Event 2
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
$300+$40 Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix (Freeze Out)
Structure Sheet
Total Entries: 54
Bob Camano
Despite starting Day 2 next-to-last in chips, Bob Camano came out on top of this tough Omaha/Stud High/Low field. After a couple of hours of play, they were down to the final three and Bob held a significant chip lead. Rather than suffer through the violent swings of the high-low limit poker games, they opted for a three-way adjusted payout agreement.
Bob’s been close to a Borgata OE title before, but twice before has settled for second place. Just this summer, he finished runner-up in the PLO High/Low event for his best live cash of $7,159. During the 2016 BPO, another 2nd place finish in the OE tournament.
Today he’s finally taking home the prize — his first-ever Borgata Open trophy. He’s also collecting $3,772 for his 1st place finish. Bob’s retired from the New Jersey State Police and today his ticket says “1st Place”!
OE H/L Final Results
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Payout |
| 1 | Bob | Camano | $3,772 |
| 2 | John | Klodie | $3,771 |
| 3 | Leo | August | $3,771 |
| 4 | Jack | Abramcyk | $1,257 |
| 5 | Joel | Gumbiner | $1,100 |
| 6 | Leonardo | Palermo | $943 |
| 7 | Harry | Armstrong | $629 |
| 8 | Eddie | Fishman | $471 |
$300+$40 Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix (Freeze Out)
Structure Sheet
Level 22: Limits 20,000/40,000
Total Entries: 54
Players Remaining: 3
Average Stack: 360,000
The final three (l-r): Leo August, Bob Camano, & John Klodie
The final three players decided they were done, chopping the remaining prize pool evenly. As the chip leader, Bob Camano will take the trophy, claiming the first to be awarded during this 2018 Fall Poker Open Series.
Chip counts and Payouts:
1st Place – Bob Camano – 496,000 – $3,772
2nd Place – John Klodie – 335,000 – $3,771
3rd Place – Leo August – 268,000 – $3,771
$300+$40 Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix (Freeze Out)
Structure Sheet
Level 22: Limits 20,000/40,000
Total Entries: 54
Players Remaining: 3
Average Stack: 360,000
Jack Abramcyk
Playing Stud/8
Three players got to 5th street, then Leo August dropped out of the action.
Jack Abramcyk was all-in showing 
against John Klodie’s 
. Jack had 
in the hole for a low draw, but John was ahead with the 
for a pair of Aces with better low draw.
Jack picked up a pair of Jacks on sixth, but missed the low. John scooped it all and was stacking about 330,000.
$300+$40 Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix (Freeze Out)
Structure Sheet
Level 22: Limits 20,000/40,000
Total Entries: 54
Players Remaining: 4
Average Stack: 270,000
Bob Camano
Play has resumed after the break and the top two are in a dead-heat for the chip lead.
Here are the counts:
Bob Camano – 369,000
John Klodie – 369,000
Leo August – 190,000
Jack Abramcyk – 172,000
$300+$40 Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix (Freeze Out)
Structure Sheet
Level 21: Limits 15,000/30,000
Total Entries: 54
Players Remaining: 4
Average Stack: 270,000
Joel Gumbiner
Playing Omaha/8
Joel Gumbiner has been on a roller-coaster ride today, but it has finally come to an end. He got his short-stack in against Bob Camano and Leo August. Bob kept firing and Leo folded on the turn.
The final board read 
and Joel’s 9432 was only good for a 86432 low and pair of 4s. Bob had AJJ2 for the nut low and pair of Jacks to scoop it all. With that pot, he may have taken the chip lead.
Joel will collect $1,100 for his 5th place finish.
That’s the end of the level and the final four are taking a break.
$300+$40 Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix (Freeze Out)
Structure Sheet
Level 21: Limits 15,000/30,000
Total Entries: 54
Players Remaining: 5
Average Stack: 216,000
John Klodie
Playing Omaha/8
John Klodie (sb) completed and Leo August (bb) raised. John called to see the flop fall 
. He bet and Leo called. The 
turn saw the same action. When the 
paired the board on the river making no low possible, both checked.
John said “straight, with a pair of Kings kicker”, and tabled 
for the Ten-high straight. Leo tossed in his hand, part of which was 
for the nut-low draw, and saw his stack shrink to about 50,000.
With about 360,000 in front of him, John is once again the clear chip leader.
Then Leo got all-in against Joel Gumbiner and scooped, more than doubling up. He’s back north of 200,000 while Joel was left with 17,000. He doubled that on the next hand against Bob Camano in a battle of the blinds.
$300+$40 Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix (Freeze Out)
Structure Sheet
Level 21: Limits 15,000/30,000
Total Entries: 54
Players Remaining: 5
Average Stack: 216,000
After a flurry of action, they’re down to the final five players and the stacks have flattened out.
Harry Armstrong – 7th Place
Leonardo Palermo – 6th Place
Rough chip counts:
John Klodie – 270,000
Jack Abramcyk – 240,000
Bob Camano – 215,000
Leo August – 195,000
Joel Gumbiner – 150,000
$300+$40 Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix (Freeze Out)
Structure Sheet
Level 20: Limits 12,000/24,000
Total Entries: 54
Players Remaining: 7
Average Stack: 154,300
Eddie Fishman
Playing Omaha/8
Eddie Fishman (bb) was all-in and at the mercy of his two opponents, Joel Gumbiner (sb) and John Klodie (utg).
The board ran out 
and John showed 
for lots of missed draws. Joel had 
for the flopped set of 4s to top John’s hand. Eddie had a great starting hand, 
, but didn’t catch enough of the board and was felted. He earned $471 for his 8th place finish.
Joel scooped another pot, chipping up north of 200,000. John was left with about 110,000
$300+$40 Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix (Freeze Out)
Structure Sheet
Level 20: Limits 12,000/24,000
Total Entries: 54
Players Remaining: 8
Average Stack: 135,000
Playing Stud/8
The chip lead had shifted from Leo August to John Klodie, but then these two battled heads-up in a Stud/8 hand, with Leo the aggressor the whole way. At the river, their hands showed:
Leo: 
John: 
John checked, Leo fired again, and John called, saying “I hope you don’t have a pair” as he tabled 
for a pair of 5s with no low. “I’m rolled up”, Leo said, tabling and his 
river card (no low). The set of sixes was good to scoop the whole pot, bringing Leo’s stack back to ~290,000. John was left with about 175,000.