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In Level 20 with blinds of 6,000/12,000 and an ante of 1,500, Ari Engel opened to 78,000 in the cutoff. The amount was nearly all of his chips, and Anthony Maio went all in from the small blind for less than the minimum reraise. Engel called off his remaining chips.
Ari Engel: 
Anthony Maio: 
The flop 
and turn 
were of no help to Engel, who found himself with one card left in his tournament life. Luckily for him, it came 
to give him a pair of sevens and the double to go along with it, leaving Maio on crumbs.
Maio would bust a couple of hands later, finishing the tournament in 25th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
266,930
147,965
|
147,965 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
In Level 19 with blinds of 5,000/10,000 and an ante of 1,250, "pay4medsch00l" opened to 20,000 in early position and action made its way around to MattEMenz, who three-bet jammed for 317,834 from the small blind. "pay4medsch00l" called all in for slightly less and the two found that a coin flip would decide their fates.
"pay4medsch00l": 
"MattEMenz":
"MattEMenz" needed help and got it on the flop 
. The turn 
improved him further to two pair and the river 
was safe to complete the runout and score the knockout, becoming a top-five stack as just three tables remain in play.
"pay4medsch00l" was only one of a handful of recent casualties, as have also been updated below as the field has been reduced to 25.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
615,918
283,084
|
283,084 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted |
The midway point of Level 19 has been reached with blinds at 5,000/10,000 and an ante of 1,250 as the tournament enters another five-minute break. Just 30 players remain and complete chip counts have been provided.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
734,061
335,557
|
335,557 |
|
|
633,140
-61,125
|
-61,125 |
|
|
489,661
489,661
|
489,661 |
|
|
473,161
281,161
|
281,161 |
|
|
471,192
319,916
|
319,916 |
|
|
424,931
55,125
|
55,125 |
|
|
367,068
120,760
|
120,760 |
|
|
349,178
-129,362
|
-129,362 |
|
|
332,834
128,740
|
128,740 |
|
|
319,862
101,757
|
101,757 |
|
|
313,070
313,070
|
313,070 |
|
|
294,721
294,721
|
294,721 |
|
|
269,334
204,343
|
204,343 |
|
|
229,892
-5,525
|
-5,525 |
|
|
227,159
114,031
|
114,031 |
|
|
212,256
14,892
|
14,892 |
|
|
206,000
104,500
|
104,500 |
|
|
205,099
19,192
|
19,192 |
|
|
184,895
-18,375
|
-18,375 |
|
|
179,042
-74,875
|
-74,875 |
|
|
175,550
35,775
|
35,775 |
|
|
161,904
101,404
|
101,404 |
|
|
118,965
-138,185
|
-138,185 |
|
|
||
|
|
112,462
93,450
|
93,450 |
|
|
100,189
-71,756
|
-71,756 |
Level 18 has come and gone and registration is officially closed with 162 entries generating a total prize pool of $32,400. The top 18 players will be paid with a first-level payout good for $405 and prizes escalating up until the eventual winner earns a payday of $8,424. Payout information has been posted below as well as in the payouts tab.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $8,424 |
| 2 | $5,832 |
| 3 | $3,888 |
| 4 | $2,916 |
| 5 | $2,106 |
| 6 | $1,733.40 |
| 7 | $1,360.80 |
| 8 | $1,020.60 |
| 9 | $696.60 |
| 10-12 | $583.20 |
| 13-15 | $486 |
| 16-18 | $405 |
With seconds left in Level 17 (3,500/7,000 with an 875 ante), "PeoplesChamp" jammed for 60,700 in early position and was called ty "tc_ownz," who was in the hijack.
"PeoplesChamp": 
"tc_ownz": 
"PeoplesChamp" saw the flop come 
to pull ahead with a pair of aces. The turn 
improved that to trips and the river 
was safe to complete the runout en route to a double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
171,945
-127,905
|
-127,905 |
|
|
139,775
44,075
|
44,075 |
Just two levels remain in the registration period as Level 17 is underway. Blinds are now 3,500/7,000 with an ante of 875 and the field size is up to 156 with 40 players remaining.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,167,729
989,789
|
989,789 |
|
|
694,265
324,354
|
324,354 |
|
|
513,086
209,190
|
209,190 |
|
|
478,540
181,350
|
181,350 |
|
|
398,504
215,211
|
215,211 |
|
|
387,166
387,166
|
387,166 |
|
|
369,806
284,017
|
284,017 |
|
|
299,850
-28,800
|
-28,800 |
|
|
257,150
158,172
|
158,172 |
|
|
||
|
|
253,917
48,120
|
48,120 |
|
|
246,308
101,563
|
101,563 |
|
|
235,417
17,855
|
17,855 |
|
|
218,105
-22,275
|
-22,275 |
|
|
204,094
71,714
|
71,714 |
|
|
203,270
100,125
|
100,125 |
|
|
197,364
87,073
|
87,073 |
|
|
192,000
132,500
|
132,500 |
|
|
185,907
96,688
|
96,688 |
|
|
173,296
2,046
|
2,046 |
|
|
171,276
120,201
|
120,201 |
|
|
165,062
29,425
|
29,425 |
|
|
164,965
13,500
|
13,500 |
|
|
156,952
-14,810
|
-14,810 |
|
|
153,411
925
|
925 |
|
|
151,276
-125,814
|
-125,814 |
BorgataPoker.com has a trio of sponsored pros — Katie Stone, Daniel Buzgon, and Michael "Gags30" Gagliano — all of whom have been active here in the 2020 2 Borgata Spring Poker Open Online Series.
In regards to the man known as "Gags," he has been playing poker professionally for a decade and has amassed more than $2 million in live tournament cashes. That includes a career-best $448,463 for winning the 2016 World Series of Poker Event #25: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em, good for his first bracelet. He also finished third in the 2017 WSOP Event #27: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em - 6 Handed for $210,139.
He also has more than $4 million in online scores. Of that, $338,315 has come on BorgataPoker.com.
According to his website, "before poker he worked in an elementary school, which has given him a great background to become a premier poker instructor. Coaching for more than seven years he has helped more than 50 students from all over the world improve their game. These students have gone on to win multiple championships including the WSOP Main Event. Michael has also worked as a consultant for several major casinos and online poker sites to help them improve their product and better serve their customers."
For more on Gagliano, be sure to follow him on Twitter at @Gags30poker
Level 16 saw blinds at 3,000/6,000 with an ante of 750 when "IReadYrSoul" got all in from the hijack against "tc_ownz" in the big blind.
"IReadYrSoul": 
"tc_ownz": 
"IReadYrSoul" was drawing dead after by the turn after "tc_ownz" hit Broadway, but wasted no time getting back in on the action.
Immediately thereafter, "IReadYrSoul" went all in from middle position and saw Anthony Maio three-bet all in from the hijack to isolate the remaining players out of the pot.
"IReadYrSoul": 
Anthony Maio: 
"IReadYrSoul" found themselves on the wrong end of the coin flip as the board ran out 
and was eliminated once more for just a moment before re-registering again.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
328,650
278,900
|
278,900 |
|
|
143,137
-28,211
|
-28,211 |
|
|
50,000
-119,188
|
-119,188 |
With play in Level 15 and blinds at 2,500/5,000 with an ante of 625, "MattEMenz" raised to 10,000 under the gun and saw "Stevehung" three-bet all in on his direct left for 37,125. "pay4medschool" was in the cutoff and called before action made its way back to "MattEMenz," who thought for a bit before calling as well.
The flop fell 
and "MattEMenz" checked. "pay4medschool" bet 20,000, more than one-third of their stack, and it was good to force "MattEMenz" out of the pot.
"Stevehung":
"pay4medsch00l": 
"Stevehung" found themselves with three outs to stay alive and that number quickly became two as the turn gave "pay4medschool" a flush draw to go along with their already-ahead pair of queens. The river changed nothing and the pot was shipped to "pay4medschool" as "Stevehung" was eliminated from the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
179,366
-13,750
|
-13,750 |
|
|
132,380
67,680
|
67,680 |
|
|
Busted |