2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open: Dobrilovic, Mueller and Wasch Book Victories

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Apr 14, 2014 4 min read

Action was alive and well once again on Sunday, as the weekend closed out with three more events wrapping up from the 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open in Atlantic City. Event 3: $560 Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry came to a conclusion, and was won by Tom Dobrilovic, while Johannes Mueller finished on top in Event 5: $340 Seniors NLHE Reentry, and Sarah Wasch took the title in Event 6: $300 Ladies Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry.

Event 3: $560 Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry

The final three players of Event 3: $560 Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry — Dobrilovic, Anthony Sivolella, and Warren Wiggins — opted to end the tournament prematurely and crown Dobrilovic the champion.

Dobrilovic earned $39,650 for his efforts along with the coveted Borgata Spring Poker Open trophy. This is his largest cash since January of 2013, where he won a black-chip bounty event during the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open for $67,546. The New York native has over $1 million in career live tournament earnings, and two victories here at Borgata.

Dobrilovic positioned himself for the win with two key knockouts at the final table. He eliminated Henry Lopez in 10th place with the K♠K♣ against the Q♥Q♦, and roughly three hours later he busted Maggie Morris with the K♦K♠ once again. Morris was at risk with the 10♠10♥, but couldn't crack the dominant pair.

Wiggins took third place, earning $13,454, and Sivolella was second for $23,367. Wiggins only had $41,618 in earnings prior to this tournament, and Sivolella only $67,543.

Final Table Results

_{*Denotes a three-way deal.}

Day 2 of Event 3 began with 27 players after the bubble burst on the final hand of Day 1, and the eliminations were fast and furious. In less than an hour, a third of the field hit the rail, including the chip leader entering the day; John Tavss. After losing a few pots, he was all in and at risk with the 10♠10♣ against Dobrilovic's A♣A♦. The pocket rockets held up, and Tavss was eliminated.

The road from 18 to 10 was equally short and sweet. Bernard Liberati attempted a river bluff-shove against James Gettinger, that was unsuccessful, and the final table was set when Timothy Pirraglia lost a very unconventional race against Morris.

The final table was filled with fireworks, including monster eliminations in ninth and sixth place. Both Nick Gandhi and Joe Stiers were among the leaders when they were bounced by flopped sets — Stiers flopped an underset of his own — and were left to think "What if?"

Event 5: $340 Seniors NLHE Reentry

Johannes Mueller knows he is on the run of a lifetime right now. The 54-year-old restaurant owner from Rochester, New York has added another trophy to his mantle after winning the Borgata Spring Poker Open Event 5: $340 Seniors NLHE Reentry.

"I've been running really good the last four months," he admitted.

That's an understatement of sorts. His run started with a fourth-place finish for $14,558 at the Niagara Falls Fall Poker Classic Championship Event. He followed that up with a win in Verona at Turning Stone for $20,259 and a little more than a month later won a limit Omaha-8 title at the Borgata Winter Poker Open for $14,428. Two more final table appearances brought him here today hopeful of another deep run. That mission was accomplished after prevailing heads up over Papa Levy for the title and the addition of another $14,656 to his poker bankroll.

"I'll play tomorrow," Mueller told PokerNews while posing for his photo and then added, "But then it's back to work for me."

Final Table Results

_{*Denotes a heads-up deal.}

Event 6: $300 Ladies Deep-Stack NLHE Reentry

After nearly 15 hours of poker at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, a winner was crowned in the 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open Ladies Event; Sarah Wasch. Wasch is a Philadelphia native with a handful of previous wins on her résumé, including back-to-back wins in the 2008 and 2009 United States Poker Championship Ladies Event in Atlantic City.

Wasch earned $8,651 for the victory along with a shiny new trophy.

Final Table Results

Wendy Rubin finished runner-up, earning $4,696, and Teresa Sexton exited in third place for $2,966. Sexton reached the final table of the Borgata Winter Poker Open Ladies Event a few months ago, as did fellow finalist Valerie Novak, who exited in seventh place on Sunday evening.

Also at the final table was Svetlana Gromenkova, winner of the 2008 World Series of Poker Ladies Event. The bracelet winner entered the final table second in chips, but lost several all-in pots, including a cooler where she ran the 8♣8♠ into Rubin's Q♥Q♠. Gromenkova was ultimately forced to move all in with a weak ace a level later, and again Rubin woke up with pocket queens.

Olga Petrovskaya entered the final table with a commanding chip lead, but was eliminated in fifth place when Sexton turned the wheel against Petrovskaya's flopped top pair.

All told, Event 6 attracted a total of 98 entrants, and some were male, but none of the men were able to reach the money and all of there eliminations were met with uproarious celebration. Like Nevada, casinos in New Jersey are unable to permit men from playing due to gender equality laws.

Each member of the final table earned a minimum of $741, but the lion's share of the wealth and the hardware went to Wasch.

Action from the 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open will continue on Monday, and you won't want to miss it. Follow along with our complete live reporting coverage by clicking here!

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