Pre-Event
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
Although yesterday was Veterans Day, many businesses observe the day today, so Borgata will be honoring our nation’s Veterans for a second day.
Today at Borgata, as a small token of our appreciation for your service, present your Veteran ID Card to receive these offers:
- Complimentary Parking
- 1 Free Buffet at the Borgata Buffet
- 1 Free Gelato at Borgata Baking Co.
- 10% off your bill at The Metropolitan.
- 1 Free Tall Coffee at Starbucks
M LIFE REWARDS MILITARY AND VETERANS PROGRAM
Sign up for our M life Rewards Military and Veterans Program. Every current military and veteran guest who signs up for an MVP card is automatically upgraded to Pearl, which provides guests with complimentary valet and self-parking, a dedicated buffet line, and other exclusive M life Rewards benefits all year long.
Join us again today to celebrate the service of our veterans!
As a small token of our appreciation for your service, present your Veteran ID Card on Veterans Day at Borgata to receive these offers Sunday, November 11 and Monday, November 12.
- Complimentary Parking
- 1 Free Buffet at the Borgata Buffet
- 1 Free Gelato at Borgata Baking Co.
- 10% off your bill at The Metropolitan.
- 1 Free Tall Coffee at Starbucks
M LIFE REWARDS MILITARY AND VETERANS PROGRAM
Sign up for our M life Rewards Military and Veterans Program. Every military and veteran guest who signs up for an MVP card is automatically upgraded to Pearl, which provides guests with complimentary valet and self-parking, a dedicated buffet line and other exclusive M life Rewards benefits all year long.
Join us Sunday and Monday to celebrate the service of our veterans.
As a small token of our appreciation for your service, present your Veteran ID Card on Veterans Day at Borgata to receive these offers Sunday, November 11 and Monday, November 12.
- Complimentary Parking
- 1 Free Buffet at the Borgata Buffet
- 1 Free Gelato at Borgata Baking Co.
- 10% off your bill at The Metropolitan.
- 1 Free Tall Coffee at Starbucks
M LIFE REWARDS MILITARY AND VETERANS PROGRAM
Sign up for our M life Rewards Military and Veterans Program. Every military and veteran guest who signs up for an MVP card is automatically upgraded to Pearl, which provides guests with complimentary valet and self-parking, a dedicated buffet line and other exclusive M life Rewards benefits all year long.
Join us Sunday and Monday to celebrate the service of our veterans. There is also a special Veterans Day Tournament Sunday, November 11th, raising money for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Atlantic City, Chapter 10.
The 2018 Fall Poker Open will begin on Election Day, Tuesday, November 6th, with the first two trophy events. Event 1 (Kick-Off Flight A) and Event 2 (Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix) begin at 11am and 3pm, respectively.
The Kickoff event carries a $500,000 Guarantee on total buy-ins and will surely draw a big crowd with five starting flights, which are spread over the first three days of the series:
Flight A: Tuesday, Nov. 6th, 11am
Flight B: Wednesday, Nov. 7th, 11am
Flight C: Wednesday, Nov. 7th, 5pm
Flight D: Thursday, Nov. 8th, 10am
Flight E: Thursday, Nov. 8th, 6pm
Days 2 and 3 will follow at 12 noon Friday and Saturday.
John Lytle – 1st Place – 2017 FPO Kick-Off
John Lytle took 1st place in this event last year, besting a field of 1,618 runners to claim $114,833 in a four-way adjusted payout agreement.
The Omaha/Stud High/Low Mix event has become a staple of the Open Series and has locked up the #2 slot on the series schedule since the 2018 Spring Poker Open last April. It was Event 13 during last year’s Fall Open, when Nate Parenti beat out Chris Reslock for the OE H/L title. That’s just the start of the 16-day series, which runs through Thanksgiving Eve. The Almighty Stack headlines the second week with a $300,000 Guarantee.
The final week will see a shortened Fall Poker Open Championship with a $1 Million Guarantee. It starts with Flight A on Saturday, one day earlier than usual, and the finale will be live-streamed on Wednesday, November 21st.
Darren Elias – 1st Place – 2017 Fall Poker Open Championship
Last year’s FPO Championship title and more than $293,000 was claimed by three-time World Poker Tour Champion Darren Elias, who joined the short-list of players who hold two Borgata Open Series Championship wins. The field of 473 entrants created a prize pool in excess of $1.1 million.
Eighteen trophy events will take place during the series with all the best events returning this year. The Black Chip Bounty is in the #3 slot at the end of the first week, a Saturday Series takes place each weekend, and the $1,000 SixMax NLH wraps up the second week of the series. Each of these events carries a $100,000 Guarantee on total buy-ins.
The first Sunday of the series, November 11th, will start off with the always-popular Seniors Event at 10am. Since that also happens to be Veterans Day, at 12 noon there is a special Veteran’s Day Charity Event benefiting the Disabled American Veterans, (DAV) Atlantic City Chapter 10. The $200+$30+10 Deeper Stack has a $25,000 Guarantee and the $10 donation goes to the DAV, fulfilling our promises to the men and women who served.
The Old School Freeze-Out (no re-entry) event, which debuted during the Borgata Poker Open in September, returns this series as a two-day event. There’s also a HORSE-ament, which hasn’t been held in November since the 2015 FPO. Click here for the full schedule of Main Events.
The FPO will take place in the temporary Tournament Area, (TTA) which worked out well as a substitute for the Event Center during September’s Borgata Poker Open. If needed, tables in the Poker Room will also be used.
The Fall Poker Open microsite has links to all the info you need for the series, including links to main and secondary event schedules, links to FPO tournament results, and other exclusive offers for tournament participants. Check out the information page and don’t forget to click the link and enter the drawing for a free Championship entry!
BorgataPoker.com will be running online qualifiers starting Sunday October 28th. Click here for details.
Hope to see you next month for the Fall Poker Open!
@Kaelaine