Borgata Winter Poker Open Day 15: Manh Nguyen Wins $400 Big Stack NLHE Re-Entry
While Day 2 of the 2014 $3 Million Guaranteed World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship was the main attraction in the tournament room at Borgata on Tuesday, that did not stop action from occurring elsewhere. At 11 a.m. local time, the one-day Event #20 $400 Big Stack No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry kicked off and eventually crowned the latest champion of the series.
Event #20 Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manh Nguyen | $24,716* |
| 2 | Terry Ryan | $14,565* |
| 3 | Assaf Sinai | $8,386* |
| 4 | Luis Vazquez | $6,797 |
| 5 | Lance Moody | $5,296 |
| 6 | Travis Marion | $4,414 |
| 7 | Mike Marder | $3,531 |
| 8 | Zaid Shamoon | $2,648 |
| 9 | Anthony Caruso | $1,765 |
*Denotes three-handed deal
The top 27 players in the field made the money, and the list of those to cash was peppered with notable names including Kevin McColgan (18th), Amanda Musumeci (17th), and Joey Weissman (11th).
As the day wore on, the official final table of nine was reached. Anthony Caruso became the first player eliminated, albeit while still at the 10-handed table, when he moved all in for his last seven big blinds with 5x5x. A shorter-stacked player called off his tournament life with QxQx and both players were over-called by Rich Murnick with AxKx. Murnick connected on the community cards and sent both players packing. Caruso began the hand with more chips and was thus awarded ninth-place prize money of $1,765.
Zaid Shamoon was the next to go as he moved all in preflop with the 6♥6♦. Travis Marion woke up with two tens and sent Shamoon out the door. Following Shamoon's bust, Mike Marder was also eliminated from play. On his final hand, Marder moved all in before the flop with Ax9x. Eventual champion Manh Nguyen called with Ax5x and paired both of his cards to score the elimination.
Nguyen continued to reduce the field after a confrontation with Marion, who moved all in from early position and received a call from Nguyen. Marion rolled over the the 5♦5♣ and was racing for his tournament life with Nguyen's K♥Q♥. The flop came king high with the 6♣K♦10♣ and suddenly Marion was close to elimination. He found no help on the turn (8♥) nor river (A♠) and was sent to the rail in sixth place for $4,414.
Lance Moody was next to go when he ran his A♣2♦ into Assaf Sinai's A♦Q♣ before the flop. Moody did not improve and he busted in fifth place. The final elimination of the night came when Luis Vazquez announced all in over an open from Nguyen during four-handed play. Terry Ryan flatted the shove from the big blind and Nguyen called as well.
The two active players checked it down to the river as the board ran out J♦8♠8♦4♣6♠. Nguyen fired 150,000 on the river and Ryan folded his hand. Nguyen happily showed the 8♥8♣ for quad eights and the nuts, and Vazquez was eliminated in fourth place.
From there, the final three made a deal and Nguyen was awarded the top prize and the trophy.
"I busted the main, and I was steaming out the door," Nguyen said after his win. "My friend told me to buy in with 10 minutes left in registering."
With Event #20 in the books that leaves just three more side events and the conclusion of the Main Event at the Borgata World Poker open. Be sure to stay tuned to our Live Reporting page as we continue to document this prestigious poker series.
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