Event 6
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.
$300+$40 Seniors No Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Barry Leventhal
The Seniors Event is always a popular tournament when it shows up on a series schedule. The 2018 Borgata Summer Poker Open Seniors Event drew a great crowd with 168 entries and they all seemed to have a great time. When the dust settled, Barry Leventhal earned himself another Borgata trophy along with $7,352 in a six-way adjusted payout deal.
The 168 entries created a prize pool worth $48,306 and it paid out the last two tables of players. The tournament made it down to the money bubble shortly before the dinner break and Leventhal put them in the money after a long hand-for-hand process. From that point forward, the bust outs came at a brisk pace.
They took their final break after Level 20, moved the final eight players over to the Signature Room, and they had their money locked up before too long. The six remaining players looked at their ICM numbers, quickly determined they were agreeable and called an end to the long day of poker.
Leventhal had a nice chip lead at the time and earned his seventh Borgata trophy. This is his first trophy since the last big series when he won the 2018 Borgata Spring Poker Open Seniors event a few months ago. It was another great performance by the local legend and he’s chasing Abraham Korotiki’s Borgata title record of 9.
Congrats to everyone else who made the money and thanks to our players for another great Seniors Event.
Seniors Event results:
1st: Barry Leventhal – $7,352 *
2nd: Barbara Leonardi – $6,796 *
3rd: Charlie Lask – $5,946 *
4th: Tony Schiano – $5,586 *
5th: David Tannenbaum – $5,360 *
6th: Thomas Koo – $5,190 *
7th: Istvan Szabo – $1,932
8th: Konstantinos Kotsaris – $1,449
9th: John O’Connell – $1,087
10th: Anonymous – $966
11th: Kim Eisler – $966
12th: Robert Pasch – $966
13th: ken Natal – $845
14th: Arthur Bressler – $845
15th: Daniel Moxey – $845
16th: Dennis Wilber – $725
17th: Harold Weidenfeld – $725
18th: Giovanni Mautone – $725
* – denotes results of a six-way adjusted payout deal
$300+$40 Seniors No Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 22: Blinds 10,000/20,000/3,000 ante
Entries: 168
Players Remaining: 6
Barry Leventhal, David Tennenbaum, Charlie Lask, and Thomas Koo (back row)
Barbara Leonardi and Tony Schiano (seated)
After Istvan Szabo went out in seventh place, the six remaining players pushed some chips around until they realized they were ready to call it a night. The ICM numbers were put into the computing system and spit out numbers that everyone was happy to add to their bankroll.
Barry Leventhal was the chip leader at the time and took the biggest piece of the prize pool along with yet another trophy. This is number seven for the Borgata regular and he keeps adding trophies to his mantle. Barbara Leonardi earned second place money followed by Charlie Lask, Tony Schiano, David Tannenbaum, and Thomas Koo.
Congrats to Barry on another successful tournament and more accolades.
Chip counts:
Barry Leventhal – 833,000
Barbara Leonardi – 705,000
Charlie Lask – 528,000
Tony Schiano – 461,000
David Tannenbaum – 421,000
Thomas Koo – 392,000
Payouts:
1st: Barry Leventhal – $7,352
2nd: Barbara Leonardi – $6,796
3rd: Charlie Lask – $5,946
4th: Tony Schiano – $5,586
5th: David Tannenbaum – $5,360
6th: Thomas Koo – $5,190
$300+$40 Seniors No Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 21: Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000 ante
Entries: 168
Players Remaining: 6
Istvan Szabo
Istvan Szabo was left the short stack after doubling up Barbara Leonardi, made a payout ladder up, and shipped in soon after for 79,000. His 
was in rough shape against 
and the 
board could not keep him in the game.
$300+$40 Seniors No Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 21: Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000 ante
Entries: 168
Players Remaining: 7
Konstantinos Kotsaris
Konstantinos Kotsaris open-shoved for 107,000 from under the gun and Charlie Lask called from the hijack. Tony Schiano reshipped from the big blind for 360,000 and Lask folded after a short think.
Kotsaris: 
Schiano: 
Kotsaris was in a ton of trouble if he wanted to stick around but he never caught a whiff of the 
board to exit in eighth place.
Tony Schiano – 835,000 (52 bb)
Konstantinos Kotsaris – Eliminated in 8th place ($1,449)
$300+$40 Seniors No Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 21: Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000 ante
Entries: 168
Players Remaining: 8
Barbara Leonardi opened to 100,000 from the button and Istvan Szabo moved all in from the big blind with the bigger stack. Leonardi called for 390,000 at risk but with a dominating hand.
Leonardi: 
Szabo: 
Leonardi was ahead for the double, had no problem with the 
flop, and locked up the hand on the turn to double.
Barbara Leonardi – 804,000 (50 bb)
Istvan Szabo – 90,000 (6 bb)
$300+$40 Seniors No Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 20: Blinds 6,000/12,000/2,000 ante
Entries: 168
Players Remaining: 8
Thomas Koo open-shoved from early position for 92,000 and Istvan Szabo called next to act. Barry Leventhal considered coming along but released his big blind.
Koo: 
Szabo: 
It was another flip and Koo needed to catch to stay in the game. He found what he needed immediately on the 
flop. The 
turn was safe and he had his double up after the river.
Thomas Koo – 218,000 (14 bb)
Istvan Szabo – 550,000 (34 bb)
$300+$40 Seniors No Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 21: Blinds 8,000/16,000/2,000 ante
Entries: 168
Players Remaining: 8
The was an extended delay after Level 20 to relocate the final table. They will continue to play out for the Seniors title while sitting in the Signature Room along with the Deepest Stack Event 7 on the other side.
Seat 1: Istvan Szabo – 588,000 (37 bb)
Seat 2: Tony Schiano – 335,000 (21 bb)
Seat 3: Konstantinos Kotsaris – 93,000 (6 bb)
Seat 4: David Tannenbaum – 440,000 (28 bb)
Seat 5: Barry Leventhal – 680,000 (43 bb)
Seat 6: Charlie Lask – 752,000 (47 bb)
Seat 8: Barbara Leonardi – 312,000 (20 bb)
Seat 9: Thomas Koo – 136,000 (9 bb)
$300+$40 Seniors No Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 20: Blinds 6,000/12,000/2,000 ante
Entries: 168
Players Remaining: 8
John O’Connell
We had two quick big hands at the start of the final table. First, it was our anonymous player going out in tenth place on the second hand and then John O’Connell ran into the aces of Charlie Lask to leave him with less than ten big blinds. He moved those all in for 110,000 after a Barry Leventhal open to 25,000 and the shove was called.
Leventhal: 
O’Connell: 
It was a race and O’Connell needed to hold and he stayed ahead on the 
flop. Leventhal now had flush outs with his over cards and it filled on the 
turn to leave O’Connell drawing dead to the river for ninth place money.
Barry Leventhal – 480,000 (40 bb)
John O’Connell – Eliminated in 9th place ($1,087)
$300+$40 Seniors No Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet | Payouts
Level 19: Blinds 5,000/10,000/1,000 ante
Entries: 168
Players Remaining: 10
Action folded to Barry Leventhal in the small blind and he dropped a stack of chips for a raise. Kim Eisler called the 32,000 raise to see the flop with few chips behind. Leventhal checked, Eisler moved all in for ~45,000 and Leventhal quickly called.
Leventhal:
Eisler: 
Eisler was less than 1% to pull running perfect cards to double and the turn had him drawing dead to 11th place.
Tournament staff paused the clock to redraw the final table ten.
Seat 1: Istvan Szabo – 560,000 (56 bb)
Seat 2: Tony Schiano – 240,000 (24 bb)
Seat 3: Konstantinos Kotsaris – 290,000 (29 bb)
Seat 4: David Tannenbaum – 390,000 (39 bb)
Seat 5: Barry Leventhal – 370,000 (37 bb)
Seat 6: Charlie Lask – 380,000 (38 bb)
Seat 7: John O’Connell – 350,000 (35 bb)
Seat 8: Barbara Leonardi – 270,000 (27 bb)
Seat 9: Anonymous – 240,000 (24 bb)
Seat 10: Thomas Koo – 150,000 (15 bb)