Friday, September 18, 2009

EVENT #17 - LAST FIFTY

With 42 minutes remaining in Level 11, and just a few hours before play halts for the day, the floor staff has broken another table leaving us with 50 players. 23 tiny eliminations from the money. We will try to get the top chip counts during the next break.

Blinds are 800-1,600 with 200 ante. After chipstack is 71,400.

SCHOOL'S BACK IN SESSION

"I'm not going to pay you until you're back in your seats and you are quiet," those the words from poker official Deb Daly, as she pleads for order over the Event Center microphone.

Forty two players are as giddy as children on the school playground after punching their tickets into the Main Event by winning the ACT 2 (1 in 5 players qualify) tournament.

The notable qualifiers include Tuan Gheban and Manny Patel. One other player stops by media row and says, "make sure you let people know that I won ACT 1 and was down to 425 chips in ACT 2, but I'm going to the show!" And before we can get his name, he's gone.

Players have the option of playing in Saturday's Day 1A or Sunday's Day 1B.

The excitement and tension continues to build as the Main Event is less than 12 hours away.

HEADS UP CHAMP: YAGINUMA

Jesse Yaginuma (Silver Spring, MD)
Champion - $25,600

Jesse Yaginuma avenges his only loss of the double elimination format to take down the heads up championship over Mike Leah.

Yaginuma comes out of the loser's bracket to beat Leah twice to take the title. "It feels great," he says, "it was a good day."

Leah was 6-0 as the winner's bracket champion, and needed to beat Yaginuma once for the championship, but after losing the first game he never gets on track. "I'm very disappointed," says Leah who collects $16,000 for second place, "he earned it and I didn't play very well."

Once Yaginuma gets the chip lead in the final match he never let it go. "We played a lot of medium sized pots," says the champion who wins $25,600, "when the blinds got bigger, he got shorter, but he played great. I caught some cards and ran pretty well.

Yaginuma was in the loser's bracket because of his championship bracket loss to Leah Thursday night. Yaginuma regroups to beat Matt Vance in the loser's bracket final and then beats Leah twice.

Both players are now gearing up for the Main Event and say they're likely to play in Saturday's Day 1A.

Mike Leah (Toronto, Canada)
2nd Place - $16,000

LOCAL LEGEND GONE

Event #16 - No Limit Hold Em'
Buy-In: $500 + $60


"Joey The_B" Brooks (Egg Harbor Township, NJ)
8th place - $6,210

EVENT 17 - LEVEL UP

Players in the Event #17 are back and heading into Level 10 with still plenty of room to play and they are cautiously approaching the high buyin tournament. There are still 65 players remaining with only 27 of those making the money.

The most entertaining setup is watching the action on both tables 1 and 2. Matt "All in at 420" Stout is just chipping up the leaderboard while several players spend their time chirping to each other about anything and everything. Seems his perfect setup. Sitting almost directly behind him is Bill Gazes, his table is making noise with their actions. Several big hands, re-raises, and unbelievable laydowns make it feel like this might be a tough table for him to conquer.

There are only 3 more one hour levels before play is completed for the evening. There is no indication the players will bust at a pace that will get us into the money.

Level 10 has blinds at 600-1,200 with 200 ante. The average chip stack is 55,000 (or around 50 big blinds for most players). This is going to take awhile.

FINAL TABLE

Event #16 - No Limit Hold Em'
Buy-In: $500 + $60
Number of Entrants: 414
Players remaining: 7
Avg. Stack: $591,000
Blinds @ 15,000/30,000/3,000a

Steven Dippolio (Bellerose, NY)
9th Place - $4,140

HEADS-UP ALERT!

Jesse Yaginuma defeats Mike Leah in their first game and the two now rematch for the championship.

Leah beat Yaginuma Thursday night to send him to the losers bracket. Yaginuma returns the favor, as both players each have one loss in the double elimination format.

Yaginuma and Leah's rubber match is underway.

The winner earns $25,600, second place collects $16k.

EVENT #16 - HUANG 10TH

Zhi Hong Huang (Brooklyn, NY) comes to the final table as the short stack with 80k and is out in 10th place earning $4,140.

The remaining 9 players are just back from dinner break with the average stack at 460k.

Level 20 underway (10k/20k/3k ante).

HEADS-UP CHAMPIONSHIP UNDERWAY

Yaginuma (left) vs. Leah

After waiting 24 hours, Mike "GoLeafsGoEh" Leah is playing for the heads-up championship in a rematch against Jesse Yaginuma.

These two squared off in the winner's bracket final Thursday night, but each had to wait most of Friday to see who would emerge from the loser's bracket. Yaginuma set up the rematch by knocking off Matt Vance in a fairly quick one hour match.

For Vance to win the title he needs to beat Leah twice. If Leah wins the opener he claims the title.

Play's underway 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

VACATION?

It's no suprise two cash-game grinders from Texas have already put up some impressive results.
Ray Henson (Houston, TX) has over 60K chips in Event #17, while David Baker (Katy, TX) has become the favorite in
Event #16 with only 8 players left.

"We're both from Texas, so we travel together...mostly to California to play cash games," says live pro, Ray Henson. Most known for getting bluffed by Kenny Tran in his deep run in the 07' Main Event, the live cash-game pro has skills and the game to back it up. He's been killing it for the last 5 years, consistenty beating the Limit Hold Em' games, playing anywhere from $100/200 - $400/800 blinds at the Commerce Casino in downtown Los Angeles.

While David and Ray have skills on the felt to play anywhere in the world, they've come to the east-coast for other reasons. "We're just here to play the Main Event and see a bunch of games," says Henson. The two poker pros have secured tickets to watch professional sports in some of the best venues in the world, check out their schedule for next week.

Ray Henson & David Baker Travel Itinerary:

Mets v. Braves (Shea Stadium) - Thursday
Yankees v. Red Sox (Yankees Stadium) - Friday
Yankees v. Red Sox (Yankees Stadium) - Saturday
Falcons v. Patriots (Foxboro) - Sunday
Blue Jays v. Red Sox (Fenway Park) - Monday

VANCE'S LAST DANCE (HEADS UP)

Matt Vance (New York, NY)
3rd - $9,600

Matt Vance's day comes to an end when Jesse Yaginuma beats him in the heads up loser's bracket final. Yaginuma closes out the match in a little more than an hour and moves on to face Mike Leah for the championship.

Vance's third place finish earns him $9,600. Leah and Yaginuma will begin heads up play momentarily, earlier than the tentatively scheduled 9 PM start.

SENIORS FINALS

Event #50 - NL Hold Em (SENIORS)
Buy-In: $350 + $50

Number of Entries: 179 players
Prize Pool: $62,650


CHAMPION
Kenny Levy (Boca Raton, FL)
1st place - $19,296


Thomas Coan (Hauppauge, NY)
2nd place - $10,650


Joseph Bovino (Boca Raton, FL)
3rd place - $5,951


Stephen Gerisch (Boonton, NJ)
4th place - $4,385

EVENT #16 FINAL TABLE

No Limit Hold'Em $500 + $60

Seat - Name - Count


1. Zhi Hong Huang (Brooklyn, NY) 80k
2. Adam Adler (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 580k
3. Brian Goldstein (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 260k
4. Mike Moore (N. Cape May, NJ) 340k
5. Dave Baker (Katy, TX) 1 million
6. Joey "The B" Brooks (Egg Harbor Twp, NJ) 500k
7. Steven Dippolito (Bellerose, NY) 170k
8. Pietro Mastroserio (Franklin Square, NY) 100k
9. Shawn Pilot (North Hills, CA) 175k
10. Steve Fiorentini (Winchester, MA) 850k

VANCHIRO OUT IN 4TH (HEADS UP)

Loser's Bracket Final Underway

Jeffrey Vanchiro's run through the loser's bracket is over after getting out flopped by Matt Vance to finish 4th in the heads up event.

"I never got my money in bad," says Vanchiro who's (A K) all-in loses to Vance's (K Q) when there's a queen in the window. "That's pretty rare heads-up and means I was running good."

On the final hand Vance opens for 2k, Vanchiro shoves for 16k and Vance makes the call. "Yeah, it was a suck out, but it doesn't bother me," says Vance who's now 1 of 3 players still alive for the title.

Vanchiro won 7 straight loser's bracket games, including three Friday to collect $6,400.

Vance advances to play Jesse Yaginuma in the loser's bracket final. The winner of that match plays Mike Leah, the lone remaining player in the winner's bracket, at approximately 9 pm, for the first of two potential championship matches.

Yaginuma is Heads Up vs. Vance

Jeffrey Vanchiro (Broolyn, NY)
4th Place - $6,400

Jason Young (Suffern, NY)
t-5th Place - $3,200

Will Failla (Smithtown, NY)
t-5th Place - $3,200


"I'M GIVING THEM ACTION" (EVENT #17)

No Limit
$1500 +$125


Salant (left) Giving Mallor Action

The most popular player at table 6 is Jeffrey Salant (Irvington, NY). "They're crying bloody murder, but I'm giving them action and I hit some crazy hands."

One of those crazy hands involves Salant calling a reraise preflop with (6 6). Three players see the flop of [2 3 8], Salant ships 17k all-in and is called by Mark Salinaro (QQ). The turn is [7] and the river brings [6], a two outer for Salant to stay alive with a set.

"Oh well," says Salinaro, "at least I'm still here and making a comeback."

Sitting to Salant's left is Ross "Tysonduke23" Mallor (New York, NY) who sums it up. "He's the worst player I've ever seen live," says Mallor half seriously, "and he'll tell you he made two terrible plays."

"Yeah, but I'm giving you guys action," Salant fires back.

"I figured out he's got dinner and a show, and has to be out of here by 8," says Mallor.

Salant's stack is now close to 100K when he raises the turn, checks the river and showdowns (A 2) for a pair of twos to beat his opponent's missed (A K).

Also at the table is Christian "DA_Professor" Iacobellis (Rye, NY) who's sitting on 44k.

120 players remain with an average stack of 30k. Level 7 continues (300/600/75 ante).

SENIOR BUSTOUTS

Event #50 - NL Hold Em (SENIORS)
Buy-In: $350 + $50


Nicholas Pompo (Glenolden, PA)
6th Place - $3,132


Ronald Puleo (Sarasota, FL)
7th Place - $2,506

SENIORS EVENT ELIMINATIONS

Event #50 - NL Hold Em (SENIORS)
Buy-In: $300 + $50


Frances Bartolone (Robbinsville, NJ)
8th Place - $1,880



Hal Stickel (Waretown, NJ)
9th Place - $1,410


V VS. V (HEADS UP)

FOURTH PLACE MATCH

Vanchiro (Left) and Vance on the Big Board

Jeffrey Vanchiro's long run through the loser's bracket gets him into the money, as he defeats Will Failla in the 5th place match to keep him alive for the heads-up championship.

"Brutal," says Vanchiro, who's won 7 straight matches since losing to John Jay Fortunato in the second round of the winner's bracket. "I feel like I'm on a free-roll now that I made the money."

Vanchiro now faces Matt Vance who wins his draw against Jason Young in the bottom half of the loser's bracket. "It feels good. I ran good yesterday (Thursday), but now I'll have to win it the hard way."

The winner of V vs. V, faces another alphabet bottom deweller in Jesse Yaginuma for third place. The loser collects $6,400 for fourth place.

Waiting in the wings for a loser's bracket winner to emerge is Mike Leah, who's undefeated at 6-0 and in the winner's bracket. The first of a possible two matches for the title is tentatively scheduled for 9 pm.

The Heads Up champion takes home $25,600, second place earns $16,000 and third gets $9,600.

Young and Failla each collect $3,200 for finishing in a tie for 5th place.

2 TABLES LEFT

Event #16 - No Limit Hold Em'
Buy-In: $500 + $60

"Joey The B" Brooks continues to dominate Table 3. With the table chip-lead and years of experience, this Borgata tournament regular becomes one of the favorites with only 18 players left.

Shawn Pilot is on "cruise control" as he remains the tournament chip-leader. He's managed to stay out of danger and chip away at the small pots thus far on Day 2.

The two big stacks on Table 1 continue playing an aggressive brand of poker as they accumulate more chips. Both, Adam Adler and Steve Fiorentini, have their sights set on the Final Table.

EVENT #17 BY THE NUMBERS

The official numbers are in for the $1,500 + $125 No Limit Hold'em Event #17. 238 players registered for the tournament creating a $357,000 prizepool. The winner will earn $107,100 in the end. Top 27 players make the money.

Event #17 - $1,500 + $125 No Limit Hold'em
Entrants: 238
Prizepool: $357,000
First Place: $107,100

1st - $107,100
2nd - $60,690
3rd - $33,380
4th - $24,990
5th - $21,420
6th - $17,850
7th - $14,280
8th - $10,710
9th - $7,140
10th to 12th - $4,641
13th to 15th - $3,927
16th to 18th - $3,213
19th to 27th - $2,677

THE FIELD SHRINKS

Event #17 - No Limit Hold Em
Buy-In: $1,500 + $125

Number of Entrants: 238
Players remaining: 199

Blinds @ 200/400/50a
Notables still alive as Level 6 begins:

Jack Schanbacher
Corey Bierria
Matt Brady
Matt "All-In at 420" Stout
Bernard Lee
Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler
Davidson Matthews
Eugene Castro
Billy Gazes
Allen Bari
"Action Bob" Hwang
Todd Terry
Kenna James

SENIORS FINAL TABLE

Event #50 - NL Hold Em (SENIORS)
Buy-In: $350 + $50

THE FINAL TABLE

seat 1 - OPEN
seat 2 - Hal Stickel
seat 3 - Kenny Levy
seat 4 - Joseph Bovino
seat 5 - Nicholas Pompo
seat 6 - Ronald Puleo
seat 7 - Edward Kane
seat 8 - Frances Bartolone
Seat 9 - Stephen Gerisch
seat 10- Thomas Coan

FINAL TABLE BUBBLE BROKEN

Event #50 - NL Hold Em (SENIORS)
Buy-In: $350 + $50

ELIMINATIONS

10th place - Noel Shankey ($1,222)
11th place - Martin Berchenko ($1,222)
12th place - Arlene Berezansky ($1,222)
13th place - Stuart Nelson ($1,065)
14th place - Robert Perlitz ($1,065)
15th place - Anthony Donato ($1,065)
16th place - Joseph Lopes ($940)
17th place - Vincenzo Greco ($940)
18th place - Sidney Wells ($940)

HEADS UP - VANCHIRO AND YOUNG MOVE ON

Jeff Vanchiro moved one step closer in his efforts to win the Heads Up Double Elimination tournament by defeating Michael Font. He still has quite a road ahead of him and will next face Will "The Thrill" Failla. The loser of that match will earn 5th place money and the winner moves on the semi-finals of the Loser's bracket.

Jason Young had a long hard battle with Trevor "Tremomey" Savage but made it through to the next round when his 88 flopped a set versus the A9 of Savage. The big turning point of the match occurred when Young was all-in and drawing thin. He had his shortstack on the line with A3 versus T2 on a board that read A 2 2 5.

He received a reprieve, and eventual victory, when the board finished with a gutshot 4.

Young moves on to face Matt Vance in the next round. Loser of this match will collect 6th place money, winner will face Jeff Vanchiro or Will Failla.

Jason Young versus Matt Vance

Jeff Vanchiro versus Will Failla

HEADS-UP

Loser's Bracket




Savage & Young

Vanchiro


Jason Young def. Matt Brady (eliminated)
Trevor Savage def. Matt Waxman (eliminated)

Matches underway:

Young vs. Savage (Winner vs. Matt Vance in a match to cash for $3,200)
Michael Font vs. Jeff Vanchiro (Winner vs. Will Failla in a match to cash for $3,200)

SENIORS - DAY 2

Event #50 - NL Hold Em' (SENIORS)
Buy-In: $350 + $50

Number of Entries: 179
Players Remaining: 18
Prize Pool: $62,650

The cards are in the air and play is officially underway in our Seniors Event. Stephen Gerisch (Boonton, NJ) enters Day 2 as the dominant chip-leader with $277,500 in a stack that was below 8 big blinds at one point in this tournament. With 6 other players above 100K in chips, this title is still up for grabs. Good Luck to the last two tables.

OFFICIAL PAYOUTS
1 - $19,296
2- $10,650
3- $ 5,951
4- $ 4,385
5- $ 3,759
6- $ 3,132
7- $ 2,506
8- $ 1,880
9- $ 1,410
10-12 $ 1,222
13-15 $ 1,065
16-18 $ 940

EVENT #16 - NL HOLD EM (DAY 2)

Event #16 - No Limit Hold Em'
Buy-In: $500 + $60
Number of Entrants: 414
Players remaining: 45

The last 5 tables have made the money, they return on Day 2 for their chunk of the $207,000 prize pool. All players have returned to the Event Center for Day 2 action, play has officially started.

EVENT #17 - NOTABLE PLAYERS

Registration has closed for the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Event #17 and the entrant number will be approximately 240 players. We will bring you the numbers when they are official.

With the 2009 Borgata Poker Open WPT Championship kicking off tomorrow, we have seen some of the big names in poker begin to make their way into the Event Center. Many are using this event as a warmup. It's impossible to miss the towering presence of Bill Gaze in the room, he brings the experience of over 20 WSOP and WPT final tables. Kenna James is decked out in his finest attire and Matt "All in at 420" Stout is walking around with his jug of iced tea.

We also have former Borgata Champions Manny Minaya, Allen Bari, Gene Castro and Justin Levy in today's field. Others we've seen at the tables include Lee Childs, Matt Brady, Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, Bernard Lee, and Vinny Pahuja.

This will be one of the toughest fields of the series so far and we'll be bringing you updates throughout the day.

EVENT #17 UPDATE

As registration closes for the $1,500, the field is close to 250 players. The final numbers and prize pool will be released later in the day.

EVENT #16 - START DAY 2

After bursting the bubble in dramatic fashion last night, Joey "The B" Brooks returns for Day of Event #16 with the second biggest chip stack. He only trails the 260,000 of Shaw Paul Pilot. The concluded the play last evening once the money was reached so they will continue today with just a few minutes remaining in Level 13. The blinds for Level 14 will be 2,000-4,000 with 400 ante. Average chipstack is 92,000. Day 2 starting chip counts are below as well as the payouts.

1 - Shawn Paul Pilot - $260,000
2 - Joey "The B" Brooks - $237,700
3 - Stephen Miller - $227,700
4 - David Baker - $188,200
5 - Zhi Hong Huang - $181,000
6 - Chris McClung - $170,000
7 - Thien Dang Nguyen - $159,300
8 - Michael Moore - $151,100
9 - Adam Adler - $148,100
10 - Pietro Mastroserio - $142,900
11 - Said Malas - $128,900
12 - Mark Blackstock - $120,800
13 - Steven Fiorentini - $115,800
14 - Keith Jones - $113,800
15 - Mike Fedele - $94,200
16 - Greg Kolo - $94,100
17 - Diane Casino - $89,500
18 - John Spadavecchia Jr - $87,600
19 - Scott Mulholland - $86,100
20 - Milos Scekic - $85,700
21 - Larry Goldstein - $83,000
22 - Djon Palushaj - $80,900
23 - Brian Goldstein - $78,800
24 - Mirsad Kovaci - $78,400
25 - Tood Bourgault - $73,800
26 - Kevin Malick - $71,500
27 - Harvey Layton - $70,600
28 - Thomas Lindemuth - $66,300
29 - Robert Cardell - $65,800
30 - Vitaly Kovyazin - $60,700
31 - Michael Strauss - $54,100
32 - Mickey Woll - $52,500
33 - Paul Sokoloff - $50,500
34 - Steven Dippolito - $48,900
35 - Carlos Delafuente - $47,200
36 - Alfonso Pistone - $44,500
37 - Marc Duquette - $43,800
38 - Ruth Ruffman - $43,200
39 - Dao Bui - $42,200
40 - Kimberly Rubin - $30,200
41 - James Paras - $27,900
42 - Kenny Nguyen - $22,200
43 - Ralph Politi Jr - $20,600
44 - Lloyd Madel - $18,600
45 - Bill Pinder - $9,000

1st - $59,242
2nd - $32,084
3rd - $16,560
4th - $14,490
5th - $12,420
6th - $10,350
7th - $8,280
8th - $6,210
9th - $4,140
10th to 12th - $2,691
13th to 15th - $1,967
16th to 18th - $1,428
19th to 27th - $1,139
28th to 36th - $869
37th to 45th - $766

2 DOWN - 2 TO GO (HEADS-UP)

Loser's Bracket

Font Moves On

Two of the early matches are in the books, while two others are past the two hour mark.

In a rematch of a winner's bracket draw, Jeff Vanchiro gets payback with a quick win over John Jay Fortunato. "He played much better today," Fortunato says after his set loses to a straight to
cripple his stack. "But I couldn't get anybody to take me up on playing the first hand all-in blind," he adds in what was a serious gamble. "Win or lose you're eating lunch early, but I guess he is anyway."

The other winner is Michael Font over James St. Hilaire. "I've actually been running pretty bad, but good when it counts."

Font now faces Vanchiro in the next elimination game and when Font's told he still needs to win two more to make the money his reaction, "damn that's a lot of matches." Font's now 5-1 in the tournament after winning his second straight loser's bracket game.

In Progress:

Jason Young vs. Matt Brady
Matt Waxman vs. Trevor Savagekno

The winner's face off in the next round, the losers are eliminated.

SUPER SATELLITE DAY

If you are looking to win your way in the 2009 Borgata Poker Open WPT Championship, today might be your day. There are 4 Super Satellites going on in the Event Center throughout the day giving you a chance to earn your spot in the big game. There are buyins to fit any level of player and many seats will be awarded.

Satellite schedule:

10:00am Championship Event Super Satellite - $175 + $25
(1 in 20 win a seat)

1:00pm ACT 2 Satellite - $700 + $25
(1 in 5 win a seat)

4:00pm Championship Event Super Satellite - $350 + $40
(1 in 10 win a seat)

8:00pm Championsihp Event Super Satellite - $500 + $50
(1 in 7 win a seat)

EVENT #15 - HEADS UP DAY 2

The Heads Up matchs for Day 2 (Round 6) are underway on the Loser's side of the bracket. Here are your matchups:

Michael Font vs. James St. Hilaire
John Jay Fortunato vs. Jeff Vanchiro
Jason Young vs. Matt Brady
Matt Waxman vs. Trevor "Tremomey" Savage


Matt Brady and Jason Young playing Round 6 of Event #15

EVENT 17 - KICK OFF

The biggest buyin tournament of the 2009 Borgata Poker Open aside from the Main Event is just about to start. The $1,500 + $125 No Limit Hold'em Event #16 gives players 15,000 in chips and 60 minute levels.

Players we've seen taking their seats include Gene Castro, Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, Kenna James and Bill Gazes making his first appearance this series. We won't have a feel for exactly how many players are in the field today until everyone has taken their seats, but we do have 19 tables manned with players, chips and dealers. Players have the first two levels plus the break to register for the event.

EVENT #16 - END OF THE DAY ROYALTY

Play is done for the evening in Event #16 $500 + $60 No Limit Hold'em and the money bubble burst as time was set to expire. It was a magnificent way to hit the money courtesy of Joey "The B" Brooks.

With 46 players remaining and 45 paying, he faced an all-in from a shortstack. After tanking for awhile he eventually called with AQh and way behind his opponent's two black aces. The flop brought two hearts with the King and Ten. Drawing to any heart for the win, he turned the Royal Nuts with the Jack of Hearts. Our money bubbler ducked through the crowd and was gone before Joey "The B" was done shaking his head.

The 45 players are now counting and bagging their chips, they will come back tomorrow at 2pm looking to move onward and upward. There will be just a few moments left in Level 13.

The Event Center has been fairly quiet over the last few hours. The Senior Event made their final two tables early in the evening, the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em tournament crowned a champion, and the Heads Up event finished all their matches for the day. That left plenty of room for the Sit N Go tables to get started with gusto. There are between 10 and 12 single table tournaments going at all times at all levels. Still a lot of action in the room.

Chip counts will be posted tomorrow morning for the restart of Event #16 once they are official. Look for updates on this event to start tomorrow afternoon.

WINNER'S BRACKET CHAMP (EVENT #15)

Leah Looking Good in Winner's Bracket, Eh?

It doesn't take Mike "GoLeafsGoEh" Leah long to dispatch Jesse Yaginuma in the winner's bracket of the heads-up double elimination tournament. "It was a fun day," says Leah who's guaranteed $16,000 for no worse than a 2nd place finish. "Ran good, played good. It's a nice combination," he says.

Leah is 6-0 on the day and the only player without a loss in the two day event. He'll now be on a 24 hour break before he knows who he'll play for the championship. The Loser's bracket continues Friday at 11 AM with 11 players remaining for the money, as the top 6 cash.

Leah opened up with a tough draw in pro player Bill Blanda, followed by a surprisingly quick match against Event #6 Champion Alex Santiago. His toughest match of the day was in the third round against Tim Finne. "It was tough because it was the longest," says Leah, "he played really well."

Leah's road isn't any easier as he knocks off WSOP bracelet winner Jason Young, Borgata regular and 2007 Poker Open Champion Will Failla and Jesse Yaginuma.

"The winner's bracket is obviously a much easier road," he says while contemplating if he's going to start Friday by playing in Event #17 ($1,500 + $125), "in the loser's bracket you have to win a stupid amount of games."

Three of Leah's victims are still alive for the title as Failla, Young and Yaginuma wait to see who survives the loser's bracket meat grinder to play later in the day.

Leah only needs to win one match to take the $25,600 top prize. If he loses against the Loser's Bracket Champion, the two will play a winner take all rematch.

********

Earlier Winner's Bracket Results

EVENT #16 - LAST BREAK

The players are just coming back from their final break of the day and they'll need to get moving if they plan to burst the money bubble before finishing at 2am. There are just over 60 players across 7 tables. The fantastic structure leaves them with plenty of room to play as the average stack is sitting with over 30 big blinds.

They are starting Level 12 with blinds at 1,000-2,000 and 300 ante.

LOSER'S BRACKET ROUND-UP (EVENT #15)

Heads Up, Double Elimination

All Losers Eliminated


5TH RD

James St. Hilaire def. Tim Finne
Jeff Vanchiro def. Bryan Schlieper
Matt Brady def. Ross Mallor
Trevor Savage def.John Larosa

6TH RD (11 AM)

Michael Font vs. James St. Hilaire
John Jay Fortunato vs. Jeff Vanchiro
Jason Young vs. Matt Brady
Matt Waxman vs. Trevor Savage

7TH RD. PREVIEW (1 PM*)

(#1) Michael Font/James St. Hilaire winner vs.
John Jay Fortunato/Jeff Vanchiro winner

(#2) Jason Young/Matt Brady winner vs.
Matt Waxman/Trevor Savage winner.


8TH RD. PREVIEW (3 PM*)

Will Failla vs. #1 remainder (Winner - $3,200)
Matt Vance vs. #2 remainder (Winner - $3,200)

SEMIFINALS (5 PM*)

Failla/#1 remainder winner vs.
Vance/#2 remainder winner

(Loser finishes 4th - $6,400)

FINALS (7 PM*)

Jesse Yaginuma vs. TBD

(Loser finishes 3rd - $9,600, Winner vs. Mike Leah from Winner's Bracket)

*Friday times subject to change

***************************

Earlier Loser's Bracket Results