There are only a handful of events that poker players circle on their calendar each year as a “can’t miss” tournament. Event 1 of September’s Borgata Poker Open is just that, and the cards will be in the air in less than (30) minutes. This year’s opening event carries a $2,000,000 guarantee, offering unbelievable value for a $500 buy-in tournament. The numbers for the opening event of this series over the past few years have been staggering, as 3,705 total entries made up the tournament in 2012 ($1,852,500 prize pool), and a record shattering 4,482 walked through the doors last year ($2,241,000).
Walking into the Event Center for the first time each year is similar to entering the hallways of school for the first day, as the rows of tables seem to last forever and familiar faces greet each other after time apart. Those sitting down before the “shuffle up and deal” announcement is made will be getting comfortable with a starting stack of 20,000 (as will those entering late or re-entering). Levels 1-16 will last (30) minutes, with Levels 17-25 transitioning to (40) minutes, and Levels 26+ lasting (50) minutes in length. Today is the first starting flight of five for this event, with Day 1A action wrapping up at the conclusion of Level 18.
While there is a long way between now and Saturday (which is Day 3), let’s not forget to mention that the final table for this event will be streamed live!!! The finishing touches are still being put on the set, but the area where the final table will take place is available for all to see, located next to the players food court in the Event Center.
The doors have just opened for the first time and players are filing in to find their respective table number and seat. While Event 1 gets a lot of attention, there is another event that will take place today, as Event 2 ($350 Omaha/Stud 8B) will get underway at 4:00pm. Action for both events (as well as all main events throughout the series) will be covered live on the blog, so make sure to save this URL and keep up with all the action over the next two weeks!!