By Jo Kim
This is an exciting time of year for poker players in the Atlantic City and Philadelphia region. With plenty of tournament options in the months to come, planning New Year’s resolutions should be easy. Not only are these events madly popular, they can guarantee handsome prize pools and possibly a World Series of Poker Circuit ring to a few lucky individuals. Furthermore, Atlantic City could make drastic changes to adjust to a New Jersey online gambling bill. The prospect of poker is looking good for the East Coast.
After the WSOPC’s annual return to Harrah’s in December (see results next issue), there’s a brief lull this month before back-to-back tournament madness begins here. The ever-growing appealing number of events means an increase in various tournament options. In this case, it can range from various tournament structures, such as the Borgata’s famous re-entry events, to the patient majestic levels of the WSOPC. Some of the highlighted events coming up are the WSOPC at Caesars followed by Harrah’s Philadelphia and the Borgata Winter Open.
Also, other area rooms have developed a number of fresh tournament extravaganzas. In the past year, many new proceedings have been successful in bringing a sufficient number of players to the area. Sands, Borgata and Harrah’s Philadelphia have developed new series featuring deepstacks and bigger bounties.
This upcoming year may be revolutionary for players in Atlantic City with online poker possibly making its comeback in New Jersey. The new online poker bill allows licensed casinos to operate gambling servers from Atlantic City. With that being said, there’s been mixed emotions on the controversy that has delayed online poker’s return. However, from taxes to casino owners’ stands on the issue, it seems the topic has made a turn toward a promising direction for the New Year.
PokerStars, after settling all charges with the Department of Justice, has maintained good standing with American players. Furthermore, the online poker company is seeking to purchase the Atlantic Club Casino to make Atlantic City the U.S. base for its return to the market.
BORGATA: Brock Parker won the $2,700 main event of the Borgata Fall Open, earning $372,568 in the November tournament. The field had 644 players for a $1.6 million prize pool. Winners and statistics are below.
Borgata Fall Poker Open
Event 1 • $560 NLHE
1,431 Entries • Pool: $715,500
Daniel Walsh, $143,114
Event 3 • $450 H.O.R.S.E.
71 Entries • Pool: $28,400
Khaled Alwan, $9,643
Event 4 • $560 Bounty
248 Entries • Pool: $124k
Matthew Iles, $33,673
Event 5 • $300 NLHE
258 Entries • Pool: $67,080
Xiaofeng Hu, $18,216
Event 6 • $300 Ladies
67 Entries • Pool: $17,420
Robin Lee, $5,914
Event 7 • $450 Stud
39 Entries • Pool: $15,600
Joseph Marttine, $6,809
Event 8 • $400 NLHE
405 Entries • Pool: $141,750
Mohammad Amjadi, $35,137
Event 9 • $400 PLO
53 Entries • Pool: $18,550
Bruce Yamron, $6,298
Event 10 • $560 NLHE
124 Entries • Pool: $62,000
Harry Korotki, $16,358
Event 12 • $300 NLHE
721 Entries • Pool: $187,460
Asher Conniff, $42,182
Event 13 • $400 Ante Only
45 Entries • Pool: $15,750
James Wiley, $6,111
Event 14 • $560 NLHE
175 Entries • Pool: $87,500
Kevin McColgan, $25,462
Event 15 • $450 Omaha/8
96 Entries • Pool: $38,400
Ilya Dyment, $13,038
Event 16 • $760 NLHE
181 Entries • Pool: $126,700
John Dibella, $36,870
Event 17 • $1,090 6-Max
229 Entries • Pool: $229,000
Will Failla, $58,865
$2,700 Main Event
644 Entries • Pool: $1.6m
Brock Parker, $372,568
Event 19 • $340 NLHE
166 Entries • Pool: $49,800
Jason Nagers, $14,493
Event 20 • $300 Bounty
191 Entries • Pool: $49,660
Michael Cicalese, $14,451
Event 21 • $230 NLHE
371 Entries • Pool: $74,200
Dwyte Pilgrim, $19,430
