After over two weeks of action, 30 trophy events, and millions in prize money awarded, the marquee event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open has crowned not one but two champions.
Nguyen Le took home $425,000 by way of a heads-up chop after a long battle — Joseph Neiman won $406,791 with a slightly smaller stack at the time of the deal.
The $3,500 Championship saw 932 entries through two starting flights. This turnout smashed the $2 million guarantee and brought the total prize pool to $2,884,540, from which 119 players were paid.
Backgammon champ makes good
The two winners both come from wildly different backgrounds, but when it came to poker and the money, they were equally excited for the payday, with Le saying the best part of the tournament was “this moment, obviously.”
Joseph Neiman now an amateur champion in backgammon and poker, four decades apart. Neiman may not have a massive Hendon Mob profile, but he was quick to mention that this would not be the highlight of his strategy game career — he is actually the 1982 Champion of the World Amateur Backgammon Championship in Las Vegas for a cool $100K. His wife mentioned that this win might be a little cooler since his kids will get to see it.
Le has been traveling and coming off a $55K score at PGT Last Chance in the PokerGO Studio. He bags the biggest cash of his career, saying his plans for the winnings are to “play more poker, probably go to Florida to play, and then Vegas.”
DePaulo headlines two-day final table
Ryan DePaulo cruised to a ninth place finish. The final table of six was set up by a Day 3 that went 11 hours, climaxing with an unofficial final table of nine that featured popular YouTuber Ryan DePaulo on the marquee with the short stack. Depaulo didn't last long, and his elimination was quickly followed by the that of long-time pro Kitty Kuo in eighth place and Tommy McNicholas in seventh place. The final six then bagged for the night, with Nguyen Le leading the field. They got some rest and returned the following day to battle down to the champion on the Borgata Poker Live Stream.
The final day was filled with action, and the fireworks immediately started. Sal Evola came into the day third in chips, but some ill-timed aggression would leave him short, and he fell in sixth. That was followed close behind by the elimination of Dorian Rios in fifth and then Phil Saracino in fourth. The players would then be three-handed for almost four hours before the elimination of Clemen Deng in third place.
Sal Evola was a fan favorite throughout the early part of the final table. Heads-up grind
Within two hands of heads-up play, Neiman cut Le’s stack in half, and he would fall below 20 bigs, but Le would not go down easy. The following hour was filled with small pots and lots of folding, and Le wasn’t giving up. He eventually doubled back to over 40 big blinds. The two players then traded the chip lead back and forth for the next two hours before they eventually agreed to a chop.
Le took home the more significant portion with a payout of $425K, and Neiman took home about $407K. They then ran a few blind hands to see who was signing for first, but they both took home a trophy, and both even took some winner’s photos to crown the occasion.
Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph Neiman | $406,791* |
| 2 | Nguyen Le | $425,000* |
| 3 | Clemen Deng | $233,882 |
| 4 | Philip Saracino | $153,430 |
| 5 | Dorian Rios | $105,691 |
| 6 | Sal Evola | $82,033 |
| 7 | Thomas McNicholas | $65,053 |
| 8 | Kitty Kuo | $51,919 |
| 9 | Ryan DePaulo | $41,315 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
