Event 10
It was about 4am on Thanksgiving morning when the final trophy event of the 2018 Borgata Fall Poker Open came to an end and with it, the exciting November series was a wrap.
Wenhao Ying – 1st Place – 2018 BFPO Championship
Earlier on Wednesday, a relatively unknown 24-year-old grad student named Wenhao Ying went wire-to-wire on the live streamed final table to claim 1st place in the $1 Million Guaranteed Championship event, along with $200,000* and his first Borgata title. In fact, this is his first title on record, more than doubling his lifetime earnings, which have all come in the previous 27 months.
Ying faced down a final table that included three very experienced pros: Paul Volpe, Brian Altman, and Matt Wantman. Altman ran into a cooler early that sent him out in 6th place, but the other two were there at the end with Ying. They agreed on adjusted payouts based on their chip standings which brought the four-day Championship to a close.
Frank Lagodich – 1st Place – 2018 Fall Poker Open Kick-Off
The sixteen-day-long series was kicked off with the $500,000 Guaranteed Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em event. The prize pool came close to $800,000 and another young player claimed that title as well. First place and $128,359* went to 22-year-old Ohioan Frank Lagodich on his first-ever trip to Borgata. After getting heads-up with Borgata regular and poker pro Joe Cappuccio, Lagodich took the chip lead and the final two negotiated an adjusted payout with an even split of the remaining prize pool.
It was a good series for some of the “old school” Borgata tournament grinders as well. After several near misses, Bob Camano finally claimed his first Borgata title in Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix event. Andrew Klein booked his sixth Borgata win in the Old School NLH event, moving him into fifth place on the Most Wins at Borgata list. Howard Wolper waited until the final night of the series to make the money in Event 20, notching his 117th lifetime cash at Borgata, extending a record that’s going to be hard to beat.
The Ladies were once again in the spotlight, with two regulars claiming titles and setting records. BorgataPoker.com sponsored pro Katie Stone made the final six of the Deepest Stack NLH event and negotiated an adjusted payout giving her 1st place and $19,337*. This was her third Borgata title, putting her in a tie for first on the ‘Most Wins at Borgata by a Woman’ list. Until this series, Patricia Barsanti-Chou held this record. Just four days later, Anna Antimony won the Almighty Stack, coming out on top of a field of 1,073 runners to take the top prize of $91,586. This was also her third Borgata title, putting her in a three-way tie with Stone and Barsanti-Chou.
If there was a ‘Grind Until You Get There’ award, it would go to Carlos Matos for this BFPO series. He finished 5th in Event 9, the Deepest Stack, for $19,337*, then followed that up with a 3rd place finish in Event 15, the Saturday Series Deep Stack, for $14,432*. He finally got there and capped the series with a win in Event 19, the Deeper Stack, for $14,000* and his first Borgata Open trophy.
In total, more than $3.4 million was paid out in prize money in these 20 main events alone, not including satellites and secondary events, and 18 Borgata Fall Poker Open trophies found new homes. A complete list of main event winners is below.
*Indicates Adjusted Payout
The daily tournament schedule has resumed in the Poker Room, with brief interruptions for Holiday Tournaments on Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. There is also a DeepStacks Challenge Series running December 26th – December 30th.
It’s never too early to make plans for the 2019 Winter Poker Open, which runs January 15th – February 1st, and returns to Borgata’s spacious Event Center venue. The series will be capped by the World Poker Tour Winter Poker Open Championship, January 27-31.
On behalf of Borgata Poker Staff and bloggers Tim Kelliher, Chris Murray, and myself, thank you to all the players who participated and make Borgata tournament poker great. And thank you to the staff for the best-run events on the East Coast.
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the coming Holiday season!
@Kaelaine
$400+$50 Old School NLH (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: Blinds 5,000/10,000/10,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 102
Andrew Klein wins his 6th Borgata title and his 9th overall title (hence the nine fingers).
Despite starting Day 2 third in chips, Andrew Klein never climbed higher in the chip rankings until he got heads-up against Bob ‘the hulk’ Brooks. Bob took command of the tournament late on Day 1, bagging the chip lead with Irving Pimental a distant second. Interestingly, the top three in chips ended up being the final three players.
Brooks traded the chip lead back and forth with Pimental a couple of times, but never really lost control. When Irving busted out in third place, Bob had a 3:1 chip lead over Andrew.
Then a couple of ‘cooler’ hands, where both players held an Ace, but Andrew had the better kicker, reversed their positions. After two double-ups for Andrew, he claimed the chip lead for the first time all day. It wasn’t long before he put a pin in his sixth win at Borgata, claiming $14,385 for 1st place and yet another Borgata trophy for his case.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Andrew Klein | $14,385 |
| 2 | Bob Brooks | $8,048 |
| 3 | Irving Pimental | $4,878 |
| 4 | Daniel Ciancio | $3,902 |
| 5 | Michael Cannon | $2,927 |
| 6 | Michael Assante | $2,439 |
| 7 | Michael Jezycki | $1,951 |
| 8 | Mark Osborne | $1,463 |
| 9 | Edwin Fernandez | $1,097 |
| 10 | Michael Marder | $976 |
$400+$50 Old School NLH (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: Blinds 5,000/10,000/10,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 102
Bob Brooks (standing) with Andrew Klein
On a flop of 
, Bob Brooks got all-in against Andrew Klein. Bob’s 
had missed the flop, but Andrew’s 
had not.
The 
on the turn gave Bob a pair and some hope, but the 
on the river gave Andrew nines-full and the final pot of the tournament.
Bob ‘the hulk’ Brooks finished in 2nd place, earning $8,048.
Andrew Klein wins his sixth Borgata title and will collect $14,385 for his 1st place finish.
$400+$50 Old School NLH (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: Blinds 5,000/10,000/10,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 102
Players Remaining: 2
Average Stack: 1 million
Andrew Klein
Andrew Klein was all-in with 
against Bob Brooks’ 
. The board of 
meant Andrew’s kicker played and he doubled up to 843,000, leaving Bob with ~1.16 million
Soon after, he was all-in again holding 
against Bob’s 
. The runout was 
and again Andrew took the pot, now up to more than 1.68 million. Bob was left with ~300,000.
$400+$50 Old School NLH (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: Blinds 5,000/10,000/10,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 102
Players Remaining: 2
Average Stack: 1 million
Irving Pimental
Irving Pimental (button) got all-in against Bob Brooks (sb) and was dominated. Irving’s 
needed a lot of help against Bob’s 
.
The board fell 
and Bob claimed yet another pot.
Irving finished in 3rd place, earning $4,878.
Irving’s chip holder had to surrender that chip.
Heads-up play began with Andrew Klein holding 483,000 to Bob Brooks’ ~1.5 million.
$400+$50 Old School NLH (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: Blinds 5,000/10,000/10,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 102
Players Remaining: 3
Average Stack: 680,000
The final three are back from a short break and play has resumed. Here’s how they stand:
Bob Brooks – 877,000
Irving Pimental – 686,000
Andrew Klein – 457,000
$400+$50 Old School NLH (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: Blinds 4,000/8,000/8,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 102
Players Remaining: 3
Average Stack: 680,000
Andrew Klein, Irving Pimental, & Bob Brooks
Three-handed play continues and they’re pushing chips around the felt, but there seems to be a gravitational anomaly that causes more chips to fall into Bob Brooks’ orbit than the other two players.
Bob’s beyond 900,000, but hasn’t quite reached 1 million yet. There’s just over 2 million total chips in play.
$400+$50 Old School NLH (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: Blinds 4,000/8,000/8,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 102
Players Remaining: 3
Average Stack: 680,000
Play has resumed. Here are the counts for the final three players:
Bob Brooks – 888,000
Irving Pimental – 785,000
Andrew Klein – 367,000
$400+$50 Old School NLH (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: Blinds 4,000/8,000/8,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 102
Players Remaining: 3
Average Stack: 680,000
Daniel Ciancio
Daniel Ciancio got his short-stack in from the big blind after an open from Bob Brooks on the button. Bob was way ahead with 
. Daniel’s 
needed a lot of help for him to survive.
The board came 
and it was not enough to save Daniel. He finished 4th for $3,902.
Bob chipped up to ~900,000, once again moving into the chip lead.
The final three are taking a ten minute break with 23 minutes remaining in the current level.
$400+$50 Old School NLH (Freeze-Out)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: Blinds 4,000/8,000/8,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 102
Players Remaining: 4
Average Stack: 510,000
Irving Pimental
Bob Brooks opened for 16,000 UTG, Andrew Klein called from the button, and Irving Pimental called from the big blind.
On the flop of , Irving checked, Bob fired 30,000, Andrew called, and Irving made it three to the turn. When the 
paired the board, all three checked.
On the river, Irving led out for 45,000, Bob raised to 175,000, Andrew folded, and after a few seconds, Irving called. Bob rolled over 
for a pair of 5s to go with the 6s on board. Irving showed 
for a pair of 8s to go with the 6s for a better two pair hand.
With that pot, Irving chipped up to ~740,000, reclaiming the chip lead. Bob was left with 712,000.