The player on the button raised to 4,000 after action folded to him, and David Rotches three-bet from the small blind. The big blind pushed all in, and the button moved in as well. Rotches called.
Rotches: 
Button: 
Big blind: 
The flop came 
, putting Rotches far ahead. The turn and river were the 
and 
, and Rotches had felted two players.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
The tournament has reached the 10th level of play, meaning blinds are now 500-1,000 with a 100 ante.
We've been told that former Main Event runner-up Steve Dannenmann busted out in a three-way all in with top pair against a set and a flush draw.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
40,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
||
|
35,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
29,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
|
|
29,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
|
19,000
19,000
|
19,000 |
|
||
|
17,500
17,500
|
17,500 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
In one of the last hands before the recent break, experienced tournament player Amanda Musumeci managed to triple her stack in a single hand.
Musumeci held 
when the flop fell 
, and after a series of bets and raises she found herself all-in against two opponents. One flopped two pair with , while the other did the same with . Neither player managed to fill up, and with her flopped straight Musumeci built a sizable stack early on Day 1 of this $400 Big Stack NLHE Re-Entry event.
The players are back from break and cards are in the air once again.
We have been handed a press release from the Borgata staff regarding Event 1 ($560 NLHE Re-Entry, $2 Million Guarantee), which was suspended yesterday pending an investigation into the suspected use of counterfeit T5000 chips. Below is the text from that announcement:
Borgata announced today that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has ordered the cancellation of the first event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open due to a pending investigation.
Thus far, investigators have found that one or more tournament entrants improperly introduced a significant number of counterfeit chips into the tournament, gaining an unfair advantage and compromising the integrity of play for the event.
Tom Ballance, President and Chief Operating Officer of Borgata, said "It is extremely unfortunate that the criminal actions of these individuals can have a detrimental impact on more than 4,000 other entrants. We fully understand and regret the disappointment this cancellation causes our valued customers, and we will work diligently with DGE investigators to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. The integrity of our games and the confidence of our players is of the utmost importance to us."
"We thoroughly verified all remaining chips in our inventory, and are confident in moving forward with our tournament schedule as planned and approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement."
The room has slowly emptied out as the massive field for Event 5 has departed for another 15-minute break.
Here are a few images from around the room to give you an idea of how many players have flocked to the Winter Poker Open.
With an ocean of anonymous faces filling the Borgata tournament floor, finding players we recognize can be like searching for a pearl on the bottom of the sea.
Fortunately, a few familar faces have been spotted around the room, including Dan Heimiller, Steve Dannenmann, Iverson "Heisenberg" Snuffer, Amanda Musumeci, and Robert "Uncle Krunk" Panitch.
