News on tournaments and other action in casino poker rooms
The Borgata Summer Poker Open got off to a healthy start Wednesday, June 6 as its opening event drew 679 players and a total buy-in of $339,500.
That easily covered the $100,000 guaranteed prize pool for the event and then some.
Though the Summer Open doesn’t draw as well as other Borgata events — such as the Borgata Open in September, which traditionally draws well over 1,000 players for its opening event — that’s actually a pretty impressive draw.
The event was a $500 + $60 buy-in, which is a little higher than usual for a Borgata Open first event buy-in. The event also started on a Wednesday and vacation season hasn’t quite started yet.
And, of course, the whole Borgata Summer Poker Open competes with the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, which is well underway.
None of that really mattered to Yevgeni Rapoport, of Brooklyn, New York, who wins the event and takes home $79,069.
The win is the first recorded tournament cash for Rapoport. That kind of makes him a typical winner at the Summer Open, which sees far less pros attend than at other Borgata events. With the WSOP in play, the Summer Open gives casual players a good shot at the big money.
Rapoport told the Borgata Poker Blog that the win was “surreal” and had left him kind of speechless. Yeah, winning nearly $80,000 can do that to you.
In second, was Joe Wertz, originally from Montoursville, Pa., but now a resident of Brigantine, who won $44,548, bringing his total winnings over $300,000.
Third went to Eric Siegel, of Belmore, New York, who wins $27,992 and now has winnings over $450,000.
I mention them because they are both good examples of Borgata pros — pro players who can be seen regularly at the casino’s poker room.
Both players have a ton of Borgata cashes on their records.
In fact, Wertz has cashed almost exclusively at Borgata events, but strangely, has never gotten a tournament win at the casino.
“Second, second, second,” Wertz told the Borgata with a smile. “It was fun, but I definitely wanted to win one at Borgata.”
Since the opener, the Summer Open has been drawing reasonable, if not spectacular, turnouts for most of its events.
Part of that, however, is due to the fact that the Borgata is one of the few city casinos that still gives props to other games besides Hold-Em.
Since opening on Wednesday, June 6, Borgata has held a Pot Limit Omaha tournament (with the twist of a $100 bounty), and two other Pot Limit Omaha tournaments, including won hi/lo. The casino also has staged a seven-card stud tournament, which is pretty old-school these days.
These specialty games usually draw about 100 players (the stud tournament drew 42), but it’s nice that the casino is offering a variety of games.
And never forget: the cash action at the casino never stops.
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Poker Lowdown
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Poker Lowdown
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