Day 3 From Borgata Winter Poker Open

After an unheard of three days of play, the Borgata Winter Poker Open has finally reached the final 27 players.  Day 3 saw the return of the remaining 172 players to battle to not only the final three tables but also to the money which is set to pay out 100 places.  Only a few hours into play, the money bubble burst with a few of the well known players able to take home a profit from the tournament.  Amongst the field of players who made it to the money were Jason Young (81st), Michael Santoro (79th), Al Riccobono (76th), Mark "dipthr0ng" Herm (59th), David "dpeters17" Peters (58th), Matt Brady (54th), Esther Taylor (44th), "Captain" Tom Franklin (43rd), Gordon Eng (38th), Steven Levy (35th), and Frankie Flowers (29th). 

Despite coming into Day 3 as the chip leader, Frankie Flowers couldn’t ward off the competition and was eliminated just before the day ended.  He put the last of his chips in with Q-J only to run headlong into Victor Johnson’s pocket aces.  Though he looked promising for the more than $600,000 first place prize, Flowers wound up taking home $11,594 instead.  Bill Edler has started 2009 off with a deep finish in this championship event after having a tough 2008 when he went without a single tournament cash.  Now that he is sitting second in chips, he is hopeful for a final table finish. 

Below are the chip counts for the remaining 27 players of the Borgata Winter Poker Open:

1. Carl Pion (BRAMPTON, CAN): 4,720,000

2. Bill Edler (LAS VEGAS, NV): 3,894,000

3. Robert Merulla (NEWYORK, NY): 3,006,000

4. Todd Terry (HOBOKEN, NJ): 2,965,000

5. Kenneth Smaron (PHILADELPHIA, PA): 2,785,000

6. Charles Marchese (SHOREHAM, NY): 2,713,000

7. Ory Hen (HOLLYWOOD, FL): 2,437,000

8. Shawn Paul Pilot (NORTH HILLS, CA): 2,394,000

9. Manelic Minaya (TAMPA, FL): 2,361,000

10. George Medrano (GRAPEVINE, TX): 2,045,000

11. Stephen Vanauken (MILFORD, PA): 1,915,000

12. Robert McLaughlin (WASHINGTON, DC): 1,911,000

13. Abul Moborrod (VENTNOR CITY, NJ): 1,825,000

14. Kijoon Park (FLUSHING, NY): 1,640,000

15. Philip Neiman (FLUSHING, NY): 1,613,000

16. Franklin Caldwell (NICHOLASVILLE, KY): 1,474,000

17. Steven Weinstein (ANDES, NY): 1,423,000

18. Balint Barta (CLIFTON, NJ): 1,282,000

19. Michael Contesa (ROCHELLE PARK, NJ): 1,249,000

20. David Levy (TAMARAC, FL): 1,213,000

21. Charles Hook (PHILADELPHIA, PA): 1,200,000

22. Andrew Eastom (FORT WAYNE, IN): 1,142,000

23. Paul Spitzberg (TENAFLY, NJ): 1,039,000

24. John Myung (VIENNA, VA): 978,000

25. Victor Johnson (MIDDLETOWN, NY): 929,000

26. Anthony Argila (N BELLMORE, NY): 623,000

27. Mirsad Kovaci (BROOKLYN, NY): 394,000