Event 20
The 2018 Borgata Poker Open came to a close in the early morning hours of Saturday morning when the 21st BPO trophy found a new home.
Erkut ‘Eric’ Yilmaz
About eight hours earlier, Erkut Yilmaz took 1st place in the Championship event, along with $575,112 and both BPO and WPT Champions Cup trophies. Yilmaz took a huge lead into the final day of the Championship and held that lead until heads-up with poker pro Timothy ‘TK’ Miles. They proceeded to battle for more than two hours, with the lead changing several times, before Yilmaz finally collected all the chips and the title. Miles added another $383,399 to his career earnings, pushing the total past $3.2 million.
This series saw a lot of firsts. For the first time, the BPO was not held in the Event Center, but in a temporary Tournament Area between the Poker Room and Signature Room. This was a one-time occurence and this area will now he turned into the new Borgata Sports Book. The Winter Poker Open in January will be back in the Event Center as usual.
Another first was buy-in guarantees on the non-No Limit Hold’em events. The Omaha/Stud High/Low, HORSE, and PLO tournaments all had guarantees for the first time ever. There was also an “Old School” Freeze-out NLH tournament with no re-entries, and a Double Black Chip Bounty tournament added to this year’s schedule.
Justin Leeds (seated) took 1st in Event 1 in a 4-way adjusted payout.
Justin Leeds claimed the top spot in the $1 Million GTD Kick-Off event, which saw 3,106 entrants. The final four players all took home more than $170,000 for their efforts in the three-day event.
Altogether, the series had $7.6 million in guarantees and paid out more than $8.3 million in prize money in Main Events alone, not including secondary and satellite events. A complete list of Main Event winners and their winnings is below.
*Indicates Adjusted Payout
The next major tournament series is the Fall Poker Open, which runs November 6th through the 21st, so start making plans now. The tournament schedule has not yet been released. Follow @BorgataPoker on Twitter to catch the announcement when it is. Until then, Borgata’s regular schedule of Daily Tournaments will resume. For those of you in New Jersey, there’s alway another tournament coming up on BorgataPoker.com. October 14th – 21st, the Garden State Super Series (GSSS) will be running with more than $450,000 in guarantees.
For now, it’s farewell from the Borgata Blogging team of Tim Kelliher, Chris Murray, Al Rash, Brittany Paige, and myself. Hope to see you in November during the Fall Poker Open!
@Kaelaine
James Mackey
Event 20 of the Borgata Poker Open was the $1,000+$60+$200 Second Chance Double Black Chip Bounty NLH. There were a total of 118 entries creating a prize pool of nearly $115,000.
It was a stacked field that saw plenty of overflow from the WPT BPO $3,500 Championship. When the dust settled James Mackey was the last man standing.
Mackey took the chip lead early and held strong at the top for much of the night. He had one foot out the door during final table play holding middle set against the top set of Chun Li but spiked a one outer on the river to stay alive.
Mackey’s poker resume is a lengthy one that boasts a WSOP bracelet as well as a WPT title. He now adds his first Borgata Poker title to his long list of accolades and adds another $33,766 to his more than $4,000,000 in lifetime tournament earnings.
$1,000+$60+200 Double Black Chip Bounty
Semi-Turbo NLH (8-Max)
Level 26: 20,000/40,000/40,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 118
Players Remaining: 2
Rick Ali
Rick Ali moved all in for just over 1,000,000 and James Mackey called. “I didn’t look at my hand” said Ali turning over 
and he was dominated by Mackey’s 
.
The board ran out 
and Mackey’s queen high was enough to leave Ali crippled. He was eliminated just a few hands later holding 
against the of Mackey.
Ali is our Event 20 runner up and takes home $18,886 for his runner up finish.
$1,000+$60+200 Double Black Chip Bounty
Semi-Turbo NLH (8-Max)
Level 25: 15,000/30,000/30,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 118
Players Remaining: 2
Danny Monosson
Danny Monosson and Rick Ali went heads up to the 
flop. Monosson moved all in for his last 130,000 and Ali called.
Monosson showed 
but would need to improve against the 
of Ali. The turn and river were no help to Monosson and he was eliminated in 3rd place earning $11,446.
Rick Ali- 1,100,000
$1,000+$60+200 Double Black Chip Bounty
Semi-Turbo NLH (8-Max)
Level 25: 15,000/30,000/30,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 118
Players Remaining: 3
Chun Li
Chun Li got his last 300,000 all in pre-flop holding 
against the 
of James Mackey. The dealer fanned the 
flop and Mackey paired his five to take the lead.
The turn 
and river 
sealed the deal for Mackey and Li is our 4th place Event 20 finisher earning $9,157.
James Mackey- 1,300,000
$1,000+$60+200 Double Black Chip Bounty
Semi-Turbo NLH (8-Max)
Level 24: 12,000/25,000/25,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 118
Players Remaining: 4
Jordan Cristos
Rick Ali raised to 55,000 and Jordan Cristos moved all in from the small blind for 172,000. It folded back to Ali who said “I only looked at one” and doubled checked his hole cards.
Ali peeled back his second card and snap called turning over 
and Cristos showed 
.
The dealer fanned the 
flop and Cristos flopped bottom set to take the lead. “Diamond please” said Ali and right on cue the hit the turn.
Ali improved to the nut flush and the was help to Cristos who was eliminated in 5th earning $6,868 for his efforts.
Rick Ali- 750,000
$1,000+$60+200 Double Black Chip Bounty
Semi-Turbo NLH (8-Max)
Level 23: 10,000/20,000/20,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 118
Players Remaining: 5
James Mackey raised to 45,000 and Chun Li called from the button. Danny Monosson called from the small blind and they went three handed to the 
flop.
Monosson checked and Mackey fired out a bet of 60,000. Li raised to 120,000 and Monosson quickly folded.
With the action back on Mackey he moved all in for 480,000. Li snap called turning over 
for top set.
“Oh my god how do people do it” joked Mackey as he turned over 
for middle set. Mackey began to stand up preparing to make his exit just as the 
hit the turn.
He would need the last five in the deck and he got just that when the 
completed the board. Mackey spiked his one outer to stay alive and take the chip lead as five handed play continues.
James Mackey- 1,135,000
Chun Li- 360,000
$1,000+$60+200 Double Black Chip Bounty
Semi-Turbo NLH (8-Max)
Level 22: 8,000/15,000/15,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 118
Players Remaining: 5
She Lok Wong
A short stacked She Lok Wong was the next player to hit the rail. He failed to improve holding against the 
of James Mackey.
Wong is our 6th place Event 20 finisher and earns $5,723 for his efforts.
James Mackey- 615,000
$1,000+$60+200 Double Black Chip Bounty
Semi-Turbo NLH (8-Max)
Level 21: 6,000/12,000/12,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 118
Players Remaining: 6
Kee Fredkove
Rick Ali raised to 25,000 from under the gun and it folded to Kee Fredkove in the big blind. Fredkove moved all in for about 80,000 and Ali quickly called.
Fredkove turned over 
but would need to improve against the of Ali.
The board ran out 
and Ali paired his ace to score the knockout. Fredkove is our 7th place Event 20 finisher and will take home $4,578 for his efforts.
Rick Ali- 850,000
$1,000+$60+200 Double Black Chip Bounty
Semi-Turbo NLH (8-Max)
Level 20: 5,000/10,000/10,000 BB Ante
Total Entries: 118
Players Remaining: 7
She Lok Wong
The action folded to James Mackey on the button and he raised to 22,000. She Lok Wong moved all in from the big blind for 127,000.
Mackey snap called turning over 
and was flipping with the of Wong. The board ran out 
and Wong improved to kings and queens to earn the double up.
She Lok Wong- 269,000
James Mackey- 350,000