Event 16: Joe Mosca - 1st Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Joe Mosca (The Bronx, NY)

Congratulations to Joe Mosca who won this tournament for his wife Rosemary who has lung cancer. The couple has been married for 35 years with four children (Joseph, Philip, Anita, Robert) and four grandchildren (Frankie, Philip, Carmine, Ella).

Joe took time off from poker to help and comfort his wife. He returned to Borgata to give her some recreation (she likes slots) and to win money to get her the best health care possible.

Joe plans on getting some rest and in four hours will play again. You go Joe!

You might remember that Joe Mosca won the 6-max in a previous Poker Open.

The Happy Couple - Rosemary & Joe

Joe Mosca finished in 1st Place earning $51,323.

Event 16: Michael Forca - 2nd Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Michael Forca (Long Island, NY)

Michael had a knack for hanging in there. He was third in chips for what felt like an eternity but he kept making the right decisions.

A King high shove proved very profitable three-handed against Joe Mosca's Q-J off as Forca doubled up large thru Joe.

Heads up was a different story as Joe took the lead and finished Michael off with pocket Aces.

Michael Forca finished in 2nd Place earning $29,901.

Event 16: Wade Woelfel - 3rd Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Wade Woelfel (Mankato, MN)

Look for Wade Woelfel in the 2012 Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship.

Wade wanted to thank his friends on the rail, Ryan E., Jamie K., and JA Biestro.

Key hand that stopped Wade's progression came with two tables left when Opponent hit a three-outter holding A-8. Wade regrouped and rebuilt to the final three with the help from a backrub from Jaimie.

After a long three-hand grind - it was as if all came to a grinding halt.

Wade Woelfel finished in 3rd Place earning $18,298.

Event 16: Erick But - 4th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Erick But (Brooklyn, NY)

Erick looked down at pocket queens four-handed. He shoved and got called by Joe Mosca's A-10. Ace hit the flop without any straight or flush sweats.

After dinner break the kid from Brooklyn was the chipleader for a good amount of the time.

Mosca has a monster stack, looking to ride the wave of luck to the finish line.

Erick But finishes in 4th Place earning $15,062.

Event 16: Daniel Smethurst - 5th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Daniel Smethurst (El Paso, TX)

As the floor was mopping up after Daniel's two drink mishaps, Daniel was mopping up the field.

He played fast and furious but made good laydowns when it counted.

Got it in good with a pre-flop shove of A-K vs Wade's A-Q. Wade spiked a queen, had Daniel covered and send him packing.

Last Daniel Standing

Daniel Smethurst finished in 5th Place earning $12,273.

Event 16: Daniel Buzgon - 6th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Daniel Buzgon (Marlton, NJ)

End of the road for Daniel Buzgon who got it in with A-4 suited but ran into wired tens from Joe Mosca. Tens held on a board of 4-J-2-8-Q.

Daniel looking forward to watching his third place finish on the WPT broadcast of the 2011 Borgata Poker Open. He thinks it's set to air early March.

He also finished 16th in last years Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship and looking to improve this go-round.

Daniel seems well liked and respected at the tables.

Daniel Buzgon finished in 6th Place earning $10,042.

Event 16: Cornel Cimpan - 7th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Cornel Andrew Cimpan (League City, TX)

Cornel "Evil Hurricane Andrew" Cimpan adds to his impressive $3,65,799 career tournament winnings with a 7th place finish at Borgata.

Cimpan was short stacked and called the pre-flop shove of Daniel Smethurst.

Off to the races as Cimpan held 10-J vs. Smethurst's 5-5.

Board ran: 5-Q-7-7-3 giving Daniel the scoop.

Look for this seasoned poker pro to splash around in the Championship Event next week.

Two-time WPT winner Cornel Andrew Cimpan finished in 7th Place earning $8,034.

Event 16: Gene Santora - 8th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Gene Santora (Long Island, NY)

Gene Santora had two jade good luck charms that brought him to the final table finishing 8th out of 852 entries.

Luck ran out on his final hand when his A-8 ran into A-J of Wade Woelfel. Both guys flopped an ace but Gene failed to improve.

"Got my buy in for the Championship" exclaimed Gene. He implemented a similar strategy in past Opens.

Jerman sweated his friend from the rail (and helped me with a couple hand reports).

Gene Santora finished in 8th Place earning $6,025.

Event 16: Mark Tarazhi - 9th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Mark Tarazhi (Bronx, NY)

A good run for Mark Tarazhi who shipped his short stack with K-9 of spades got called by Q-8 and lost.

Mark was upset to see an eight hit the flop, picked up some hope after turning a flush draw, but in the end missed and was felted 9th.

Tarazhi was disappointed as he wanted to go deeper. Some friends on the rail were offering support and congratulations.

Mark's parting words were, "I tried, Pizza".

Mark Tarazhi finished in 9th Place earning $4,240.

Event 16: Will Failla - 10th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Will Failla (Commack, NY)

Will Failla held Q-10 suited, flopped an open ended broadway draw then turned a diamond flush re-draw. Despite flopping the world, he missed both streets and fell to Erick But.

But tabled A-6, flopped a six then rivered another six for the knock-out.

Will "The Thrill" Failla finished in 10th Place earning $2,789.

Event 17: $10,000 Winners

$500 + $60 Super Survivor No Limit Hold'em

$10,000 Winners!

From right to left here are five of your winners:

1. Daryl Boatwright
2. Austin Johnston
3. Kerry Armentrout
4. Richard Luckasavage
5. Daniel Miller

1 in 20 won $10,000 cold hard Borgata cash.

This popular event ended at 3:30 AM with a stampede of happy winners headed towards the cage.

Poker Pro Austin Johnston tweeted:

aje221 Austen Johnson

Shipped the super survivor for 10k. #runninglikewildman #teammurder

Event 16: FINAL TABLE

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Final Table of Ten

Seat Pos.......Player's Name.......Chip Count
1....................Wade Woelfel.........................2,800,000
2....................Will Failla..................................940,000
3....................Erick But.................................2,100,000
4.....................Cornel Andrew Cimpan........1,000,000
5......................Michael Forca.......................2,400,000
6......................Joe Mosca.............................1,900,000
7......................Daniel Smethurst.................2,000,000
8.......................Gene Santora.......................1,600,000
9........................Mark Tarazhi......................1,900,000
10......................Daniel Buzgon......................2,300,000

Event 16: Dave Johnston - 11th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Dave Johnston (Brigantine, NJ)

Local rounder Dave Johnston from Brigantine bubbles the final table.

The hand that handicapped Johnston was when his 99 ran into QQ for a 1.7 million blow.

Daniel Buzgon finished Dave off scoring the knock-out.

Dave Johnston finished in 11th Place earning $2,789.

Congrats to our final ten players.

Event 16: Robert Levy - 12th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Robert Levy (WLG Branch, NJ)

Robert Levy finished in 12 Place earning $2,789.

Event 16: Andres Castillo - 13th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Andres Castillo (Floral Park, Queens NY)

Good run for Andres Castillo who went deep but fell short of the final table.

"I got it in with 10, 8 of diamonds, picked up a diamond draw on the flop and got my last 180,000 in" explained Castillo who missed his flush.

His Opponent has J-4 and found a Jack on the flop. Andres was bleeding chips and struggling to find good cards towards the end.

Andres Castillo finished in 13th Place earning $2,008.

Event 16: Abraham Grace - 14th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Abraham Grace (Fairfax, VA)

Abraham Grace is a Professor back in Fairfax, VA. He was schooled on his crippling hand once his Opponent rivered trips.

Grace said his prayers with pocket tens up against A-6. Six on the flop and a six on the river spelled the end for Abraham.

Look for Abraham next week as he's scheduled to play a full slate of Borgata Winter Poker Open Events.

Abraham Grace finished in 14th Place earning $2,008.

Event 13 Recap

$350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em   

After two days of poker, it was Steve Scales (Red Bank, NJ) who had the Big Stack -- over 7 million.  His first main event tournament cash at Borgata is for $32,913 and a beautiful Borgata trophy.  Second place and $18,282 went to 21-year-old Jacob Fafard (New Ipswich, NH).

Heads-up play began with Fafard holding a 4:3 chip lead over Scales, but the tide turned when Scales was all in holding pocket Queens against Fafard's pocket 4s.  He doubled up, reversing their positions and taking the chip lead with a 4:3 lead over Fafard.

Scales was ninth out of ten in chips when they moved to the final table.  "I was short the whole final table" he said.  A key hand for him was when he was all-in with A8 and hit an 8 on the board to crack pocket 3s. That gave him some much-needed chips and momentum to propel him to the win.

Day One saw 359 players turn up for this event, the second of two $350 Big Stack events on the Borgata Winter Poker Open schedule.  Thirty-six players got a piece of the $125,650 pie.

One of those taking a big slice was Borgata regular Alex 'Jedi' Nepomnyaschiy.  He claimed 5th place and $7,069 after his pocket Queens took a bad beat from Jacob Fafard's pocket 8s.  This was Nepomnyaschiy's second final table of this series.  He finished 3rd in the other $350 Big Stack event ($16,653).

Among the entrants in this event were Will 'the Thrill' Failla, winner of event 1; Jon Sorscher, winner of event 2; and Scott Schwalich, winner of event 6.  None of them held on long enough to make the money.

The 24-year-old winner, Steve Scales, graduated from college last year with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and Juvenile Justice.  He moved back home and was in the process of deciding on a career, and may have just changed directions.

Scales has lots of poker experience online, but only recently began playing live poker.  "I was forced into the live arena" he said.  "I play a good amount of dailies [tournaments] and played during the last open.  Seven events during this one."  So we'll be seeing lots of him.  "This is the only place I play."

The 21-year-old runner-up Jacob Fafard is also a recent convert from online poker.  This is his first big cash in a main event and may convince him to change careers.  He's a chef trained in classic French cuisine.


Final Table Results

Place-Name-Amount

1. Steve Scales (Red Bank, NJ) $32,913
2. Jacob Fafard (New Ipswich, NH) $18,282
3. James Salters (W Hempstead, NY) $11,335
4. Keith Solomon (Newark, DE) $9,141
5. Alex 'Jedi' Nepomnyaschiy (Staten Island, NY) $7,069
6. Robert Albert (Manalapan, NJ) $5,972
7. Daniel Daconti (Mt Laurel, NJ) $4,814
8. Jerry Jones (Severn, MD) $3,595
9. Jimmy Wong (Brooklyn, NY) $2,438
10. Gino Grimberg (Brooklyn, NY) $1,584

Event 16: Konstantine Basios - 15th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Konstantine Basios - (New York, NY)

Konstantine had 2,000,000 twenty minutes ago and now he's out.

Final hand for Basios had his 77 in great shape over Daniel Smethurst's 10-7.
Great of course until a flop of 10-10-2 hit.

Konstantine Basios finished in 15th Place earning $2,008.

Event 16: Deon Nossel - 16th Place

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Deon Nossel from New York goes down fighting but his Jacks lost to Andres Castillo's A-K.

Castillo rivered an ace and send Nossel home.

16th Place gives Deon Nossel $1,317 to add to his Borgata Bankroll.

Event 16: Joe On Joe Crime

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Joe Mosca just mugged Joe Liberta for the rest of his chips.

Mosca held A♥5♥ and shoved on a flop of 6♦5♦Q♥.

Liberta held K♦9♦ and called - at risk.

Liberta said "good luck" then watched the board brick out for him 4♣ J♠.

He took the loss like a pro but it looked painful from the sidelines after grinding so many hours.

Joseph Liberta finished in 17th Place for $1,317.

Event 17: $10,000 Cash on the Line

$500 + $60 Super Survivor No Limit Hold'em

Lucky Lee Kirsch won't be taking home $10,000 cash-money has he busted from the Super Survivor just before the final two tables.

178 entered and 8 take home $10k, while the 9th place finisher gets a cool $6,330.

Seventeen players remain including famililar faces Jinglen Chen, Grace Sun, Harry Korotki, Daryl Boatwright and Austen Johnson.

Players put up $560 to have a shot at winning $10,000 as ~1 in 20 cash in this event.

Event 16: Saul Hits Wall

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

End of the road for Kevin Saul (Warrenville, IL) who finished in 18th place for $1,317.
Opponent hit a gutshot on Saul for the pre knock-out blow then Robert Levy finished him off after rivering an ace and winning a coin flip.

Kevin won the bounty tournament during the 2011 Borgata Winter Poker Open and made the cash here today.

KevinSauLivePro Kevin Saul

Out 18th, flopped set vs a gutty and lost a 1.6milly pot, then got last 350k in 99 vs AT river ace #shrug

Other bust-outs:
21st Place - John Kilaski (Hamilton Sq., NJ) - $1,116.
20th Place - Anthony Chong (Atlantic City, NJ) - $1,116.
19th Place - Michael Reyes (Brooklyn, NY) $1,116.

Players on a quick break before playing this out into the morning.

Event 16: Final Two Tables

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

FINAL TWO TABLES

Table 1:
Position...Player...Chips
1. Erick But...................1,100,000
2. Deon Nossel..............400,000
3. Andres Castillo............650,000
4. Daniel Smethurst.........480,000
5. Mark Tarazhi.................370,000
6. Konstantine Basios........2,000,000
7. Robert Levy...................500,000
8. Kevin Saul.....................400,000
9. Wade Woelfel................1,300,000

Table 2:
1. Micahel Forca................540,000
2. Daniel Buzgon................1,800,000
3. Cornel Andrew Cimpan...750,000
4. Joe Mosca.........................1,100,000
5. Gene Santora...................750,000
6. Dave Johnston.................1,900,000
7. Abraham Grace................580,000
8. Will Failla...........................1,600,000
9. Joseph Liberta....................1,000,000

Event 13 Champion - Scales

$350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em   

In the end it was Steve Scales sitting behind over 7 million chips -- and a shiny new Borgata trophy.

 Steve Scales (Red Bank, NJ)

$32,913

He summed it up well in his tweet:

Steve Scales @SteveScales

Shipped it!! #boooooom thank you everyone for the support, was a crazy ride!

Event 13: 2nd Place - Fafard

$350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em    

Once Steve Scales had the chip lead, it was only a matter of time.

 Jacob Fafard (New Ipswich, NH)

$18,282

He had Jacob Fafard all-in after flopping trip Aces with his A9.  Steve had all the chips on the table and his first Borgata title.

Jacob Fafard had to settle for second place and $18,282.  He's reconsidering his 'other' job, which is as a chef.  After turning 21 this past summer, Jacob is getting his first taste of casinos and live poker.  He honed his skills playing online and now is taking them to the felt.

His first recorded cash was just a few days ago in event 7, $350 Big Stack No Limit, where he finished 52nd for $740.

He had a handful of friends on the rail rooting for him all the way to the end.

Event 16: Failla Finding Gold

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Will Failla - 1,300,000

Don't let the menacing pose fool you, Will "The Thrill" Failla is one of the nicest guys you'll meet at the Borgata Poker tables.

He's amongst the chip leaders with ~1.3 million.

Will had quite a 2011 poker year finishing first in the WPT Legends of Poker Season 10 for $758,000 then took 11th here on Sept. 18th for the Borgata Poker Open Championship Event - WPT Season 10 just a couple weeks later.

The story now is there really is no monster chip leader.
It's anyone's game right now with 21 players remaining.

Average stack is 811,428 and the leaders have 1 million up to 1.4.

Event 16: Coroner Examines Warriner

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Jason Warriner (Absecon, NJ) goes home with $1,116 for his 24th place finish.

"My A-Q vs. A-9 on a flop of 9-9-10" explained Warriner.

Jason said he was grinding all day, found a good spot, but was out-flopped - "that's poker".

From the 852 entries, we're now down to three, count em three tables.

Blinds are 25K / 50K with 4000 antes.

Event 13: Big Double for Scales

$350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em   

Steve Scales opened, then Jacob Fafard three-bet.  Steve 4-bet-shoved for almost 2 million straight and Jacob called.

Steve held pocket Queens and was way ahead of Jacob's pocket 4s.

The board changed nothing and Steve doubled up to ~4 million and claimed the chip lead.

That leaves about 3 million for Jacob.

Event 16: Say It Ain't Joe

$270 + $30 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Joe Mosca (Bronx, NY) - 800,000

If you haven't seen Joe Mosca around Borgata playing poker lately it's because he's been home tending to his wife Rosemary who needed him.

"It would be nice to take down this tournament for her" said Joe.

He's 200,000 above average sitting on 800,000 with 27 players remaining.

Joe has his work cut out for him since he's at the same table as Kevin Saul and Erick But.

The two young guns already mixed it up after Kevin's table change. Kevin back in business with a million.

Tweet it up!

KevinSauLivePro Kevin Saul

Last hand of 15-30, I 3b chip leader and induce his shove, my AJdd beat his A7cc, 1mirrion + 55 thousand, 27 left goin to 20-40k #livepro

Event 13: 3rd Place - Salters

$350 + $50 Big Stack No Limit Hold'em    

Blinds are up to 40k/80k with 5k antes.

A short-stacked James 'Suits' Salters shoved with A4 and Jacob Fafard called with KT.

 James Salters (W Hempstead, NY)

$11,335

The flop was clean and it looked like Suits was headed for a double-up, but then a King hit the turn.  To add salt to his wound, the river was another King.  Jacob took the pot.

James Salters took 3rd place and $11,335.

At the start of heads-up play, Jacob Fafard was the chip leader with over 4 million.  Steve Scales has just under 3 million.