Saturday, January 28, 2012

Event 19 Recap

$400 + $50 H.O.R.S.E.    

Chris Relock (Atlantic City, NJ) has a very extensive poker resume with more than $1.7 million in reported tournament earnings.  Today the long-time poker pro added yet another title to that list, winning the Borgata Winter Poker Open HORSE tournament and $14,085.

With such extensive poker experience, it was a little surprising that Reslock's toughest opponent at the final table has very little.  Gerard Fabiano wasn't going to play this event, but his friends talked him into it.  "I play Magic the Gathering, I don't really play poker" Fabiano said.  He finished second and collected $7,746.  "I didn't know the rules for Razz, until yesterday" he said.  He obviously picked up the game quickly.

Reslock and Fabiano were both impressed with the play of third-place finisher Ozea 'James' Ingram.  Although Ingram plays mixed cash games, this was his first-ever HORSE tournament.  He collected $4,460 for his solid performance over the past two days.

The first-ever HORSE tournament at Borgata was played during the Borgata Poker Open in September 2011.  It was won by Jeffrey Duvall, who did not play this event.  Barry Levy won the second-ever HORSE tournament during the inaugural Borgata Fall Poker Open series in November 2011. Levy made a run at a repeat title, but was eliminated on day one.

Until Razz was approved for play in New Jersey, they played HOSE and a couple of former HOSE Champions were in this field.  Glenn Engelbert won the HOSE tournament during the 2011 Summer Open and Vincent Basilicata won the HOSE tournament during the 2010 Summer Open.  Engelbert did not survive day one.  Basilicata made it to day two with a below average stack and did not make the money.

A total of 121 players saddled up for this event, bringing total buy-ins to $48,400.  Only the top 18 finishers were in the money.  45 players returned for day two, so it took a while to narrow the field.

After two long days of play, Chris Reslock was ready to call it a night and head home.  Runner-up Gerard Fabiano was ready to head to Hawaii.  "There's a Magic the Gathering convention there in a couple of weeks" he explained.


Final Table Results

1.  Chris Reslock (Atlantic City, NJ)  $14,085
2.  Gerard Fabiano (Belleville, NJ)  $7,746
3.  Ozea 'James' Ingram (Ewing, NJ)  $4,460
4.  Jim Clibanoff (Lower Gwynwood, PA)  $3,756
5.  Jeff Jerome (Springfield, PA)  $2,817
6.  Charles Tessler (Chalfont, PA)  $2,347
7.  Ron 'Schifty' Schiffman (Cherry Hill, NJ)  $1,878
8.  Robert 'Bo' Toft (Yardley, PA)  $1,408
9.  Justin Finberg (Pittsburgh, PA)  $1,056 

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