Event 10 Recap

$600 + $60 Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em (Re-Entry)

A pair of Michael's were heads up for the title and the trophy, and in the end Michael Sneideman (Newtown, CT) wins this event at the Borgata Fall Poker Open.  Sneideman defeated Michael Bonita (New City, NY) after having most of the chips when the final two squared off.

"I can't believe it," said Sneideman, who is thrilled with his first Borgata trophy. "I get to keep this," he laughed.  Sneideman held A♣ K♦ to win with Aces-up on the final hand.

"He played great," said Bonita who was over matched with a 6 to 1 chip deficit, "there's not much I could do."

Sneideman ($35,357) and Bonita ($20,839) earned their highest live paydays, each with their best
career tournament finish.

The 217 entries, in the largest buy-in ($660) to date of the series, created a total buy-in of $130,200.  Familiar face Jordan Ludwick (6th) made the final table and was joined in the money by Borgata regulars
Ralph Massey (12th), Tom Dobrilovic (13th), Nick Palma (14th) Nancy Martin (17th) and Steven Rodriguez (19th)

In then end it was a short stack, turned big stack that won the event.  Sneideman started the day 17th in chips out of 18 returning players and was down to 115k (10 bb) at the final table. 

"Patience was the key," said Sneideman, who knocked out third place finisher Jeff Wicker and Igor Skochilo in 4th to hold 85% of the chips heads up.  "But once I got chips, I took advantage of a tight table image and was able to chip up without a lot of hands."

Sneideman is a mailman in his tight-knit Connecticut community and said he plays poker seriously, but is "definitely an amateur."  

His highest prior finish came in September's Poker Open when he finished 4th in the $1k for $12,000.  "I stewed over it for awhile," said Sneideman, "I misplayed a couple of hands and it stayed with me," and added, "number one by a mile," on his list of poker accomplishments.

Final Table Results

Entries: 217
Total Buy-In: $130,200

Place-Name-Payout

1st Michael Sneideman (Newtown, CT) $35,357
2nd Michael Bonita (New City, NY) $20,839
3rd Jeff Wicker (Philadephia, PA) $11,998
4th Igor Skochilo (Astoria, NY) $9,725
5th Luis Khoury (Syosset, NY) $7,578
6th Jordan Ludwick (Cherry Hill, NJ) $6,315
7th Chris O'Hara (Clarks Summit, PA) $5,052
8th Greg Himmelbrand (Bayside, NY) $3,789
9th Jeff Einsidler (Bedford, NY) $2,526
10th Nidal Crowley-Abdelhay  (Bronx, NY) $1,642