Another major event on the fall live tournament poker calendar is set to kick off in just a few hours and excitement is certainly building up at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa where it will take place. Of course, we are talking about the WPT Borgata Poker Open $3,500 Championship, an event that has been part of the WPT schedule since Season 2 of the popular poker series.

This year’s edition of the tournament is set to take place from today, September 16, through September 21. As mentioned earlier, it is a $3,500 buy-in event. The Championship features a guaranteed prize pool of $3 million, but hopes are that there will be a massive interest in it and it will draw a plethora of players to crush the guarantee.

Last year, the WPT Borgata Poker Open Main Event attracted a behemoth field of 1,132 entrants who smashed the guarantee and generated a prize pool of $3,623,532. Guo Liang Chen was the player to outlast the massive field and collect the tournament trophy and the lion’s share of the prize pool. Chen’s first-place prize amounted to $789,058.

It is yet to be seen how much this year’s champ will scoop for remaining the last person standing from the field of one of the most prestigious events to be taking place annually as part of one of the world’s most popular live poker series.

To celebrate the start of a brand new edition of the WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship, Casino News Daily has looked back over the years to present its readers with the three biggest winners of this thrilling tournament. And here they are:

Roy Winston – $1,575,280

Roy Winston won the Borgata Poker Open Main Event back in 2007, or the Season 6 edition of the tournament. The player was part of a 560-strong field. Each of the tournament’s entries paid a buy-in fee of $10,000, which eventually resulted in the creation of a prize pool of $5,432,000. Winston’s share of the prize pool amounted to $1,575,280. That was the largest ever prize to have ever been won within the Borgata Poker Open.

Winston played a star-studded final table that included the likes of Mike Matusow and Haralabos Voulgaris. The player eventually played heads-up against poker amateur Heung Yoon. The latter collected $832,725 for his runner-up finish.

Mark Newhouse – $1,519,020

Newhouse won the Season 5 edition of the tournament back in 2006. The player outwitted a field of 540 entries to collect $1,519,020. The event was a $10,000 buy-in one and featured an overall prize pool of $5,238,000.

Newhouse started his poker career in a particularly exciting way. The player deposited $50 with partypoker to turn it into more than $100,000 within the span of a single month. He won another $100,000 in the very next month, which convinced him that he should pursue a career in poker. It is also interesting to note that Newhouse is one of the few players to have secured spots at the final table of back-to-back WSOP Main Events. The player finished ninth in the 2013 and 2014 editions of the World Championship.

Al Ardebili – $1,498,650

Ardebili won the prestigious WPT Borgata Poker Open title back in 2005 after successfully surviving a field of 515 tournament entries. The tournament featured a prize pool of $4,995,500, generated from the $10,000 buy-in fee paid by its entries.

Ardebili scooped his title after four days of quality poker action that saw him remain the last surviving participant. The player played heads-up against Ricardo Festejo to have his [Ah][9s] on the final hand dealt within the tournament sent his final opponent to the rail. Festejo collected $799,280 for his efforts.

John DePersio joined the club of two-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winners in the early hours of Friday after besting the field of the opening event of the WSOP Circuit Coconut Creek stop. The player scooped a first-place prize of $19,649 as he remained the last man standing after a mad final table run.

The opening $400 No-Limit Hold’em tournament at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek drew 243 entries. The tournament was played over a single day and, as mentioned above, action extended late into the night up to a few hours before Friday’s sunrise. The event featured 30-minute levels which provided for a quick pace of the game as blinds were rising quickly.

Registration for the tournament closed before the start of Level 13. The opening event with its 243-strong field generated a prize pool of $80,190. The top 27 players finished in the money. Min-cashes in the first of a 12-event series were worth $648.

DePersio was the chip leader at the time there were just ten players left. The eventual winner held 882,000 at that point, with Michael Ortiz being his nearest rival with 580,000. DePersio quickly showed his remaining opponents that he was there to win. The player played aggressively throughout the final table and kept his momentum almost throughout that final stage of action.

Final Table Highlights

DePersio really dominated action over the course of the final table and it was early into play that he emerged as the favorite for the title. At one point during seven-handed play, the eventual champ held more than a half of all chips in play. However, his run at the final table had a couple of bumps to make things more exciting. Early into action, DePersio doubled one of his opponents to more than 500,000 and had to grind his way back. As it can be seen, he not only managed to recover, but to scoop the title and the lion’s share of the prize pool.

DePersio eventually played heads-up against Rodney Moret-Rojas. Both players were looking to win their second title from the series. But the Coconut Creek opening event title was meant for DePersio. Moret-Rojas eventually hit the rail in second place, good for a consolation prize of $12,139.

DePersio won his first title from the series back in 2015, when he topped the field of a $1,125 No-Limit Hold’em at Palm Beach Kennel Club for $30,000. The player has one more cash from the WSOP Circuit.

Speaking to WSOP Circuit staff after his triumph, DePersio said that he does not travel much around the country to play poker and mostly plays at casinos in his homestate. He is an entrepreneur and his business does not allow him much time to roam the States in pursuit of great poker accomplishments. Of what he plans to do next, the player said that he would play all the remaining events of the Coconut Creek stop. His goal is to play the Global Casino Championship so he would look to accumulate points over the course of the ongoing series and grab the Casino Champion crown at Coconut Creek.

Monday was a day of many firsts for one particular poker player. Francis Zhang won his first WSOP Circuit cash, his first WSOP Circuit title, and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. The player bested the field of the $400 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty or Event #2 on the schedule of the ongoing WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley festival for a first-place prize of $13,745 and a gold piece.

He also collected around a dozen of bounties, each worth $100. He managed to get hold of those all the way throughout the tournament. And he scooped the final one for busting his heads-up opponent, Joe Grew from Colorado.

Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California will play host to the WSOP Circuit series over the week. Two events on the festival’s schedule were completed over the past few days, with Zhang’s tournament being marked as Event #2.

The $400 buy-in tournament drew as many as 239 entries who created a prize pool of $54,970. As mentioned above, the event also featured bounties, each worth $100. The winner managed to collect 12 such bounties to boost his first-place award by another $1,200. Aside from Zhang, who went out with the lion’s portion of the prize pool, the top 24 finishers received a share of the money, min-cashes starting from $507.

The tournament kicked off on Sunday and was supposed to be a single-day one. Action extended well into the night with Zhang and Grew battling it out for the title. However, an emergency alarm forced evacuation of the casino, so the two competitors decided that they would continue play on Monday.

Highlights from the Tournament

It was early into Monday when the unofficial ten-handed final table of the tournament was reached. Zhang was the chip leader at the time with 939,000 in chips. The player was well ahead of his nearest rival who happened to be William Chao with 633,000 in chips.

Zhang very much maintained his momentum over the course of the final table. It was Joe Grew whom he faced heads-up. The two players fought in a bid to win the title and the gold ring well into the early hours of Monday. As mentioned above, their match was forced to stop due to an emergency situation at the host casino. The two players decided that they would resume action on Monday, giving themselves a couple of hours to rest.

They returned to finish off what they had started on Monday at 3 pm local time. Zhang was holding the majority of chips at the start of the unscheduled second day and kept his lead until the end of play, which did not last long, actually. The two players battled it out for just eight hands until Zhang dealt the final blow to his last surviving opponent to scoop the title and the accompanying gold piece. Grew received $8,494 for his efforts.

Currently sitting at no.2 on the 2018 WCOOP leaderboard, Norway’s Tobias ‘Senkel92’ Leknes has won two WCOOP titles this year, bringing his total to three overall.

Leknes’s amazing start kicked off with a victory in Event #10-M: $215 NLHE Win the Button, good for $44,064. Three days later he won his second title of the year in Event #20-H: $1,050 NL 5-Card Draw for $17,100.00. Add that to a win in a $109 2-7 Triple Draw tournament last year, and that puts ‘Senkel92’ in elite WCOOP company.

We caught up with Leknes just after his most recent win to discuss all things WCOOP, and why winning the leaderboard is now his priority.

Took down my second WCOOP this series, my third WCOOP-title, and my fourth COOP-title! Now lets go leaderboardhunting! https://t.co/EqmQf8uuOe

— Tobias Leknes (@TobiasLeknes) September 7, 2018

PokerStars Blog: Congratulations on winning your third WCOOP, and second this year! How does it feel?

Tobias ‘Senkel92’ Leknes: “It of course feels great! I got my first in 2-7 Triple Draw last year, but getting the second and third is sweet! I’ve planned to play a lot of events during the series, so getting a win early on is always one of the goals. I didn’t expect one to come in a big field NLHE tourney though!”

PSBLOG: You’ve now got some major momentum behind you.

Tobias: “My confidence is naturally very high right now! But all in all winning two tournaments right from the get go is mostly just me running very pure in the key spots. Also it helps to play small field tournaments such as 5-card draw.”

PSBLOG: Do you enjoy NL 5-Card draw as much as other formats?

Tobias: “I learnt the game last year before SCOOP, and I quickly found it surprisingly funny and also more game theoretical than what I initially believed. It’s cool how there is still room for play when you’re very shortstacked, and how finding flaws in your opponents’ game plan could be exploited, although the draw format gives you less information than other games.”

PSBLOG: Are you a professional player, or do you have a another career?

Tobias: “I do play poker for a living, and I’m currently the Norwegian Champion in both 8-game and Limit Hold’em.”

PSBLOG: What is your life like away from the tables?

Tobias: “I live in Oslo, and I’m really enjoying life there. I like to play chess, volleyball, board games of all kinds. I’m a typically competitive guy.”

PSBLOG: You also took down the Win the Button event. Do you have much experience in this format?

Tobias: “I’ve not played many of these events at all, but I typically find that I am decent at adjusting to different formats. But for the most part I was just lucky in the key situations and ran good!”

PSBLOG: Do you have any strategy advice for people playing their first Win The Button events?

Tobias: “It’s kind of hard to give too much general advice. Typically you’re going to see the two players to your left three-bet you a bit wider, so you might get to four-bet a bit lighter both for value and as bluffs. You will need to defend the big blind very wide against button opens.”

PSBLOG: Were there any key hands that you remember on your way to the Win The Button victory?

Tobias: “I was very lucky at the bubble against one of the bigger stacks to win AQ>AK for a massive pot. I also had some coolers go my way with 7♥5♥ beating ace-three on an A♥K♥3♥ flop in a three-bet pot. I also hit another heart flush with three left holding K♥5♥ against Q♦T♦ on a queen-high two-heart flop blind versus blind.”

PSBLOG: Is this the biggest win of your poker career? If not, what was?

Tobias: “This is in fact my biggest win online. I had some close scores both live and online. I finished second in a $2,100 Limit Hold’em event during SCOOP which was my biggest score online prior to this.”

PSBLOG: What does this win mean for you going forward?

Tobias: “Before WCOOP started I was aiming for fighting for the top prize on the leaderboards. I couldn’t find much information about it (see here for the latest standings) but I assumed there was going to be something. It is of course a long shot to win, but my chances are at least getting slightly better.”

PSBLOG: At this rate, how many titles do you think you can win this year? You’re in a great spot for the leaderboards now!

Tobias: “Well, I’m probably an underdog to win anymore titles, but I will give it a shot! Hopefully I can get in some more final tables and be in position to repeat! Fighting for a top spot on the leaderboard will be a priority.”

Congratulations on your second and third WCOOP titles Tobias.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is one of the hottest poker spots on the eastern seaboard, with the largest poker room in Atlantic City, a huge cash game scene, and popular tournaments throughout the year. That includes being a featured World Poker Tour stop for the Borgata Poker Open, which has been on the WPT schedule since 2003.

The event debuted in Season II and this year’s event, part of the WPT’s Season XVII, runs September 16-21, 2018. The $3,500 buy-in event features a $3 million guarantee with the final table live streamed. Along with a big poker scene, Borgata offers players plenty of amenities — fine dining, nightlife and entertainment, a spectacular pool and spa scene, and luxurious rooms and suites.

As the property celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2018, this year’s WPT Borgata Poker Open should be even more special.

Borgata Is a Player’s Place to Play

What makes the Borgata such a great place for poker players? Asher Conniff, a WPT Champions Club member, is a regular at the Borgata and a huge fan of the property. He has almost $2 million in live tournament winnings, and won the WPT World Championship held at Borgata in 2015 for $973,683.

Conniff says the Borgata has a great down-home feel, whether it’s a $200 nightly tournament or a massive WPT event with more than 1,000 players.

“Like most poker rooms, there is a solid base of local players who show up for tournaments big and small,” Conniff said. “And yet so many of the top pros have been coming to Borgata for the big tournaments for so long that they have also become familiar faces.”

Conniff says WPT events at Borgata have become must-play events for many players in the area and from across the country. Everyone seems to become a regular.

“The floor people know all the players as they’ve been showing up for years and years,” Conniff said. “It’s all really cool.”

In the past few years, Conniff says the property has done even more to cater to players — especially when it comes to dining options. That includes renovating the cafeteria area downstairs, placing more healthy and interesting dining options, and upgrading the fast food options. Borgata also often gives dinner vouchers to players, including coupons for discounts at fine dining on buy-in receipts.

At the tables, Conniff says one thing he likes is that when tournament play is 10-handed, tournament staff rush to get back to nine-handed as quickly as possible. He adds that tournament director Tab Duchateau is always willing to listen to player feedback and make changes if needed.

Winning in Style

During his win at the Borgata, Conniff says a few things stand out. Two weeks earlier, he also won the first event of the series — a $560 buy-in tournament that brought him $203,231.

“First, how cool it was to win it at my home casino in front of so many of my friends and my dad?” Conniff said. “And just how wild the entire ride of that tournament series was, with the WPT win being the amazing culmination.”

Conniff actually won a satellite into the WPT championship before going on to win nearly $1 million in first-place prize money.

“That really is the dream, and I’m just lucky to have lived it,” Conniff said. “For my career and my life, it’s almost like before the WPT win was B.C. and after the win is A.D. Winning almost $1.2 million in two weeks is usually going to be life-changing, and I’m no exception. It allowed me to play a wide variety of tournaments, travel as I please, and help people in my life. It was really crucial to my career.”

As the WPT Borgata Poker Open approaches, Conniff is already planning his trip. He hasn’t missed a tournament series in over three years and that’s not changing this year.

“I would never miss a WPT at Borgata,” Conniff told us. “The tournament is so great, the casino is my favorite place to play and hang out, and there’s no place like home.”

Prior to the WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship, the Borgata will be offering 23 events featuring the $1.5 million guaranteed Deepstack Kick-Off as well as the $1 million guaranteed Almighty Stack event. The entire slate of action gets started September 4. For more information on the schedule of events, click here.

Past WPT Borgata Poker Open Winners

Season II: Noli Francisco – $470,000
Season III: Daniel Negreanu – $1,117,400
Season IV: Al Ardebili – $1,498,650
Season V: Mark Newhouse – $1,519,020
Season VI: Roy Winston – $1,575,280
Season VII: Vivek Rajkumar – $1,424,500
Season VIII: Olivier Busquet – $925,514
Season IX: Dwyte Pilgrim – $733,802
Season X: Bobby Oboodi – $922,441
Season XI: Ben Hamnett – $818,847
Season XII: Anthony Zinno – $825,099
Season XIII: Darren Elias – $843,744
Season XIV: David Paredes – $723,227
Season XV: Jesse Sylvia – $821,811
Season XVI: Guo Liang Chen – $789,058

For more information on the Season XVII WPT Borgata Poker Open, including the $3,500 Championship, check out the event hub on WPT.com.

It has been action-packed two days at Casino Vilamoura in Southern Portugal where this year’s edition of the WPTDeepStacks Portugal Main Event is taking place. The final of the tournament’s three starting flights was completed at the host venue late last night and we now know that its overall field was comprised of more than 200 entries.

The Main Event featured a total of three starting flights, played over two days. Days 1B and 1C, the latter one featuring a turbo format, were played yesterday. Following more than ten hours of poker action at Casino Vilamoura, it was Peter Giordano who scooped the largest stack of the two starting flights. Bagging 375,000, Giordano will also enter Day 2 of the tournament as the overall chip leader and a comfortable advantage over the rest who managed to make it through any of the three starting flights.

There will be 81 players who will return for Day 2 action, the survivors from the previous two playing days. Play is set to resume at 2 pm local time, which means that the start of the new day is just minutes away from now.

Who Else Made It Into Day 2

A look at the chip counts chart tells us that Tarej Bouchama with 225,000 and Angello Falletta wih 201,000 were the other two players to find a spot into top three of the temporary chip counts chart and to bag big for the night.

The 2017 WPTDeepStacks Portugal Main Event champ, Francisco Lopes, was too among the players to make it through the initial stage of action and into Day 2 of play. Lopes emerged victorious over a field of 250 entries last year at the same host venue to scoop a first-place prize of €57,060 and the tournament trophy. This year, the player is ready to fight for a back-to-back title. He entered the tournament on Day 1A, but got busted in the final level of action. As it can be seen, his run yesterday was much more successful as he managed to lock a coveted spot into the second day of play.

There is one more former WPTDeepStacks champion still in contention. Rex Clinkscales emerged as the chip leader of Day 1C with 92,000. The player is vying for his second title from the popular series after taking down the WPTDeepStacks Tampa Main Event at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa in June 2017. The player collected a nice payout of $162,354 for his triumph back then.

It is yet to be announced how much the winner of the Portugal Main Event will scoop for remaining the last surviving contender. Organizers are set to announce the final prize pool and the places paid later today. The money bubble is expected to burst at some point during Day 2 action and the field will be whittled down to just a few players who will advance into the final Day 3, which will be played tomorrow at the host casino.

Source: casinonewsdaily.com