Event 13 (Day 2)
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Returning to Level 32: 150,000/300,000/300,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,791
Players Remaining: 34
Average Stack: 8,200,000
Oscar Menjivar
There was no shortage of action on Day 2 of the Almighty Stack and after 31 levels of play just 34 players remain. Oscar Menjivar is leading the way with 25,650,000. Menjivar shot to the top of the counts during the last level holding pocket queens against Jackob Datashvili’s pocket jacks in an all in pre-flop confrontation.
James Calderaro
WSOP bracelet winner James Calderaro sits in second with 16,400,000 and Michael Rossitto rounds out the top three with 15,550,000.
The players will return on Saturday September 15 at 12 P.M. and play down to a winner. One of these players will be taking home the $188,365 first prize money along with the Borgata Poker Open trophy.
Below is a look at some of the big stacks and players that will be moving on to Day 3.
A full list of Day 3 chip counts and seating assignments will be posted here on the Borgata Poker Blog as soon as they’re available.
Oscar Menjivar- 25,650,000
James Calderaro- 16,400,000
Michael Rossitto- 15,550,000
Mike Lavenburg- 11,975,000
Cody Heuschkel- 11,150,000
Kevin Lutz- 10,800,000
Fernando Dacruz- 9,525,000
Satish Surapaneni- 7,900,000
Frank Funaro- 7,900,000
Matt Mendez- 7,675,000
Geno Raman- 4,850,000
Julie Bae- 4,800,000
Todd Rebello- 3,100,000
Payouts
| 1 | $188,365 |
| 2 | $122,152 |
| 3 | $79,994 |
| 4 | $68,007 |
| 5 | $56,420 |
| 6 | $44,941 |
| 7 | $33,570 |
| 8 | $22,741 |
| 9 | $16,244 |
| 10 – 12 | $10,829 |
| 13 – 15 | $7,310 |
| 16 – 18 | $5,577 |
| 19 – 27 | $4,548 |
| 28 – 36 | $3,844 |
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 31: 120,000/250,000/250,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,791
Players Remaining: 36
Keith Nolinaro
The action folded to the player in the cutoff and he moved all in for 3,155,000. Michael Rossitto called from the button and Keith Nolinaro re-shoved all in from the big blind for 5,590,000. Rossitto called putting both players at risk and the hands were shown.
Keith Nolinaro: 
Michael Rossitto: 
Cutoff: 
The board ran out 
and Nolinaro paired his queen on the river sending the player in the cutoff to the rail and nearly tripling his chip stack.
Keith Nolinar0- 14,705,000
Michael Rossitto- 7,500,000
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 31: 120,000/250,000/250,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,791
Players Remaining: 40
Oscar Menjivar
Kevin Grabel raised to 525,000 from under the gun and Oscar Menjivar re-raised to 1,350,000 next to act. The action folded to Jackob Datashvili in the small blind and he moved all in for just over 8,000,000.
Grabel quickly folded and Menjivar snap called turning over 
. Datashvili could only shake his head as he showed .
The 
runout sealed the deal for Menjivar and Datashvili was eliminated.
Menjivar scooped the massive pot and is now in contention for the chip lead with over 21,000,000 and less than one hour of play left in the night.
Jackob Datashvili
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 30: 100,000/200,000/120,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,791
Players Remaining: 43
Average Chips: 6,500,000
Cody Heuschkel, while behind dominating chip leader Michael Rossito, had amassed over 11,000,000 by the last break.
With an opportunity to add another 3 million plus if he was good, Cody thought through a very troubling spot.
Cody, in white, faces the check raise from Gary, foreground.
Having raised from the button, the BB Gelman defended, and naturally check the king high board over to Cody, who cbet 600,000.
In an unusual move on the dry board, Gelman smashed in his stack.
Cody slid his cards back and forth. “I should so snap you off,” he said.
But Gary only smiled.
Gary splashes a king across the board after Cody folds. Bluff or value, Gelman is happy.
Cody pitched it bur first showed a 
. As the pot was pushed his way, Gary flipped over a as well.
Gelman is rolling late in the day.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 30: 100,000/200,000/200,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,791
Players Remaining: 46
Gary Gelman
Alex Torres raised to 500,000 from the cutoff and Gary Gelman re-raised to 1,500,000 from the button. With the action on Lisa Pickell in the small blind she put her last 410,000 in the pot.
Torres quickly folded and the hands were shown.
Gary Gelman: 
Lisa Pickell:
The dealer fanned the 
flop and it was no help to Gelman. The turn brought the 
and Pickell was just one card away from the double up.
The 
hit the river and Gelman spiked his ace to crack Pickell’s queens and score the knockout.
Gary Gelman- 5,100,000
Lisa Pickell- Eliminated
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 30: 100,000/200,000/120,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,791
Players Remaining: 47
Average Chips: 6,000,000
Rare five way this late in the tourney. Jack Barnes,, seat 3, takes it down with a bet after the PFR check – then shows the flopped nutters.
Taking the spot: Jackob Datashvili shoves over an open, earning a snap fold, then gently slides his holding forward.
Big gain for Purnell on 5: He makes the nuts with the K7cc, breaks his opponent’s high cards, and shoots to over 8 m.
Reversal of fortune: Joe Shady has been short for a long time, and goes with fours, cracking KK on the river. He’s got an average stack, at last.
Lisa Pickell tosses her queens, their shadows over the all in button, in the muck after Oscar M. ships the Ace high board into her. The table breaks, down to six.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 30: 100,000/200,000/200,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,791
Players Remaining: 56
Michael Rossitto
Chip leader Michael Rossitto is keeping his foot on the gas and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He added another big pot to his stack just before the break.
Rossitto won the flip with 
against the 
of his opponent to score the knockout.
He is now sitting behind a mountain of 16,300,000 and he has distanced himself well out in front of the Almighty Stack field with 56 players remaining.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
End of Level 29: 80,000/160,000/160,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,791
Players Remaining: 57
Average Chips: 4,800,000
“It’s hard when you get older, with all these young guys,” Gary Gelman ruminated.
They are certainly putting Gary to the test, but he is still here.
At 8/16, Gary opened multiple times, looking to make something happen. Finally picking up 
in the cutoff, this was his spot. He again opened to 400,000, got through the button and small, but the final actor Louis Ditonno ripped in his 15 bigs, putting immense pressure on the middle ace.
Ditonno shoves over Gelman, foreground.
Gary took a long time to decide. He talked about facing ace-jack, but clearly wanted to find a call with the reasonable suited ace. After a while, it seemed a fold was coming, despite not wanting to be bluffed out.
Still clinging to the suited ace, Gary tries to get a read.
When he regrettably threw it away, Ditonno asked if he wanted to see, and offered him the choice of one card.
The 
was shown. Perhaps that made Gary feel better.
Both players remain with enough to shove over an open, but not much more, on one of the shortest stacked tables.
On the next table over, Bhuvin Patel just doubled through the resurgent Calderaro, slowing James down a bit.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
End of Level 28: 60,000/120,000/120,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,791
Players Remaining: 60
The Event 13 players are now on a 15-minute color up break. We are down to the final 60 Almighty Stack players and we will pick right back up on the action when play resumes.
$400+$50 Almighty Stack NLH Re-Entry
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Structure | Payouts
Level 29: 80,000/160,000/160,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 2,791
Players Remaining: 65
Kevin Grabel
The action folded to Kevin Grabel on the button and he moved all in for 2,840,000. Mukul Pahuja went deep into the tank from the small blind. After verifying the chip count he called and the big blind folded.
Kevin Grabel:
Mukul Pahuja:
Mukul Pahuja
Grabel was in great shape to double up and he did just that when the board ran out 
.
Kevin Grabel- 6,000,000
Mukul Pahuja- 260,000