Ken Barkoff Wins 2019 Borgata Fall Poker Open Almighty Stack ($86,364)
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The 2019 Borgata Fall Poker Open Event #11: $400 Almighty Stack NLH saw 1,490 entrants try their luck over four starting flights, but at the end, it was Ken Barkoff sitting behind a mountain of chips. The final three players came to an agreement and Barkoff took first place for $86,364 and his first Borgata Open trophy. Nicola Alessio claimed second and $65,648, while World Series of Poker bracelet winner Joey Couden finished third and took $55,227 in the deal.
Barkoff is from Manhattan and is in the real estate business, but after the workday is done and his wife is asleep, he spends hours studying the game of poker. It's paid off as he quadrupled his previous best live cash ($21,122) and more than doubled his total reported tournament earnings.
"I love coming to Borgata," he said of the two hour drive from his home.
Barkoff will return to New York to take care of his business but plans to return on Monday and play in Flight C of the BFPO $2,700 Championship event.
Almighty Stack Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken Barkoff | $86,364* |
| 2 | Nicola Alessio | $65,648* |
| 3 | Joey Couden | $55,227* |
| 4 | Peter Walsworth | $32,881 |
| 5 | Prabhu Dyal | $27,316 |
| 6 | Arian Stolt | $22,156 |
| 7 | Sam Taylor | $17,062 |
| 8 | Adam Phillips | $12,444 |
| 9 | Kevin Johnson | $8,954 |
| 10 | Gary Brown | $5,919 |
*Denotes three-handed deal.
Day 3 Action
Couden was the chip leader at the start of Day 3 but surrendered the lead to Barkoff with eight players remaining. Barkoff caught fire while Couden cooled off. Then lessio won a flip to double through Couden and he was heating up as well. He pulled ahead of Couden with a double elimination when his ace-queen improved to top pair to felt Prabhu Dyal (pocket eights) and Peter Walsworth (ace-eight) in fifth and fourth places respectively.
2017 Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship event winner Sam Taylor got coolered with pocket kings, running into Barkoff's pocket aces. Despite turning a king, he was still eliminated by the Barkoff buzzsaw when an ace appeared on the river.
The Almighty Stack tournament carried a $300,000 guarantee on total buy-ins and it was covered with ease, building a prize pool in excess of $505,000. The final 140 players earned a share. Some of the big names that cashed in this event were World Poker Tour Champions Club members Mike Linster (65th) and Victor Ramdin (102nd) along with two-time WSOP bracelet winner Shankar Pillai (88th).
PokerNews coverage of the 2019 Borgata Fall Poker Open continues throughout the weekend. Click here to find out what tournaments are being live reported right now.
