Event 17
The 2018 Summer Poker Open wrapped up in the early hours of Saturday morning when Carlos Alvarado won the final event at about 6:30am, taking home more than $21,000. That’s after earning an even $100,000* for his runner-up finish in the $500,000 Guaranteed Almighty Stack. Alvarado was not the only player having a good summer.
2018 Summer Poker Open Championship winner Greg Nerenberg
Greg Nerenberg won the record-setting $1 Million Guaranteed Summer Poker Open Championship event and $365,062. The 627 entries in the Championship topped the numbers from last July and the final 63 players earned a piece of the $1,520,475 prize pool. The tournament drew some top poker pros including Brian Altman, Andy Frankenberg, David Paredes, Joe McKeehen, and four-time WPT champ Darren Elias.
Nerenberg was facing more than a two-to-one chip disadvantage at the start of heads-up play against Kane Kalas, who had been on a heater since the start of the final table. One double-up, however, reversed their positions and the match was over soon after. Kalas earned $205,264 for his second place finish. In an impressive performance, 2017 Borgata Poker Open Championship winner Guo Liang Chen made a repeat appearance at the Championship final table, finishing 6th for $69,182.
Gary Tavella – 1st Place – 2018 Borgata Summer Poker Open $1M GTD Kick-Off
The $1 Million Guaranteed Kick-Off event saw 2,201 runners build a prize pool in excess of $1.1 million and the final three players made a deal that resulted in chip leader Gary Tavella taking 1st place and $143,730*. This was the first Borgata title for the high-stakes cash game player.
The first Saturday Series event was also the Cabot Creamery “Put a Bad Beat On Hunger” charity tournament. They drew 349 total entries and raised $3,490 for the New Jersey Food Bank – Southern Branch. Larry Connor got 1st place, $18,468* and the Borgata Open trophy. Cabot Creamery provided two $3,500 2018 BPO Championship seats for the 1st and 2nd place finishers, so Connor and runner-up Carlos Figueroa will both be free-rolling the Championship in September.
1st Place, 15th Birthday Tournament of Championship – Chalie Hook
To celebrate their 15th Birthday, Borgata hosted a Tournament of Champions which was an invitation-only event open to winners of all 15 years of Championship events. The winner-take-all $25,000 championship was won by 2013 Summer Poker Open Champion Chalie Hook, who agreed to split the prize with the final three players. The final six also got seats in the Summer Open Championship event.
Two other accomplishments of note occurred during this series. Barry Leventhal won the Seniors event for the third time and claimed his seventh Borgata title. Michael Kemeter took 1st in the SixMax for the third time in four years. He’s made the final table of this event five of the last seven years.
All guarantees were covered and millions in prize money was paid out to hundreds of participants! A complete list of Main Event winners and their winnings is below.
* Indicates Adjusted Payout
This concludes our coverage of the 2018 Borgata Summer Poker Open! On behalf of the Borgata Poker family and our blog team, @Kaelaine, @AlCantHang, and @TKBluffs, Thank You! Make plans now to join us for the WPT/Borgata Poker Open, September 4th – 21st.
$1,000+$60 Second Chance 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Structure Sheet | Payouts
(From left to right) Grant Golin, Robert Orzello, Timothy “Pizza” Pirraglia, and Dwayne Horton pose in front of our Anonymous champ
After the double knockout of David Lazarus and Shaun Goodman, the five remaining players decided to look at some ICM numbers. Our Anonymous player held a very nice chip lead and took home $14,446 along with the Borgata Summer Poker Open. The other four players were paid out based on their chip counts at the time and listed below.
Chip counts:
Anonymous – 681,000
Timothy “Pizza” Pirraglia – 268,000
Dwayne Hunton – 242,000
Robert Ozello – 235,000
Grant Golin – 143,000
Payouts:
1st: Anonymous – $14,446
2nd: Timothy “Pizza” Pirraglia – $9,710
3rd: Dwayne Hunton – $9,294
4th: Robert Ozello – $9,179
5th: Grant Golin – $7,489
$1,000+$60 Second Chance 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 23: Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000 ante
Total Entries: 62
Players Remaining: 5
David Lazarus
We had two quick eliminations after the break and another two soon after. This time it was in one hand.
David Lazarus open-shoved for 74,000 from the button and Timothy “Pizza” Pirraglia moved all in from the small blind. Keeping it crazy, Shaun Goodman put his smaller 55,000 stack in the middle from the big blind for the huge pot.
Lazarus: 
Pirraglia: 
Goodman: 
Another monster hand early at the final table but the kings had a little sweat after the 
flop. Any spade would give Goodman the triple up but the board finished running threes 
for the double knockout.
David Lazarus – Eliminated in 6th place ($3,667)
Shaun Goodman – Eliminated in 7th place ($3,056)
Shaun Goodman
$1,000+$60 Second Chance 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 22: Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000 ante
Total Entries: 62
Players Remaining: 7
David Paredes
After the return from break, the turbo portion of the tournament caught up to the long hand-for-hand bubble. David Paredes was the first to take a shot and moved all in with 
and our Anonymous player woke up with 
. Paredes caught a piece of the 
flop but wasn’t enough after the 
turn and river. Anon’s 167,000 was slightly more than Paredes for the double and the former WPT Borgata champ was gone soon after.
Two hands later, Timothy “Pizza” Pirraglia was all in for 74,000 with 
and ran into Andrew Glauberg’s 
. The kings looked good but Pirraglia flopped a set on the 
board. The 
turn and 
river completed the board and Glauberg was down to the felt, then out one hand later.
Andrew Glauberg – Eliminated in 8th place ($2,444)
David Parades – Eliminated in 9th place ($1,833)
Andrew Glauberg
$1,000+$60 Second Chance 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 22: Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000 ante
Total Entries: 62
Players Remaining: 9
The Black Chip Bounty hit the money a little while ago and the $1,000+$90 Semi-Turbo went into money bubble mode soon after. With a lot of money on the line, they played more than a level going two minutes per hand.
Robert Ozello was in a race with two overcards and the bigger stack. His 
caught the 
flop against 
and turned kings up on the turn. He dodged two outs on the river to put the last nine players in the money.
Players immediately took a 15-minute break and will get back underway at the final table when they return. Below is the final table lineup and counts will be updated when things settle down.
Seat 1: Timothy “Pizza” Pirraglia
Seat 2: Shaun Goodman
Seat 3: David Paredes
Seat 4: Andrew Glauberg
Seat 5: Anonymous
Seat 6: Dwayne Hunton
Seat 7: Grant Golin
Seat 8: Robert Ozello
Seat 9: David Lazarus
Payouts:
1st: $21,388
2nd: $11,611
3rd: $7,333
4th: $5,500
5th: $4,278
6th: $3,667
7th: $3,056
8th: $2,444
9th: $1,833
$1,000+$60 Second Chance 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Structure Sheet
Level 16: Blinds 2,000/4,000/500 ante
Total Entries: 62
Players Remaining: 23
We now have the numbers for the $1,000+$90 Second chance Semi-Turbo and the big buy-in tournament drew 62 entries to best the numbers from 2017. The last nine spots will be paid; a min-cash grabbing $1,833 and the Semi-Turbo champ earning $21,388 plus the Borgata Summer Poker Open trophy.
1st: $21,388
2nd: $11,611
3rd: $7,333
4th: $5,500
5th: $4,278
6th: $3,667
7th: $3,056
8th: $2,444
9th: $1,833
$1,000+$60 Second Chance 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Structure Sheet
Level 12: Blinds 800/1,600/200 ante
Total Entries: 62
Players Remaining: 28
David Paredes
The Second Chance Semi-Turbo is wasting no time slicing through its field. The tournament is down to the last four tables after registration closed and they are only a handful of bustouts away from getting to three tables in the eight-handed action.
David Paredes, 2015 WPT Borgata Poker Open Champion, was one of the last players to hop in the game looking for another big score.
$1,000+$60 Second Chance 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Structure Sheet
Level 10: Blinds 500/1,000/100 ante
Total Entries: 62
Andy Frankenberger
The $1,000+$90 Semi-Turbo event is nearing the end of registration and the tournament already surpassed its entry count from last year of 60 as new players bust from the Championship.
WSOP bracelet winner and former WPT Player of the Year Andy Frankenberger is counted among those switching sides of the poker room as they near their dinner break.
$1,000+$60 Second Chance 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Structure Sheet
Level 6: Blinds 200/400/50 ante
Total Entries: 32
Asher Conniff
The Semi-Turbo tournament entry count is creeping up as players return from their first break of the day. We have 32 entries in the back of the poker room at the moment and more will join as they are unfortunately sent out of the nearby Championship.
Among those we found two major Borgata Champions; 2015 WPT World Champion Asher Conniff and 2009 WPT Borgata Poker Open victor Olivier Busquet are in the field trying to earn a one-day trophy.
Olivier Busquet
$1,000+$60 Second Chance 8-Max Semi-Turbo NLH
Structure Sheet
Level 1: Blinds 50/100
For those players with deeper pockets, today’s second post-lim event should fit the bill nicely. The Second Chance Semi-Turbo is played eight-handed, giving players room to spread out.
Starting stacks are 25,000 and all levels are 20 minutes long. Late Registration and unlimited re-entries are possible until the start of Level 11 (at least 7:20pm).
Last year there were 60 entries for a prize pool of $58,200. The final nine players earned a share and at the end, the final six agreed on adjusted payouts. She Lok ‘Gary’ Wong finally took home his first Borgata Open title and $8,537.
She Lok Wong – 1st Place – 2017 BSPO Second Chance