Event 18
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 2017 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.
$260+$40 Deep Stack NLH Re-Entry
$75,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000/20,000 ante
Total Entries: 601
Players Remaining: 6
1st Place- Xiang Lim ($19,269)
With the elimination of Stephen Moy in 7th place the final six agreed to stop the clock and discuss a deal. It didn’t take long for them to come an agreement and they agreed to run one hand out for the trophy.
Xiang Lim was holding the chip lead at the time of the deal and will take first place for $19,269. Natale Kuey paired his queen holding king queen to take home the Borgata Summer Poker Open Event 18 trophy.
Below is a look at the chip stacks at the time of the deal and what each player will be earning.
1. Xiang Lim- 3,730,000 ($19,269)
2. Boris Gandman- 3,445,000 ($18,619)
3. Nathan G- 2,590,000 ($16,472)
4. Natale Kuey- 2,495,000 ($16,212)
5. Paul Ricciardi- 2,140,000 ($15,197)
6. Steve Raime- 615,000 ($9,661)
L to R) Paul Ricciardi, Boris Gandman, Xiang Lim, Natale Kuey, Nathan G, Steve Raime
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Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000/20,000 ante
Total Entries: 601
Players Remaining: 6
Stephen Moy
Stephen Moy moved all in for 405,000 from the cutoff and Nathan G. called from the small blind. Moy turned over 
but would need to improve against the 
of Nathan G.
The board ran out 
and Nathan G. paired his ace to earn the knockout. Moy is our 7th place Event 18 finisher earning $5,532 for his efforts.
Nathan G- 2,590,000
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Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000/10,000 ante
Total Entries: 601
Players Remaining: 7
Walt Kaufmann
Walt Kaufmann moved all in for 710,000 from the cutoff. Boris Gandman called from the big blind turning over 
and he was dominating the 
of Kaufmann.
The board ran out 
and Gandman paired his ace to earn the knockout. Kaufmann is our 8th place Event 18 finisher taking home $4,168 for his efforts.
Boris Gandman- 3,600,000
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Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 28: Blinds 40,000/80,000/10,000 ante
Total Entries: 601
Players Remaining: 8
The anonymous player moved all in for just over 300,000 on a 
board. Nathan G. quickly called turning over 
and the player showed 
for middle pair.
The 
completed the board and Nathan G. improved to two pair to earn the knockout. The anonymous player is our 9th place finisher and will take home $2,880 for his efforts.
Nathan G- 2,300,000
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Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000/5,000 ante
Total Entries: 601
Players Remaining: 9
Xiang Lin
With the elimination of Dan Walsh in 10th place the Event 18 final table is now set. Xiang Lim is leading the way with 4,200,000 and he has more than double that of his nearest competitor.
Below is a look at the updated chip counts and final table seating assignments as well as what’s at stake.
Seat 1. Boris Ganman- 1,700,000
Seat 2. Anonymous- 625,000
Seat 3. Paul Ricciardi- 1,200,000
Seat 4. Stephen Moy- 675,000
Seat 5. Xiang Lim- 4,200,000
Seat 6. Nathan G- 1,850,000
Seat 7. Walt Kaufmann- 1,000,000
Seat 8. Steve Raime- 1,900,000
Seat 9. Natale Kuey- 1,450,000
Payouts
1st: $36,391
2nd: $20,462
3rd: $12,884
4th: $10,459
5th: $8,337
6th: $6,897
7th: $5,532
8th: $4,168
9th: $2,880
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Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 27: Blinds 30,000/60,000/5,000 ante
Total Entries: 601
Players Remaining: 12
Steve Raime
The action folded to Vinny Pahuja in the cutoff and he moved all in for 480,000. Steve Raime re-raised to 1,500,000 from the small blind and the big blind folded.
Steve Raime: 
Vinny Pahuja: 
The dealer fanned the 
flop and Pahuja picked up a flush draw. The turn paired Pahuja to give him some additional out but he river was not one of them.
Pahuja was eliminated in 13th place earning $1,400 and Raime moves into the chip lead with 2,400,000 and 12 players remaining.
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Structure Sheet | Payouts
End of Level 26: Blinds 25,000/50,000/5,000 ante
Total Entries: 601
Players Remaining: 13
The Event 18 players are now on a 15-minute color up break. There are just 13 remaining and we are just three eliminations away from the final table. They are now all guaranteed at least $1,440 and will battle it out into the early morning hours for the $36,391 first prize and the BSPO trophy.
$260+$40 Deep Stack NLH Re-Entry
$75,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 26: Blinds 25,000/50,000/5,000 ante
Total Entries: 601
Players Remaining: 14
Guy Cicconi
Guy Cicconi raised to 125,000 from under the gun and a player in middle position called. They went heads up to the 
flop and Cicconi fired out a bet of 260,000. His opponent quickly folded and Cicconi added the pot to his stack.
Guy Cicconi- 1,100,000
$260+$40 Deep Stack NLH Re-Entry
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Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 25: Blinds 20,000/40,000/4,000 ante
Total Entries: 601
Players Remaining: 18
Stephen Moy
A player in middle position raised to 90,000 and it folded to Stephen Moy on the button. Moy took his time before sliding out a re-raise to 300,000. It folded back the original raiser who quickly folded and Moy took the pot.
“Do you want to see it” asked Moy who turned over the as he stacked his chips.
Stephen Moy- 1,350,000