Event 1 (Day 3)
$540+$60 Deep Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 31: Blinds 80,000/150,000/150,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,199
Players Remaining: 13
Average Stack: 4.2 million
Oscar Menjivar
Oscar Menjivar jammed with J7 on the button, running into Alex Rocha’s pocket Jacks in the small blind. Oscar flopped a 7, prompting Alex to say, inside his mind, “If I lose this hand, I’m quitting poker.”
Despite the sweat, the Jacks held and Alex took the pot, chipping up to about 4.5 million.
Oscar busted out in 15th place, earning $8,639.
A few hands later, Alex opened for 325,000 from the cutoff and Tarik Herradi (button) called all-in with the last of his chips, holding 
. Alex had 
and it was off to the flop.
The board came 
and Alex paired his Ace on the turn to pick up the small pot.
Tarik hit the rail in 14th place, earning $8,639.
Tarik Herradi
$540+$60 Deep Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 31: Blinds 80,000/150,000/150,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,199
Players Remaining: 15
Average Stack: 3.7 million
Players are back from their break and play has resumed. Here are the rough chip counts from the break.
| Table | Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | 1 | Oscar Menjivar | 1,810,000 |
| 1 | 2 | Alex Rocha | 2,880,000 |
| 1 | 3 | ||
| 1 | 4 | Tarik Herradi | 240,000 |
| 1 | 5 | Ryan Barnhard | 4,900,000 |
| 1 | 6 | Steven Sarmiento | 2,800,000 |
| 1 | 7 | Gene Shuster | 5,730,000 |
| 1 | 8 | Mikhaile Richards | 4,820,000 |
| 1 | 9 | Dominick Sannino | 3,500,000 |
| 2 | 1 | A. Nonymous | 1,335,000 |
| 2 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 3 | Paul Vacchio | 8,000,000 |
| 2 | 4 | Gary Gelman | 3,300,000 |
| 2 | 5 | George Grabe | 3,400,000 |
| 2 | 6 | Michael Miller | 1,960,000 |
| 2 | 7 | ||
| 2 | 8 | Yan Wang | 6,300,000 |
| 2 | 9 | Shaun O’Donnell | 3,700,000 |
$540+$60 Deep Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
End of Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000/120,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,199
Players Remaining: 15
Average Stack: 3.7 million
Tyreem Williams
Shortly before the end of Level 30, Tyreem Williams got all-in with A9, running into the AT of Paul Vacchio on his left. A Ten on the turn sealed Tyreem’s fate. He finished 16th for $5,990.
Over on Table 1, Alex Rocha took a big hit, shipping about half his stack across the felt.
The remaining 15 players are taking 15 for their first break of the day.
$540+$60 Deep Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000/120,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,199
Players Remaining: 16
Average Stack: 3.4 million
Alex Rocha
Tarik Herradi got his short stack in holding 
against the dominating 
of Alex Rocha. There was a Queen in the door, but it was followed by a Jack.
The final board read 
, which gave both players a King-high straight and a chopped pot. Tarik was still short with ~600,000. Alex is still playing close to 6 million.
$540+$60 Deep Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 30: Blinds 60,000/120,000/120,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,199
Players Remaining: 16
Average Stack: 3.4 million
Gene Shuster
Mikhaile Richards (button) got moved to Table 1 to balance and was soon involved in a pot with Gene Shuster (cutoff). At the river, the board was a scary 
and both players checked. Gene tabled 
for Kings-up and Mikhaile mucked her hand.
Her stack slipped to ~4.58 million while Gene continued climbing, now up to ~5.6 million.
Mikhaile Richards
$540+$60 Deep Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000/100,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,199
Players Remaining: 16
Average Stack: 3.4 million
Shaun O’Donnell
Michael Miller (bb) and Shaun O’Donnell got to the river with the board reading 
and Shaun bet 285,000. Michael called, tossing his 
(two pair) on the felt in frustration when he saw Shaun’s 
had rivered a set.
Shaun chipped up to about 4.9 million with that pot, while Michael was left with ~1.4 million.
Michael Miller
$540+$60 Deep Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000/100,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,199
Players Remaining: 16
Average Stack: 3.4 million
Greg Nerenberg
Greg Nerenberg tangled with Gene Shuster, but his AJ failed to run down Gene’s pocket Jacks. Gene doubled up and is now playing about 3.5 million.
With only 5 or 6 blinds remaining, Greg got his chips in and shipped the last of them to Ryan Barnhard, who is up to ~4.5 million. Greg was eliminated in 17th place ($5,990).
$540+$60 Deep Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000/100,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,199
Players Remaining: 17
Average Stack: 3.2 million
Tam Nguyen (file photo)
Before the seats even warmed up, Tam Nguyen was eliminated. His short-stack of only 450,000 (4.5 big blinds) didn’t last long. His 18th place finish was good for $5,990.
$540+$60 Deep Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000/100,000 BB Ante (42:42 remaining)
Total Entries: 2,199
Players Remaining: 18
Average Stack: 3 million
Day 3 and the final of the Kick-Off is underway in the Poker Room. Eighteen players remain in the hunt for the top prize of more than $200,000, plus the Borgata Spring Poker Open trophy.
Paul Vacchio leads at start of Day 3
Paul Vacchio begins Day 3 as the chip leader with 6 million chips. He earned his first and only Borgata trophy during the 2012 Summer Poker Open when he won the $350 SixMax NLH event for nearly $21,000. He’s certainly hoping for a return visit to the winner’s circle here today.
Of course Alex Rocha is hot on his heels with 5.68 million and won’t go down without a fight. Alex also has one Borgata trophy, from the 2011 Winter Poker Open when he won the Kick-Off event for more than $150,000.
$540+$60 Deep Stack NLH
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure Sheet
Level 29: Blinds 50,000/100,000/100,000 BB Ante (42:42 remaining)
Total Entries: 2,199
Players Remaining: 18
Average Stack: 3 million
The third and final day of the 2019 Spring Poker Open $1 Million GTD Kick-Off event begins at 12 noon in the Poker Room. The returning players are listed below with their Day 3 seat assignments and chip counts.
| Table | Seat | FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | CITY | STATE | CHIP COUNT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | OSCAR | MENJIVAR | UNIONDALE | NY | 2,320,000 |
| 1 | 2 | ALEXANDER | ROCHA | FLAGLER BEACH | FL | 5,685,000 |
| 1 | 3 | GREGORY | NERENBERG | GREAT NECK | NY | 1,620,000 |
| 1 | 4 | TARIK | HERRADI | GLENOLDEN | PA | 1,040,000 |
| 1 | 5 | RYAN | BARNHARD | HOWELL | NJ | 4,490,000 |
| 1 | 6 | STEVEN | SARMIENTO | FOREST HILLS | NY | 890,000 |
| 1 | 7 | GENE | SHUSTER | BROOKLYN | NY | 2,845,000 |
| 1 | 8 | TAM | NGUYEN | HARRISBURG | PA | 450,000 |
| 1 | 9 | DOMINICK | SANNINO | NEW YORK | NY | 1,435,000 |
| 2 | 1 | ANONYMOUS | ANONYMOUS | PARK RIDGE | NJ | 2,635,000 |
| 2 | 2 | TYREEM | WILLIAMS | PHILADELPHIA | PA | 1,260,000 |
| 2 | 3 | PAUL | VACCHIO | INWOOD | NY | 6,040,000 |
| 2 | 4 | GARY | GELMAN | BROOKLYN | NY | 3,320,000 |
| 2 | 5 | GEORGE | GRABE | HAUPPAUGE | NY | 2,920,000 |
| 2 | 6 | MICHAEL | MILLER | JERSEY SHORE | PA | 3,960,000 |
| 2 | 7 | MIKHAILE | RICHARDS | TWINSBURG | OH | 5,165,000 |
| 2 | 8 | YAN | WANG | TENAFLY | NJ | 5,385,000 |
| 2 | 9 | SHAUN | ODONNELL | SUCCASUNNA | NJ | 3,445,000 |