Level 4 (100/200/25)
Total Day 1A Entries: 63

Liberty DeVivo (Phoenixville, PA)

While any Borgata Poker blog is usually home to the deep runs, bad beats and card deadness woes of Richard DeVivo, he says today’s focus should be on his wife Liberty. Before taking his seat in this Day 1A flight, he joked, but was extremely serious in saying that, “Liberty is the only one in my entire family that’s been winning lately.”

While that might not be 100% true, as DeVivo just notched two small scores at the last Parx Big Stax series and recorded his second Borgata Poker title during the June Deep Stacks Challenge series, Liberty has been doing her part as well.

She’s already notched a half dozen results through the summer months, including a final table appearance in the June DSC series, as well as multiple cashes in Las Vegas. She’s still looking for that breakthrough score though, something she’ll hope to achieve this week in the $100,000 GTD Player’s Series.

Players are just a few minutes from their second break of the day, which leaves just over an hour and a half left in the late registration period for this Day 1A flight.

Level 4 (100/200/25)
Total Day 1A Entries: 57

While we’ve posted it a few times, we just wanted to confirm and fix a slight mistake on the structure sheets, both in the poker room and listed online on the Borgata Poker website.

This Borgata Poker Player’s Series will allow for unlimited re-entry, and late registration, through Level 8. It should be noted that on both the live and online structure sheets, other information was provided, including that there was no re-entry allowed and that entry was only allowed through Level 6.

Again, late registration and unlimited re-entry is allowed through Level 8 of each starting flight and the necessary changes to the Borgata Poker website and structure sheets will be made as soon as possible.

Level 3 (100/200)
Total Day 1A Entries: 53

Sundiata DeVore has been on a tear this summer and will look to build off a string of good results in this event.

We opened today’s Day 1A coverage featuring Sal Busacca, who is coming off a good stretch of results through the last Parx Big Stax series, but there is another player in the field who is looking to build off recent success. Sundiata DeVore has put together a decent summer of results and is coming off two of his best career finishes.

The first of those finishes kicked off his summer run, when he made a massively deep run in ‘The Colossus’ event at the World Series of Poker, finishing 254th out a huge 22,000 player field. After a few smaller results, DeVore nearly broke through for his first Borgata Poker Open title, finishing 2nd in the WFAN SPO event for an $11,000 score.

In total, since the turn of summer, DeVore has amassed just under $25,000 in earnings. He’ll now look to build off those good results and continue his summer run in the $100,000 GTD Player’s Series.

Level 3 (100/200)
Total Day 1A Entries: 48

The players are now back from their first break of the day and will return to Level 3, with the field hovering just under the 50 player mark. With over three more hours left to late register or re-enter into this event, we imagine that this first starting flight will only continue to grow over the next few levels.

Regardless of the growth and size of this opening flight, the BPPS blog will continue to bring you updates from the field.

Level 2 (75/150)
Total Day 1A Entries: 45

Abraham Korotki is one of the most decorated Borgata players in the history of the poker room and he’ll look to add to that legacy this week in the $100,000 GTD Player’s Series. 

Until recently, Abraham Korotki, the six-time Borgata champion found himself tied atop the all-time Borgata wins list. That was, until Will ‘The Thrill’ Failla won his seventh title during the Summer Poker Open Championship.

Whether Korotki is tied for the lead or not, he’s without a doubt the most decorated player in today’s field, with wins in nearly every type of structure that Borgata offers. Championship events, Six Max events, Deep Stacked events, it doesn’t matter, Korotki has taken them all down and then some, amassing over $1,300,000 in career earnings along the way.

If there is something missing from his trophy case and legacy, it’s a Borgata Poker Player’s Series title. Although there have only been three given out in the brief history of this tournament series, Korotki will certainly have his eyes on this event, using it as a warm-up of sorts for next month’s Borgata Poker Open.

That BPO series will offer Korotki another two dozen or so chances at Borgata hardware, but he’ll look to return in September back atop the all-time wins list, further cementing his position as one of the best Borgata players of all-time.

Players are just ten minutes from the end of Level 2 and their first break of the day.

Level 2 (75/150)
Total Day 1A Entries: 42

This ‘championship-like’ Player’s Series structure should create an interesting dynamic when it comes to the number of early entries in each Day 1 flight. Unlike normal structured events, the longer levels and 30,000 chip starting stack of this event will allow players to get into the action late and not face much of a punishment for their tardiness.

Thus far, it seems as though that late registration trend will be rearing it’s head in Day 1A, as just over 40 players are currently seated in the tournament area as play is set to enter Level 2.

As the tables begin to populate, the updates from the BPPS blog will continue to highlight players in the field and bring you pertinent information from this Day 1A flight.

Level 1 (50/100)
Total Day 1A Entries: 38

Sal Busacca (Colts Neck, NJ)

Tournament results seem to happen in bunches and when a player starts a tournament cashes streak, it’s hard to curb that momentum.

Sal Busacca is hoping to keep his streak going for another series, after notching three straight main event scores at the most recent Parx Big Stax series.

Those results earned Busacca just under $6,000, earning four-figure scores in all three events, the only player to do so throughout that entire series.

While he’s done most of his recent damage at Parx, three of Busacca’s best finishes have come in Atlantic City. The most recent of those scores came last year, when Busacca took down a Spring Poker Open Super Survivor event for a $10,000 score.

Busacca, who has just under $115,000 in career tournament earnings to his name, will look to regain that Borgata form and keep his streak alive during this week’s $100,000 GTD Player’s Series.

Level 1 (50/100)

The pre-tournament announcements have been made and the Borgata Poker Player’s Series is officially underway, as the cards have just gotten in the air for Day 1A of the BPPS $100,000 GTD.

This event will see players start with 30,000 in tournament chips and will have a three day structure, with two starting flights running both today and tomorrow. Day 1 sessions will see players play 12 levels with each level lasting 45 minutes in length, with an increase to hour long levels coming in Day 2 and 3.

Late registration and unlimited re-entry will be available through the end of Level 6, giving players plenty of time to get into the BPPS action. With two starting flights, it should be noted that this event is NOT a best stack forward event. That means that any player who bags chips in Day 1A, will automatically forfeit those chips if they play in the Day 1B session.

There will also be NO dinner break during either Day 1 flight, with play concluding around 9:30 PM. The BBPS blog will track this field up to that point, with coverage beginning as soon as the tournament tables begin to populate.