Marshall White Tops 3,570-Entry Borgata Poker Open Field for $330K
The 2017 Borgata Poker Open got rolling last week with its traditionally massive opening event. The Kickoff $2 Million Guaranteed, featuring a $600 buy-in and six starting flights, ended on Saturday night with American pro Marshall White taking down a $330,841 first-place prize after navigating through a field of 3,570.
White, a three-time WSOP Circuit ring winner from North Carolina, banked his biggest score and second Borgata trophy — he also won a $1K six-max back in 2014 — while passing $1.2 million in live cashes.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marshall White | $330,841 |
| 2 | Nick Pupillo | $217,535 |
| 3 | LJ Sande | $142,749 |
| 4 | Greg Himmelbrand | $119,540 |
| 5 | Chris Biemer | $97,108 |
| 6 | Ryan Currier | $74,773 |
| 7 | James Brady | $54,410 |
| 8 | Sebastian Marquez | $36,901 |
| 9 | Anthony Saludez | $24,277 |
Scott Baumstein, Spencer Champlin, Kevin Calenzo, Roland Israelashvili, TJ Shulman and Vinny Pahuja were some of the players who made their way into the money in the massive field but hit the rails before the final table began.
Final Table Action
According to the live updates, White went into the final table in good position with 12.3 million at 120,000/240,000/30,000, trailing only Ryan Currier, who had 18.6 million. However, that changed early when Currier lost with queens against LJ Sande's aces and White won a preflop all-in with A♠K♠ against the J♥10♣ of Anthony Saludez for an elimination to get to 25 million.
After Sebastian Marquez busted in eighth, White scored his next elimination. This time, he felted James Brady with A♥Q♣ against A♠6♠ and won unimproved.
White then made top boat with A♠7♣ on a board of A♥A♦3♦3♠7♥ and induced an 8.1 million-chip bluff from Currier, which represented nearly all of his stack. Currier could muster only the 8♣7♠ at showdown and went down in sixth place.
Nick Pupillo Makes a Stand
Midwest standout Nick Pupillo came into the final table with one of the shorter stacks, but after lurking for awhile, he won a three-way all in against Chris Briemer and Greg Himmelbrand to vault into second place. That sent Briemer to the rail while Himmelbrand remained alive with four players left.
Pupillo followed that with another double, this time with queens against the K♣Q♠ of White as the chip leader set him all in for about 30 big blinds on a four-bet. Pupillo called and won to get within striking distance of White with 25 million to 34 million at 200,000/400,000/40,000.
Marshall White Closes It Out
White got back on track when he and Himmelbrand clashed in a raising war in a battle of the blinds. It ended with Himmelbrand all in and dominated holding ace-jack against ace-queen, a deficit he wouldn't overcome after a queen-high flop hit.
Sande made hit exit in third after losing a race to White's pocket deuces, leaving the chip leader heads up with Pupillo and leading by a large margin, 70 million to 19 million at 250,000/500,000/50,000.
Heads-up, Pupillo made some headway but ran into a cooler on a board of K♣7♥5♠3♣2♣. He shoved for value on the end with A♠4♥ for a wheel, but White had hit a flush with A♣8♣. Pupillo had to settle for $217,535, still his best live cash, while White got the victory.
Photo courtesy of Borgata Poker
