The battle for Atlantic City's six most coveted seats concluded today with day 4 of the 2007
Borgata Winter Poker Open. For the returning field, the difference between a respectable tournament finish and the fame and fortune of a
WPT televised final table came down to simple math: turn 27 players into six.
Confined to three tables and located in a secluded corner of the Borgata poker room, day 4 play began at 11 a.m. EST with $8,000-$16,000 blinds and $2,000 antes. Nineteen minutes later, the field lost its first player when Davidson Matthew called Chip Jett's all-in move on the 9
4
3
flop. Jett's K
Q
gave him a slight lead over Matthew's 6
5
, but Matthew paired his 6 on the river and Jett exited the tournament in 27th place ($27,694).
Following the eliminations of Allan Lubin (26th - $27,694), Mark Pnini (25th - $27,694), and Ty Akbasli (24th - $27,694), John Phan and Bill Edler squared off on a hand that featured both a double-up, and a quick game of musical chairs.
Known as two of the more outgoing pros on the tournament circuit, Phan and Edler moved their chips, and themselves, after both players reraised all in over the top of a Tony Salerno $45,000 raise. Phan, who pushed after Edler, proceeded to cross the table and take John Gale's unoccupied seat. While Salerno considered his decision, Edler stood, and sat in Phan's vacated chair. Laughing throughout the whole incident, Salerno mucked, and both players returned to their original seats. With the focus back to poker, Phan's pocket jacks held against Edler's A
K
, and "The Razor" doubled up to $765,000 while Elder dropped to $19,000.
Salerno became the tournament's next casualty (22nd -$27,694), followed by Jay Heimowitz. A six-time
WSOP bracelet holder, and one of only three players to win the coveted jewelry in each decade of the
WSOP's existence, Heimowitz's
BWPO run ended when he found himself all in preflop with 6
6
against John Racener's J
J
. Despite making a set on the A
8
6
flop, Heimowitz finished in 21st place ($27,694) when the 3
turn and 10
river gave Racener a runner-runner flush.
The eliminations of Erik Cajelais (20th - $27,694) and John Phan (19th - $27,694), who made his second consecutive cash at a Borgata championship event, led to a stoppage in play as tournament officials redrew for the
BWPO's final two tables.
Burt Boutin busted out first in 18-handed play when, all in preflop with pocket tens, John Hennigan's A
K
paired an ace to send Boutin home in 18th place ($34,894)
Will "The Thrill" Failla (17th - $34,894), Curt Kohlberg (16th - $34,894), and Arthur Azen (15th - $55,387) all followed Boutin to the rail in the half an hour following the day's second break.
2006
Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship fifth-place finisher David Redlin provided the next elimination after he reraised all in with A
K
and Padraig Parkinson, holding the Q
Q
, called. Redlin flopped trip aces, and Parkinson busted from the tournament in 14th place ($55,387).
Within 10 minutes of Parkinson's departure, two separate clashes between tournament pros brought the
BWPO one elimination away from the final table. After battling back from his crippling loss to John Phan, Bill Edler survived at the bottom of the leader board long enough to claim a 13th-place finish ($55,387). Edler dropped out of contention when his K
J
failed to catch up with John Gale's A
3
on the A
K
Q
Q
3
board.
Only a few hands later, John Hennigan notched his second elimination of the day. Holding pocket tens, Hennigan called Jon Turner's preflop all-in raise with pocket fours. The tens held, and Turner finished in 11th place ($72,003).
At 4:25 p.m., leader Davidson Matthew sent the 2007
Borgata Winter Poker Open to a final table when Alex Balandin moved all in with A-J, and Matthew called with A-Q. With Balandin's elimination (11th - $72,003), play stopped for the tournament's last redraw.
The chip counts and seating for the final table were as follows:
Seat No. 1 - Joe Simmons ($1,500,000)
Seat No. 2 - John Gale ($3,770,000)
Seat No. 3 - Chuck Kelley ($2,100,000)
Seat No. 4 - Davidson Matthew ($1,450,000)
Seat No. 5 - Michael Sukonik ($920,000)
Seat No. 6 - John Racener ($2,200,000)
Seat No. 7 - David Redlin ($1,075,000)
Seat No. 8 - John Hennigan ($2,300,000)
Seat No. 9 - Joseph Capello ($750,000)
Seat No. 10 - Jon James ($607,000)
The first elimination of the final table came courtesy of a battle between the day 3 chip leader and day 4's hottest player - Davidson Matthew and John Gale. The action started when Gale raised to $80,000 from the button, and Matthew, the big blind, called. Both players checked the 6
5
3
flop. The 2
turn led to a $200,000 bet by Matthew. Gale reraised to $500,000 and called when Matthew pushed all in. Matthew showed K
6
for top pair, but Gale turned over Q
4
for the straight. When the 2
landed on the river, Gale recorded his fifth elimination of the day, and Matthew exited as the 10th-place finisher ($72,003).
Despite falling short of the televised set, David Redlin's ninth-place finish ($110,774) ensured the young pro his second
WPT final table appearance in two months. After doubling up Joe Capello with a missed straight draw against Capello's set of fours, Redlin moved all in for his last $600,000 and Joe Simmons called. Redlin's 4
4
put him ahead of Simmon's A
K
, but a paired king on the flop made Redlin the final table's second elimination.
Another up-and-coming player experiencing recent success, John Racener earned his second consecutive
WPT top 15 finish. Exiting the previous week's
World Poker Finals in 12th place, Racener improved on that performance by taking eighth ($166,161) at the
Borgata Winter Poker Open. Like Redlin, Racener lost the majority of his stack as the victim of a double-up (Joe Simmons). Simmons finished the job, and eliminated his second player in a row, when a short-stacked Racener pushed all in and Simmons called. Despite being in the lead with A
K
, Racener fell when Simmons Q
10
paired a 10 on the flop.
At 6:29 p.m., Simmons delivered the fourth, and final, elimination of the
Borgata Winter Poker Open pre-televised final table. After both called Capello's $259,000 all-in bet, Gale and Simmons checked down the Q
2
2
Q
A
board. Capello turned over the 5
5
, and appeared to be on the verge of doubling up when Gale showed 10
8
. But Simmons, who turned over A
3
, ended play with his rivered ace.
The chip counts for the 2007
Borgata Winter Poker Open's final six players are as follows:
1. Joe Simmons - $5,500,000
2. John Gale - $4,830,000
3. John Hennigan - $3,255,000
4. Chuck Kelley - $1,610,000
5. Michael Sukonik - $1,305,00
6. Jon James - $535,000
The
WPT televised final table play begins at 5 p.m. EST and will conclude with the crowning of a new
Borgata Winter Poker Open champion.
Stay tuned to
CardPlayer.com for live updates, chip counts, photos, videos, and a new edition of "The Circuit."
Quote of the Day: "It's gonna be heads up anyway, 'cause you're gonna fold your hand" - John Phan to Tony Salerno during Phan's eventual double-up through Bill Edler.
