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Aaron Mermelstein Wins 2015 World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open

Philadelphia-Based Poker Pro Wins $712,305 For Topping Field Of 989

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A total of 989 entries turned out for the 2015 World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open $3,000,000 guaranteed $3,500 no-limit hold’em main event, surpassing the guarantee by more than a quarter of a million dollars.

From that massive field of players only one could walk away the champion, and in the end it was 27-year-old Philadelphian poker pro Aaron Mermelstein that emerged victorious. For the win he earned $712,305 and his first WPT title.

In addition to writing his name in the history books and earning a big payday Mermelstein was also awarded 1,368 Card Player Player of the Year points. As a result he climbed into fifth place in the overall POY standings, leapfrogging PokerStars Caribbean Adventure LAPT main event champ Josh Kay.

Mermelstein came into the final day in second chip position of the six remaining players. Chip leader Shawn Cunix was looking to capture his second WPT title, having won the WPT bestbet Jacksonville main event for $400,600 in 2012. Cunix was not able to hold onto his lead, hitting the rail in fourth place for $212,108.

Marmelstein took a more than 2.5-to-1 chip advantage into heads-up play against former WPT final tablist Eugene Todd. The two played for less than 30 hands, with Mermelstein’s ASpade SuitQSpade Suit sealing the deal against Todd’s QHeart Suit8Heart Suit after the two got all-in with a flop of QClub SuitJSpade Suit7Club Suit. The board completed with a 3Diamond Suit on the turn and an AHeart Suit on the river to secure the pot and the title for Mermelstein and send Todd to the rail as the runner up with $419,467.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at this final table:

Place Player Earnings (USD) POY Points
1 Aaron Mermelstein $712,305 1368
2 Eugene Todd $419,467 1140
3 Randy Pfeifer $253,263 912
4 Shawn Cunix $212,108 684
5 Esther Taylor-Brady $174,118 570
6 Justin Liberto $140,878 456
7 Casey Yontz $112,386 342
8 Philippe Belley $85,476 228
9 Michael Wang $58,567 114

Winner photo courtesy of World Poker Tour / Joe Giron.