Myroslaw Woroch Becomes New Jersey's Next Poker Millionaire!
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Today a truly historic event took place that marks the reemergence of online poker in America – with New Jersey and BorgataPoker.com leading the way by hosting the first ever New Jersey’s Next Poker Millionaire sit-and-go tournament.
Eight players were fortunate enough to navigate the minefield of online qualification, outlasting hundreds of other hopefuls to earn the right to appear here today.
Myroslaw Woroch, Sunil Sebastian, Andy Lam, Shin Han, Tony Marchitelli, Eric Natishvili, Steven Edwards and Wayne Pineault were the eight New Jersey residents to reach this final table style event. The proceedings played out under the spotlights and camera coverage usually associated with Main Events at the most prestigious poker series in the world, with these recreational players making the leap from the comfortable confines of online play to the nitty gritty of on the felt action.
According to PartyPoker.com, the primary sponsor of the New Jersey’s Next Poker Millionaire event, the lucky winner would receive the following allotment of prizes:
The $1 million prize will include a WPT® Alpha 8 super high roller seat ($100K), a WPT World Championship seat ($15K), two entries to $3,500 WPT events held at the Borgata Casino ($7K), 52 tournament entries to the Sunday $50K ($10,400), $8,000 in live tournament entries at the Borgata Casino. The balance of $859,600 will be credited into the winners’ online player account.
While the winner would earn a cool $1 million for their accomplishment, everybody who made the final eight received a payout of some sort, with Pineault becoming the first to fall short of their goal.
Despite making an early exit, Pineault took home $1,000 for making it this far, and after a slow start to the action, his departure seemed to open up play just a bit. Just a few minutes after Pineault’s elimination, Sunil Sebastian hit the rail in seventh place, when his flopped pair of aces left him outkicked and out of chips.
Marchitelli was the next to go, after he succumbed to one of the more dramatic hands you’ll ever see. Despite making what appeared to all the world to be an unbeatable full house on the turn, Marchitelli’s hand somehow ended as the second-best when the showdown occurred.
Making quads once in a multi-day event is a rare feat indeed, so when Edwards turned the trick again here at this one-table tournament, destiny appeared to be on his side.
Sure enough, Edwards used his big stack to survive the rapidly escalating blinds, and it was Han who hit the rail next, falling in fourth place when his ace-ten was outkicked by Woroch’s ace-queen.
Woroch notched another knockout a little later, sending Andy Lam home in third place to secure his seat in the heads-up duel to determine who would become New Jersey’s Next Poker Millionaire.
Although so much was on the line for Woroch and Edwards, the match between the two was relatively quick – owing to the turbo-like structure of this one-table tournament. Woroch held a half million chip lead over Edwards when heads-up play began, and it only took a dozen hands or so for a champion to be crowned. In the end, it was Woroch who lady luck smiled on today, as he flopped a straight and saw Edwards move his chips into the middle. With a hand that was essentially the nuts in a two-handed poker game, Woroch snapped the bet off and stood to celebrate with his friends and family on the rail. Edwards was drawing to a chop and chop only, but the board failed to deliver any miracles, sending him home with a runner-up finish.
Woroch was born in Spain but now calls Cedar Knolls, N.J. home. The man who prefers to be called Myros came to the United States when he was just two years old, spending his childhood in West Orange, N.J. The 40-year old recreational player is a home inspector by trade, but he has been playing the game for over a decade now, dabbling in both online games and Atlantic City’s live venues. With his wife Thomasine on the rail to offer support, Woroch fulfilled his promise of a vacation to come by taking down this historic sit-and-go spectacle.