Borgata Poker Open Begins in Atlantic City

Despite being directly in competition with the World Series of Poker Europe, the World Poker Tour’s Borgata Poker Open attracted a strong field, as over 1,000 players are expected in Atlantic City to play in the $3,500 buy-in event.

At the end of the first day of play – Day 1A, as the large field required multiple starting days – Jeff Papola stood on top of the field with 156,200 chips. Papola has already won a World Series of Poker bracelet this year, having taken down first place in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed event. That win came just three days after finishing second in the $2,500 Six Handed event, a remarkable back-to-back accomplishment for the New Jersey-based pro. According to the Hendon Mob Database, Papola is currently 30^th on the 2010 live tournament money list.

Many of the world’s top players are playing in WSOPE events, and thus were not able to attend the Borgata Poker Open. However, this may have worked out well for the World Poker Tour event, as last year’s decision to reduce the buy-in opened the tournament to professional players (not to mention amateurs) who are not yet comfortable playing in $10,000 buy-in events. It has also led to an enormous field, meaning that the prize pool is likely to be several million dollars even with the reduced cost of entry. The minimum prize pool is guaranteed at $2 million.

The Borgata Poker Open is the 7^th event in Season Nine of the World Poker Tour. Upcoming events include the Festa al Lago at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, as well as the Foxwoods World Poker Finals in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Last year’s Borgata Poker Open was won by Oliver Busquet, who took home $925,514 for first place.