Gabriel Aminov Leads WPT Borgata Poker Open

A total of 1,018 runners turned out for the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Borgata Poker Open. Now, 555 players remain, led by New York’s Gabriel Aminov. The winner of the $3,500 buy-in tournament will pocket $925,000.

Two starting days played out over the weekend at the Borgata Poker Open, the largest WPT tournament ever held. The top 100 players will take home money from the East Coast event, with the top six convening for the televised final table, which will air as part of Season VIII of the WPT on Fox Sports Net. Among those still in contention is Poker News Daily Guest Columnist and ESPN.com “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee, who will come armed to Day 2 play on Monday with 15,700 chips, good for 524th overall. Lee won a race late in the day holding pocket eights against A-10 when the board ran out 7-7-2-2-3.

On the atmosphere at the Borgata, Lee told Poker News Daily, “This feels just like the old days. We used to get 600, 700, or 800 people all of the time. It feels like it’s during the boom of the WPT. It just shows you the interest people have and that the Borgata runs a first-class operation.” Among those who hit the rails during play on Sunday on Day 1B were Will “The Thrill” Failla, who ran kings into aces, and Matt “All In At 420” Stout, who came out on the short end of a race holding A-K to Roy Winston’s pocket tens.

Many of the game’s top pros are not in Atlantic City for the Borgata Poker Open. Instead, they made the trek to London, site of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe. Lee, however, noted that the running of the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) may have also cut into attendance: “There was also the WCOOP Main Event going on yesterday and a lot of people had to make the decision to play in one or the other. Some people didn’t come here because it was a smaller buy-in event and the WCOOP Main Event will have a $10 million guarantee.” First place in the PokerStars tournament will pay $1.7 million, nearly double the grand prize at the Borgata.

Here’s how the field stacks up at the Borgata Poker Open entering Day 2:

1. GABRIEL AMINOV - 213,700
2. OFIR MOR - 183,450
3. FRANK CHARLES- 169,000
4. ANTHONY GREGG - 160,950
5. JEREMY BROWN - 156,425
6. SUNIL WALIA - 155,625
7. RHETT BUTLER - 153,325
8. ROBERT MCLAUGHLIN - 147,275
9. SOHEIL SHAMSEDDIN - 145,000
10. STEFAN MATTSSON - 143,500

Others who remain in contention include:
13. STEVE BRECHER - 139,150
44. MICHAEL BINGER - 110,325
81. TODD TERRY - 89,925
131. KATHY LIEBERT - 76,450
134. GAVIN SMITH - 75,715
156. DAVID “THE MAVEN” CHICOTSKY - 69,600
416. NANCY TODD TYNER - 29,675
461. ROBERT VARKONYI - 24,700
493. JOHN SPADAVECCHIA - 19,250
524. BERNARD LEE - 15,700

Among the highlights of Day 1B was a four-way all-in featuring three flushes and a set. After a flop of K-10-9, all diamonds, players pushed with J-3 of diamonds, 7-5 of diamonds, pocket tens, and A-8 of diamonds for the nut flush. The turn and river came the jack of hearts and three of clubs, respectively, and Andrew Interdonato scooped the massive pot with the nut flush. He now sits with the 390th largest stack at the Borgata, 33,150.

The action kicks off at 11:00am ET on Monday, with all players’ sights set on reaching the six-handed final table, where the following payouts will be up for grabs:

1st Place: $925,514
2nd Place: $453,519
3rd Place: $251,955
4th Place: $216,681
5th Place: $188,126
6th Place: $156,212

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Poker jargon:

HOUSE RULE - Rules and interpretations (e.g., use of wild cards, or rules on having to show beaten hands) that are specific to an establishment or even tables within the establishment.
TAPPED [OUT] - Out of money. Can refer to a player running out of money in the course of a hand, thus still active for the main pot; or can refer to a player who has lost his bankroll and can no longer play.
MISDEAL - A hand dealt incorrectly that must be re-dealt.
HIGH-LOW SPLIT - Forms of poker in which the pot is split between the best hand and best lowball hand.
FIRE - To make the first bet in a betting round. Used to emphasize that the player bet when a check was possible, showing strength.
TELL - Any personal mannerisms that reveal the quality of one's hand. E.g., constantly looking at one's hole cards is often a tell of a poor hand. (Some players, knowing this, will at times check their hole cards when they have a great hand and don't need to look.)

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