Borgata Winter Open: WPT Final table


Today is the day that everyone had been waiting for... it's the conclusion of the championship main event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open. The final table of the $10K main event starts tonight at 5pm at the Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Winter Poker Open was a series of ten tournaments and we're finally reached the last final table.

WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Quick Stats

Chipleader: Erick Lindgren $2.635M
Entrants: 381
Buy-in: $9,700 + $300
First Place: $1,173,373 + Seat in WPT Championships

Final 6 Chipcount:
1. Erick Lindgren $2.635M
2. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi $2.04M
3. Josh Spiegelman $1.635M
4. John D'Agostino $ 1.34M
5. Stuart "Donator" Paterson $1.06M
6. Amnon Filippi $820K

TV Table Payouts:
1. $1,173,373
2. $591,312
3. $282,721
4. $184,785
5. $147,828
6. $110,871

Day 3 Eliminations:
33. Erik Seidel (Henderson, NV) $14,783
32. Marc Nantais (Alfred, Ontario, Canada) $14,783
31. Chris Reslock (Atlantic City, NJ) $14,783
30. Leonard Green (Huntingdon Valley, PA) $16,631
29. Greg Cash (Mount Ida, AR) $16,631
28. Jorge Arias (Boca Raton, FL) $16,631
27. Mike Sica (N. Brunswick, NJ) $16,631
26. Vlad Mezheritsky (Brooklyn, NY) $16,631
25. Ronnie Cauthen (Pawley's Island, SC) $16,631
24. Bill Edler (Las Vegas, NV) $16,631
23. Denis Ethier (Durham, NC) $16,631
22. Jim Lester (Cincinnati, OH) $16,631
21. John Duthie (London, England) $18,479
20. Richard Kirsch (Pampass Beach, FL) $18,479
19. Dennis January (Vancouver, WA) $18,479
18. Pete Skyllas (Astoria, NY) $18,479
17. Dane Jorgensen (Chesterfield, VA) $18,479
16. Will Tong (Astoria, NY) $22,174
15. Eugene Todd $22,174
14. Michael Goodman (New York, NY) $22,174
13. Richard Dabal (Rochelle Park, NJ) $27,718
12. Louise Francoeur (Palm Beach, FL) $27,718
11. Cliff Josephy (Muttontown, NY) $27,718
10. Kenny Schuyler (Long Branch, NJ) $27,718
9. Don Mullis (Willmington, NC) $46,196
8. Joe Miceli (New York, NY) $55,436
7. Peter Feldman (Harper Woods, MI) $73,914

See you at 5pm for live blogging updates of the final table!

***** Live Blogging Updates *****

4:20pm... Final Table update: We're forty minutes away from the scheduled start time. The crew are testing the cameras and everyone is set up in media row.

4:30pm... Final Table update: The audience has been let inside. 30 minutes from show time.


2005 Borgata Open Champion - Al Ardebili
5:00pm... Final Table update: Still a few minutes away from action. Stay tuned. Here are some photos.



WPT Borgata Winter Open Final table


Erick Lindgren & The Grinder


Stuart "The Donator" Paterson
5:15pm... Final Table update: Tournament Director Tab just announced the final table players. The Grinder has the most railbirds minus Mrs. Grinder, who is expecting their first child any day now!

5:20pm... Final Table update: Blinds are $15K/$30K with $3K antes. Cards are in the air!

Final 6 Chipcount:
1. Erick Lindgren $2.635M
2. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi $2.04M
3. Josh Spiegelman $1.635M
4. John D'Agostino $ 1.34M
5. Stuart "Donator" Paterson $1.06M
6. Amnon Filippi $820K

5:24pm... Final Table update: The Grinder takes down the first pot. He battled Stuart "Donator" Paterson who had A-10 and lost to Grinder's 7-8s and two pair.

5:30pm... Final Table update: Paul Darden is one of the members of this packed audience. After John D'Agostino raised a pot to $90K, Erick Lindgren came over the top for $420K. Everyone folded.

5:35pm... Final Table update: Erick Lindgren took upon the role as the early aggressor. After The Grinder raised preflop, Erick Lindgren came over the top from the big blind with a big raise. The Grinder folded and Lindgren picked up another pot.

5:43pm... Final Table update: Amnon Filippi took down a big pot against the Grinder. Filippi rivered two pair with K-Q and the Grinder folded half of his hand showing just an ace for top pair.

5:46pm... Final Table update: The Donator moved all in preflop. One of his railbords shouted, "Don't mess with the Donator!" Stuart Paterson took down the pot after everyone folded.

5:50pm... Final Table update: Josh Spiegelman and Lindgren went heads up in a pot and Lindgren took it down on the flop. Lindgren adds even more chips to his stack.

5:57pm... Final Table update: Josh Spiegelman took down a pot against Erick Lindgren with Ace high. His A-9 was better than Lindgren's A-8.

6:00pm... Final Table update: Josh Spiegelman and Erick Lindgren were in another big pot together, well over $1M. On a board of 8-6-5-Q-A and two diamonds, Lindgren showed a pair of Queens with Q-9 and Josh Spiegelman flipped over a pair of aces with A-9s. He missed his diamond draw but turned top pair. Josh Spiegelman seems to have Lindgren's number over the past orbit as the two have butted heads several times within the first hour of play. Spiegelman looks strong after scooping the biggest pot of the night.

6:11pm... Final Table update: On a board of 7h-As-Qh, John D'Agostino bet out for 200K and the Grinder moved all in over the top. John D'Ags called with K-K and The Grinder showed 2h-4h and a baby flush draw. The Grinder's railbirds were pleading for a heart. The turn was a 3s and The Grinder picked up a gutshot Wheel draw. The river was a 7s, which didn't help The Grinder. John D'Ags pocket kings held up. He doubled up and The Grinder's stack took a big hit.



6:30pm... Final Table update: Players are on a break. Lindgren is still on top.

Updated Chipcount:
1. Erick Lindgren $2.825M
2. Josh Spiegelman $2.040M
3. John D'Agostino $1.75M
4. "The Grinder" $1.34M
5. Amnon Filippi $1.03M
6. Stuart "The Donator" Paterson $540K

6:40pm... Final Table update: We're back with a new level. Blinds are $25K/50K with a $5K ante. These levels are the original structures that the WPT and the Borgata agreed upon.

6:42pm... Final Table update: The Donator moved all in for $540K with A-10 and The Grinder called with Big Slick. The flop was all spades with K-6-7. The turn and river didn't help Stuart Paterson. The Donator was eliminated in 6th place and won $110,871. The crowd gave him a loud and warm ovation.


Stuart "The Donator" Paterson - 6th Place

6:50pm... Final Table update: Erick Lindgren took down a pot from Josh Spiegelman. He added to his chiplead.

Updated Chipcount:
1. Erick Lindgren $2.9M
2. Josh Spiegelman $2.2M
3. John D'Agostino $1.75M
4. "The Grinder" $1.74M
5. Amnon Filippi $970K

7:05pm... Final Table update: John D'Agostino won a 700K pot when his Queen high flush was better than The Grinder's baby flush. The Grinder just won a hand with 10-5. It was suited, of course.

7:15pm... Final Table update: Gavin Smith is in the audience.

Updated Chipcount:
1. Erick Lindgren $2.7M
1. John D'Agostino $2.7M
3. The Grinder $1.725M
4. Amnon Filippi $1.25M
5. Josh Spiegelman $1.24M

7:29pm... Final Table update: Nothing of significance has happened the last half hour or so.

7:35pm... Final Table update: Erick Lindgren picked up a pot against John D'Agostino and became the first player to reach $3M in chips.

Updated Chipcount:
1. Erick Lindgren $3.2M
2. Amnon Filippi $1.62M
3. The Grinder $1.62M
4. John D'Agostino $1.125M
5. Josh Spiegelman $973K

7:40pm... Final Table update: We're on a new level. Blinds are $40K/80K with a $10K ante.

7:50pm... Final Table update: The Grinder beat John D'Agostino out of a pot with 7-7. He caught a four flush and won a $1M pot.

7:52pm... Final Table update: Erick Lindgren bullied Josh Spiegelman off a pot when he moved all in on the turn. Spiegelman folded. Lindgren has almost $4M now.

8:05pm... Final Table update: Players returned from a short break.

Updated Chipcount:
1. Erick Lindgren $3.93M
2. The Grinder $2.455M
3. John D'Agostino $1.42M
4. Amnon Filippi $900K
5. Josh Spiegelman $825K

8:11pm... Final Table update: Josh Spiegelman and his short stack were all in preflop qith A-6. Erick Lindgren called with A-3. The flop was 9-2-2 with two hearts. 10 and a 4 completed the board and The two players chopped the pot.

8:17pm... Final Table update: It's been a push fest this orbit. Whoever moved all in preflop took down the pot. Amnon Filippi was the last player to take down the blinds and antes after pushing all in.

8:19pm... Final Table update: Josh Spiegelman moved all in with K-Qd and John D'Agostino called with J-8s. The flop was Q-J-8 and D'Ags took the lead with two pair. The turn and river didn't help Spiegelman and he was eliminated in fifth place.
Spiegelman won $147,828. Down to four players.


Josh Spiegelman - 5th Place
8:23pm... Final Table update: On the very next hand, two players were all in preflop. John D'Agostino flipped over Q-Q and The Grinder showed 9-9. The flop was 10-Q-K and The Grinder picked up a straight draw despite D'Agostino flopping a set. The turn was the case Queen and The Grinder was drawing dead. The Grinder was crippled.

8:28pm... Final Table update: The Grinder and Erick Lindgren were all in preflop. It was a classic race. The Grinder had 4-4 and Lindgren had A-Q. Lindgren flopped a Queen and took the lead. The turn was no help. A four spiked on the river and the crowd erupted. The Grinder rivered a set and caught one of his two outs to double up against against the chipleader.

8:32pm... Final table update: The action is fast and furious and it's hard to keep up. John D'Agostino was all in preflop with A-K against Amnon Filippi's A-10. D'Agostino flopped a King and his Big Slick held up. Amnon Filippi from New York City took fourth place and won $184,785.

Updated Chipcount:
1. John D'Agostino $4.16M
2. The Grinder $3.35M
3. Erick Lindgren $2.1M

Amnon Filippi - 4th Place
Photo courtesy of Frank Bellocchio
8:45pm... Final Table update: John D'Agostino is on a rush. He scooped another big pot, this time off the Grinder.

Updated Chipcount:
1. John D'Agostino $4.35M
2. The Grinder $2.8M
3. Erick Lindgren $2.4M

8:53pm... Final Table update: The Grinder and Erick Lindgren were heads up in a big pot. Both players were all in on the turn on a board of J-Q-4-5 and three spades. The Grinder had a flush with Ks-3s and Lindgren had a nut flush draw with the ace of spades. The river didn't help Lindgren and he doubled up the Grinder. Lindgren has less than 400K. The Grinder and John D'Agostino have over $4M each.

8:59pm... Final Table update: Erick Lindgren was all in preflop with J-8s due to his shortstack. John D'Agostino and K-6 busted him in 3rd place. Lindgren won $282,721. We're heads up. This is John D'Ags fourth WPT final table and The Grinder's second of back-to-back final tables.

Updated Chipcount:
1. The Grinder $5.05M
2. John D'Agostino $4.08M

Erick Lindgren - 3rd Place
Courtesy of Frank Bellocchio
9:10pm... Final Table update: We are awaiting the Babes of Borgata to bring out the cashola for the money presentation. The winner of this event wins $1.1M and a brand new fully loaded 2006 Escalade in addition to a $25K seat in the WPT Championships in April.


The Babes of the Borgata unveil the 2006 Escalade.
9:30pm... Final Table update: The Grinder took down a huge pot in one of the first few hands of heads up play. The pot was over $1.6M. As of now, The Grinder has a $6.5M to a $3M chiplead over D'Agostino.

9:39pm... Final Table update: The two players have been trading pots back and forth. No hands of note so far.

9:40pm... Final Table update: Players are on a break. When play resumes, we'll be on a new level. Blinds are $60K/120K with $20K antes.

Updated Chipcount:
1. The Grinder $6.33M
2. John D'Agostino $3.22M

10:00pm... Final Table update: Both players have been staying out of each other's way as action has slowed down. The first person to raise has been the guy who takes down the pot either preflop or on the flop.

10:02pm... Final Table update: The Grinder is heating up. He has $7.5M after he moved all in on a flop with all spades. D'Agostino quickly folded. The Grinder increased his lead to 3x D'Agostino's stack.

10:11pm... Final Table update: Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi has eliminated John D'Agostino. On a board of J-9-6-2, The Grinder had J-6 for two pair and John D'Agostino had K-10 for a gutshot draw. The river didn't help him and he took second place. John D'Agostino won $591,312. This is the second WPT victory for The Grinder. He won $1,173,373 for first place, the 2006 Escalade, and a seat in the WPT Championships. Congrats to The Grinder.


John D'Agostino - 2nd Place
Photo courtesy of Frank Bellocchio


Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi
WPT Borgata Winner Open Champion
Congrats to The Grinder. Thanks to everyone at the Borgata for an amazing experience. I'll be back live blogging the LA Poker Classic in two plus weeks!

Borgata Winter Open: WPT Day 3

The Borgata Winter Poker Open continues with Day Three of the championship main event. Action will begin at Noon with 33 players remaining out of the original 381 entrants who all bought in for $10K. The winner gets $1.1M and a seat in the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championships at the Bellagio in April, along with a brand new 2006 Escalade.

The second day started with 165 players and Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy as the chipleader. When the day completed, only 33 were left with chips. Some notable pros eliminated on day two included Andy Black, Joe Sebok, Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen, John Juanda, "My Main Man" Freddy Deeb, Matt Hilger, Carlos Mortensen, Chris Fargis, Gavin Smith, David Williams, Matt Matros, Steve Dannenmann, Brian Haveson, Steve Brecher, Alan Schein, and Tex Barch.

The money bubble came and went and Ted Forrest bubbled out in 76th place winning a free seat in September's main event here at the Borgata. Josephy let the chiplead slide out of his hands late in the evening when John D'Agostino went on a tear. He has close to $1 million in chips and is trying to make another final table at the Borgata. Last September, D'Agostino took 4th place in the Borgata Open that was won by Al Ardebili.

Erick Lindgren rivered a Royal Flush and ended the day in the Top 10 in chips. Louise Francouer ended the day near the top. A few days ago, she took third in the Ladies Event. The Grinder has a big stack along with EPT creator John Duthie. WSOP bracelet winners Denis Ethier and Erik Seidel are both alive. Ethier had been playing well all week and is seeking out another final table. He's already made two final tables in the past week finishing in second and fifth in those events. If there was an award for best player at the 2006 Borgata Winter Poker Open, it would be Denis Ethier.

By the end of Day 3, we'll be down to six players and find out who's gonna make the next WPT final table.

End of Day 2 Chipcounts Top 10:
1. John D'Agostino $988K
2. Kenny Schuyler $734K
3. Cliff Josephy $573K
4. Bill Edler $529K
5. Dane Jorgensen $519K
6. John Duthie $465K
7. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi $414K
8. Erick Lindgren $412K
9. Louise Francoeur $402K
10. Mike Goodman $374K

The Rest:
11. Pete Skyllas $370K
12. Will Tong $337K
13. Ronnie Cauthen $317K
14. Richard Kirsch $297K
15. Eugene Todd $235K
16. Denis Ethier $223K
17. Josh Spiegelman $219K
18. Dennis January $190K
19.. Don Mullis $188K
20. Amnon Filippi $175K
21. Joseph Miceli $171K
22. Peter Feldman $170K
23. Mike Sica $163K
24. Marc Nantais $158K
25. Leonard Green $145K
26. Jim Lester $135K
27. Richard Dabal $118K
28. Stuart Patterson $94K
29. Erik Seidel $79K
30. Chris Reslock $78K
31. Vlad Mezheritsky, Jr. $76K
32. Jorge Arias $47K
33. Greg Cash $47K

Here's a list of Day 2 eliminations and money winners:

The following players won $12,935:

75. Vinod Vangimalla (Silver Springs, MD)
74. Mark Webber (Sickerville, NJ)
73. Chris Fargis (Brooklyn, NY)
72. Andrew Schwartz (Boca Raton, FL)
71. Dean Schultz (Lewis Center, OH)
70. Ylon Schwartz (Brooklyn, NY)
69. John Cullen (Farmingdale, NJ)
68. Ron Schiffmani (Cherry Hill, NJ)
67. Daniel Yanofski (West Orange, NJ)
66. Scotty Nguyen (Las Vegas, NV)
65. Jonathan Zuckowski (Jupiter, Florida)
64. Nick Grudien (Mt. Vernon, NY)
63. Mark Lurenfeld (Virginia Beach, VA)
62. Thomas Martelli (Sewell, NJ)
61. Alexander Magor (Woodmere, NY)
60. Frank Vizza (Cold Spring Harbor, NY)
59. Tommy Wang (White Plains, NY)
58. Andy Black (Dublin, Ireland)
57. Feming Chan (Cranbury, NY)
56. Joe Sebok (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA)
55. Emmanuel Syragakis (Montreal, Canada)
54. Greg Fondacaro (Sewell, NJ)
53. Nick Feoli (Richboro, PA)
52. Scott Paston (Old Westbury, NY)
51. Richard Tatatlovich (Scottsdale, AZ)

The following players won $14,783:

50. Robert Weitzner (New York, NY)
49. Richard Aquino (Kearny, NJ)
48. Curt Kohlberg (Weston, MA)
47. Albert Muir (Ansonia, CT)
46. James Fletcher (Carney, MD)
45. Mark Schaech (Eldridge, MD)
44. Rich Murnick (Montclair, NJ)
43. Jeff King (Colchester, CT)
42. Tony Solerno (Howell, NJ)
41. Brian Haveson (Newtown, PA)
40. Bill Kaczynski (Scotch Plains, NJ)
39. Sean Armstrong (Egg Harbor, NJ)
38. Michael Esposito (Seaford, NY)
37. Alan Schein (N. Miami, FL)
36. Michael Lewis (Westin, CT)
35. John Juanda (Las Vegas, NV)
34. Matt Hilger (Atlanta, GA)

***** Live Blogging Updates *****

11:40am... Main Event update: Apologies to Greg Cash, who I incorrectly identified in the top 10 in chips. He told me he was "on life support" and had friends calling him up all morning. Sorry Greg. The chip cont has been fixed.

12:03pm... Main Event update: Players are unbagging their chips and action will begin shortly.

Main Event Payouts:
1. $1,173,373
2. $591,312
3. $282,721
4. $184,785
5. $147,828
6. $110,871
7. $73,914
8. $55,436
9. $46,196
10-12. $27,718
13-15. $22,174
16-21. $18,479
22-30. $16,631
31-50. $14,783
51-75. $12,935

12:08pm... Main Event update: Cards are in the air. We have 56 minutes left of this level. Blinds are $8K/$16K with a $1K.

12:09pm... Main Event update: On the first hand, Erik Seidel pushed all in from early position. The Grinder in the big blind mucked The Hammer (7-2o) face up. Erik Seidel is out in 33rd place after he was busted by Dennis January who called with Q-Q. Seidel won $14,783.

12:20pm... Main Event update: Denis Ethier picked up A-A and busted Marc Nantais in 32nd place. The Grinder busted Chris Reslock in 31st. Reslock moved all in with 6-6 and The Grinder flopped two pair with K-10. Leonard Green busted in 30th. Greg Cash finished in 29th when he was busted by Vlad Mezheritsky. 28 left with the action moving fast.

12:30pm... Main Event update: Here are some photos from today.

Eugene Todd & Erick Lindgren


John Duthie & Mike Sica


"Johnny Bax"


Louis Francoeur & Michael Goodman
12:35pm... Main Event update: Jorge Arias is out after his 10-10 ran into Dan Jorgenson's Q-J. Jorgenson rivered a straight. There are 27 players left on three tables. Players have redrawn for seats.

Recent Eliminations:
33. Erik Seidel (Henderson, NV) $14,783
32. Marc Nantais (Alfred, Ontario, Canada) $14,783
31. Chris Reslock (Atlantic City, NJ) $14,783
30. Leonard Green (Huntingdon Valley, PA) $16,631
29. Greg Cash (Mount Ida, AR) $16,631
28. Jorge Arias (Boca Raton, FL) $16,631

12:55pm... Main Event update: Mike Sica from North Brunswick, NJ was busted when his 10-9s lost to Dennis January's 8-8. He graciously stopped by the media table and explained to us his bustout hand.

Top 5 Chipcounts:
1 John D'Agostino $950K
2 Cliff Josephy $635K
3 Erick Lindgren $600K
4 Dane Jorgensen $550K
5 John Duthie $550K

Lindgren ponders a call.


Louise Francoeur & Dane Jorgensen
1:10pm... Main Event update: Vlad Mezheritsky has been eliminated by Kenny Schuyler in 26th place.

1:20pm... Main Event update: Players are on a break. John D'Ags lost the chiplead.

Top 5 Chipcount:
1. Kenny Schuyler $891K
2. John D'Agostino $802K
3. Dane Jorgensen $768K
4. John Duthie $549K
5. Cliff Josephy $531K

1:35pm... Main Event update: We're on Level 17. Blinds are $5K/10K with a $1K ante. Ronnie Cauthen got crippled when his J-J lost to Don Mullis' A-Q. He was out in 25th place soon after.

1:45pm... Main Event update: Bill Edler is out in 24th place. His K-J ran into Grinder's J-2s.

1:55pm... Main Event update: John Duthie scooped a big pot and Louise Francoeur took one off of The Grinder.

Updated Chipcount:
1 Kenny Schuyler $1.02M
2 Michael Mizrachi $990K
3 John D'Agostino $780K
4 Dane Jorgensen $680K
5 John Duthie $650K
6 Don Mullis $590K
7 Cliff Josephy $535K
8 Michael Goodman $460K
9 Erick Lindgren $460K
10 Denis Ethier $410K
11 Gene Todd $410K
12 Amnon Filippi $380K
13 Joe Miceli $335K
14 Will Tong $285K
15 Josh Spiegelman $270K
16 Louise Francoeur $225K
17 Peter Feldman $190K
18 Dennis January $190K
19 Richard Dabal $152K
20 Pete Skyllas $150K
21 Richard Kirsch $136K
22 Jim Lester $130K
23 Stuart Patterson $69K

2:00pm... Main Event update: Denis Ethier and 9-9 ran into CLiff Josephy's A-A. Ethier was eliminated in 23rd place. Jim Lester took 22nd when Louise Francoeur's A-A eliminated his 8-8. She now has over $600K.

Recent Eliminations:
27. Mike Sica (N. Brunswick, NJ) $16,631
26. Vlad Mezheritsky (Brooklyn, NY) $16,631
25. Ronnie Cauthen (Pawley's Island, SC) $16,631
24. Bill Edler (Las Vegas, NV) $16,631
23. Denis Ethier (Durham, NC) $16,631
22. Jim Lester (Cincinnati, OH) $16,631

2:15pm... Main Event update: John Duthie's stack took a hit from Eugene Todd and slipped to 500K. A few hands later, John Duthie put Erick Lindgren to the test in a hand that lasted almost ten minutes. During the hand, at the table right next to Duthie-Lindgren's table, John D'Agastino lost a race to Don Mullis. D'Ags had Q-Q and Mullis' A-K won the race. He flopped a King and rivered an ace. That hand unfolded while Erick Lindgren deliberated over John Duthie's all in bet on the turn. With two diamonds on the board and a King, Duthie made a stab at the pot with K-3s. Lindgren thought forever and finally called with A-K. His hand held up and Duthie was crippled. John Duthie was eliminated soon after.


John Duthie (London, England) - 21st Place
2:20pm... Main Event update: Richard Kirsch is out in 20th place. Dennis January is out in 19th place. We're down to 18 players and the final two tables. Players are redrawing for seats.

Recent Eliminations:
21. John Duthie (London, England) $18,479
20. Richard Kirsch (Pampass Beach, FL) $18,479
19. Dennis January (Vancouver, WA) $18,479

Top 10 Chipcount:
1. Kenny Schuyler $1.25M
2. Erick Lindgren $1.2M
3. Don Mullis $1.09M
4. Cliff Josephy $950K
5. Dane Jorgensen $780K

3:05pm... Main Event update: We're on a break. When the players return, they will be at Level 18 Blinds $6K/$12K.

3:25pm... Main Event update: Pete Skyllas has been eliminated in 18th place.

3:35pm... Main Event update: Dane Jorgensen, sporting a black hat that read "I didn't come here to lose," got into a raising war preflop with The Grinder. When it was all done, they were both all in preflop and the Grinder flipped over pocket Queens while Jorgensen showed J-J. The Grinder busted Jorgensen in 17th place. 16 remaining. The Grinder leads the pack with Erick Lindgren not far behind.

Recent Eliminations:
18. Pete Skyllas (Astoria, NY) $18,479
17. Dane Jorgensen (Chesterfield, VA) $18,479

Updated Chipcount:
1. The Grinder $1.25M
2. Erick Lindgren $1.180,000
3. Don Mullis $1.075M
4. Amnon Filippi $990K
5. Stuart "The Donator" Patterson $950K
6. Josh Spiegelman $663K
7. Cliff Josephy $660K
8. Michael Goodman $448K
9. Gene Todd $445K
10. Kenny Schuyler $410K
11. Louise Francoeur $360K
12. John D'Agostino $280K
13. Richard Dabal $265K
14. Peter Feldman $250K
15. Joe Miceli $191K
16. Will Tong $108K

4:00pm... Main Event update: The Grinder and Kenny Schuyler tangled heads up. The Grinder raised preflop with A-10s and Schuyler called. On a board of 4-2-Q-Q-8, the Grinder checked to Schuyler who bet out 150K. The Grinder thought Schuyler was trying to steal the pot and he thought about calling for a very long time, long enough that he asked the Tournament Director Tab if he could call a clock on himself. That drew a few chcukles from everyone at the table and on the rail. The Grinder reluctantly mucked his A-10s face up and Schuyler showed K-Q for trip Queens.


The Grinder stares down Kenny Schuyler
4:12pm... Main Event update: Will Tong is out when his A-8 ran into Amnon Filippi's A-J.

Top 5 Chipcount:
1. Erick Lindgren $ 1.2M
2. Don Mullis $ 1.2M
3. Stuart Patterson $1.15M
4. Michael Mizrachi $1.1M
5. Amnon Filippi $1M

4:20pm... Main Event update: Players are on a 15 minute break.

Updated Chipcount:
1. "The Grinder" $1.42M
2. Erick Lindgren $1.38M
3. Don Mullis $1.32M
4. Stuart 'Donator' Patterson $1.11M
5. Amnon Filippi $1.1M
6. Josh Spiegelman $720K
7. Michael Goodman $520K
8. Cliff Josephy $365K
9. Louise Francoeur $282K
10. John D'Agostino $270K
11. Peter Feldman $220K
12. Joe Miceli $215K
13. Kenny Schuyler $190K
14. Gene Todd $150K
15. Richard Dabal $135K

5:00pm... Main Event update: We have two more bustouts. Gene Todd was knocked out by Josh Spiegelman. Erick Lindgren's J-J sent Michael Goodman's 8-8 to the rail. He has over $1.8M.

Recent Eliminations:
16. Will Tong (Astoria, NY) $22,174
15. Eugene Todd $22,174
14. Michael Goodman (New York, NY) $22,174

Top 5 Chipcounts:
1. Erick Lindgren $1.8M
2. The Grinder $1.46M
3. Don Mullis $1.18M
4. Stuart "The Donator" Patterson $1.15M
5. Amnon Filippi $1.08M

5:15pm... Main Event update: Richard Dabal is on life support.

5:20pm... Main Event update: Dabal is done. He was busted in 13th place when his J-3 was run down by Amnon Filipi's 3-3.

5:33pm... Main Event update: Louise Francoeur is out. Her Q-Q ran into Peter Feldman's A-A. She finished in 12th in an amazing run and she ended up being the last female to be eliminated from this event.

Updated Top 5 Chipcount:
1 Don Mullis $1.44M
2 Amnon Filippi $1.403M
3 Erick Lindgren $1.32M
4 Michael Mizrachi $1.3M
5 Stuart Patterson $1.13M

Stuart "Donator" Patterson
5:53pm... Main Event update: Players are on a one hour dinner break. See you around 7pm.

Updated Chipcount:
1 Erick Lindgren $1.82M
2 Amnon Filippi $1.5M
3 Don Mullis $1.4M
4 The Grinder $1.38M
5 Stuart "Donator" Patterson $1.1M
6 Josh Spiegelman $842K
7 Cliff Josephy $437K
8 John D'Agostino $352K
9 Joe Miceli $311K
10 Kenny Schuyler $277K
11 Peter Feldman $248K

6:55pm... Main Event update: Players are back. Level 20. Blinds are $10K/20K with $3K antes.

7:10pm... Main Event update: Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy was just busted by The Grinder in 11th place. The Grinder raised preflop and Josephy called. On a flop of 5-7-9, Josephy checked and the Grinder moved all in. Josephy quickly called with 9-7s. The Grinder showed Q-Q. The turn was a Queen which gave The Grinder a set and the lead. His hand held up and he busted Josephy in 11th place winning $27,718. We reached a final table of 10 players.

Recent Eliminations:
13. Richard Dabal (Rochelle Park, NJ) $27,718
12. Louise Francoeur (Palm Beach, FL) $27,718
11. Cliff Josephy (Muttontown, NY) $27,718

Final Table Chipcounts:
1 Erick Lindgren $1.95M
2 The Grinder $1.7M
3 Don Mullis $1.415M
4 Amnon Filippi $1.3M
5 Stuart "Donator" Patterson $1.11M
6 Josh Spiegelman $890K
7 John D'Agostino $320K
8 Joe Miceli $275K
9 Kenny Schuyler $261K
10 Peter Feldman $240K

The Final Table

7:30... Main Event update: A Tale of Two Pocket Tens... Erick Lindgren limped in with 10-10 and when John D'Agostino moved all in, Lindgren mucked. D'Ags showed 10-10.

Top 3 Chipcounts:
1. Erick Lindgren $1.9M
2. The Grinder $1.5M
3. Amnon Filippi $1.45M

Tournament Director Tab Duchateau, The Grinder, & Steve


Peter "Nordberg" Feldman
8:00pm... Main Event update: John D'Ags is on life support as one of the shortstacks, while Lindgren keeps adding to his.

Updated Chipcount:
1 Erick Lindgren $2M
2 The Grinder $1.45M
3 Don Mullis $1.35M

8:15pm... Main Event update: Players are on a break. Still 10 left. Lindgren has $1.9M in chips.

8:30pm... Main Event update: We're on Level 21. Blinds are $12K/24K with a $4K ante.

9:00pm... Main Event update: D'Ags is making a run. He has over $600K now. The Grinder made a monster laydown with A-K. On the turn with a board of A-Q-4-7, Josh Spiegelman made a $500K reraise and The Grinder folded. Josh Spiegelman showed A-A for a set of aces. The Grinder made another big laydown today.


Miss America stopped by the tournament yesterday
Photo courtesy of Fran Bellocchio
9:05pm... Main Event update: John D'Agostino took down a big pot from Amnon Filipi to move into 4th place in chips with over $900K.

9:15pm... Main Event update: Kenny Schuyler from Long Branch, NJ has been eliminated in 10th place by Amnon Filipi. He won $27,718. Filipi flopped a set of 3s to Schuyler's top pair and all the money went into the pot on the flop.

Top 3 Chipcounts:
1. Erick Lindgren $1.7M
2. Don Mullis $1.355M
3. Josh Spiegelman $1.145M

Kenny Schuyler - 10th Place


Lindgren & The Grinder
9:35pm... Main Event update: The past hour has been the John D'Agastino show. he picked up another pot, this time against John Mullis and now his stack is well over a million. He has $1.2M in chips.

9:45pm... Main Event update: Players are on a break. 9 left. Lindgren is still the chipleader.

10:00pm... Main Event update: We're on Level 22. Blinds are $15K/$30K with a $4K ante.

10:12pm... Main Event update: Erick Lindgren has increased his lead to over $2M and has almost as many chips as second and third place combined.

10:20pm... Main Event update: Plenty of pros are here sweating the final 9 players and checking out the action including Gavin Smith, David Williams, Andy Black, Kathy Liebert, Paul Darden, and Efro.

10:40pm... Main Event update: Nothing to report. Action has slowed down and players have tightened up.

Updated Chipcount:
1. Erick "EDogg" Lindgren $2M
2. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi $1.2M
3. Amnon Filippi $1.09M
4. Don Mullis $1.015M
5. Josh "I Don't Have a Nickname" Spiegelman $ 990K
6. Stuart "Donator" Patterson $809K
7. Peter "Nordberg" Feldman $870K
8. John "Dags" D'Agostino $790K
9. Joe Miceli $780K

10:51pm... Main Event update: The Grinder was involved in a monster pot, probably the biggest of the day and of the tournament. The Grinder busted Don Mullis in 9th place when his Q-Q held up against J-J. Mullis won $46,196. Down to 8. The Grinder jumped ahead of Lindgren in the chiplead with over $2.4M.


The Grinder wins with Queens
(Click on photo to enlarge)


Don Mullis (Willmington, NC) - 9th Place
11:10pm... Main Event update: Joe Miceli has been eliminated in 8th place and won $55,436. His K-Q lost to John D'Agostino's 10-9. On a flop of Q-J-7, Miceli moved all in and D'Ags called. He turned a straight and sent Miceli to the rail.

Recent Chipcount:
1. The Grinder $2.7M
2. Erick Lindgren $2.14M
3. John D'Agostino $ 1.3M
4. Stuart "Donator" Patterson $1.06M
5. Josh Spiegelman $880K
6. Amnon Filippi $820K
7. Peter Feldman $650K

11:30pm... Main Event update: Players are on a break. The Grinder has the chiplead.

11:35pm... Main Event update: We're on Level 23. Blinds are $20K/40K with $5K antes. Seven players left. We're playing until one more player gets busted.

11:43pm... Main Event update: Peter Feldman has been eliminated when his A-A got cracked by Josh Spiegelman's A-K. He bubbled out of the TV table. Both players were all in preflop. Josh Spiegelman turned a straight with a 10-J-Q on the board and sent Feldman to the rail. Feldman won $73,914 and earned his seat in this event by winning a satellite online.

Recent Eliminations:
10. Kenny Schuyler (Long Branch, NJ) $27,718
9. Don Mullis (Willmington, NC) $46,196
8. Joe Miceli (New York, NY) $55,436
7. Peter Feldman (Harper Woods, MI) $73,914

Final 6 Chipcount:
1. Erick Lindgren $2.635M
2. The Grinder $2.04M
3. Josh Spiegelman $1.635M
4. John D'Agostino $ 1.34M
5. Stuart "Donator" Patterson $1.06M
6. Amnon Filippi $820K

The final table will start at 5pm on Wednesday. See you there.

Borgata Winter Open: WPT Day 2

We're back for day two of the World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open main event at the Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa in lovely Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Yesterday, 381 players forked over $10,000 each for a shot at the main event championship and a 2006 Escalade. First place will win over $1.1 million and the top 75 players will win prize money. There are 165 players remaining looking to survive day two.

Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy ended the first day as the chipleader. There are plenty of pros still in the mix including Eric Seidel, David Williams, Joe Sebok, Nick Frangos, Chris Fargis, The Grinder, Freddy Deeb, Barry Greenstein, Action Bob Hwang, Steve Dannemann, Scotty Nguyen, Andy Black, Bill Edler, Ted Forrest, Matt Hilger, Matt Matros, Dan Alspach, Joanne Liu, Ammon Filippi, John D'Agostino, Alan Giehring, Brian Haveson, Denis Ethier, Carlos Mortensen, Syracuse Chris, Tony Cousineau, Gavin Smith, Jean-Robert Bellande, Matt Glantz, and Kenna James.

Event #2 winner Micahel Hickman from Media, PA is 3rd in chips.

Notable eliminations from Day 1 included Wayne Stock, Victor Ramdin, Daniel Negreanu, John Phan, Kathy Liebert, Antonio Tarver, Al Ardebili, John Gale, Olga Varkonyi, Pat White, Layne Flack, David Oppenheim, Jerry Burgess, Manny Minaya, Russel Rosenblum, Arnold Spee, Carlos Zambrano, Daniel Shiff, John Phan, Bruce Yamron, Eric Froehlich, Philippe Rouas, James Van Alstyne, Massoud Nikjouian, James Salters, Nenad Medic, Tom Sipes, Roland Israelashvili, Arthur Azen, Frank Kassela, James English, Larry "Zekeness" Lawson, Stephen Benton, Chip Jett, Bill Gazes, Paul Darden, Phil Ivey, Mike Gracz, Laura Fink, Emad Alabsi, Dan Shak, Padraig Parkinson, Fritz Stoner, Chris Bell, Eric Weiner, Scott Neuman, William Failla, Chad Brown, David Harris, Neal Gersony, Badih Bounabura, David The Dragon Pham, Matthew Hoagland, Josh Arieh, Steve Jacobs, Surinder Sumar, Amir Vahedi, Stephen Benton, Irv Gotti, David Levi, James Giordano, Allen Cunningham, and Dax Funderburk.

End of Day 1 Top 10 Chipcount:
1 Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy $ 386,200
2 Joseph Miceli $ 179,700
3 Michael Hickman $ 174,900
4 Frank Vizza $ 147,800
5 John Cullen $ 137,000
6 Eric Seidel $ 130,300
7 Eugene Todd $ 126,300
8 Tom Martelli $ 123,300
9 Feming Chan $ 122,900
10 Alex Cameron $ 122,100

The Rest of the Field:
11 Robert Brobyn $ 119,600
12 James Fletcher $ 117,300
13 David Lewis $ 111,100
14 David Williams $ 111,000
15 Marc Nantais $ 110,600
16 Paul Snead $ 109,700
17 John Duthie $ 107,600
18 Kenny Schuyler $ 102,700
19 Ylon Schwartz $ 101,100
20 Manny Syragakis $ 95,600
21 Billy Kaczynski $ 93,700
22 Michael Esposito $ 90,900
23 Alan Schriw $ 90,800
24 Rich Aquino $ 90,800
25 Louise Francoeur $ 90,500
26 Joe Sebok $ 90,200
27 Lee Biars $ 90,200
28 Erick Lindgren $ 90,200
29 Sean Armstrong $ 89,800
30 Marc Lunenfeld $ 87,000
31 Nik Frangos $ 86,500
32 Andy Schwartz $ 85,500
33 Vinod Vangimalla $ 81,400
34 Glen Theobald $ 80,500
35 Jonathan Zuchowski $ 77,700
36 Robert Mizrachi $ 76,400
37 Greg Fondacaro $ 76,100
38 Freddy Deeb $ 76,100
39 Barry Berger $ 75,800
40 Barry Greenstein $ 75,700
41 Robert Hwang $ 74,800
42 Scott Paston $ 74,600
43 Michael Goodman $ 73,100
44 Steven Dannenmann $ 72,500
45 Jim Lester $ 72,000
46 Ronald Schiffman $ 71,400
47 Dane Jorgensen $ 71,100
48 Jeff King $ 70,800
49 Scotty Nguyen $ 67,500
50 Richard Murnick $ 66,300
51 John Spadavecchia $ 65,700
52 Andrew Black $ 64,800
53 Lin Poo Wang $ 64,700
54 Al Laughing $ 64,400
55 Chris Fargis $ 64,000
56 Nick Feoli $ 63,400
57 Bill Edler $ 62,900
58 Ted Forrest $ 62,400
59 Alex Todd $ 61,500
60 Sorin Cristea $ 61,400
61 Brian Mizok $ 61,000
62 Tim Andrers $ 59,800
63 Matthew Hilger $ 59,600
64 Casey Kastle $ 59,600
65 Ronnie Cauthen $ 59,200
66 Will Tong $ 59,100
67 Mark Weber $ 58,700
68 Matt Wolf $ 58,000
69 Don Mullis $ 57,800
70 Matt Matros $ 57,700
71 Dan Yanofski $ 57,600
72 Eric Bankoff $ 56,900
73 Loukas Michael $ 56,800
74 Luke Neely $ 56,300
75 Charlie Kahikakis $ 56,200
76 Dan Alspach $ 55,300
77 Vlad Mezhezitsky Jr $ 54,400
78 Amnon Filippi $ 53,800
79 Nick Grudzlen $ 53,600
80 Leonard Green $ 53,500
81 John D'Agostino $ 50,000
82 Alan Goehring $ 50,000
83 Mark Duma $ 50,000
84 Anthony Salerno $ 49,400
85 Troy O'Neal $ 49,100
86 Michael Mizrachi $ 48,800
87 Beth Shak $ 48,700
88 Vince Palma $ 47,200
89 Sam Silverman $ 45,600
90 Curt Kohlberg $ 45,000
91 Mark Schaech $ 45,000
92 Tex Barch $ 44,400
93 John Finkel $ 44,200
94 Josh Spiegelman $ 43,700
95 Pete Skyllas $ 43,500
96 Brian Haveson $ 43,400
97 Ari Abramowitz $ 42,800
98 Richard Tatalovich $ 42,600
99 Doug Carli $ 42,000
100 Richard Carolan $ 42,000
101 John McCann $ 41,500
102 Alex Jacob $ 41,000
103 Mike May $ 40,900
104 Allen Kessler $ 40,800
105 Sanjay Dandya $ 40,600
106 Mike Sica $ 38,700
107 Alex Magor $ 38,500
108 Dennis Ethier $ 38,300
109 Carlos Mortensen $ 38,200
110 Richard Kirsch $ 37,400
111 Eric Fessler $ 36,100
112 Nunzio Bisking Jr $ 35,600
113 Greg Cash $ 35,500
114 Michael Boreoretz $ 35,300
115 Syracuse Chris Tsiprailidis $ 34,800
116 Kerry Andreae $ 34,600
117 John Juanda $ 33,800
118 Jim Wheatley $ 33,600
119 Guiseffe Coffi $ 33,400
120 Alfred Fernandez $ 33,100
121 Vlad Yanovsky $ 32,800
122 Peter Feldman $ 32,500
123 Pete Giordano $ 32,500
124 Ross Mallor $ 31,900
125 Peter Delamos $ 31,300
126 Bruce Spicer $ 31,300
127 Joanne Liu $ 30,400
128 George Anthony $ 29,900
129 Michael Tait $ 29,200
130 Dennis January $ 29,000
131 Thomas Koral $ 28,500
132 Stuart Patterson $ 28,000
133 Mike Maler $ 27,200
134 Jonathan Honis $ 25,900
135 Joey Brooks $ 25,800
136 Rep Porter $ 25,800
137 Albert Muir $ 25,600
138 Jeremy Brown $ 24,700
139 Tony Cousineau $ 23,900
140 Richard Dabal $ 23,400
141 Thomas Antonopoulos $ 21,800
142 Stephen Leveson $ 21,700
143 Gavin Smith $ 21,200
144 Steve Brecher $ 21,000
145 Lou Esposito $ 20,600
146 Jean-Robert Bellande $ 20,300
147 Matt Glantz $ 19,200
148 V.P. Martin $ 19,100
149 Herbert Chang $ 18,500
150 Vincent Aloi $ 17,800
151 Henry Olszewski $ 16,100
152 Ken Goldin $ 15,900
153 Richard Cohen $ 15,000
154 Rich Forte $ 14,700
155 Fabrizio Birona $ 14,000
156 Chris Reslock $ 13,900
157 Kenna James $ 13,900
158 Adam White $ 12,800
159 Tom Dobrilovic $ 12,600
160 Dean Schultz $ 10,400
161 Jorge Arias $ 9,300
162 Lisa Pickell $ 8,300
163 Joe Boat Wright $ 6,700
164 Robert Weitzner $ 6,500

***** Live Blogging Updates *****

11:03am... Main Event update: Players are seated and they are opening up their bags. Action will begin shortly.

11:08am... Main Event update: Cards are in the air. We're on Level 9. Blinds are $600/1200 with a $200 ante.


Action Bob Hwang
11:15am... Main Event update: Lisa Pickell is out.

11:30am... Main Event update: Several players have already been busted. At Chris Fargis' table, three players were eliminated in three hands.

Recent Eliminations:
Barry Greenstein
Richard Cohen
Ari Abramowitz
Matt Glantz
Alfred Fernandez
Lisa Pickell
Thomas Antonopoulos
Henry Olszewski
Allen Kessler
Robert Brobyn

Joe Sebok ponders a call
11:50am... Main Event update: Today's action features nine-handed tables. There are 16 tables left. Approximately 143 players remain.

12:05pm... Main Event update: Gavin Smith is out when his 7-7 ran into K-K. Nicky Frangos ran into John Juanda's K-K.

Recent Bustouts:
Gavin Smith
Jean-Robert Bellande
Nick Frangos
Alex Jacob
Thomas Koral
Rep Porter

12:45pm... Main Event update: 116 players left on 13 tables. That information comes straight from the tournament director Tab Duchteau. Chris Fargis busted Fabrizio Birona when he flopped a straight with 5-3s. Action Bob doubled up against Dan Alspach when his A-K held up against Alspach's 9-9. Robert Mizrachi was busted by Tex Barch.

Recent Eliminations:
Doug Carli
Freddy Deeb
Tim Anders
Robert Mizrachi
Kenna James

"My Main Man" Freddy Deeb
1:30pm... Main Event update: 106 players on 12 tables. Chris Fargis' took a hit. David Williams was busted when he ran into A-A. Matt Matros ran into an overpair and was busted.

Recent Eliminations:
Carlos Mortensen
Michael Borovetz
David Williams
Matt Matros

Andy Black


Steve Dannemann
2:10pm... Main Event update: Players are returning from a break. We're on Level 11. Blinds are $1K/2K with 300 blinds. 102 left on 12 tables. Chris Fargis has 86K. Cliff Josephy has almost 400K. Action Bob has about 60K.

2:30pm... Main Event update: Steve Brecher has been eliminated.

2:50pm... Main Event update: Joanne Lui was busted when her K-J ran into J-J.

Recent Eliminations:
Steve Brecher
Luke Nealy
Vlad Yanofsky
Alex Todd
Joanne Liu

The stats
3:15pm... 10 tables left. 90 players remain.


Tex Barch stares down an opponent.
3:25pm.... Main Event update: Steve Dannemann was just eliminated when his A-Q lost to Mike Maler's J-10. Maler rivered a straight. Andy Black has $130K.

3:30pm... Event #10 $500 NL update: There's one final event that began today. 457 players entered that event.

3:32pm... Main Event update: Players are on a 15 minute break. Action Bob Hwang was busted by Richard Kirsh when his A-K lost to J-8o. On a board of 6d-9d-8s-2d, Action Bob moved all in for almost 40K. His opponent ended up calling with J-8o. Action Bob had Big Slick and the King of diamonds. The river was an 8 and Action Bob was sent to the rail.

4:00pm... Main Event update: Cliff Josephy has almost 400K, while Erick Lindgren is in the top 5 chips with over 320K. Chris Fargis lost a big pot when his Big Slick lost a race to Jorge Arias' Q-Q.

Recent Eliminations:
Alan Goehring
Robert Brobyn
Steve Dannenmann
Beth Shak
Sam Silverman
Casey Kastle
Tex Barch

4:10pm... Main Event update: There's a Miss America sighting here in the ballroom! The place was buzzing for several minutes as she walked around and took photos with everyone and visited the players. Stay tuned for photos of Jennifer Berry from Frank Bellocchio. 79 players remaining.


Miss America visits the tournament
4:35pm... Main Event update: 77 players. Chris Fargis has les than 40K. Andy Black has 130K. John Duthie has 180K. Louise Francouer has 110K. Joe Sebok has 92K. Mark Nantis took over the chiplead from Cliff Josephy.


John D'Agostino


Louise Francouer
4:56pm... Main Event update: Michael Hickman was just busted along with Mark Puma. One more until the bubble. Chris Fargis was on the brink of elimination. He was all in preflop with A-K against Tommy Wang's K-K. He riverd an ace to double up and stay alive.

5:00pm... Main Event update: Players are on a 15 minute break. 76 left. Bubble Time. Vinod Vangimalla is still in with 60K or so.

5:30pm... Main Event update: Still on the bubble on the verge of busting. John D'Agostino has run up his stack to over 420K.

5:37pm... Main Event update: Andy Black dropped the Hammer!! Black raised with 7-2o. No one called his raise and he flipped over his hand. "I wanted to get called," he said. "I want to win a pot with 7-2!"

5:52pm... Main Event update: Ted Forrest has been eliminated on the bubble by Eugene Todd. As Bubble Boy, the Borgata will be buying him into the 2006 September Borgata Open. Everyone left will be making the money.

6:10pm... Main Event update: Chris Fargis is out.

Recent Eliminations (the following players won $12,935) :
75. Vinod Vangimalla (Silver Springs, MD)
74. Mark Webber (Sickerville, NJ)
73. Chris Fargis (Brooklyn, NY)
72. Andrew Schwartz (Boca Raton, FL)
71. Dean Schultz (Lewis Center, OH)
70. Ylon Schwart (Brooklyn, NY)
69. John Cullen Farmingdale, NJ)
68. Ron Schiffmani (Cherry Hill, NJ)
67. Daniel Yanofski (West Orange, NJ)
66. Scotty Nguyen (Las Vegas, NV)
65. Jonathan Zuckowski (Jupiter, Florida)
64. Nick Grudien (Mt. Vernon, NY)

6:35pm... Main event update: 63 players remaining. It's all over, baby. Scotty Nguyen was elimianted in 66th place when he missed a nut flush draw with Ah-8h. He lost to J-J.

7:00pm.... Main event update: A few more bustouts as we approach dinner time. John D'Agostino is still in the lead. Andy Black lost a hand with the Hammer! With 7-2 he flopped bottom pair and called Don Mullis' all in bet. Mullis had Q-J and totally missed the flop. He turned a Jack to double through Andy Black.

Recent Eliminations (All players won $12,935):
63. Mark Lurenfeld (Virginia Beach, VA)
62. Thomas Martelli (Sewell, NJ)
61. Alexander Magor (Woodmere, NY)
60. Frank Vizza (Cold Spring Harbor, NY)

7:15pm... Main Event update: 59 left. Players are on a dinner break.

Top 20 Chipcount:
1 John D'Agostino 410K
2 Alan Schein 410K
3 James Fletcher 400K
4 Cliff Josephy 394K
5 Marc Nantais 365K
6 Eugene Todd 360K
7 Will Tong 355K
8 Bill Edler 345K
9 Tony Salerno 290K
10 Denis Ethier 290K
11 Michael Mizrachi 240K
12 Erick Lindgren 210K
13 Matt Hilger 210K
14 John Duthie 210K
15 Mike Goodman 195K
16 Bill Kaczynski 180K
17 Jim Lester 170K
18 Erik Seidel 168K
19 Dane Jorgensen 155K
20 Curt Kohlberg 144K

8:10pm... Main Event update: We're back from dinner. We're on Level 14. Blinds are $2K/4K with a $500 ante.

8:20pm... Main Event update: Tommy Wang is out in 59th.

8:30pm... Main Event update: Andy Black is out in 58th place. His A-Q ran into Erik Seidel's A-K. Padraig Parkison was on the rail sweating Andy and rooting him on. When Andy busted, he looked upset.

Padraig: "Cheer up. Nobody died. How much did you win?"
Andy: "Twelve thousand."
Padraig: "Not bad for a day of work. That's more than Santa Claus makes."

8:40pm... Main Event update: Feming Chan was just eliminated in 57th place when he ran into Cliff Josephy's A-A. A few hands before, Peter Fedlman doubled up against Cliff Josephy when his pocket eights held up againt Josephy's K-J.

8:45pm... Main Event update: Joe Sebok was busted in 56th place when his A-Q lost to Q-Q.

9:15pm... Main Event update: 50 players left. The bustouts are coming quick. Bill Edler and James Fletcher are the chipleaders. Fletcher has over 500K.

Recent Eliminations (All players won $12,935):
59. Tommy Wang (White Plains, NY)
58. Andy Black (Dublin, Ireland)
57. Feming Chan (Cranbury, NY)
56. Joe Sebok (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA)
55. Emmanuel Syragakis (Montreal, Canada)
54. Greg Fondacaro (Sewell, NJ)
53. Nick Feoli (Richboro, PA)
52. Scott Paston (Old Westbury, NY)
51. Richard Tatatlovich (Scottsdale, AZ)

9:20pm... Main Event update: 47 players remaining. Robert Weitzner, Richard Aquinto, and Curt Kohlberg are out. The players are on a break.

9:35pm... Main Event update: Players are back from their break. We're on Level 15. The blinds are $3K/6K with a $500 ante. Johhny Bax is back in the chiplead! He cracked A-A with 5-7o.

Top 5 Chipcounts:
1. Cliff Josephy $600K
2. Will Tong $494K
3. Bill Edler $490K
4. James Fletcher $430K
5. Dane Jorgensen $420K

Recent Eliminations:
50. Robert Weitzner (New York, NY) $14,783
49. Richard Aquino (Kearny, NJ) $14,783
48. Curt Kohlberg (Weston, MA) $14,783

9:50pm... Main Event update: Bill Edler busted James Fletcher. Albert Muir is also out.

Recent Bustouts:
47. Albert Muir (Ansonia, CT) $14,783
46. James Fletcher (Carney, MD) $14,783

10:20pm... Main Event update: Erick Lindgren scooped a monster pot with a Royal flush! When he hit the Royal, he said he'd be happy to wear a Borgata hat. 41 left.

Recent Eliminations:
45. Mark Schaech (Eldridge, MD) $14,783
44. Rich Murnick (Montclair, NJ) $14,783
43. Jeff King (Colchester, CT) $14,783
42. Tony Solerno (Howell, NJ) $14,783

10:40pm... Main Event update: Down to 41 players. Avergae stack is 232K.

10:45pm... Main Event update: John Duthie doubled up with A-Qs vs. Alan Schein's J-9s. Pete Skyllas busted two guys in one hand; Brian Haveson and Bill Kaczynski. 39 players left. Players are on a break.

Recent Eliminations:
41. Brian Haveson (Newtown, PA) $14,783
40. Bill Kaczynski (Scotch Plains, NJ) $14,783

11:00pm... Main Event update: Still down to 39 players. John D'Agostino is the chipleader withover $800K

Top 10 Chipcounts:
1. John D'Agostino $825K
2. Bill Edler $580K
3. Cliff Josephy $560K
4. Kenny Schuyler $555K
5. Dane Jorgensen $530K
6. John Duthie $520K
7. Erick Lindgren $450K
8. Pete Skyllas $385K
9. Denis Ethier $350K
10. Will Tong $340K

Notable Chipcounts:
Louise Francoeur $270K
The Grinder $240K
Peter Feldman $220K
Matt Hilger $200K
Amnon Filippi $175K
Erik Seidel $100K
Chris Reslock $60K
John Juanda $50K

11:11pm... Main Event update: We're on Level 16 with the blinds at $4K/$8K and a $1K ante. This will be the last level of play tonight.

11:28pm... Main Event update: We're down to 36 players.

Recent Bustouts:
39. Sean Armstrong (Egg Harbor, NJ) $14,783
38. Michael Esposito (Seaford, NY) $14,783
37. Alan Schein (N. Miami, FL) $14,783

11:35pm... Main Event update: We're down to 33. Play is done for tonight. We'll resume play at Noon on Tuesday. John D'Agostino is the chipleader with almost $1M. The average stack $288,636.

Recent Bustouts:
36. Michael Lewis (Westin, CT) $14,783
35. John Juanda (Las Vegas, NV) $14,783
34. Matt Hilger (Atlanta, GA) $14,783

End of Day 2 Chipcounts:
1. John D'Agostino $988K
2. Kenny Schuyler $734K
3. Cliff Josephy $573K
4. Bill Edler $529K
5. Dane Jorgensen $519K
6. Greg Cash $470K
7. John Duthie $465K
8. Michael Mizrachi $414K
9. Erick Lindgren $412K
10. Louise Francoeur $402K
11. Mike Goodman $374K
12. Pete Skyllas $370K
13. Will Tong $337K
14. Ronnie Cauthen $317K
15. Richard Kirsch $297K
16. Eugene Todd $235K
17. Denis Ethier $223K
18. Josh Spiegelman $219K
19. Dennis January $190K
20. Don Mullis $188K
21. Amnon Filippi $175K
22. Joseph Miceli $171K
23. Peter Feldman $170K
24. Mike Sica $163K
25. Marc Nantais $158K
26. Leonard Green $145K
27. Jim Lester $135K
28. Richard Dabal $118K
29. Stuart Patterson $94K
30. Erik Seidel $79K
31. Chris Reslock $78K
32. Vlad Mezheritsky, Jr. $76K
33. Jorge Arias $47K

Borgata Winter Open: WPT Day 1

This is the event we've all been waiting for!! Today is the first day of the $10K championship event of the Borgata Winter Open at the Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ. This is a World Poker Tour sanctioned event and the final table will be taped for the WPT.

Yeah, over the next four days the Borgata will be the center of the poker universe while some of the biggest names in poker are slugging it out for the Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship, while plenty of semi-pros, locals, and amateurs are taking a shot at the big time. So will a well-known pro take this event down? Or will an unknown emerge as poker next superstar?

The winner of this event will also win a fully loaded 2006 Escalade. Right now we have around 376 players in this event and I'll post official numbers when they are available.

Over the past ten days, the Borgata had been hosting smaller buy-in events. They crowned eight champions, all of whom won a coveted Borgata bracelet.

Gallery of Borgata Winter Open Winners


Ravi Anand (New York, NY)
Event #1 $500 NL Winner - $171,944


Michael Hickman (Media, PA)
Event #2 $750 NL Winner - $176,968


Rich Marshall (Raleigh, NC)
Event #3 $1K NL Winner - $103,700


Stephen Benton (Leesburg, VA)
Event #4 $500 Limit Winner - $52,301


David Daneshgar (Los Angeles, CA)
Event #5 $1K Winner - $110,410


Konstantin "Charlie" Katikakis (Boston, MA)
Event #6 $1,500 NL Winner - $113,460


Cuc "Cookie" Dang (Clifton, NJ)
Event #7 Ladies NL Champion - $25,104


Tom Sipes (Pittsburgh, PA)
Event #8 $2,500 NL Winner - $279,075

***** Live Blogging Updates ******

11:10am... Main Event update: Cards are in the air. Buy-in is $10K and players start with $25K in chips. The level are 75 minutes or one hour and fifteen minutes.

11:25am... Main Event update: We have our first bust out. Event #8 winner Tom Sipes was busted by David "The Dragon" Pham, who now has over $50K and is the early chipleader. Matt Hilger has 36K.


The Dragon scoops a pot
11:30am... Main Event update: After a quick walk through the tournament area, I spotted several big time pros playing in today's event. Daniel Negreanu, Bill Gazes, Chris Fargis, Matt Matros, Josh Arieh, David Williams, Joanne Liu, Denis Ethier, Erik Seidel, John Juanda, Chip Jett, Gavin Smith, My Main Man Freddy Deeb, Kathy Liebert, John D'Agostino, Steve Brecher, The Griner, Johnny Bax, Matt Hilger, Olga Varkonyi, Gentleman John Gale, Mike Gracz, Brian Haveson, Arnold Spee, James Van Alstyne, Paul Darden, Robert Varkonyi, Surinder Sumar, Syracuse Chris, Action Bob Hwang, Phil Ivey, Erick Lindgren, John Phan, Nick "Takeover" Shulman, Padraig Parkinson, Kenna James, Barry Greenstien, Carlos Mortensen, John Duthie, Al Ardebili, Stephen Benton, Allen Cunningham, Scotty Nguyen, Andy Black, Joe Sebok, Jean Robert Bellande, and Tex Barch.


My Main Man Freddy Deeb


Nick "Takeover" Schulman and Erik Seidel


WPT Tunica winner Scotty Nguyen
12:00pm... Main Event update: 381 players and the top 75 will play. Stay tuned for payout information.

12:25pm... Main Event update: Players are currently on a 15 minute break. Action Bob was at a table with Jean Pobert Bellande, Erik Seidel, John Juanda, Joe Sebok, and Nick Schulman.

1:00pm... Main Event update: John Duthie took an early hit when his K-K ran into a set of aces. He doubled up just now and is about even.

1:45pm... Main Event update: Wayne Stock from NYC was busted when his K-K were cracked by pocket fours. His opponent rivered a set. Arthur Azen, who won an 2006 Escalade this week, was just busted.


Daniel Negreanu
2:00pm... Main Event update: Players are currently on a break. When they return, we'll be on Level 3. Payouts have been released. First place will win over $1.1 million and a brand new Escalade.

Main Event Payouts:
1. $1,173,373
2. $591,312
3. $282,721
4. $184,785
5. $147,828
6. $110,871
7. $73,914
8. $55,436
9. $46,196
10-12. $27,718
13-15. $22,174
16-21. $18,479
22-30. $16,631
31-50. $14,783
51-75. $12,935

Shirt and Hat of the Day


The Borgata Babes (click to enlarge)


3:00pm... Main Event update: There are 36 tables and 357 players remaining. Layne Flack just arrived! John Duthie has 55K, as does David The Dragon Pham. John Gale's stack took a hit and he has 13K left. Andy Black has almost 50K in chips. Recent eliminations include Efro, Victor Ramdin, and John Phan, who was eliminated when his A-Q lost to K-J.


John Duthie & Carlos Mortensen
4:00pm... Main Event update: 340 players left including boxer Antonio Tarver. We're on Level 4. Blinds are $100/200 with a $25 ante. Arnold Spee is out. James Van Alstyne and Russel Rosenblum are both out. Freddy Deeb appears to be among the chipleaders as his stack past the 90K mark. Joe Sebok has 38K and Andy Black has 48K.


Anotnio Tarver
4:30pm... Main Event update: Antonio Tarver lost a monster pot to Gavin Smith. Tarver flopped two pair, but Smith turned a set. Tarver has 7K while Smith has about 70K.

5:00pm... Main Event update: Players are on a break. Layne Flack is out. Padraig Parksion has around 40K.


Padraig Parkison
5:45pm... Main Event update: Antonio Tarver was busted by Gavin Smith. The two had been rumbling all afternoon. Smith flopped a flush and Tarver mucked. He told me he had two pair. David Singer has been busted. Andy Black has 48K and Padraig Parkison has around 25K.

6:00pm... Main Event update: Here are some photos taken my in-house photographer Frank Bellocchio.

The Following Photos Taken by Frank Bellocchio:


Andy Black


Chip Jett


Daniel Negreanu's table


Phil Ivey's Table


Happy Andy
6:05pm... Main Event Update: The Grinder took over the chip lead and now has over 100K. The 2005 Borgata Open Champ Al Ardebili has been eliminated along with John Gale and Olga Varkonyi.

6:16pm... Main Event Update: 292 players remaining. Daniel Negreanu is out. Paul Darden has 2K. Here's a list of some of today's eliminations:

Bustouts:
Antonio Tarver
Al Ardebili
John Gale
Olga Varkonyi
Pat White
Layne Flack
David Oppenheim
Jerry Burgess
Manny Minaya
Russel Rosenblum
Arnold Spee
Victor Ramdin
Carlos Zambrano
Daniel Shiff
John Phan
Bruce Yamron
Eric Froehlich
Philippe Rouas
James Van Alstyne
Massoud Nikjouian
James Salters
Nenad Medic
Tom Sipes
Roland Israelashvili
Arthur Azen
Frank Kassela
James English
Wayne Stock

8:05pm... Main Event Update: 235 players left on 24 tables. Players are on a dinner break until 9:05pm. Here's what's happened in the past hour or so... Larry "Zekeness" Lawson was eliminated when he flopped a King with Big Slick and ran into someone who flopped a set. Andy Black built up his stack after he busted Emad Alabsi with a nut flush. Black had over 75K at that point. Bill Gazes was busted when his K-K were snapped off by 9-9. Erik Seidel took over the chiplead after he scooped a big pot and the Grinder took a hit.

Recent Eliminations:
Zekeness
Chip Jett
Bill Gazes
Paul Darden
Phil Ivey
Mike Gracz
Laura Fink
Emad Alabsi
Dan Shak
Dax Funderburk

Notable Chipcounts:
Eugene Todd $115K
Michael Hickman $102
Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy $95K
Frank Vizza $95K
Freddy Deeb $95K
Erik Seidel $92K
Scotty Nguyen $85K
John D'Agostino $80K
Matt Hilger $75K
John Spadavecchia $75K
Andrew Black $74K
Ted Forrest $69K
Tex Barch $65K
Gavin Smith $60K
Stephen Benton $60K
Syracuse Chris $58K
Steven Dannenmann $58K
Alan Goehring $56K
Nicky Frangos $56K
Bill Blanda $53K
Allen Cunningham $52K
Erick Lindgren $52K
Amir Vahedi $50K
David Williams $50K
Brian Haveson $49K
Scott Neuman $48K
Matt Glantz $47K
Joe Sebok $46K
Dan Alspach $44K
Denis Ethier $40K
Robert Varkonyi $40K
Barry Greenstein $40K
Bill Edler $40K
Jean-Robert Bellande $39K
Kenna James $36K
Chris Fargis $32K
Surinder Sunar $35K
Nick Schulman $30K
Padraig Parkinson $26K
Carlos Mortensen $26K
Charlie Katikakis $25
Joanne Liu $20K
Fritz Stoner $20K
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi $20K
Matt Matros $17K
Action Bob Hwang $17K
Amnon Filippi $13K
Chad Brown $11K
Josh Arieh $10K
John Juanda $8K

9:30pm... Main Event update: Padraig Parkison is out. Scott Neuman is out. His Kings were cracked by pocket sevens.

10:00pm... Main Event update: Nick Schulman's A-6 was busted by Steve Dannemmann A-K. Andy Black has 63K and is sitting at Joane Liu's table. Cliff Josephy aka Johnny Bax is the chip leader with 213K. Robert Varkonyi, Kenna James, Erik Seidel, and Denis Ethier and Charis Chris Fargis are all at the same table.

Recent Bustouts:
Padraig Parkinson
Fritz Stoner
Chris Bell
Eric Weiner
Scott Neuman
William Failla
Chad Brown
David Harris
Neal Gersony
Badih Bounabura
David The Dragon Pham
Matthew Hoagland
Josh Arieh
Steve Jacobs

10:30pm... Main Event update: Players are on a break. Chris Fargis has 30K.

11:00pm... Main Event update: 188 players left on 19 tables. This is the last level of play for today.

11:30pm... Main Event update: 25 minutes remaining in this level. Surinder Sumar and Amir Vahedi have both been eliminated. Stephen Benton is also out. Andy Black has over $105K.


Meet the Borgata Babes: Miss July
12:01am... Main Event update: Play is over for tonight. 165 players survived day one of play. Action will resume at 11am. Johnny Bax is the chipleader with over 376K

Recent Eliminations:
Surinder Sumar
Amir Vahedi
Stephen Benton
Irv Gotti
David Levi
James Giordano
Allen Cunningham

Unofficial Top 5 Chipcount:
1 Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy 376K
2 Erik Seidel 134K
3 Frank Vizza 133K
4 Joe Miceli 130K
5 Eugene Todd 130K