The Lower 48

$2000 + $200 Championship Event
(Day 2)

Low is High on Chips

48 players remain after Day 2 of the Borgata Summer Poker Open Championship.

Here's the unofficial Top 10 (Look for a full list later tonight).

Position-Name-Chip Count

1. Tyng Low 567,900
2. Mike Melkerson 526,800
3. Jim Ostrander 474,800
4. Daniel Fischer 452,400
5. Jay Johnson 435,000
6. Dean Potashner 416,400
6. Todd Geddis 409,000
7. Ed Corrado 315,000
8. Josh Speigelman 379,100
9. Jia Liu 337,100
10. Sean Knitter 312,900

Play resumes at 11 am. The average stack is 200k and the top 36 cash.

Prize Pool

Place - Amount

1....................................$ 180,595
2....................................$ 104,620
3......................................$ 51,687
4......................................$ 43,592
5......................................$ 37,364
6......................................$ 31,137
7......................................$ 24,910
8......................................$ 18,683
9......................................$ 12,456
10-12..................................$ 8,096
13-15..................................$ 6,227
16-18..................................$ 4,359
19-27..................................$ 3,736
28-36...................................$3,114

Short Stack Ninjas

$2000 + $200 Championship Event
(Day 2)

As another table breaks, some short stacks are finding new life.

At table 3, Mark Hnatov (Huntington, NY) gets his last 30k all-in vs two players.

Hnatov: A A
Paul Snead: 7 7
Anonymous: Q Q

Hnatov's hand holds up and is now close to 100k. Snead, who we featured earlier in the tournament, is out, while Mr. Anonymous is still alive.

At table 5, the self admitted poker tourist Eugene Juergens (Brighton, MI, who says, "I'm on a poker vacation," has taken his 10k to nearly 150k. Every time he double or triples up he yells, "yes, I did it. I did it again!"

54 players remain on 6 tables with an average stack of 178k. There's just a few minutes left on the level, before they bag and tag for the night.

Big Hand After Break

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

Steven Curtin's new found chips are now in the stack of Jim Ostrander (Southern Pines, NC). On the first hand back from break Curtin has JJ vs Ostrander's 5 6.

Flop: 2 4 6 - Curtin bets 70k, Ostrander calls.
Turn: 8 - Curtin bets 70k, Ostrander calls.
River: 5 - Curtin bets 70k, Ostrander calls.

Curtin ships 210k to Ostrander who wins the hand with two pairs. Ostrander's the new chip leader with 493k, while Curtin has less than 100k.

58 players remain with an average stack of 166k.

Big Hand Before Break

$2000 + $200 Championship Event
(Day 2)

The clock is flashing zero as Level 13 (1,200/2,400/300) ends, but there's still action on table 5.

The flop is Q♣ 6♦ 2♦ and Frank Vizza (Cold Spring Harbor, NY ) is all-in for 40k. Eugene Juergens (Brighton, MI) flat calls and Steven Curtin (Charlotte, NC) moves all in for 78k more. Juergens calls and the cards are on the felt.

Vizza: 8♠ 8♣ (pair of 8s)
Juergens: A♦ 2♦ (nut flush draw)
Curtin: Q♥ 10♥ (top pair)

The board doesn't help Juergens or Vizza, while Curtin's stacking nearly 300k in chips with a pair of queens. Vizza, a Borgata regular is out, while Juergens is down to less than 10k.

Players are on break as they gear up for Level 14 (1,500/3k/300 ante) of the night.

62 Players Remain

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

'Joe the Donk' (his words, not mine) was all-in pre-flop with pocket 2s against Paul Snead's pocket Queens. You guessed it. A Deuce hit the board and Joe doubled up to ~90k. Paul was left with ~65k.

62 players remain. Average is over 155k

Slow & Steady

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

Donk Chips on the Left, 300k on the Right

After verbally jousting with Ahmed Fahmy (Long Island, NY) during Day 1B, Mike Melkersen (New Market, VA) flew under the radar with his chip count and emerged as the chip leader heading into Day 2.

Now, after a slow start, Melkersen's back on top with 430k, but no major hands to speak of, "slow and steady," he says.

In an interesting chip management move, Melkerson has his stack divided in to two piles "This is 300 thousand," he says while pointing to the stack on his left, then while referring to the other pile of chips, "this is what I'm going to gamble with, once that's gone I'll have to tighten up."

Level 13 (1,200/2,400/300 ante) continues.

Big Action, Big Pots

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

After an early position player opened for 10k, Tom Dobrilovic flatted from the small blind, then Ed Corrado shoved > 170k. The opener folded and Tom insta-called, showing pocket Aces. Ed held AK and was in bad shape. Then the board came K Q 6 4 K giving Ed trip Kings and the monster pot. He had Tom covered so Tom was busted. Ed's up to ~345k.

Meanwhile, the fireworks continue back on table 1. On the turn with a board of J♥9♥3♥5♠ Baruch Adams moved in. Big stack Mirza Nagji made the call, showing T♥8♥ for the flopped flush with open-ended straight-flush redraw. Baruch tabled T♠9♦ for nothing but a pair of 9s. He was drawing dead and hit the rail.

With that pot, Mirza is approaching 400k and back in the chip lead.

New Chip Leader?

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

After the player in seat one opened for 7k, Eric Siegel raised, then Florentino Deleon, Jr. called. Seat 1 hit it again for 35k, Eric moved in, Florentino moved in and we have three players with all their chips in the middle:
Seat 1: QQ
Eric Siegel: AQ
Florentino Deleon: AK
A King hit the board and that's all it took for Florentino to bust two players at once.

Soon after, Florentino called a short-stack's all-in and busted another one. He's now sitting behind about 350k and may be the new chip leader.

Florentino Deleon, Jr.

Another level gone and play continues in Level 13, blinds 1,200/2,400 with 300 antes.

Fell Falls Hard

$2000 + $200 Championship Event
(Day 2)

Two Hands, One Fell Swoop

In a span of three hands Jeff Fell (Robbinsville, NJ) goes from a tower of chips to a seat on the rail.

Fell first mixes it up with Mirza Nagji (New York, NY) in a 266k pot and reluctantly folds to Nagji's 80k all-in river bet on a board showing 8♦ 9♦ 10♠ Q♥ 6♥.

The two joust throughout the hand, both verbally and with chips, as Nagji opens the action and follows Fell's 3-bet preflop with a call. Nagji then check-calls the flop, and follows it with a check-raise on the turn.

Nagji leads out on the river, Fell goes in the tank and flashes a set of 10s before finally laying it down.

After the floor gives both players a warning for jawing at each other, Fell is left to regroup after losing 93k on the hand.

Two hands later, Fell gets involved with Anthony Balletta (New York) who calls Fell's preflop raise of 10k from the SB. The flop is 8d♦ 9♦ 10♠ and Balletta leads for 4k, three bets later Fell is all-in for 115k and Balletta calls.

Balletta: J♥ 10♦ (straight)
Fell: 8♥ 9♣ (two pairs)

The board is no help to Fell and, just like that, he's out the door. "I had 200 thousand," says Fell, "I shouldn't have gone to the river with any hand that I didn't have the nuts or a real good read on my opponent."

Fell shows some class by twice going to Nagji's seat and apologizing for his earlier outbursts. He was clearly tilting and now that reality's set in says, "I'm going to go home and get a hug from my wife."

Level 12 (1k/2k/200 ante) continues.

The Beats Go On

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

The big confrontations are happening more frequently now.

Joshua Hakakian (sb) fired the whole way to the river as the board came 9h7s4h9s4s. His 40k river bet was raised all-in by Carl Restifo (bb). Joshua called the extra 33,800 and Carl showed him the bad news: 97 off for the full boat. Joshua mucked.

Joshua Hakakian and Carl Restifo

On the turn with a board of 9 8 4 J, Daniel Lee (bb) was all-in. William O'Neil called all-in for 64,400, showing pocket Aces. Daniel was ahead with J8 for two pair. The river was another 9, which paired the board and gave William a better two pair. He doubled up.

Dean Potashner is making a run at the chip lead. He's up to about 315k.

Dean Potashner

Short Stacks Still Shipping

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

The short stacks are taking their shots with top 10 hands. Joanne Monteavaro (Bronx, NY) ships it with JJ vs the AQ of Lawrence Wolf (Skillman, NJ).

The flop brings an ace and a queen to give Wolf the lead and after the turn has the heart flush draw covered. A jack on the river gives Monteavaro a set of jacks and new life as she's now at 82k.

"It was a standard coin flip," she says while breathing a sigh of relief, "I just won it the hard way."

Level 12 (1k/2k/200 ante) is underway.

Blinds Up

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

Players are returning from their second break for Level 12, blinds 1k/2k with 200 antes.

82 Players remain. Average stack is over 117k.

Three more levels to play today.

Event 19 Rolls On

$350 + $50 NLH

While all eyes are on the Championship Event, Event 19 is on the opposite side of the Poker Room. Right now 100 of the 186 players remain. This is a one day tournament that will wrap up sometime after midnight.

Level 8 (400/800/75 ante) is underway.

Prize Pool

Entries: 186
Total Buy-In: $65,100

1....................................$ 19,449
2....................................$ 10,735
3......................................$ 5,999
4......................................$ 4,420
5......................................$ 3,789
6......................................$ 3,157
7......................................$ 2,526
8......................................$ 1,894
9......................................$ 1,422
10-12................................$ 1,231
13-15................................$ 1,073
16-18...................................$ 948

Updated Leaderboard

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

Tyng Low is still the chip leader with ~350k.

Eugene Juergens is up to 286k and second in chips. The self-proclaimed 'tourist' flopped trips and busted a player who moved in with an open-ender. Eugene hit the full house to take the pot.

Bryan Greeley has about 260k, good for third place.

Bryan Greeley

Ace on the River is Not Just a Book Title

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

On a flop of 8 6 3, Jay Johnson (bb) was all-in for 57,300 against Sean Knitter (button). Sean's pocket Queens were way ahead of Jay's A9. The turn was a King and no help to Jay.

He was several steps away from his seat, headed for the door, when the three-outer Ace landed on the river. "Yes!" said Jay as he returned to the table to collect his pot. Ahmed Fahmy (sb) said he mucked AK.

Jay Johnson

Double Digits

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

(Day 2)

On the turn with a board of A 5 3 7, Arben Kupi was all-in against Natale Kuey. Natale held AK for top/top, but Arben had flopped a set with pocket 5s. River was irrelevant as Natale was drawing dead. After shipping 28,900 across the felt, Natale was down to about 76k. Arben was up to about 100k.

Down to 11 tables now, which means 99 players.

On the river with a board of J 6 5 9 8, Joe Daddario (sb) checked to Eugene Juergens, who bet 15k. While Joe was thinking, Eugene stood up and said "I want you to call. Call, please." Joe obliged by tossing in three blue chips. Eugene slapped his QT on the table and said "Straight". Joe tossed his pocket 5s (set) into the muck. Eugene stacked up to ~170k.

Eugene Juergens

Then he jumped out of his seat and ran around the table for a 'victory lap', which he apparently does every time he wins a pot. This time the victory lap cost him the big blind as his hand was mucked because he was out of his seat. "I don't care. I'm just a tourist" Eugene said.

Corrado Conquers

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool (Day 2)

Several players saw the flop for the minimum as it came A♦T♦3♦. Ed Corrado (big blind) fired 30k. Seat 9 moved all-in for 10,800 more. Jay Johnson opted out. Seat 9 held A♥J♦ for top pair with flush draw, but Ed had flopped it with 6♦2♦. The last two came Q♠3♥ and Ed took the pot. Seat 9 took the walk to the rail. Ed's up to about 130k.

Ed Corrado

Paul Snead's pocket Jacks hold up to take out a short-stack holding AK.

About 106 players remain. Average stack is almost 91k.

Level 10 ran out and play continued into level 11, blinds 800/1,600 with 200 antes.

Curtin Called

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool (Day 2)

Steven Curtin

On the river with a board of K 6 4 6 J, Steven Curtin was all-in for 51,200. The player in seat 4 made the call, showing 76 for trip 6s. Steven held pocket 4s for the full boat. With that double-up, Steven is now sitting behind about 152k.

Eugene Juergens has about 165k.

Another New Chip Leader

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool (Day 2)

On a flop of 9 7 6, a player moved in for his last 50k and Tyng Low made the call. The all-in player held pocket Aces, but Tyng held pocket 6s and had flopped a set. The last two came Q 7 and Tyng improved to a full house.

It took a while for him to finish stacking chips, but the count comes to about 295k and makes Tyng Low the new chip leader.

Tyng Low

Blinds Up

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool (Day 2)

Players are returning from their first break of the day .

Level 10: Blinds 600/1,200 with 100 antes. The green 25 chips have been colored up and removed from play.

Mike Devinsky is definitely the chip leader with 227k.

New Chip Leader

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool (Day 2)

Over on table four, Florentino Deleon, Jr. raised to 3,500 from the button. Then Brandon Guss raised to 11k from the small blind. Then Mike Contessa raised to 37k from the big blind. Florentino moved all in. Brandon mucked. After giving it some thought, Mike open-mucked his pocket Queens. No show from Florentino.

On a flop of Q T T rainbow, chip leader Mirza Nagji (bb) bet ~22k. Mike Devinsky called. Turn was a King. Both players checked. River was another King, double-pairing the board. Mirza checked. Mike bet 65k.

Mirza tanked for about 3 minutes, counted out the chips to call, counted his remaining chips, then opted to fold. He showed his AJ (Broadway Straight). Mike slid his cards to the dealer and collected his pot. With that hand, he's up to ~210k and the new chip leader.

Mike Devinsky

14 tables remain. 126 players still in the hunt. Average stack is ~76,400.

Updated Leaderboard

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool (Day 2)

Mirza Nagji has claimed the chip lead. He's up to ~190k. Joshua Hakakian is a close second with about 187k.

Day 1A chip leader Todd Geddis, who shares the felt with Hakkakian, has chipped up to ~170k. Day 1B chip leader Mike Melkersen has stalled at ~140k.

Mirza Nagji

Guss, Snead, Lee, Chipping Up

$2000 + $200 Championship Event

$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool (Day 2)

On a flop of 8 5 4, Avinash Kataria was all-in against Brandon Guss (Philadelphia, PA). Avinash held 82 for top pair, but Brandon held pocket 5s for the set. The last two board cards were T 6 and Avinash hit the rail. Brandon chipped up to ~125k.

Brandon Guss

One table over, the flop was T 4 3 and Matthew Honig was all-in and called by Paul Snead. Matthew held QT suited for top pair, but Paul's KT suited had him out-kicked by a pip. The last two came J A and Matthew reported to the rail. Paul stacked up to ~100k.

Andrew Lee is up to a~145k.

Level 1 is done. Level 2 underway with blinds of 500/1,000 and 100 antes.

Dropping Like Flies

$2000 + $200 Championship Event
$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool (Day 2)

Kevin Murray got all in after the board paired his Ace, but Andrew Lee had flopped a set of 3s and Kevin was busted.

On a Ten-high board, seat 2 was all-in against John Milone. John held AT for top/top, but seat 2 held pocket Jacks for the overpair and the double-up. John was left with less than 10k.

They're dropping so fast, they've just broken table 19. That means there are 18 9-handed tables remaining or 162 players. Average stack is about 59,400.

Day 2 Underway

$2000 + $200 Championship Event
$500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool (Day 2)

Cards are in the air on Day 2 of the Main Event.

189 returning players are in action playing level 8, blinds 400/800 with 75 antes. Today the levels will be 75 minutes long with a break after every two and they will play 7 levels before calling it a night.

As players bust out, tables will go from 10-handed to 9-handed before they break any tables.

The cry of "Seat Open" has already been heard a few times as the short stacks make their moves.