There was a time when big buy-in poker tournaments were few and far between. If a player busted out on day one of an event, he would have to wait a month or more to have another shot at a million-dollar payday. Those days, however, are long gone.
At the start of the inaugural Borgata Winter Poker Open (a World Poker Tour event) at the Borgata Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, some players were coming off a whirlwind tour that started in the Bahamas and was followed by two consecutive events in Tunica, Mississippi. Four big buy-in major events started within the same month. The big question was, how would this taxing schedule affect the players?
Day One: "JohnnyBax" Takes Command
The first day started with 381 entrants, each with a whopping $25,000 in chips. That, combined with an early starting time of 11 a.m., made for a good number of late arrivals; so many, in fact, that a number of tables had only four or five players seated. Phil Ivey actually showed up on time, but decided to head up to his room to take a quick nap after play had started. However, the tables slowly started filling up as the missing players filed into the poker room.
With the large starting stacks, there was a considerable amount of action. Chip stacks were up and down all day. While a number of top players were eliminated on day one, the top of the leader board included such players as Gene Todd, Joe Sebok, Erik Seidel, Erick Lindgren, John Duthie, John D'Agostino, and John Juanda.
The story of the day, however, was that of top Internet tournament pro and World Series of Poker seven-card stud bracelet winner Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy. Josephy was at the top of the chip counts all day, but he took a commanding chip lead after one particular hand. He and Josh "Sdouble" Schlein were both in the top three in chip count and were seated at the same table. After the flop, Schlein moved all in with the nut-flush draw and Josephy called with top set. Schlein failed to improve and Josephy jumped to $244,000 in chips with no one else over $100,000 at the time.
By the end of the day, he had increased his stack to $377,000, almost $120,000 more than Gene Todd, who was second.
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| Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy |
Day Two: Every "Dags" Has His Day
With 164 players starting day two and 75 spots being paid, it was obvious that players were looking to make a move early in the day. This led to a number of quick exits after play started.
Day one chip leader Cliff Josephy managed to stay out of trouble the entire day. He ended the day with $673,000, good for third place, without ever putting a significant amount of chips at risk. On the other end of the spectrum, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi seemed to have his chips in the pot on almost every hand. And it seemed that most of those pots involved Ted Forrest. The two battled back and forth all afternoon, trading chips hand after hand. Forrest got the worst of it, though, as he was the unfortunate 76th-place bubble finisher. The Grinder finished the day with $414,000, good enough for seventh place.
Erick Lindgren was involved in one of the most exciting hands of the tournament late in day two. With a board of A
Q
J 4
A and about $140,000 already in the pot, Gene Todd bet out $40,000 and Lindgren raised an additional $80,000. Todd called and Lindgren flipped over the K 10 for a royal flush. Lindgren's last royal was more than 10 years ago, and this one pulled down a pot of more than $360,000. He ended the day in eighth place with $412,000.
The big mover of the day was John D'Agostino. At one point on day two, D'Agostino was below $50,000. "Dags" went on an incredible rush and jumped from $150,000 to $420,000 during one single level of play. He never slowed down and, after eliminating Alan Schein on the final hand of play, was sitting in first place with $988,000 and only 33 players remaining.
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| 1. Don Mullis 2. Amnon Filippi 3. Kenny Schuyler |
Day Three: Wild Sprint to the TV Table
Of the 33 players remaining at the start of day three, only six would make the coveted WPT final television table. While everyone expected play to tighten up a bit as players approached the "TV bubble," quite the opposite happened. Within the first hour of play, eight players were eliminated. Play continued to be fast and furious the entire day.
Despite accumulating almost $1 million in chips the previous day, D'Agostino took some big hits early. Dags called a preflop all-in from Don Mullis. D'Agostino had pocket queens and Mullis showed A-K. Mullis spiked a king on the flop and took down a pot of $915,000. This took D'Agostino down to $170,000. From that point on, he had to cautiously work his way back up. He did just that, doubling through Cliff Josephy and taking a large pot from Amnon Filippi. With 11 players left, his solid play had him over $1 million.
Meanwhile, Michael Mizrachi was up and down all day (again), and at a few points found himself at the bottom of the leader board. While his reputation might be that of an overly aggressive player, it was The Grinder's great calls and perfect reads that saved him. For example, he folded his top set face up to a raise by Don Mullis. Mullis proceeded to show him the nut flush.
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| Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi |
Day three was a different story for Cliff Josephy. He stayed out of trouble for most of the day, until there were only 11 players left. Mizrachi raised preflop from under the gun and it was folded around to Josephy, who called from the big blind. The flop came 9
7 5 and Josephy checked. Mizrachi moved all in and Josephy called immediately with his signature hand, the 9 7. The Grinder showed pocket queens and was behind Josephy's two pair. But, a queen on the turn sealed the fate of "JohnnyBax," who was eliminated in 11th place.
With 10 players left and only six moving on to the television table, play finally tightened up a bit. It was two hours before Kenny Schuyler was eliminated in 10th place by Amnon Filippi, and almost another two hours before Don Mullis was taken out by The Grinder in ninth place.
Just moments later, after a flop of Q J 7, Joseph Miceli moved all in for his last $291,000. John D'Agostino went into the tank and stated, "I guess I just feel like gambling." He called the all in with 10 9 for an open-end straight draw. Miceli showed K Q for top pair and one of D'Agostino's outs. The turn was a dagger for Miceli, as the 8 came out, making D'Agostino's straight, and Joseph Miceli was eliminated in eighth place.
Seven players were left to fight for the final six spots. But, it didn't take long to determine who would burst the television bubble. Less than a half hour after Miceli was knocked out, play would end. Erick Lindgren raised to $140,000 preflop and Josh Spiegelman moved all in for a total of $675,000. Directly to his left, Peter "Norberg" Feldman moved all in for his last $515,000. Lindgren folded, and Spiegelman showed A K. But, Feldman flipped over A A. It looked as if Feldman, a 93 percent favorite preflop, would double up and Spiegelman would be crippled. However, the J 10 7 flop gave Spiegelman a gutshot-straight draw, and the turn brought the Q. Spiegelman's ace-high straight sent Feldman home in seventh place.
The chip counts going to the final table were:
1. Erick Lindgren $2,635,000
2. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi $2,040,000
3. Josh Spiegelman $1,645,000
4. John D'Agostino $1,340,000
5. Stu "Thedonator" Paterson $1,060,000
6. Amnon Filippi $820,000
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| 1. Erick Lingren 2. John D'Agostino 3. Stu 'Thedonator' Paterson |
Day Four: Stacked Final Table With a Familiar Face
To say that the final table of the 2006 Borgata Winter Poker Open generated a buzz would have been an understatement. Not only had Michael Mizrachi just finished second at the Gold Strike World Poker Open in Tunica the week before, but the rest of the table was filled with poker's top talent.
Erick Lindgren was already a WPT winner, and Amnon Filippi won the Bellagio Challenge Cup. John D'Agostino is one of the top young players in the game, and Stu Paterson is a top online tournament player. Josh Spiegelman was the only relative "unknown" at the final table.
When play commenced, Lindgren was in attack mode. While he played small pots and seemed to avoid confrontation the previous day, he came out of the gate aggressively. He raised pot after pot without much resistance. About a half hour into play, though, Spiegelman slowed him down a bit. After a flop of 8 6 5, Lindgren bet $130,000, only to be raised by Spiegelman to $350,000. Lindgren quickly called. The turn was the A. Both players checked and the river was the Q. Spiegelman checked and Lindgren bet $175,000. Spiegelman quickly called and showed A 9. Lindgren showed a queen before mucking. Spiegelman took down the first $1 million pot of the day and finally made Lindgren put on the brakes.
Internet tournament guru Paterson was never able to get anything going at the final table. After losing a few pots, his stack was reduced to $500,000. After a raise by Mizrachi, Paterson moved all in with A-10, but was dominated by Mizrachi's A-K. A king on the flop all but sealed Paterson's fate, and he was eliminated in sixth place, earning $110,871.
Play slowed considerably once Paterson was eliminated. D'Agostino worked his way into second chip position, nearing the $3 million mark. However, that changed over the course of two hands.
First, D'Agostino raised to $240,000 from under the gun. Everyone folded around to Mizrachi, who called. The flop came A Q 3, and both players checked. The turn was the 2, and Mizrachi bet out $225,000. D'Agostino called, and the river brought the 3. Both players checked it down, and The Grinder showed the 7 for a flush and scooped a $1 million pot.
Just two hands later, Dags again raised to $240,000 and was called by Lindgren in the big blind. After a flop of K 10 6, Lindgren bet out $320,000 and D'Agostino called. The turn brought the 9, and Lindgren checked. D'Agostino bet $600,000 and Lindgren moved all in. D'Agostino folded immediately, and Lindgren raked in a pot of nearly $1.8 million.
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Left to right, standing: Josh Spiegelman, Amnon Filippi, Michael Mizrachi, and John D'Agostino; seated, Stu "Thedonator" Paterson (left) and Erick Lindgren
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After a quick break, the action picked up considerably. On the first three hands after the break, D'Agostino, Filippi, and Mizrachi all pushed all in, but nobody got any callers. On the fourth hand, D'Agostino again moved all in and got a caller in Spiegelman. Dags had Spiegelman covered and showed J 8. Spiegelman flipped over K Q. The flop came Q J 8, and D'Agostino took the lead with two pair. The turn was a 5 and the river a 10, eliminating Spiegelman. For his fifth-place finish, Josh Spiegelman earned $147,828.
On the next hand, D'Agostino moved all in again preflop with pocket queens. He was called by Mizrachi with pocket nines. The flop came K-Q-10, and Mizrachi needed a jack to complete his straight. However, the turn was the case queen, giving D'Agostino quads and leaving Mizrachi drawing dead. D'Agostino doubled up and put himself in second chip position.
It looked like The Grinder was losing steam. Three hands after Mizrachi doubled up D'Agostino, Lindgren raised to $300,000 preflop. Mizrachi moved all in and was called by Lindgren. Lindgren showed A Q and Mizrachi had 4 4. However, the flop came Q 5 2, and Lindgren jumped way ahead in the hand. The turn was the 5, and Mizrachi was down to a two-outer. But, just when it looked like The Grinder was finished, the river revealed the 4, giving Mizrachi a set of fours and a huge double-up against Lindgren.
On the next hand, D'Agostino raised preflop and Filippi moved all in over the top. D'Agostino called with A K, while Filippi showed A 8. Filippi was dominated, and the board of K 8 3 9 A gave D'Agostino the higher two pair and eliminated Amnon Filippi. He earned $184,785 for his fourth-place finish.
With the final three set, the chip counts were as follows:
John D'Agostino: $4,500,000
Erick Lindgren: $2,800,000
Michael Mizrachi: $2,400,000
Just minutes after three-handed play started, Lindgren raised to $300,000 and Mizrachi called. The flop came J 5 4, and both players checked. A queen fell on the turn, and Lindgren bet out $240,000. Mizrachi immediately raised $500,000 more. Lindgren went into the tank for a few moments before moving all in. Mizrachi immediately called, and showed K 3 for the king-high flush. Lindgren flipped over A 2, and needed a fourth spade on the river to eliminate Mizrachi. However, the river card was the 8. Mizrachi doubled up and Lindgren was virtually down to the felt.
Lindgren was so short-stacked that he was all in for his big blind. Both Mizrachi and D'Agostino called the big blind, and the flop came A K 7. Dags bet out $75,000 and Mizrachi folded. D'Agostino showed K-6 and Lindgren had J 8. The turn brought the 3, giving Lindgren hope if another diamond came. But, it didn't, and Erick Lindgren was eliminated in third place, earning $282,721.
The chip counts at the start of heads-up play were as follows:
Michael Mizrachi $5,000,000
John D'Agostino $4,580,000
For the second straight World Poker Tour event, Mizrachi was playing heads-up for the title. At the Gold Strike in Tunica, Scotty Nguyen came out on top after only one hand. The Grinder seemed determined to make sure that did not happen.
Mizrachi took a small pot on the first hand. But, on the second hand, things got a bit more intense. Mizrachi raised to $300,000 and D'Agostino called. After a flop of K 4 2, Mizrachi bet out $500,000 and D'Agostino called. The turn was the 3, and Mizrachi bet $1 million. D'Agostino thought for a few moments before folding. On the very next hand, D'Agostino raised to $360,000, only to be reraised by Mizrachi to $3 million. D'Agostino folded, and suddenly The Grinder had taken a chip lead of more than 2-to-1.
Mizrachi proceeded to continually apply pressure to D'Agostino's shorter stack. With a combination of preflop raises and postflop aggression, Mizrachi was able to build his stack to nearly $7.5 million to D'Agostino's $2.1 million.
Finally, both players limped into the pot and the flop came J 9 6. D'Agostino checked and Mizrachi bet $120,000. D'Agostino called, and the 2 came on the turn. Once again, D'Agostino checked and Mizrachi fired $425,000. After a few moments, D'Agostino moved all in and was immediately called by Mizrachi. D'Agostino showed the K 10 for a gutshot straight draw, while Mizrachi flipped over J 6. The 10 on the river did not help D'Agostino, and he earned $591,312 for his second-place finish.
The Grinder had done the unthinkable, again. Last year, he made a name for himself by making the final table of the Gold Strike World Poker Open in Tunica and then winning the WPT event at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles the very next week. This year, he repeated that feat in Tunica and at the Borgata. For his title at the Borgata, Michael Mizrachi earned $1,173,373, a $25,000 entry to the WPT Championship, and a 2006 Cadillac Escalade, courtesy of the Borgata. In addition, he has taken a commanding lead early in the race for Card Player Player of the Year honors. Now, he is off to defend his title at Commerce Casino.
If there was ever any doubt that The Grinder was not a machine, he has put those thoughts to rest. With his win, he has established that he is not only one of the best young players on the tour, but one of the best players, period.
He has become a consistent contender on the poker circuit. Only time will tell if he can keep up this pace over the course of the year.
