The World Poker Tour championship event at the 2009 Borgata Poker Open will begin on Saturday, Sept. 19 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The no-limit hold’em championship event will feature a $3,500 buy-in, and there is a $2 million-guaranteed prize pool. Given the tough economic situation that the United States faces at this time, the Borgata announced that the buy-in would be lowered from $10,000 to $3,500 last month. Similar buy-in events hosted at the Borgata have attracted 1,000 players, most recently the 2009 Borgata Winter Open, which attracted 1,017 players.
The championship event is the 18th event on a schedule that featured 21 tournaments with various buy-ins that have spread various games. The notable preliminary event winners included Chris Reslock ($400 pot-limit Omaha), and male player Abraham Korotki, who shockingly took home the title in the $300 no-limit hold’em preliminary ladies event.
The WPT championship event has two day-one flights, and the tournament will conclude when a champion is crowned at the final table on Thursday, Sept. 24. Players will begin with 30,000 in tournament chips, and the blinds will begin at 25-50. Levels will be one hour and fifteen minutes long, and there will be a 15-minute break at the end of every two levels.
$3,500 WPT championship no-limit hold’em event schedule
Saturday, Sept. 19: Day 1A (eight levels)
Sunday, Sept. 20: Day 1B (eight levels)
Monday, Sept. 21: Day 2 (eight levels)
Tuesday, Sept. 22: Day 3 (play down to 27 players)
Wednesday, Sept. 23: Day 4 (play down to final table of six players)
Thursday, Sept. 24: Final table
Check back at CardPlayer.com at the conclusion of each tournament day for a recap of the day’s events.
Here is a look at the 2008 WPT Borgata Poker Open results:
Buy-in: $10,000
Number of Entries: 516
Total Prize Pool: $5,000,000
First-Place Prize: $1,424,500
Places Paid: 54
Final Table Results:
1: Vivek Rajkumar (pictured right) — $1,424,500
2: Sang Kim — $750,000
3: Daniel Heimiller — $387,500
4: Jason Strochak — $337,500
5: Mark Seif — $287,500
6: Andrew Knee — $237,500
