2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open: Hook Leads Into Championship Final Table

Jonathan Zaun Contributor

Aaron Hendrix

Apr 18, 2014 3 min read

The 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open at the Borgata in Atlantic City, NJ is just over halfway complete, but smack dab in the middle of it all, one of the biggest events on the schedule has been taking place — Event 7: $2,700 Spring Poker Championship. The Spring Poker Championship field began 414 entries strong, but has since been cut down to the final 10. With one more day to play and $256,508 up top for the winner, Charlie Hook leads the way.

Elsewhere, Event 10: $660 NLHE Reentry completed its Day 1, and the field of 194 was whittled down to just 14. Leading the way there was Mike Sandler.

Event 7: $2,700 Spring Poker Championship

The tournament was cut down to the final 10 players in the $2,700 Spring Poker Championship, and it was Hook who led the way with 2.526 million in chips. Hook eliminated a number of players during Day 3 action, including one hand where he was forced to show the 9♦6♦ and joked that his "image was shot". He will have his eyes set on the $256,508 first-place prize that will be awarded to the winner.

Laurence Wolf finished in second place to end the day with 2.089 million in chips. Wolf would bust Miguel Borrero in a cooler of a hand when both players would hit sets and by the river improved to full houses. Rounding out the top three was Paul Spitzberg, who finished with 1.725 million in chips.

Others that will come back for the final day include Jake Toole (1.584 million), Abraham Korotki (1.436 million), and Andy Spears (535,000).

Among those that fell short of making the final table included Jeff Madsen, David Tuthill, Dave Stefanski, Roland Israelashvili, Jeff Papola, Taylor von Kriegenbergh, Emad Alabsi, Valerie Novak, and Matt Brady, who would get unlucky to finish in 13th place for $10,040.

When play resumes at noon on Friday, the field will play until a winner is reached. PokerNews will be back here from the start to bring you all the final table action, so be sure to tune in.

Event 10: $660 NLHE Reentry

After a full day of action on the felt saw 194 entries and reentries recorded in Event 10, a total prize pool of $112,908 was generated with $33,873 waiting up top for the eventual winner.

From the original field, just 14 players remained after Day 1, and Sandler led the way with 355,000 to work with when play resumes tomorrow at noon local time.

Sandler was trailed closely by Joe Clarkin (336,000), while Jeremy Stein (295,000), Brian Correro (239,500), Erkut Yilmaz (223,000), and Bruce Yamron (219,500).

The terror of Atlantic City will also be back looking for another trophy for his parent's china cabinet, as longtime pro Joe McKeehen bagged 186,000 heading into tomorrow's final day of play.

McKeehen is a local legend of sorts, racking up over $888,000 in reported live earnings over his four-year career on the felt, with more than a dozen cashes coming right here in the East Coast's own poker hotspot. McKeehen took down a title last January at the Borgata Winter Poker Open, and he will have a definitive edge in terms of experience when play resumes.

A number of notable names and professional players took their shot on Day 1 of this event, as Joe Kuether, Anthony Zinno, Luke Edwards, Eric Baldwin, Aaron and Ralph Massey, Dan Heimiller, Kevin Saul, Amnon Filippi, Keven Stammen, Matt Salsberg, and Justin Young all fell short of the money.