Level 3 (75/150)
Total Day 1A Entries: 325
Over the last month, BorgataPoker.com has offered numerous online qualifiers for this opening $1,000,000 GTD event and in total, close to 30 players satellited their way into Event 1, all for a fraction of the $560 entry fee.
While some of those qualifying players are unknowns, many are some of the more recognizable names in both the New Jersey online and live poker communities, including one player who is looking to build off a Winter Poker Open three-peat that saw him make deep runs in all three massive guaranteed events.
Asher Conniff (Brooklyn, NY) opened the year on a tear, cashing in both ‘Borgata Million’ events and the WPT WPO Championship, where he notched a top twenty finish and his first ever WPT score. He started the year just as hot online too, solidifying himself near the top of the Online Player of the Year rankings through the first few months of 2015.
The top spot in the New Jersey Online POY rankings belong to Andrew Glauberg (Tenafly, NJ) who has dominated the online scene through the first few months of 2015, as well as opening the year with the best live result of his career in the WPT WPO Championship.
It’s amazing that Stephanie Hubbard (Hazlet, NJ) has been able to find time to qualify for this event online as the full time pharmacist has been recording scores in nearly every regional series through the last few months, including a deep run in the opening event of the Foxwoods Poker Classic, a score that moved her dangerously close to the $100,000 mark in terms of career tournament earnings.
Level 2 (50/100)
Total Day 1A Entries: 325
Abraham Korotki (Bethany Bch, DE)
You’d be hard pressed to find a better ten day stretch of poker than the one Abraham Korotki had in last year’s WPT Spring Poker Open, as he added to his Borgata Poker legacy and trophy case in addition to making a massive run in the WPT World Championship.
The run started with Korotki winning his fourth Borgata Poker title, taking down the $1,000,000 GTD SPO Championship for $255,000 and then ended with Korotki notching a final table appearance and 6th place finish in the $15,000 buy-in WPT World Championship, earning another $235,000.
While most would rest on their laurels and those results, the always competitive and hungry Korotki wouldn’t, adding two more Borgata titles to his collection, winning a post-lim Fall Poker Open event and a Deep Stacks Challenge event before the year was up, solidifying himself as the winningest Borgata tournament player ever, with six career titles.
He’s going to be hard pressed to replicate last year’s Spring Poker Open this time around, as his back to back run was one of the more impressive poker feats of 2014 and while those two results might have come in the bigger events during that series, he’s clearly proven through his half dozen titles that he can win no matter what the structure or stakes and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him add to his trophy case during this series.
Level 2 (50/100)
Total Day 1A Entries: 300
Ben Beahm (Bellmawr, NJ)
Coverage of an opening BPO event usually kicks off with a feature on the defending champion of that event but with both Event 1 and Event 15 winners from this year’s Winter Poker Open still missing in action through the first half hour of play today, the focus shifts to the $1,000,000 GTD runner up from that series, Ben Beahm.
Beahm was one of the few unknown players at that live streamed final table but after navigating his way through a field of over 2,800 players, he’d be making his biggest tournament score to date and solidifying himself as a force to be reckoned with in any tournament he enters.
That second place finish would earn Beahm just over $125,000 and while he hasn’t made any live tournament appearances since, he’s been using the ease and convenience of the New Jersey online sites to perfect his game over the last two months.
He taken a break from his online grind and returned to the Borgata in an attempt to go back to back in this event, something that only Dan Wach, who was at that WPO $1,000,000 GTD final table, has been able to do in recent memory.
Beahm’s hoping that he can put together a good SPO series and add to his impressive 2015 haul, as he prepares for another tough test later this summer, his first ever World Series of Poker.
Players are now entering Level 2 and the total field number of this opening Day 1A flight has just eclipsed the 300 player mark.
The WPT Spring Poker Open creates an interesting scheduling dilemma for Borgata tournament director Tab Duchateau, as three “main” events take up nearly 15 days of action, leaving minimal days to work with in terms of one day events.
But, despite those scheduling restrictions, the Borgata Poker team has again produced a series schedule that accommodates everyone, with 17 trophy events, including over 20 side events.
There were even some new events added to the schedule this time around, including a $2,500 1 re-entry 8 handed event, that was requested by players as a “second chance” after the $15,000 WPT World Championship.
Despite some minor additions, all the staples are still on the schedule, including a $1,000 Six Max event, a $100,000 GTD Saturday Series event, multiple ‘Deep’ and ‘Deeper’ stacked events and a $1,000,000 GTD SPO Championship.
With buy-ins ranging from $230 to $15,000, three “live streamed” Final Tables, a WPT World Championship Event and over 40 tournaments throughout the series, there is truly something for everyone at the Spring Poker Open.
A complete list of the main events can be found here.
A complete list of the side events and qualifiers can be found here.
On top of the “live” schedule, the New Jersey Championship of Online Poker will run parallel to the Borgata Spring Poker Open land-based tournament series on BorgataPoker.com providing participants with a unique opportunity to maximize their poker experience between live and online tournament action.
Buy-ins for the NJCOOP II events range from $5 to $1,000 and a full list of the entire schedule can be found HERE.
Level 1 (25/50)
Total Day 1A Entries: 225
The first of four starting flights for the $1,000,000 GTD Event 1 is officially underway and the “quietness” that we previously reported in the Signature Room has been replaced with the excitement of the start of the Spring Poker Open’s opening event.
Players have been seated for a few minutes now and tournament director Tab Duchateau has just made the pre-tournamnet announcements and the “shuffle up and deal” call.
There are over 20 tables currently running, with some tables pouring out into the Poker Room, with every player sitting with a full starting stack of 25,000 chips.
That starting stack is just one of many improvements made to this structure, as the levels through the later portions of the Day 1 flights and both Day 2 and 3 will increase in length.
Players will play 15 levels in all Day 1 sessions before bagging chips for Day 2, with those levels lasting 30 minutes in length through the first 12 levels, with an increase to 40 minutes until the end of Day 1.
Late registration and re-entry will be allowed through the completion of Level 9, after the third break of the day.
This is just the first of four starting flights, as Day 1B will begin at 7 PM tonight and Day 1C and 1D will be tomorrow at 10 AM and 6 PM respectfully.
This event is also one of the “live streamed” events in the Spring Poker Open, as the Final Table of Event 1 will be live streamed on YouTube and Twitch, much like previous opening BPO events.
Players are also reminded, that while there are four starting flights for this event, this is NOT a best stack forward event. Meaning that if you bag chips and then play a subsequent Day 1 session, those previously bagged chips will be forfeited.
As the tournament tables continue to fill up, we will bring you updates on notable players in the field and continue to provide information to open up the Borgata Spring Poker Open.
The Borgata Signature Room is eerily quiet, with the only rumblings coming from various corners of the room as the final preparations for the Spring Poker Open are put into effect.
The silence will not last long though, as we are just over a half hour from the first starting flight of the $1,000,000 GTD Event 1, where we expect hundreds of players to descend on the Event Center over the next few days to get a piece of this massive prize pool.
Over 20 tables are prepped and ready to be put into play in the Signature Room and while they all might not be put into use today, they all certainly will make their way into circulation at some point this series, as there are 17 main events, boasting close to $3,000,000 in guaranteed prize pools, as well as close to 20 “side events” including qualifiers, survivors and bounty tournaments.
Safe to say, there is something for everyone here at the Spring Poker Open and we are extremely excited to get started and the Borgata blog team, comprised of myself, Will OC, Kaelaine Minton, Kerrance James and AlCantHang will be bringing you coverage of every SPO event in it’s entirety.
Players are still being quarantined to the lobby of the Signature Room near the registration area, but with the start of Event 1 just a half hour away, players should be let in soon and will begin to take their seats to kick off the Spring Poker Open and the $1,000,000 GTD Event 1.
A full list of the Spring Poker Open schedule will be posted shortly, where we will highlight some “fan favorites” and new events added to the SPO schedule.
It’s been nearly two months since Aaron Mermelstein closed out the last Borgata Poker Open, raising the WPT Champion’s Cup after defeating a stacked field and final table to win the WPT WPO Championship and a huge $715,000 pay day.
Since then, a dozen players have raised Borgata Poker trophies through February’s Deep Stacks Challenge series and the more recent Borgata Player’s Series but, for the New Jersey and East Coast poker community, nothing can compare to a Borgata Poker Open title and over the next few weeks, the WPT Spring Poker Open will crown close to twenty winners, including a WPT World Champion.
That World Championship won’t be decided until the end of the month and with close to $2,500,000 in guaranteed prize pools up for grabs in events prior to that WPT Championship, the action will be nonstop until then, starting with the $1,000,000 GTD Event 1, which kicks off the Spring Poker Open.
This massive event will boast four starting flights, a live streamed final table and an improved structure, with Day 1A and 1B running today at 11 AM and 7 PM and two more flights, Day 1C and 1D, running tomorrow at 10 AM and 6 PM.
That should give everyone a chance to get in on this huge guaranteed event and should set the scene for a tremendous series.
We look forward to bringing you coverage of every event so you don’t miss a second of the action here at the Borgata Spring Poker Open, with those updates starting once cards are in the air for Day 1A of the $1,000,000 GTD Event 1.
The WPT World Championship returns to the Borgata on April 24th.
While the Borgata WPT Spring Poker Open is still close to two months away, it’s never too early to start looking towards one of the biggest series on the Borgata and WPT schedules, especially when the series is headlined by the WPT World Championship.
That event boasts a $15,000 buy-in and should attract some of the best players in the world and will be the Final Table will be live streamed online and filmed for the Season XIII production of the World Poker Tour television show.
While that event is headlining the series and capping the SPO action, there are two more massive guaranteed events with the $1,000,000 GTD Event 1 starting the action on Tuesday, April 14th. That event will boast a $560 buy-in and will also have a live streamed Final Table.
Sandwiched between those two massive events are the Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship and details about that event will be coming shortly.
Opening information about the Spring Poker Open can be found on the Borgata website and updates about the schedule should be coming in the next few weeks and will be posted to the SPO blog.