The
World Poker Tour hit the East Coast for the first time during season five with the 2006
Borgata Poker Open. Players who endured the long cross-country trip were treated to an event center set up more like a poker party than a poker tournament. Music played over the PA system, lights beamed onto the walls displaying the logos of the corporate sponsors, and the Borgata Babes, a team of women wearing attention-grabbing outfits, walked around with signs used to mark the beginning of new blind levels (a la the ring girls at a boxing match).
At 11 a.m. ET, the music stopped and the starting field of 540 took their seats for the first of seven levels of poker play. The tournament, a favorite among pros for its favorable structure, kicked off with $25-$50 blinds and $25,000 starting stacks.
Not so favorable was the earlier-than-usual start time. Players filtered into the Borgata Event Center throughout the first level. When the tournament area finally reached capacity, around noon, one table caught the attention of both fans and players (even those distracted by the Borgata Babes). Located in the far corner of the
BPO's floor, table No. 47 featured an impressive roster of young poker stars who included Joe Cassidy (seat No. 2), two-time 2006
WSOP bracelet winner Bill Chen (seat No. 3), David Williams (seat No. 5), 2006
Five-Star World Poker Classic winner Joe Bartholdi (seat No. 8), and Erick Lindgren (seat No. 9).
As expected, the big stacks, relatively small blinds, and 75-minute levels meant few eliminations during the early action. In particular, the players at table No. 47 kept the pots small and the theme of the group appeared to be "stay out of each other's way."
The majority of the field still remained in contention when tournament officials announced the first-place prize for the 2006
Borgata Poker Open: $1,519,020. Along with news of the winner's cash, players also learned that the money bubble would burst after the 55th elimination.
For the complete payout structure, please visit
http://www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/payout/6510.
With the bottom line established, the tempo of the
BPO changed. Players started to drop, as Patrik Antonius, Evelyn Ng, Gavin Smith, J.C. Tran, Alex Jacob, and Joe Cassidy all busted out of tournament play.
While his high-stakes peers made exits, Amnon Filippi built up his stack. The New York poker pro caught a runner-runner king-high flush to eliminate an opponent. The win put Filippi up to the $58,000 mark.
As for David Williams, his draws turned out to be a bit less fortuitous. His reward for surviving table No. 47: drawing a new seat that put him in the company of Barry Greenstein (seat No. 1), Jennifer Tilly (seat No. 5),
WSOP Circuit Harrah's New Orleans champion Peter Feldman (seat No. 8) and John "The Razor" Phan (seat No. 10).
Williams arrived at the table just in time to watch Phan shoot up the leaderboard with two big wins. On the first hand, Phan entered into a heads-up match with Feldman after calling Feldman's $1,200 raise. Phan matched Feldman's $2,400 bet on the Q
7
5
flop and $6,000 bet after the 3
turn. When Feldman checked the 5
river, Phan became the aggressor and dropped $3,000 into the pot. After a call, Phan showed Q
10
, and Feldman mucked.
Moments later, in a hand with Greenstein and an opponent in seat No. 6, Phan reraised all in over the top of a $4,000 bet by Greenstein. With the flop showing 10
6
4
, Greenstein folded and seat No. 6 made the $34,700 call. The A
2
for Phan and the J
9
for seat No. 6 put both players on draws. But Phan paired his deuce with the 2
turn, and then took down the pot after the 7
river.
At 8:37 p.m., the
BPO's chance for a repeat champion came to an end with the elimination of Al Ardebili. Down to his last $6,950, Ardebili pushed all in after Alan Goehring called a $1,600 raise by Ofir Mor. While Mor bowed out, Goehring tossed in the chips. Ardebili's A
K
made him the favorite over Goehring's Q
J
. The Q
10
2
flop gave Goehring the lead, but the A
turn reestablished Ardebili's dominant position. When the K
came on the river, Goehring hit a Broadway straight, finishing Ardebili's shot at a second
BPO title.
During the final level, the average stack for the remaining field stood at $45,500; a number that Chad Brown far surpassed after he eliminated former chip boss James English late in action. The win gave Brown $161,000 and put him near the top of the leaderboard.
At 10:38 p.m., play concluded. Approximately 260 players remain, and will return tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET to participate in the second day of the 2006
Borgata Poker Open.
Some notables who will not be moving on to the next stage include John D'Agostino, Vanessa Rousso, Jeff Madsen, Cliff Josephy, Joe Bartholdi, Erik Seidel, Liz Lieu, Hasan Habib, Peter Feldman, Phil Laak, Ted Forrest, Allen Cunningham, Jennifer Leigh, Brad Kondracki, and Amir Vahedi.
Stay tuned to
CardPlayer.com for live updates, chip counts, photos, videos, and for a new episode of "The Circuit."
Quote of the Day: "I'm in 2,077th place on
Card Player's Player of Year standings; that's not bad!" - Anonymous
