It’s a historic year for the World Poker Tour as it embarks on its 10th season. This month the WPT touches down on one of its most popular destinations, the Borgata.
Brooklyn native Dwyte Pilgrim bested a record field of 1,042 players to take home the Borgata Poker Open championship last year, cementing himself as a force to be reckoned with in the poker world.
The Borgata stop has a knack for producing winners who are all too familiar. Pilgrim joined the likes of Gavin Griffin, Michael Mizrachi, Olivier Busquet and Daniel Negreanu as players who have found success at Atlantic City’s biggest event of the year.
Pilgrim’s title defense (in what promises to be another huge field) is not the only story of the series. For the first time, Atlantic City will host a H.O.R.S.E. tournament.
With a large contingent of mixed-game players on the East Coast, the Borgata is expecting a nice turnout. The recent legalization of razz in Atlantic City has made it possible to run this event, a favorite among pros. The $450 tournament is slated for Sept. 11, the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.
For a complete schedule of events visit theborgata.com or scan the tag on the right with your smartphone.
The WPT main event has a $3,500 buy-in and a robust $3 million prize pool. The tournament, which is a Double Play event, runs Sept. 18-23 with two starting days. The entire series is guaranteeing $3.9 million in prize money and begins Sept. 7 with a $300K guarantee deepstack no-limit hold’em re-entry tournament. The first event always brings out a ton of players, especially with a reasonable $450 buy-in.
RESULTS: Congratulations to Russell Crane, Alex Nepomnyaschiy and Omar Ghanim for winning recent events at the Borgata.
Crane, from Howell, N.J., captured the $300K guarantee deepstack event on Aug. 10. He defeated a field of 400 players in the $1,650 tournament to pocket $148,704.
Nepomnyaschiy, who lives on Staten Island, N.Y., won the $250K guaranteed deepstack, besting 417 players on July 20 for $103,597.
Ghanim, of Patterson, N.J., won $75,720 for outlasting the 991-player field in the $100K guarantee on Aug. 6.
— Cris Belkewitch the Ante Up Atlantic City Ambassador. A member of Team Bustout, his insight can be found at thepokerjourney.net.
