Borgata Poker Open II

L.A. Poker Classic
Commerce Casino
February 24 to March 3

WPT Event Day 1
The first day proved what a star fest should look like. Players such as Burt Boutin, Robert Mizrachi, Shannon Shorr, Jeff Madsen, Erick Lindgren, Vanessa Rousso, Chip Jett, Erik Cajelais, Joe Bartholdi, Theo Tran, David Sklansky, Davidson Matthew, Steve Brecher, Lakers owner Jerry Buss, Daniel Negreanu, James Van Alstyne, Jennifer Tilly and last year's champion Alan Goehring were seen in the field. Things got underway at 3:30 p.m. with all players starting with $20,000 in chips with blinds at $25/$50. 2006 WSOP Main Event champ Jamie Gold was also there, but was busted out within the first 90 minutes of the tournament. In total, 791 players paid $10,000 each to sit down at the tables. The prize pool jumped to a huge $7,593,600. Payout schedule for the final table is as follows:

1. $2,429,970
2. $1,177,010
3. $607,490
4. $455,615
5. $341,710
6. $257,425

1. J.C. Tran -- 543,700 chips
2. Mike Carson -- 318,100 chips
3. Alan Engel -- 280,200 chips
4. Sean McCabe -- 272,400 chips
5. Lee Markholt -- 240,300 chips
6. Joe Tehan and Can Kim Hua -- 225,000 chips

WPT Event Day 2
The second round for the L.A. Poker Classic began at 3:30 p.m. with blinds at $300/$600 with a $75 ante. Bustouts continued with players like Kathy Liebert, Robert Mizrachi, Mike Matusow after his pocket A's were cracked when his opponent turned a set of 10's, Paul Darden Jr., Tony Ma, Chad Brown, Gavin Smith, Marcello Del Grosso, Freddy Deeb and Joe Sebok going to the rail. By the time midnight rolled around there were 152 players left to move on to Day 3. Here are the top 6 with chip counts:

1. Dan Harmetz -- 851,800 chips
2. Mike Wattell -- 617,200 chips
3. Vince Byrd -- 231,000 chips
4. Joe Sebok -- 204,175 chips
5. Alan Engel -- 179,725 chips
6. Richard Munro -- 154,525 chips

WPT Event Day 3
152 players sat down to continue play until 54 were reached. Blinds began at $1,000/$2,000 with a $300 ante at 3:30 p.m. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi was eliminated from the tournament when his K Q was overcome by an opponents A K. Joining him on the sidelines were Steve Brecher, Matt Glantz, Minh Nguyen, Nenad Medic, Ted Forrest, Erik Seidel, Quinn Do and Steve Dannenmann. Barry Greenstein left after his A 8 suited lost out to Lee Markholt's pocket 10's.

By the time player 55 was busted around 3:00 a.m. the next day, the 54 remaining players were all in the money and told to come back tomorrow for the next round. Here are the top 6 with chip counts:

1. Bill Edler -- 696,000 chips
2. Jason Strasser -- 677,000 chips
3. Suk Sung -- 668,000 chips
4. J.C. Tran -- 636,000 chips
5. Juan Carlos Alvarado -- 634,000 chips
6. Richard Munro -- 631,000 chips