Day three of the 2006
Borgata Poker Open came down to two key eliminations. The first elimination affected the wallets of the
BPO's remaining field, while the second one determined the length of the tournament's third day.
With the money bubble set to burst after 55th place, 67 players returned to the Borgata Events Center knowing that 14 spots separated those taking home cash from those walking away with nothing more than three poker-filled days in New Jersey. The next elimination of importance for the players belonged to 28th place, the spot tournament officials set as the end mark for day three.
At 11 a.m. EDT, play began at level 15 with $3,000-$6,000 blinds and $500 antes. Any worries of a slow march to the money bubble quickly disappeared. Six minutes into play, Sean McCabe exited tournament play when Anthony Argila's A
10
paired a 10 on the turn, cracking the
Absolute Poker rep's A
K
. Michael Gracz, who battled with McCabe for much of day two, soon joined his sparring partner on the rail.
Such a high number of players dropped out of contention that by the end of the first hour, the
BPO's remaining field stood two eliminations away from the money. After Ofir Mor dropped out in 56th place, the money bubble burst seconds later with the most surprising elimination of early action.
The day two chip boss, Ariel Schneller, entered play with a $615,000 stack. Despite doubling up Avdo Djokovic, Schneller still remained a favorite to not only make the money, but go deep into the tournament. Then he tangled with veteran pro Chad Brown.
The action started when Brown raised $24,000 and Schneller called. On the Q
J
8
flop, Brown reraised Schneller's $54,000 raise to $200,000. Schneller pushed all in, and, after a call by Brown, flipped over the K
10
for the straight draw. Brown, also on a draw with the A
K
, took down the pot when the 5
turn and 2
river failed to improve either hand.
The win put Brown over the $1 million chip mark and sent Schneller home in 55th place, earning him the unenviable title of "bubble boy." At 1:10 p.m., Johnny Vazquez, the 54th place finisher, became the first player to walk off the tournament floor with a paycheck ($13,095).
As play progressed, some of the biggest names left in the field moved up, down, and off the leaderboard. Barry Greenstein, a constant focal point for fans in attendance, doubled up on one of the first hands after the money bubble burst.
Greenstein started the action by making a $20,000 raise preflop. He received a call from Shane Smith. After the Q
8
2
flop, Greenstein bet $30,000, Smith called, and then Greenstein pushed all in on the A
turn. Smith stayed in the hand, but was at a major disadvantage when he showed the K
J
and Greenstein flipped over the A
K
. The Q
river gave Greenstein the win, and bumped his stack up to $210,000.
While Greenstein made a push for day four, fellow pros Mark Seif and Chad Brown saw their tournament runs come to an end during post-money bubble play.
After a crippling loss to Russell Rosenblum, Seif doubled up once through Jennifer Tilly. Despite the win, Seif remained near the bottom of the leaderboard. A second all-in move drew another call from Tilly, and a race situation developed when Seif flipped over the 5
5
and Tilly showed the K
Q
. An A
Q
Q
9
3
board finished Seif's 2006
Borgata Poker Open, and he walked away from the tournament area in 42nd place ($14,142).
For Brown, his
BPO demise came courtesy of one player, namely, Bill Blanda. Over the course of several hands, Blanda single-handedly extracted nearly all of the chips from Brown's $1 million stack. The majority of the damage happened after Blanda flopped quad fours and dragged a pot that cost Brown over $500,000. By 2:30 p.m., Blanda finished the job when Brown moved all in with pocket sevens, and Blanda called with pocket kings. Brown, the one-time chip boss, exited tournament play as the 40th-place finisher ($14,142).
At 4:09 p.m., Mark Zand bowed out in 29th place ($15,714), and eight minutes later, day three of the 2006
Borgata Poker Open came to an end.
Action concluded when Russell Rosenblum, a short stack, made a $70,000 all-in raise preflop. Chris Bell called, and put the finishing touch on a swift seven-hour day, when he flipped over K
K
and Rosenblum showed 7
7
. With no help coming on the Q-9-8-4-2 board, Rosenblum left the roped-off tournament area as the 28th-place finisher ($15,714) and the final elimination of day three.
The top five chip counts going into day four are as follows:
1. Athanasio Diakos - $1,555,000
2. Bill Blanda - $1,100,000
3. Mark Newhouse - $1,004,000
4. Jennifer Tilly - $874,000
5. Anthony Argila - $803,000
For a complete list of player chip counts please visit
http://www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/chip_counts/6510.
Action resumes tomorrow at 11 a.m. PDT and will conclude after the remaining field of 27 plays down to the final six players.
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 got my tomato juice, my Bud Light!" - John Phan celebrates after taking down a pot during day three of the
Borgata Poker Open.
