ATLANTIC CITY – An alleged cheating scandal
during the 2014 Winter Open poker tournament at the Borgata casino has
led to a second lawsuit.
Six
poker players have filed a lawsuit, alleging that the casino did not
properly monitor and run the tournament and that the payout to remaining
players after the tournament was halted was insufficient.
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The suit alleges that Lusardi
was able to enter fake chips into play because the casino had moved
some tables to an overflow room that was not properly monitored.
A state investigation found that Borgata properly monitored the tournament and was not at fault.
The World Poker Tour (WPT) 2014 Championship will
be played at Atlantic City for the first time. For the past 12 years,
the Las Vegas based Bellagio casino used to host it, but this year, it
will be played in New Jersey’s Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa.
Tom Ballance, president of the
Borgata, said: “With online gaming and the popularity of the Borgata
brand, the center of gravity of poker is moving to New Jersey.” The
WPT’s decision to shift venues does indicate that Atlantic City has
become more popular after the Garden State legalized online gambling in
Nov 2013. Most of the gambling companies that sponsor professional live
poker events have partnered with land casinos in Atlantic City. Party
Poker is the host of the WPT 2014 Championship event, and Bwin.party,
which is a partner of Borgata’s online gambling site, owns the company.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A cheating scandal at an Atlantic City casino poker tournament has led to new security measures being put in place, including high-tech chips.
The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa tells The Associated Press it is using new chips for its Spring Open poker tournament.
They are more intricate, have more colors, and include an authentication element that can be checked using ultraviolet light.
Borgata vice president Joe Lupo tells the AP the changes are "very expensive but very necessary."
The casino was forced to suspend an event at its Winter Open in January after suspicions that someone introduced counterfeit chips.
A North Carolina man was arrested on charges including theft and rigging a public contest.
An investigation continues, and $1.5 million in prize money is still on hold.
The 2014 Borgata Spring Poker Open has its official dates and will run from April 8 to April 26 in the Borgata Poker Room and Borgata’s other tournament facilities.
The full schedule, including the 2014 Spring Poker Open Championship Tournament, has yet to be finalized, but we wanted to get the early word out.
This year’s Borgata Spring Open also marks a first as the World Poker Tour Championship—separate from the Spring Open Championship—will be played at Borgata April 21-26.
The $15,000 + $400 WPT event carries a $5 Million guarantee—the first prize-pool guarantee ever for a WPT Championship.
ATLANTIC CITY — A poker tournament at Atlantic City’s Borgata casino has been suspended while state casino regulators investigate whether someone used counterfeit chips.
Joe Lupo, the casino’s senior vice president, says its first tournament has been suspended for 24 hours as the state Division of Gaming Enforcement investigates.
Borgata COO Tom Ballance appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box to discuss online gaming in New Jersey.
Internet betting is not a threat to brick-and-mortar casinos,
Ballance argued. "When we match up databases, the great majority of
players who were playing online have not been to Borgata in well over a
year. And the vast majority have made fewer than two trips in the past
year. So it's a different customer."
There's
also a different demographic for the online gambler, he contended. "It
skews more male than the conventional brick-and-mortar customer."
Answering critics who say Internet gaming makes it too easy to bet
since gamblers don't have to leave their homes, Ballance said: "Online
we actually have more controls. ... You
don't extend credit online. You've got to fund your account somehow ...
through your checking account or through a credit card."
Televised World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship Event to Feature Guaranteed $3 Million Prize Pool Borgatapoker.com Offering Online Qualifiers and Satellites to Support 18-Day Tournament
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (December 19, 2013) – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced today details of its ninth annual Borgata Winter Poker Open tournament series, beginning on January 14 and concluding with the televised WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship event, January 26-31. This year’s Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (re-entry) Championship is a $3,500 buy-in with 30,000 in starting chips and a guaranteed $3 million prize pool.
“Borgata is delighted to continue its relationship with World Poker Tour (WPT) as we host the second of three televised tournaments throughout Season XII,” said Borgata Senior Vice President of Operations Joe Lupo. “Our strong partnership with WPT coupled with the onset of online gaming including the launch of borgatapoker.com make for an extremely exciting 2014.”
Borgata’s new online poker site Borgatapoker.com will compliment the upcoming tournament series by offering players the chance to compete for qualifiers into next month’s Borgata Winter Poker Open. On January 12 at 4 p.m., borgatapoker.com will host a 50-seat guarantee with the winner awarded entry into the $560 Big Stack No Limit Hold’em opening event on January 14, which boasts a $2 million guaranteed prize pool. Online players will also have the opportunity for just $1 to qualify for the WPT $3 Million Guaranteed event on January 26, a package worth $5,000!
Last year saw 27-year-old poker pro Andy Hwang outlast an immense field of 1,042 participants to take home over $730,000 and add his name to the distinguished list of Borgata Winter Poker Open Champions including Joshua Mancuso (2012), Vadim Shlez (2011), Jeffrey Madsen (2010), Steven Weinstein (2009), Gavin Griffin (2008), John Hennigan (2007) and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi (2006).
The 18-day series, held in the Event Center, will feature 53 unique tournaments such as No Limit Hold’em, H.O.R.S.E, Six-Max, Deep Stack, Seniors and Ladies No Limit Hold’em, and Omaha events. The 2013 Borgata Winter Poker Open saw the largest opening-event turnout in the history of East Coast poker – a record-breaking 3,871 participants entered for the chance to win $1.9 million in prize money.
Online promotion to win a seat to the championship runs from December 23 – January 23 with the winner announced January 24. Online reservations for Borgata Winter Poker Open Main events are available 24 hours a day starting now through Friday, January 10 by visitingtheborgata.com.
To view the event schedule or for more information visit theborgata.com and follow all of the action on Twitter @BorgataPoker.
About Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa Located at Renaissance Pointe in Atlantic City, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa features 2,000 guest rooms and suites; 161,000 square feet of gaming; 182 gaming tables; 3,475 slot machines; an 80+ table poker room; 11 retail boutiques; 6 acclaimed fine dining restaurants by renowned chefs; 6 casual dining options; a 54,000 square foot spa; 70,000 square feet of event space; 4 signature nightlife experiences; and parking for 7,100 cars. The resort also features Atlantic City’s first cosmopolitan hotel experience, The Water Club at Borgata, with 800 guest rooms and suites; a 36,000 square foot spa; 18,000 square feet of meeting space; 6 designer retail boutiques; and 5 heated indoor and outdoor pools.
For more information on Borgata or to obtain a copy of this press release, please visit theborgata.com or follow Borgata on twitter.com/BorgataAC
It's not secret that I absolutely love seven-card stud. It's by far my favorite poker game. I loved when the Borgata decided to promote the game and try to get more players.
For the record, I'm not 70 years old either.
The stud bad-beat jackpot was hit at the Borgata. Here's more from Borgata's poker site:
Play a minimum of 30 hours during the month of November at the following game limits:
$10-$20
$20-$40
$40-$80
and earn 2XComp Dollars (up to a maximum additional $300 Comp Dollars)
Comp Dollar will be available to redeem 12/6 - 12/30/2010.
Once redeemed, the Comp Dollars will be loaded onto your account (and will expire 180 days from day loaded to account).
Use your Comp Dollars for food, drink, rooms, etc.
2X Comp Dollars based on primary limit played during month (i.e., played 40 hours at $10-$20 and 10 hours at $20-$40. will receive 2X on 40 hours at $10-$20)
$20,000 Guaranteed Stud Tournaments o Sunday, November 7 at 1P: $100 Buy-In + $20 Entry ($5,000 Guaranteed)
o Sunday, November 14 at 1P: $100 Buy-In + $20 Entry ($5,000 Guaranteed)
o Sunday, November 21 at 1P: $100 Buy-In + $20 Entry ($5,000 Guaranteed)
o Sunday, November 28 at 1P: $100 Buy-In + $20 Entry ($5,000 Guaranteed)
$1,000 Stud Free RollPoker Tournaments o Sunday, October 31 at 1P
o Monday, November 1 at 1P
o Tuesday, November 2 at 1P
o Wednesday, November 3 at 1P
The final table of the championship tournament will conclude today at the Borgata.
Ten players remain to try and collect the $180,595 first place prize.
Here are the chip counts, according tot he Summer Poker Open blog:
Position-Name-Chip Count
1. Steven Curtin 1.459 million
2. Ed Corrado 1.349 million
3. Todd Geddis 1.324 million
4. Billy O'Neil 1.247 million
5. Mirza Nagji 1.136 million
6. Dean Potashner 1.09 million
7. Frank Dellaria 756k
8. John Borzio 686k
9. Michael Melkersen 429k
10. Joshua Hakakian 243k
Back in September, a man beat out a field of 260 women in the Borgata Poker Open to win the ladies tournament (link).
The current version of ladies tourney is going on right now at the Borgata and two men have entered the field.
This is nothing new. During the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, men also entered the field in the ladies tournament. It was a huge debate that many professional gave their opinion on.
Here two blog posts by Annie Duke on the topic: post 1 (where she also links to other posts) and post 2.
What are your thoughts on men playing in events that are geared for women?
Bad Beat Has Hit 52 Times, Paying Out 455 Winners Over $6.7 Million in Prize Money
Atlantic City, NJ (June 17, 2010) – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa paid out the largest Bad Beat jackpot in its history this morning, awarding eight players a total of $332,654.
At exactly 10:00AM on a $1-$2 No Limit Hold’em game, Do Hien’s quad 2’s lost to Blackwood, NJ native Carlo Santos’ straight flush. Santos won the hand and the $66,509 share of the Bad Beat pot; however, it was Do who hit the jackpot, as he collected forty percent of the record-breaking $332,544 Bad Beat prize money. Each of the remaining players who were dealt into the hand received $22,170.
Do Hien, who’s been playing poker since 2003, just had a hunch that something great would happen this morning. “I played yesterday into this morning for twenty hours and was up $1500. I was sitting in my car and had a feeling to go back inside and play some more.”
The winner of today’s record-breaking hand, Carlo Santos, was just trying to win enough money for his buy in to today’s Borgata Summer Poker Open Deep Stack event which began at noon.
The Borgata released its Summer Poker Open schedule, which runs June 11-30 (But it's not summer yet!).
The Borgata doesn't always have the same schedule for every open. They tweak it based on what the trends are and the customers want. In the last Open, they did away with straight 7-card stud and threw it mixed games. The old-time favorite did make a return this time either. The only time you will see a stud game is during the game HOSE game on June 22.
The tournament now has three Deep Stack events, including a turbo (June 15).
The main event, which starts June 25, is now a $2,000+$20 buy-in, which is a $1,000 less than the Spring Poker Open.
Click here for more information regarding on-site registration and for room rates. Click here for the main event schedule.
Borgata's ever-popular $500,000 Deep Stack Poker Tournament is back. The tourney has a $1.2 million prize pool and begins Sunday and will run through May 19.
Buy in: $1,500 +$150
There will be a $330+$50 qualifier Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Atlantic City, NJ (March 16, 2010) – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced today details of its first annual Borgata Spring Poker Open to be held Saturday, April 10 through Friday, April 30, 2010. The Borgata Poker Room will feature 110 poker tables for both live action and tournament play throughout the 21-day competition. The sixty-event tournament series will culminate with the $3,500 Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship event (April 25–30), which features two starting dates, 30,000 in tournament chips and offers a guaranteed $1 million prize pool.
The inaugural Borgata Spring Poker Open will feature 26 main events, including Texas Hold’Em No Limit, 6-Hand Max No Limit, H.O.S.E., Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha Stud events. The tournament will also be filled with super satellites, survivor, no limit hold’em, and Seniors-only and Ladies-only events.
Borgata will offer online reservations for main events, beginning Monday, March 22 through Wednesday, April 7. On-site registration for all Borgata Spring Poker Open events begins Friday, April 9, in the poker room. To view the event schedule and for more information, please visit www.theborgata.com or twitter.com/BorgataPoker.
Borgata has made it convenient for poker players to view a list of current live poker games in action through the online Live Game Report. In addition, Borgata’s Bad Beat Jackpot continues to flourish, having hit five times last week alone. Since its inception in December of 2008, Borgata’s Bad Beat Jackpot has hit 44 times, paying 386 players a total or $5,735,500.
