Limit Poker At The Borgata

Limit poker may not be today's most popular form of poker but the game is still alive in Atlantic City thanks to the strong die-hard player base that is willing to come out and support this kind of event. Many of Borgata's limit cash game players and several more well known pros took to the felt for two days, Monday and Tuesday, in the only non-No Limit Hold'em event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open. Event Four drew 343 competitors to Borgata's beautiful Event Center, all hoping to secure a big payday. Unfortunately, for 342 of these competitors, lady luck quashed their dreams of a champion's bracelet. For some, the day's event ended quickly.  For others, playing their way to the final table would mean dodging a few bullets and hitting the right cards at the right time. Once again, what started out as a sea of players on the first day was narrowed to 36 eager competitors by the end of play at 2:00 AM.  Play continued at 2:00 PM Tuesday afternoon and continued until the final hand, which was logged at 11:37 PM.

The long walk to the winner's circle was finally taken by Stephen Benton of Leesburg, VA., when he defeated Tim Dalessandro of West Chester, PA., for the title of Borgata Winter Poker Open Limit champion and a first-place cash of $52,301. For finishing second, Dalessandro earned $28,812 and a round of applause from the crowd and players who stuck around to see the conclusion of this limit final table. The Limit event also saw the highest finish of a woman player at this year's Borgata Winter Poker Open. Svetlana Gromenkova of Brooklyn, NY, finished the tournament in third place, proving she had the goods to challenge her predominantly male competition. She raised the bar for female players at this year's event and reminded the field that a good player is a good player regardless of gender, race, or nationality. In addition to the finals of the Limit event, Tuesday also saw the start of the Event Five, the second $1,000 buy-in event. 362 players stepped up to the plate for the event and were greeted by a sizeable prize pool of $362,000, with $110,410 going to first place.

A feeling of electricity is running throughout the tournament floor as more and more top players continue to arrive, ready to take their shot at possibly winning two Cadillac Escalades, a World Poker Tour title, a $25,000 seat into the World Poker Tour championship in April, and possibly a payday worth $1 million. Robert 'Action Bob' Hwang, one of the September's Borgata Poker Open $10,000 main event finalists, said he's glad to be back at Borgata and hopes to take the first-place prize and a 2006 Cadillac Escalade this time around. "I'm really excited to be here," said Hwang.  "To me, the tournaments were run so well the last time and the structure they are giving us for the main event looks incredible. I'm really looking forward to playing in the $10,000 (event)."