There’s a new millionaire in Atlantic City, thanks to the Borgata and online partner PartyPoker. Eight players gathered for a final live tournament after winning the site’s weekly “New Jersey’s Next Poker Millionaire” qualifiers, which were held within the first couple of months of regulated online poker.
Myroslaw “onetime99” Woroch was the last man standing as he claimed his prize package of numerous large buy-in tournament entries and, of course, a check for nearly $900K.
What Woroch described as a “truly surreal experience” is just one of many online gaming promotions generated since the return of poker sites to New Jersey. Many online sites are continuously running big-prize freerolls, extreme overlays and member bonuses.
COUNTERFEIT UPDATE: Borgata, which was forced to cancel Event 1 of its Winter Open after it discovered counterfeit chips had been sneaked into the tournament, has a suspect in the case. Police arrested Christian Lusardi for rigging a publicly exhibited contest, criminal attempt and theft by deception after Harrah’s Resort discovered the counterfeit chips in the sewer pipes leading to his room.
The tournament had attracted nearly 5,000 players and was down to the final three tables when play was stopped. The remaining prize pool (a few hundred players had cashed before the chips were discovered) is being held until further notice from N.J. authorities.
CAESARS UPDATE: Caesars Entertainment has been busy on the boardwalk. Atlantic Club closed recently after Tropicana and Caesars teamed to purchase the property at $23.4 million in an attempt to revive casino revenues by eliminating regional competition. Few public statements have been made regarding Atlantic Club’s future plans. But the big news is, after months of publicly closed renovation, Wild Wild West has revealed its 64-table poker room, which opened in late February. Stay tuned for updates on this mammoth room and what it means to Atlantic City.
Also, Caesars submitted a bid for Revel Casino to modernize the corporation’s Atlantic City portfolio. Revel may gain a better promising poker prospect under Caesars management, rather than its current state of bankruptcy.
PHILLY: Parx’s Big Stax V is under way, concluding March 10. The series includes three trophy events for $330, $550, and $1,600 buy-ins. … Harrah’s Philadelphia is wrapping up its Philly Poker Open on March 2. The main event, which began Feb. 28, had a $75K guarantee. Results of these events weren’t available at press time.
— Email Jo Kim at anteupjokim@gmail.com.
