to Day 2 on Monday with 156,425. One of the top pros to survive Day 1A was Steve Brecher, the champion of the Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament during Season VII of the WPT. Brecher also made a final table during Season II of the WPT, taking sixth in the end-of-season Championship event for $232,000.
Among those making waves on Day 1A was 2008 WSOP November Nine member David “Chino” Rheem. A former WPT Champion, Rheem ascended to the top of the chip counts during play on Saturday, but found himself out of the tournament following the dinner break. Rheem ran a rivered flush into quad deuces after an error by Sonny Waila on the turn resulted in a string bet. Rheem bet the river after making a flush, but his opponent’s pocket twos had him dominated. Rheem pushed with a flush draw on the very next hand, but it failed to materialize against an opponent’s pocket aces.
Others who took to the felts on Day 1A were Ultimate Bet pro Michael Binger, Matt Matros, Kathy Liebert, and Nancy Todd Tyner. Holding one of the largest chip stacks after the first of two starting days is Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, a two-time WPT event winner. Little took down the Season VI Mirage Poker Showdown for $1.1 million and promptly emerged victorious from the field in the Foxwoods World Poker Finals last season for another $1.1 million. He is fresh off an eighth place showing in the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic for nearly $40,000.
Action has already kicked off on Day 1B, with WPT officials proudly promoting the presence of several pros at the Borgata. Among them are Bill Gazes, Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee, Allen Kessler, Bluff Online Poker Challenge winner Brian “SN8WMAN” Hawkins, and noted poker coach David “The Maven” Chicotsky. Also in the house are Season IV WPT Player of the Year Gavin Smith, Roy Winston, and bracelet winner Brian Lemke.
Players at the Borgata Poker Open start with 30,000 chips and blinds begin at 25-50, meaning each player starts with 600 big blinds. Levels last 75 minutes each, with a dinner break taking place after Level 6. Antes kick in during Level 5, when blinds are 100-200. First place will likely come with a $1 million payday despite the shrunken buy-in of just $3,500. Typical buy-ins for WPT tournaments are at least $10,000.
The four-figure turnout is a welcome sight for WPT officials, who have watched attendance drop steadily at recent tournaments. Attendance for last month’s Legends of Poker stop in Los Angeles was down 25% year over year to just 279 runners. The Bellagio Cup featured 268 players in attendance, down a staggering 40% from the field that took to the felts in 2008. The WPT was recently sold to a subsidiary of Party Gaming, potentially leading to a greater presence of the brand in the online marketplace. WPT Host Mike Sexton serves as the ambassador of PartyPoker, Party Gaming’s online poker arm.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the WPT Borgata Poker Open.