James Lauer, the reigning $600 Deep Stack Kick Off champion, is picking up right where he left off 12 months ago.
Lauer has built one of the biggest stacks in the room and currently sits on 609,000 chips. The only player ahead of him is Leo Saiag, who has edged into the overall lead with 620,000.
Meanwhile, George Small isn't living up to his surname. He's up there in the counts with 370,000 as the tournament heads toward the money bubble.
There are 69 players remaining, with 48 spots paid. Play will continue until just 31 players remain, at which point the survivors will bag up and return for Day 2.
Peter Han is sitting on a nice stack of 183,000 thanks to downing a player with pocket fours.
Han limped in from early position, and two other players followed suit before the small blind jammed for 24,000. Han three-bet to 80,000 and folded out the remaining players.
Small Blind: A♥2♦
Peter Han: 4♠4♣
The small blind found a pair on the 9♣7♥2♣ flop for some extra outs. The turn was a no-sider, but it was the only no-sider that failed to improve the small blind, as the 3♥ came on the turn. The Q♠ river completed the runout and Han chipped up nicely.
The opening flight of the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off ($1M GTD) is officially locked in.
Late registration has now closed in Day 1a, with 378 entries recorded as players packed the Borgata for the first of six starting flights.
The field has already been trimmed to 90 players, with plenty more eliminations still to come before bags are handed out at the end of the night. Forty-eight players are guaranteed a payday, while only the final 31 survivors will secure a spot in Sunday's Day 2.
Meanwhile, the action is just getting underway in Day 1b. The evening flight has attracted 89 entries through its opening levels and is heading into its first break, with late registration remaining open until the start of Level 13.
The opening flight of the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off ($1M GTD) has drawn a strong crowd at Borgata, with the tournament entering Level 12.
So far, 369 entries have been recorded in Day 1a, and the field has already been whittled down to 108 players as eliminations have come thick and fast throughout the afternoon.
Players still looking to jump into the action have just over 20 minutes left to register before the end of the level. Following the scheduled break, late registration will officially close when Level 13 begins.
Those who miss the cutoff, or those who are eliminated, still have another opportunity to build a stack, with Day 1b, which kicked off at 5:15 p.m., currently underway.
With four more starting flights still to come after today, plenty of players are expected to take multiple shots at securing a Day 2 berth in one of the Borgata Summer Poker Open's marquee events.
It must feel good to be James Lillis right about now.
The New Jersey native has caught fire since the last break, eliminating one player before notching another KO and winning a huge pot on the very next hand to vault into the chip lead.
The heater began when Lillis opened to 3,500 from under the gun and was called by fellow big stack Cristian Antigua in middle position. The big blind then moved all in for 21,500, and both players called.
The flop came 9♥5♣4♥, and Lillis fired 16,000, forcing Antigua out of the pot.
The big blind turned over 6♦6♥, but found himself behind Lillis' 7♥7♦. The 3♦ turn and Q♣ river offered no help, sending the pot to Lillis, who climbed to around 175,000.
Cristian Antigua
On the very next hand, Robert Thomas, sitting on roughly 170,000, opened to 3,500 from middle position. Lillis three-bet to 16,000 from the big blind, and Thomas called.
Lillis continued for 16,000 on the 8♥6♥4♣ flop, with Thomas calling once again. After Lillis checked the 4♦ turn, Thomas bet 35,000. Lillis responded with a raise to 85,000, and snap-called when Thomas moved all in.
Robert Thomas
Lillis tabled A♠A♦, which had Thomas's 7♠7♣ in bad shape. The 3♦ river gave Lillis the checkmark, and he rose to around 350,000 chips, overtaking Nick Steen for the chip lead.
Some more emerging big stacks in the room include:
The New Jersey poker dealer sits atop the Day 1a chip counts of the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off after the second break, turning his 30,000 starting stack into around 220,000 chips through the first eight levels of play.
While some players spend hours waiting for premium hands, Steen couldn't seem to stop finding them.
"First hand I got aces, flopped a set and turned quads." he explained. "The next hand after that I got kings, flopped a set and got it all in. Then the next hand after that I got aces again, flopped another set and got it all in again."
That incredible run of cards helped propel him to around 140,000 chips before he settled into a steadier rhythm.
"After that I've just been chipping up slowly but surely. Pot after pot has been going good."
Nick Steen
Steen had actually hoped to earn his seat through one of Borgata's satellites the day before, but after coming up short, he decided to buy into the tournament outright.
"I tried to qualify yesterday, but I had a bad day, so I bought in this morning."
When not playing poker, Steen works as a poker dealer at the newly opened Resorts World casino in Queens. Living in the Hoboken, Jersey City area, he's been making regular trips to Borgata for around six years.
"I've been playing pretty consistently," he said. "Once or twice a month I make a trip."
His recent increase in volume stems from a fortunate boost to his bankroll.
"I got lucky and hit a table share of bad beat jackpot. I turned that into a little bankroll and I've been trying to spin it up ever since."
Despite a few years of grinding, Steen is still searching for his first major tournament result.
"I've won a couple of dailies here and there, but nothing significant."
With almost eight starting stacks already in front of him and plenty of poker still to be played, that could all change come Monday.
The livestream schedule kicks off on July 20 with the final table of the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off, before turning its attention to a mix of cash games and tournament action over the following week. The spotlight then shifts to the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship, with feature table coverage on Days 2 and 3 before the festival concludes with the final table on July 31.
Date
Time
Stream
July 20
Noon
$600 Deep Stack Kick Off Final Table
July 21
TBA
Pot-Limit Omaha Cash Game
July 22
TBA
RAF's Game
July 23
TBA
Borgata Big Game
July 24
Noon
$650 Super Deep 6-Max Final Table
July 25
TBA
Signature $2/$5 Cash Game
July 27
Noon
$500 Borgata Almighty Stack Final Table
July 29
Noon
$2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship Feature Table
July 30
Noon
$2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship Feature Table
July 31
Noon
$2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship Final Table
Start times for the cash game streams will be confirmed closer to each broadcast. Players and fans can keep an eye on the Borgata Poker social media channels for the latest updates.
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