Event 1: Day 2 is in the Books; Broedelet Leads the Way with Guagenti Second
After more than 14 hours of grueling action on the felt, Day 2 of the Borgata Winter Poker Open's first event has come to a close. When it was all said and done, Allard Broedelet emerged as the chip leader, bagging and tagging 10,315,000. He is trailed closely by experienced circuit grinder and accomplished tournament pro Nick Guagenti, who ended the night with 9,745,000. Other big stacks include Joel Gola (5,650,000), Jesse Letchworth (5,610,000), and Kevin Choe (5,110,000).
Online sicko and live tournament beast Darren Elias managed to bag and tag 2,145,000 to give himself a shot at another major score. With more than $1.5 million in live earnings, Elias will be one of the most experienced players in the field when play resumes tomorrow.
A number of notable names managed to navigate the minefield that comes with such a large field, including 2005 WSOP Main Event runner-up Steve Dannenmann, seven-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner Men "The Master" Nguyen, and actor James Woods, but each fell short before the chips were bagged and tagged.
Guagenti managed to knock out both Nguyen and Dannenmann late in the night. First, Dannenmann came over the top of an opening raise for an all-in move, but Guagenti gave no hesitation before making it a third ship.
Dannenmann:
Guagenti:
The board ran out , keeping Guagenti's pair on top, and sending one of the nicest player's in poker to the rail.
Next, the man known to the poker world as "The Master" shoved his last 800,000 into the middle with , and Guagenti snap-called with . Nguyen failed to improve and his tournament was over mere minutes before play ended for the night.
A total of 4,814 entries were recorded over the event's three starting flights, creating a massive prize pool of $2,325,835 to easily surpass the Borgata's $2 million guarantee. The eventual winner will take home $372,123, and for a $560 buy-in, this tournament offered players incredible bang for their buck.
Check back with PokerNews tomorrow at noon local time to follow along as 27 players play their way to the final table, and the Borgata Winter Poker Open crowns its first champion.