Event 11 (Day 1C)
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$300,000 Guaranteed
Level 17 (end): 6,000/12,000/2,000 ante
Entries: 377
Players Remaining: 83
Average Chips: 454,216
Gary Tavella gets the final number. He’s ahead this flight.
We’ve concluded the 3rd flight of the Almighty Stack. Garry Tavella with 1,398,000, who emerged as the late chip leader, has ended up just ahead of Matt Iles, who finished with 1,309,000.
Here’s a few more unofficial big stacks:
Steven Lerner – 1,295,000
Andre Martin – 1,164,000
Agustin Mendez – 893,000
Luigi Giannattasio – 892,000
Joe McKeehen – 859,000
We’ll have seating assignments and official counts when available. Players move on to the next level tomorrow, November 17 at 12 noon.
Steven Lerner has rebounded from earlier woes, striking gold in a huge pot where he overset an opponent and dragged along top pair.
Notable: WSOP Champ Joe McKeehen is in with an above average stack.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$300,000 Guaranteed
Level 17: 6,000/12,000/2,000 ante
Entries: 377
Players Remaining: 109
Average Chips: 345,872
Gary Tavella (Philadelphia, PA) has been quietly building a big stack.
We are going into the final level of the this flight. The current chip leader is Gary Tavella, with over 1,300,000. His table just broke and he is on the move.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$300,000 Guaranteed
Level 16: 5,000/10,000/2,000 ante
Entries: 377
Players Remaining: 120
Average Chips: 314,167
Andre Martin is sitting pretty and pretty comfortably.
Andre Martin has pushed past 925,000 as we head into the final two levels of the day – likely good for the chip lead, which continues to ebb and flow across the tables.
Meanwhile, at the end of the level as most players left the Signature Room for the final break of their tournament flight, we caught up with the clock-calling Christian Soto, who made an interesting call, directly behind the early position raiser.
The flop came a formidable {ks}{Ac}{7c}. Soto likely anticipated a continuation bet on this type of board, and indeed there was one to call.
The turn {Qs} filled in a few hands, but the preflop raiser was undeterred, barreling 42,000.
Soto and his opponent (who preferred not to be named) play a final pot at the break.
Once again, Soto called, representing a draw or an unusually sticky ace.
The river was a truly interesting card, the {Ad}. Besides filling some some of the opener’s range, the club draw bricked.
What would the early position player do?
Check… and face a bet from Soto. The 80,000 represented over half of the opener’s stack, and would be a very tough call, but one that still could leave him with chips if he was wrong.
Could he catch the villain Soto in a bluff?
The anwer: Bluffcatch on. The opener said “Show me Ace Queen” and put in the call.
Soto showed him better, a very disguised {Ax}{Kx}.
Soto has 560,00 and is back into playable territory.
Soto gets the count after the key pot.
“What a heater in the last thirty minutes,” he exclaimed. “I didn’t want to go back to the room. Still might happen.”
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$300,000 Guaranteed
Level 14: Blinds 3,000/6,000/1,000 ante
Entries: 377
Players Remaining: 150
Average Chips: 251,333
Paul Siegel assists in a chip count after his double.
Paul Siegel is having a bit of a rough go today.
Earlier he got in the Cowboys and lost 500,000 to a brave {Ax}{Kx} – always an annoying beat.
He also found the wrong side of luck when a player decided to see a flop with an ambitious {Qx}{10x}, making mincemeat of his own {Ax}{Kx}.
However, with his tournament life on the line, he’s just doubled the hard way, getting in {Ax}{Jx} vs a dominated {Ax}{10x}.
The ten on the flop must have made his stomach churn.
However, all’s well, because the dealer instantly left his opponent drawing to only a chop with the turned gutter ball.
Siegel’s got about 250,000 and is looking to rebuild from there.
Meanwhile, check out big stack Khalid Aljonubi.
Is it that bad, Khalid? Alijonubi has about 800,000 and is a contender.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$300,000 Guaranteed
Level 14: Blinds 3,000/6,000/1,000 ante
Entries: 377
Players Remaining: 160
Average Chips: 235,625
Robert Boyko (Yonkers, NY)
As we scan the room for big stacks, a new one has emerged.
Robert Boyko of Yonkers has over 840,000, a comfortable 140 big blinds, just what you want when no more reentries are available.
Boykow has nearly $300,000 in career earnings and looks to be a force as we settle in for the remaining levels of this flight.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$300,000 Guaranteed
Level 13: Blinds 2,500/5,000/500 ante
Entries: 377
Players Remaining: 190
Average Chips: 198,000
Saggio ponders the shove from Chatmon.
Anthony Saggio put himself and his opponents to the test. He’s playing the game.
In one hand on table 3, he opened from mid position and faced a shove from Kardan Chatmon for his reshove stack.
Chatmon straightens his improved stack.
Saggio, looking very focused, came up with the decison that a fold was best, and Chatmon inched up to 150,000.
In the next hand, Augustine Mendez raised from under the gun. Still in the field with action behind and not a large stack, Saggio found a call.
He came to play.
After the rest of the field folded, Mendez snap checked a {10h}{9h}{5c} board, and Saggio, always taking time to think, bet 31,000.
Mendez called.
On the {5d}, pairing the board, it went check bet call once more.
The river was a {7h}, and after Mendez checked, it felt inevitable that Saggio would shove.
He did, for 132,000, with Mendez covering.
It was Mendez’ turn to tank, and only after a long thought process did he make the call.
Saggio, playing so tough, turned over {Kx}{Qx} – and Mendez flipped {Ax}{Kx}, for a big call.
Mendez puts the chips in the pot and is about to see King high. Great call!
Saggio’s out, and Mendez is climbing.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$300,000 Guaranteed
Level 13: Blinds 2,500/5,000/500 ante
Entries: 377
Registration has closed for Flight C with 377 (unofficially) entrants. That brings the total through the first three flights to 759, which covers the guarantee. All of flight D will be gravy, pushing the prize pool higher and higher.
Flight D will be the last chance for players to get into this event and it will get underway in the Poker Room at 6pm.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$300,000 Guaranteed
End of Level 12: Blinds 2,000/4,000/500 ante
Entries: 373
Level 12 is done and players are taking their final break before the close of registration for this flight. During this break, the black 100 chips will come out of play as well. When play resumes, it will be too late to enter this flight, but the final flight is coming up in a little more than a hour. Flight D begins at 6pm and will run in the Poker Room.
Before the clock ran out, Raj Patel got his last 40,000 in on a flop of A 6 4 against Linda Kenney Baden, Raj’s pocket 6s and flopped a bigger set than Linda’s pocket 4s. When the final two cards fell T J, Linda shipped the double over to Raj. He’s up to about 170,000 and Linda’s stack dropped to the same range.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$300,000 Guaranteed
Level 12: Blinds 2,000/4,000/500 ante
Entries: 366
Stephen Lerner put in a spot.
We followed Steven Lerner from his back corner seat over to Table 12, and found him in tough spot – made tougher by Christian Soto.
In a three bet pot where his 40,000 reisolation had been called by Yanni Orfanos, the flop had gone check – check on {Ad}{3h}{2c}.
Having omitted the continuation bet, Orfanos now led into the {Jc} turn.
Lerner’s problem was, he was holding {Kx}{Kx}, and the decision was likely going to cost all or most of his stack by the river. As he pondered, seat one decided Lerner had enough time.
Christian Soto with a healthy smirk after minding everyone’s business.
Christian Soto, not in the hand, called the clock.
“You’d had enough time,” he explained afterwards.
Lerner, who has a lot of spirit and talked through hand during and after, wasn’t pleased. He waited until the floor counted down the full minute, and even a few seconds afterwards, before showing the kings and mucking.
Orfanos turned over {7x}{7x}, for a “well timed” bluff.
He’s got 200,000.
The beneficiary, Yanni Orfanos, who got away with one.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH
$300,000 Guaranteed
Level 12: Blinds 2,000/4,000/500 ante
Entries: 367
Pofuk Ying (Highland Park, NJ)
Pofuk Ying earned his entry in this event playing online at BorgataPoker.com. They’ve been running satellites for the big events of the Fall Poker Open since October 18 and for as little as $5, players are making their way into events with buy-ins like this one ($400+50) and even the Championship event ($2,500+$200). There’s still plenty of time to earn your way into the championship for a fraction of the full buy-in. For details, check out the Fall Poker Open Qualifiers here.
New accounts created before November 20th using promo code WELCOMEBPO qualify for the Last Longer promotion. If they cash in the Championship event, they can earn they buy-in back. The longer they last, the more they get back! Go to BorgataPoker.com for more details and to sign up.