Day 3 Recap

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Ray Qartomy (Sugar Land, TX)

Chip Leader - 1.97 Million

It was moving day at the Borgata Winter Poker Open as players hit the money and the final 27 are in position to play for the $542,771 first prize.  When Day 3 ended it was Ray Qartomy (Sugar Land, TX) who bagged the most chips with 1.97 million.

"I feel great and I played my best," said Qartomy, who has a strong field chasing him including 2005 WSOP Main Event runner-up Steve Dannenmann who has some work to do as he's 26th out of the 27 remaining players with 247k (12 BB).

In addition to Dannenmann's $4.5 million in earnings, other recognizable names still in the mix include Brent Hanks, Dave "Cold Stone" Inselberg, Jeff Papola, Brock Parker, Brett Richey and Dan Buzgon, who all have more than $500,000 in career tournament earnings.  Buzgon is fresh off a stellar 2011 that included his third place finish in the Borgata Poker Open for $335,000.

Qartomy, who's no slouch with $528,000 in earnings, is just ahead of Marc Goldman, who began the day with the chip lead.  Other stacks with more than 1 million chips include, Papola, Sam Bernstein, Christian Iacobellis, David Laufer, John Zoldak and Nick Manfredo.

The remaining players are what is left of the 734 entries that put up a total buy-in of $2,422,200. The average stack is 815k (41 BB) and blinds will be 10k/20k/2k ante when play resumes noon Thursday.

"I'm going to keep playing my game, aggressive and tight" said Qartomy, who is originally from Jordan and owns a granite company in Texas. "I hope to have a great day tomorrow."

Day 3 Final Chip Counts

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

                               Position-Name-Chip Count

1 Ray Qartomy 1,966,000 2 Marc Goldman 1,623,000 3 Jeff Papola 1,486,000 4 Sam Bernstein 1,475,000 5 Christian Iacobellis 1,352,000 6 David Laufer 1,276,000 7 John Zoldak 1,231,000 8 Nicholas Manfredo 1,020,000 9 Joseph Verrecchia 941,000 10 Brent Hanks 899,000 11 Adam Cedric  888,000 12 Josh Mancuso 859,000 13 David Stefanski 846,000 14 Daniel Currie 809,000 15 Brock Parker 730,000 16 Amanda Musumeci 708,000 17 Danny Rohde 638,000 18 Thomas Evers 553,000 19 Greg Marcus 413,000 20 Dan Buzgon 412,000 21 Lee Fama 378,000 22 Brett Richey 332,000 23 Jay Nair 300,000 24 Luis Urioste 251,000 25 Dave Inselberg 248,000 26 Steve Dannenmann 247,000 27 Charlie Townsend 222,000

King Christian - Quads / 28th Place - Morton

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Christian Iacobellis - KKKK

What an exciting final hand of the night as Christian Iacobellis (Rye, NY) looks down at Cowboys and pushes his chips into the middle.

Michael Morton (Davie, FL) calls and tables A-J.

Flop: K-9-9

Christian picks up a sweat as an A hits the turn.

But a fourth King spikes the river putting a nail in Michael Morton's coffin.

Michael Morton finished in 28th Place earning $10,996.

The next pay jump is 19-27th Places for $12,400 and will occur tomorrow as play has shut-down for the night.

Players have bagged and tagged their chips along with receiving new seat assignments.

Christian is up to 1,352,000.

29th Place - Banwari

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Narendra Banwari (Charlotte, NC) and Sam Bernstein play a one million chip pot and it comes down to the river.  The board is 2 4 4 K J, Bernstein checks, Banwari moves all in for 284k.

Bernstein tank calls and Banwari says, "jack," for a pair of jacks. Bernstein flips over AK for the winning pair of kings. 

Banwari is out in 29th place and takes home $10,996.

One more bust out and the final 27 players bag and tag for the night.

Brock-N-Roll

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Tom Evers (East Northport, NY) and Brock Parker (College Park, MD) get their stacks in pre-flop over at table 2.

Brock's A-8 vs. Tom's A-9 with Brock's tournament life at risk.

Somebody yells, "Chop it up" before the hand. Turns out Tom Evers would have loved a chop instead of what transpired.

Brocks A-8 found an eight on the turn and took down the pot on a board of Q-2-K-8-Q.

Brock soars up to 760,000 while Evers is down to 190,000.

30th Place - Ruberto

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Tony Ruberto (Boston, MA) moves ~200k  all in with KJ against the A 10 of Dave Inselberg who hits a pair of 10s to win the hand.

Ruberto is out in 30th place for $10,996.

Tournament Update

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

After a ten minute break play has play has resumed in The Event Center.

It's an exciting and tense atmosphere as we're only playing down to 27 players tonight.

Three more eliminations before players bag and tag for the night.

Play will continue tomorrow at noon in the Borgata Poker Room.

Blinds are 10,000 / 20,000 with a 2,000 ante.

31st Place - Zinno

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Anthony Zinno (Cranston, RI) takes home $10,996 for his 31st Place finish in the 2012 Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship Event.

Zinno called pre-flop holding 7-8 suited and actually flopped two pair.

Flop: K-8-7

His Opponent held A-Q off and hit runner runner for Broadway.

Turn: J

River: 10

Crazy exit for Zinno.

32nd Place - Jacob

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Bazeley Jacob (Cincinnati, OH) finds a King on the flop gets his short stack in holding K-J.

Opponent calls and tables AA.

Board runs: 4-K-6-9-4

Bazeley Jacob finishes in 32nd Place earning $10,996.

Steve Dannenmann was sad to see his tablemate leave.

33rd Place - Alberro

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

End of the road for Roberto Alberro (Coral Gables, FL) who got it in good with pocket Queens but ran into a flopped set of eights from David Laufer (Brooklyn, NY).

Board ran: 9-5-8-10-6.

Another player folded 6-6 pre and would have rivered a set also.

Laufer now up to 1,400,000 after that scoop.

Roberto Alberro finished in 33rd Place earning $10,996.

Shufflin' Chips II/34th Place - Korotki

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

On the next hand, Ray Qartomy raises from the cutoff and Abe Korotki moves all in from the button for more than 600k.  Qartomy snap calls.

Qartomy: K♦ K♥
Korotki: A♥ Q♦

Flop: J♦ 10♥ K♣

Qartomy is thrilled he flopped a set of kings, only to realize Korotki flops broadway.  Qartomy then starts routing for the board to pair. When the turn is the Q♣, he shouts, "yes!" But the card is no help.

The river is the J♠ and Qartomy gets his wish for a full house.  Dan Buzgon is having a blast at watching the premature celebration turns prophetic.  Qartomy gets the chips back he lost to Buzgon and a few more as he now has 1.8 million.

Unfortunately for Korotki his flopped straight is no good against the boat.  He's out in 34th place for $10,996.

Shufflin' Chips/35th Place - Wilamowski

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Table 1 has seen a ton of action the last two hands.  First Joe Wilamowski (New York, NY) moves all in for ~200.  Chip leader Ray Qartomy makes the call from the button and Dan Buzgon follows with another all in for 442k total.

Qartomy says, "I have to call."

Wilamowski: K J
Qartomy: A 10
Buzgon: Q Q

There's a gasp at the table as the window card is an ace, but right behind it is a queen and a king.  Buzgon has the lead with the set of queens, but has to seat Qartomy's gut shot straight draw. The turn and river brick off and Buzgon wins a 1.1 million chip pot.

Qartomy drops to 1.2 million while Wilamowski is out in 35th place for $10,996.

36th Place - Leon

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Paul Leon won his way in on a $750 satellite and just busted out in 36th place earning $9,826.

His exit hand was A-8 vs. Brent Hanks 99.

An ace hit the flop but a 9 spiked the river.

Set of nines for Brent Hanks.

35 players remain on 4 tables.

37th Place - Marshall

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)
Richard Marshall Jr. (Raleigh, NC) is out of the Championship Event after flopping top two.

Richard held K♠ Q♥ and was up against A♦ J♦ of Louis Urioste (Flushing, NY).

Flop fell Q♦5♦K♣ giving Louis a ton of outs needing a diamond or a ten.

Sure enough Urioste hits his hand on the turn card 10♣.

Meaningless 5♥ on the river.

Richard Marshall Jr. is out in 37th Place earning $9,826.

38th Place - Thiagarajah

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Lee Fama - 460,000

Sick heater for Lee Fama who knocks out Ragavan "Rags" Thiagarajah (Marlton, NJ) in two hands. First Lee crippled Rags after hitting a straight then he finished him off.

Lee has KK vs. Rags' JJ. Shellie the dealer shows a Jack in the door but a King also popped out on the flop.

Set over set spells the end for Ragavan.

Board: K-9-J-8-6.

Fama asks if can put fifty dollars in Shellies' tip tray. He's allowed and tips her.

The very next hand he goes all in, everyone folds and Fama shows AA for a laugh.

Ragavan Thiagarajah finishes in 38th Place earning $9,826.

Chip Leader Still on Top

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Ray Rises to the Top

Ray Qartomy (Sugar Land, TX) is still the chip leader with nearly 1.4 million.

One of his big hands of the day came 10 spots from the money when he held Q♦ 10♦ and hit trip queens against pocket aces and pocket kings, who folded to Qartomy's all in. He more than doubles up to 260k and has been slow and steady ever since.

Qartomy owns a granite company in Texas and has more than $500,000 in career earnings.

Players are back from a 10 minute break as blinds are up to 8k/16k/2k ante with 38 players remaining with an average stack of 579k (36 BB).

Event 26: Payouts

$200 + $30 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Entries: 1,016
Total Buy-In: $203,200

Place - Amount

1st $43,363
2nd $26,057
3rd $15,768
4th $13,206
5th $10,841
6th $8,771
7th $6,997
8th $5,322
9th $3,646
10-12 $2,365
13-15 $1,675
16-18 $1,084
19-27 $887
28-36 $769
37-45 $690
46-54 $611
55-63 $552
64-72 $493
73-81 $453
82-90 $414
91-100 $394

Event 26: Bubble Burst

$200 + $30 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

The bubble broke and the remaining 100 celebrated at the back of The Event Center as they all will get some of the huge $203,200 Total Buy In.

Antoine White (Baltimore, MD) has his eye on the top spot of $43,363 if he can continue his chip lead. White is now up to 760,000 which is still best in the room.

But don't count George Burns (Bridgeton, NJ) out. "I'm surviving but I'm gonna win it" announced Geroge. Okay, he only has 140,000 but he has a lot of heart and really believes - which it great.

His poker coach Renord is on the rail rooting.

96 players remaing.

Average stack is 211,666

Event 26: Bubble Watch

$200 + $30 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

After returning from dinner the action has been fast and furious and now 101 players remain. The next player to bust sends the remaining players into the money.  The top spot is $43,363, while the min cash is $394.

39th Place - Kostenko

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Andrey Kostenko (Sayreville, NJ) gets his last chips in the middle with pocket 10s on a flop of A J 4. Michael Morton makes the call holding K J and wins the hand with a pair of jacks.  Kostenko finishes 39th and takes home $9,826.

40th Place - Shinawatra

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Burin Burning After Queens are Beat

Burin Shinawatra (Annadale, VA) is ready for a knock out when he has pocket queens against Daniel Currie's pocket 10s, but a 10 on the river leaves Wu with only 25k.  Curries gets the 400k double up, while Wu is out in 40th place for $9,826.

41st place - Koutelidakis

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Greg Koutelidakis (Buffalo Grove, IL) is out when his pocket 6s loses a race vs KQ, but it's an earlier hand that left him short.

Koutelidakis' pocket 7s were all in on the flop for 320k vs David Stefanski's nut flush draw holding A♠ Q♠.  Stefanski misses the flush, but spikes the Q♣ on the river for the winning pair of queens. 

The hand leaves Koutelidakis with only 50k and he's eventually out in 41st place for $9,826.

42nd Place - Lieblein

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Corey Lieblein (Sands Point, NY) can't crack aces and is on the rail with KJ.  Dan Buzgon's pocket aces hold and Lieblein is out in 42nd place for $9,826.

43rd Place - Cajelais

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Erik Cajelais (Mascouche, Canada) is all in with AK but is unlucky against the big stack of John Zoldak. Zoldak is holding A 10 and spikes a 10 to send Cajelais home in 43rd place for $9,826.

48th-44th Places

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

44th Josh Spiegelman (Princeton, NJ) $9,826
45th Eric Doerr (Newark, DE) $9,826
46th Scott Anderson (Candor, NC) $8,656
47th Justin Zaki (Tierra Verde, FL) $8,656
48th Alexander Kim (Hatboro, PA) $8,656

Chip Leaders

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

Name-Chip Count

Ray Qartomy 1.3 million
John Zoldak 1.28 million
Marc Goldman 1.25 million

48 players remain with an average stack of 458k (38 BB).  Play resumes with blinds at 6k/12k/1k ante.

Event 26: Chip Leaders

$200 + $30 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)

Antoine is White Hot

As players are on a one hour dinner break Antoine White (Baltimore, MD) is the clear chip leader with 600k.  He says the big pot is when he held A♣ K♣ against an opponent's A 3 for a 400k chip pot.  White calls the 165k all in with a pair of aces and no flush draw against his opponent's flopped two pairs.  The river is kind as he hits a king for a higher two pairs and knocks out his opponent.

Second in chips is Frank Pergola (Cranford, NJ) who has 550k.

135 players remain with an average stack of 150k.  Play resumes at 8:30 pm

49th Place - Tuttle

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Dennis Tuttle (Mansfield, TX) got his last chips in holding pocket 9s against Greg Koutelidakis' AT suited.

The board came T 3 2 5 2 and Greg paired his Ten to take the pot.

Dennis Tuttle finished in 49th place, earning $8,656.

48 players remain and they are off for a 75-minute dinner break.  Play will resume at about 8:10pm.

50th-53rd Places

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry) 

50th Alex Santiago (Brookline, MA) $8,656
51st Leonid Lerner (Brooklyn, NY) $8,656
52nd Jack Wilamowski (New York, NY) $8,656

56th - 54th Places

$3300 + $200 Championship No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

Two more out the door: 

56th - Amnon Filippe (New York, NY)
55th - Shawn Cunix (Delaware, OH)

Both players earned $8,656.

54th - Alex Smith (Highland Park, NJ)

Alex made the money bump and picked up $8,656.

53 players remain.