Borgata Winter Open Debuts With Record Field

[Fonzi]

Tournament Culminates with the World Poker Tour ( WPT) Finals, January 27-31, 2008

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (January 20, 2008) ? Saturday turned out to be another record day for the Borgata Winter Poker Open (WPO) as the Atlantic City casino crossed the $2.2 million main event prize pool threshold with the start of the $1,500 Event #5. Generating a prize pool of $723,000 and the largest first-place cash of this year?s WPO series to date ($206,922), Event #5 brought 482 runners to the felt with dreams of snagging a WPO title and a big payday.
Seeing action were a number of notable players such as poker pro Lacey Jones, Bill Blanda, Richard Marshall, Will ?The Thrill? Failla, Hevad ?Rainkhan? Khan, Louie Esposito, Jared ?The Waco Kidd? Hamby, Joey ?JOEYTHEB? Brooks, Eugene Todd, and ?Gentleman? John Gale.

According to many players in today?s Event #5 field, the day?s action predominantly featured solid play with the occasional maniac who would shove their chips in the middle at the drop of a hat. New Jersey?s Robert ?Action Bob? Hwang has a theory about why Saturday?s play went the way it did.

?Once the buy-ins start to increase, you?ll find that more of the skilled players will start to join the fields. Plus, with the increase in starting chips, the stronger players are usually able to use the time to build their stacks. You have to avoid races early and keep from blowing up if you want to be there on day two,? said the former Borgata Poker Open WPT final table participant Hwang.
In addition to hosting a strong turnout for Event #5, the Borgata Event Center also played host to returning players of the $1,000 Event #4. Fifty-six players made it through the long day-one play, but that number would quickly dwindle to the final table of 10 players after only several levels of play.

Unlike the quick arrival of the final table, however, it took much longer to crown the tournament?s winner, with the Event reaching its culmination 10 hours into the day-two play. In the end, it was Joesph ?Bobo? Capellop that bested Tony ?Bagel? Cavezza after his pair of flopped Aces beat Cavezza?s 7s/3s for the win. Capello collected $177, 536 for the win, while Cavezza earned $96,000 for finishing second.

With a number of Main Events yet to be played, plenty of opportunity exists for players to get in on the poker action. Sunday features the Limit Hold?em Main Event, the Ladies Main Event, and Event #5?s day-two action. Monday features a new tournament addition to the regular Borgata weekly tournament schedule ? a Modified Shootout. Featuring a $300 buy-in, players can win their way into the second-stage of the tournament (which features a traditional tournament structure) by taking one of the top three spots in a single table shoot out with flights starting at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.. Should a player bust out of the 11:00 a.m. flight, they may participate in the day?s second flight at 2:00 p.m..

Poker fans can go to Atlantic City Hotels & Casinos | Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa | Atlantic City Entertainment to keep up with all of the action. Televised nationally on the Game Show Network (GSN), the Borgata Poker Classic is one of the premier stops on WORLD POKER TOUR's 17-tournament tour. Featuring the world's top poker players and local fan favorites, this year?s WPO championship event will provide fans with plenty of fireworks.
On-site registration for all events is available until January 29 at 2 p.m. Special hotel room rates are available to tournament players Sunday through Thursday at $129, Friday at $199 and Saturday at $239. Call 1.866.MYBORGATA for more details. For the complete tournament schedule, blogs and more, visit theborgata.com.

About the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
Borgata is a joint venture of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) and MGM MIRAGE (NYSE: MGM). Located at Renaissance Pointe in Atlantic City, it features 2,000 guest rooms and suites, 161,000 square feet of gaming, 200 gaming tables, 4,100 slot machines, 12 destination restaurants, 12 retail boutiques, a 54,000 square foot spa, 70,000 square feet of event space, and parking for 7,100 cars.

For more information on Borgata or to obtain a copy of this press release, please visit theborgata.com or use AOL keyword: borgata. Additional news and information on Boyd Gaming can be found at Boyd Gaming Corporation; additional information on MGM MIRAGE can be found at MGM MIRAGE - Las Vegas Hotels

[YellowRoses]

Nice to see that the numbers are increasing and not dwindling. Thanks for the article.