Event 9
Paul Volpe – Spring Poker Open Champion
Over the last 18 days, the Borgata Spring Poker Open saw thousands of entrants participate in tournaments, both big and small. Nineteen Borgata Open titles were awarded and most of those went to players winning their first title here, including Paul Volpe, winner of the Championship Event. He added more than $356,255 to his more than $4 million in career earnings and added his first Borgata title to his list of WSOP, EPT, PCA, and LAPC titles.
Four players picked up their second Borgata titles: Todd Rebello, Ryan McKnight, Kal Alwan, and Vincent Masino. Three Borgata regulars booked their third career titles here during this series: Barry Leventhal, Stosh Gepp, and Andrew Klein.
The series boasted more than $3.1 million in guarantees and paid out more than $4.6 million in prize money. Thanks to all the players who participated and congratulations to all those who finished in the money. You can view the full results of all main events here.
Here’s a rundown of the Spring Open Trophy events and their winners:
| Event | Buy-In / Event | Guarantee | Entries | Total Buy-Ins | Winner | Hometown | 1st Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500+60 Deep Stack NLH | $1,000,000 | 2,530 | $1,265,000 | Matt Mendez | Wellington, FL | $213,192 |
| 2 | $350+50+100 Deep Stack Bounty NLH | 417 | $145,950 | Eli Kalimi | Cherry Hill, NJ | $36,166 | |
| 3 | $350+50 HORSE | 67 | $23,450 | Christian Ortiz | Morristown, NJ | $8,644 | |
| 4 | $350+50 Sat Series Deep Stack NLH | $100,000 | 575 | $201,250 | Lydia Waltonbaugh | New Kensington, PA | $48,608 |
| 5 | $500+60 Super Stack Elevator NLH | 115 | $57,500 | Sameer Batra | Deer Park, NY | $16,450 | |
| 6 | $300+40 Seniors NLH | 198 | $59,400 | Todd Rebello | Oak Bluffs, MA | $17,000 | |
| 7 | $200+30 Ladies NLH | 56 | $11,200 | Miriam BuBois | Teaneck, NJ | $3,802 | |
| 8 | $200+30 Deep Stack NLH RE | $25,000 | 248 | $49,600 | Bart Golik | Brooklyn, NY | $13,474 |
| 9 | $250+30 Deeper Stack NLH | $150,000 | 868 | $217,000 | Steve Nooralian | Ocean View, DE | $48,423 |
| 10 | $260+40 Pot Limit Omaha High | 93 | $24,180 | Ryan McKnight | Harrisburg, PA | $8,209 | |
| 11 | $400+50 Almighty Stack NLH | $500,000 | 1,380 | $552,000 | Peter Vitantonio | Wickliffe, OH | $113,791 |
| 12 | $1,000+90 SixMax NLH RE | $150,000 | 142 | $150,000 | John Lytle | Highlands, NJ | $40,810 |
| 13 | $400+50+100 Bounty 40BB NLH | 133 | $53,200 | Kal Alwan | Wayne, NJ | $15,225 | |
| 14 | $350+50 Sat Series Deep Stack NLH | $100,000 | 493 | $172,550 | Vincent Masino | Deer Park, NY | $42,756 |
| 15 | $2,500+200 Championship NLH | $1,000,000 | 590 | $1,475,000 | Paul Volpe | West Chester, PA | $356,255 |
| 16 | $1000+60 Semi-Turbo NLH | 79 | $79,000 | Barry Leventhal | Brooklyn, NY | $26,819 | |
| 17 | $200+30 Deep Stack NLH | $50,000 | 486 | $97,200 | Steve Fuhrman | Naples, FL | $24,086 |
| 18 | $200+30 Deeper Stack NLH | $25,000 | 217 | $43,400 | Stosh Gepp | Neptune, NJ | $11,787 |
| 19 | $260+40 Deepest Stack NLH | $50,000 | 291 | $73,391 | Andrew Klein | Tinton Falls, NJ | $20,546 |
Final tables of Events 1, 11, and the Championship were live-streamed on TwitchTV with hole-cards and commentary and were viewed online by thousands of fans. Many thanks to the staff at Borgata and all the people who worked behind the scenes to make this possible and make this series such a huge success.
Mark your calendars now for the next big series, the Borgata Summer Poker Open, scheduled for July 12-29. On behalf of the Borgata Poker Blog team, Will OC, TKbluffs, Matt Clark and myself, thanks for following us on the blog and hope you’ll join us again in the summer. Until then, to quote Mike Sexton, “May all your cards be live and all your pots be monsters!”
Event 9 the $250+$30 Deep Stack NLH Event created a prize pool of over $210,000. There were 868 total entries and when the smoke cleared Steve Nooralian was the last man standing. This is Nooralian’s largest live tournament score. He is fresh off his previous largest score a 2nd place finish in the $565 Poker Night In America NLH Event in just last month for over $23,000. Noorian held a large chip lead for most of the final table only relinquishing it for a brief period of time. Nooralian sent player after player to the rail until he was heads up with KC Panjwani. His pocket fours earned him the victory and Noorlani will be taking the BSPO trophy and $48,423 to his home in Falls Church, VA.
Event 9: Deeper Stack NLH
Level 35: (200,000/400,000/40,000)
Total Entries: 868
Players Remaining: 1
KC Panjwani (Houston,TX)
KC Panjwani limps in and Steve Nooralian moves all in. Panjwani quickly calls for his last 5,200,000 and the hands are shown.
Panjwani: {ac}{3d}
Nooralian: {4d}{4c}
They see a flop of {10d}{2s}{9h} and it’s not help to Panjwani. The turn is the {8h} and we are one card away from our Event 9 champion. The {6h} completes the board and Nooralian jumps out of his seat in excitement. The two players shake hands and Panjwani congratulates Nooralian on his great playing. Panjwani is our runner up taking home $28,207 for his second place finish.
Event 9: Deeper Stack NLH
Level 35: (200,000/400,000/40,000)
Total Entries: 868
Players Remaining: 2
Fernando Lima was the victim of a brutal river card in a big pot. His king nine was good against the eight nine of Steve Nooralian. The chips were all in on the turn with both players holding top pair. Nooralian held top pair with a gutshot straight draw the he nailed on the river. Lima is our third place finisher collecting $17,260 for his efforts.
Event 11: Almighty Stack NLH
End Of Level 17: (6,00/12,000/200)
Total Entries: 201
Players Remaining: 50
Event 11 Day 1B has come to a close and 50 players will be returning for Day 2. She Lok Wong is leading the way with a stack of 1,336,000. Other big stacks include Ryan Olisar with 919,000 and Ralph Wong who bagged 887,000. The players will return Friday April 22 at 12 PM noon to begin Day 2. A full list of chip counts and seating assignments will be posted as soon as they’re available.
Event 9: Deeper Stack NLH
Level 34: (150,000/300,000/40,000)
Total Entries: 868
Players Remaining: 3
Fernando Lima (Severn Aa MD, Brazil)
KC Panjwani limps in and Fernando Lima raises to 1,000,000. Panjwani calls and they go heads up to the {9d}{3s}{8d} flop. Lima quickly moves all in for his 3,480,000 and Panjwani begins to talk.
“You did what I wanted you do to but I don’t know if I’m calling” he’s to to Lima but gets no response. Eventually Panjwani calls and Lima shows {ah}{10d} “good call” he says.
Panjwani tables his {js}{10c} for an open ended straight draw and will need to improve against Lima’s ace high. The turn brings the {5s} and the {2s} completes the board. Lima high fives his rail as he scoops the pot with just ace high.
Fernando Lima- 9,400,000
KC Panjwani- 6,500,000
Event 9: Deeper Stack NLH
End Of Level 33: (120,000/240,000/30,000)
Total Entries: 868
Players Remaining: 3
K.C Panjwani (Houston, TX)
The players are currently on a 10 minute break. KC Panjwani has taken the lead from Steve Nooralian here in three handed below. Below is an updated list of our final three players chip counts.
KC Panjwani- 11,500,000
Steve Nooralian- 10,000,000
Fernando Lima- 4,600,000
Event 9: Deeper Stack NLH
Level 33: (120,000/240,000/30,000)
Total Entries: 868
Players Remaining: 3
Stephen Moy (New York, NY)
A short stacked Stephen Moy moves all in for 1,340,000. Steve Nooralian calls from the big blind and the hands are shown.
Moy: {ah}{7c}
Nooralian: {3h}{3c}
“I’ve go two overs” jokes Moy before the dealer fans the {9s}{3s}{6s} flop. Nooralian flops a set and puts a hammer lock on the hand. The turn is the {2h} leaving Moy drawing dead.
The {3d} hits the river and Nooralian makes quad three. The chip leader sends another one to the rail and adds to his big stack. Moy is our 4th place finisher collecting $14,208 for his efforts.
Steve Nooralian- 15,000,000
Event 9: Deeper Stack NLH
Level 32: (100,000/200,000/30,000)
Total Entries: 868
Players Remaining: 4
Bryan Neira (Lodi, NJ)
Bryan Neira moves all in from under the gun for 1,170,000. It folds to Steve Nooralian on the button and he reraises to 2,500,000. The other players quickly fold and Nooralian announces “I have an ace” as he tables his {ad}{9c}. Neira shows {7d}{7s} and will need his hand to hold to survive.
The dealer spreads the {2h}{5d}{2c} flop and it’s no help to Nooralian. The turns brings the {5s} and Neira is just one card away from a double up.
The {ac} hits the river and Nooralian pairs his ace to earn the pot and send Neira to the rail adding to his chip lead. Neira is our 5th place finisher collecting $11,577 for his efforts.
Steve Nooralian- 14,000,000
Event 9: Deeper Stack NLH
Level 32: (100,000/200,000/30,000)
Total Entries: 868
Players Remaining: 5
Thomas Miller
Fernando Lima raises to 450,000 from the cutoff position. Thomas Miller is next to act on the button and he moves all in for 615,000. The other players fold, Lima quickly calls and the hands are shown.
Lima: {ah}{ks}
Miller: {qh}{jd}
The board runs out clean for Lima {10h}{7s}{7h}{8d}{5c} earning him the pot and the elimination. Miller is our 6th place finisher collecting $9,472 for his efforts.
Fernando Lima- 3,100,000