Level 7 (300/600/75)
Total Entries: 70
Level 7 has just begun, putting us with just under 30 minutes to late register for the Event 1 Survivor tournament.
This also marks the last level before our first break of the day, which will certainly be welcomed by players who have played nearly two and a half hours of poker without any reprieve.
When the post Level 7 break ends, we will have a finalized number of entrants and a finalized payout structure for this $520 survivor tournament.
Level 6 (200/400/50)
Players Remaining: 67
Josh Lurie
Walking through the signature room we saw Josh Lurie sliding all of his chips into the middle, calling the all-in from his opponent.
“It has to be aces or kings, right?” The player questioned as he tabled {Qd}{Qh}.
Lurie quietly flipped over {Ad}{Kd} as he stood up from his seat and leaned in towards the table.
It was a classic coin flip situation, as multiple players from the table started shouted out percentages.
“Come on, baby!” Lurie said as he started to clap his hands.
The {3d}{8s}{9d} would quiet Lurie down as he sat back in his chair, but the silence would be short lived as the dealer ran out the {9c}{Kc} board and Lurie would improve to a pair of kings on the river, keeping him alive in this survivor tournament.
He now sits with around 20,000.
Level 5: (150/300/25)
Total Entries: 68
Kenneth Ball (Teaneck, NJ)
“He’s played three hands, and has all the chips.”
Kenneth Ball (Teaneck, NJ) might not have all the chips, but he might just be the chip leader of the Event 1 Survivor as play heads into Level 6.
Jesse Mason, our defending EPT Champion from an earlier post, just let everyone know just how Kenneth has been able to amass such a big stack so early in this event, as he’s using the quality of his hands, more so than the quantity.
We may have missed the first two hands he played, but we were right there for the third, as Kenneth opened the action from late position with a raise to 2,000 and was raised all-in from a player in the small blind.
Kenneth instantly called, tabling {Kh}{kd} and was well ahead of his unknown opponent, who held {Jc}{Jh}.
The board would run out clean for Kenneth and he was completing the double up, putting himself near the 30,000 chip mark and in a good position to “survive” in Event 1.
With a “fast” structure to this event, Kenneth’s strategy of play might not work later on, but so far, it’s doing to job, as he is one of the bigger stacks in the room as the late registration period begins to wind down.
Players have until the end of Level 7 to late register for Event 1 of the Bar Poker Open.
Level 4: (100/200)
Total Entries: 68
Jesse Mason (Boston, MA)
Just as we saw former Borgata Poker champions Michael McGuinness and Lawrence Wolf being sent to the rail, we saw Jesse Mason (Boston, MA) take his seat at one of the outer tables.
“Big Mase” as he is called, just won the Eastern Poker Tour 36K Championship event held at Foxwoods last month, for a cool $10,000 and the title of EPT Champion.
That event boasted a live streamed Final Table much like this series championship event, and Jesse was overheard saying that the bright lights of the feature table were tough to get used to at first, but once he got past all of that, he didn’t seem to have a problem dismembering the rest of the Final Table en route to his first EPT championship.
Jesse will be playing in the invitation only Bar Poker Open National Championship event this weekend, where he’ll square off against other Bar Poker champions from other BPO league affiliates from across the country, but for now, he’s just trying to survive through Event 1, and recently just avoided elimination.
While Jesse is the first champion to be mentioned on the blog, we certainly don’t expect him to be the last, as there are Borgata champions and Bar league champions alike seated at nearly every table.
Level 3: (75/150)
Total Entries: 65
Most Borgata Poker series start with a massive guaranteed event, that attracts thousands of entrants and kicks off the series in style, crowning a champion and setting up the story lines for the rest of the series.
The Bar Poker Open is taking a slightly different approach, beginning this series with a “Survivor” tournament, in which the winners will be able to “free roll” the remainder of the series.
As mentioned earlier, one in eight players will “survive” to win $520. While that may not seem like a lot, that will be enough to cover the buy-ins for the remaining Bar Poker Open events, from Saturday to Monday.
With multiple events every day, players won’t be able to play all the events, but a win here in Event 1, should set players up for a chance to “free roll” the bigger events of the series and could allow some players to parlay this small score, into a bigger score later in the series.
We are just under halfway through the late registration period, so we expect to see players continue to pour into the Signature Room and continue to build up the “Survivor” prize pool.
Level 3 (75/150)
Players Registered: 65
Craig Bradford of the Eastern Poker Tour
Eastern Poker Tour’s own Craig Bradford is off to a fast start here in Event 1 as he has already busted a player and is well over the original starting stack of 12,000.
On a board reading {9c}{3c}{Ks}{6s} a raising war broke out between Bradford and the player seated on his direct left before both of the players found all of their chips in the middle.
Bradford: {Kd}{Kh}
Opponent: {3h}{3s}
Bradford was on the better end of a set-over-set situation, and would need to fade the last 3 in the deck. The {7h} completed the board and would rake in the pot as he now sits with over 27,000.
As players continue to file into the Signature Room, taking their seats for the opening “survivor” event of the Bar Poker Open, the excitement is palpable.
Players have been greeting each other and have obviously gotten very comfortable at the East Coast’s preeminent poker destination.
The Borgata will be home to the first ever Bar Poker Open and you can already tell that this is going to be a “million dollar poker experience, at a fraction of the cost”.
As we move into Level 2 of Event 1, we wanted to post a complete schedule of the entire series, which boasts some massive guaranteed events, as well as some interesting and new tournament structures.
Some of these tournaments, like the “Crazy Pineapple”, “Tag Team”, and “Progressive KO” games and structures might be unfamiliar to players, and will be addressed later in the series.
A full list of the schedule and structure can be found HERE.
One thing we do know though, is no matter the tournament or structure, the Bar Poker community will be out in force, as we can already tell this is going to be a series to remember here at the Borgata.
Level 1 (25/50)
Players Registered: 33
The Main Stage
Play is underway here at the 1st annual Bar Poker Open. This weekend will be packed with action as we are scheduled for 13 events, including the $40,000 Guaranteed Bar Poker Open Championship.
Borgata tournament director, Tab Duchateau, has just announced shuffle up and deal for the 1st event. This $85 Survivor tournament has a $20,000 guarantee and is scheduled for 1 day of play with approximately 1 in every 8 players will receive $520 cash. Players will start with 12,000 in chips and blinds will be 20 minutes long.
Good luck to all of the players and welcome to the Bar Poker Open!
For years, the Borgata has been at the forefront of the poker community, with yearly World Poker Tour Championships, million dollar guaranteed tournaments and just recently, the introduction of two live streamed final tables to their seasonal Borgata Poker Open schedules.
Well, the Borgata is at it again, this time, pairing up with one of the fastest growing poker communities in the country. The Borgata has partnered with bar poker leagues from region to host the first annual Bar Poker Open, a five-day, ten-tournament series with over $100,000 in guaranteed prize pools; culminating with the Bar Poker Open Invitational National Championship, which will boast a live streamed final table, just like the WPT events hosted this past September.
So, what is the Bar Poker Open?
The Open is exactly what the bar poker community has been waiting for; an enormous community of bar poker players, a series of affordable buys-in events with great guarantees, fun parties, and a National Championship Invitational.
It without a doubt will be a “million dollar poker experience, at a fraction of the cost”.
Who can participate in the Bar Poker Open?
Anyone is eligible to participate in the opening main events, but the BPO National Championship is only for affiliated league winners, and is an invite only tournament.
Where can I find information on the Bar Poker Open?
More information on the BPO, including hotel, National Championship and affiliate league information and can be found HERE.
A schedule of events and structure seats can be found HERE.
And the live updates of each and every Bar Poker Open event will be posted here, on the official BPO blog, including player profiles, photographs, tournament updates and everything else you’ll need to follow all the BPO action starting Friday afternoon.
