Home / Poker News January 2014 / Borgata Winter Poker Open $2 Million Guaranteed Cancelled
Borgata Winter Poker Open $2 Million Guaranteed Cancelled
Posted by: James Carter. - Sun, 2014-01-19 08:00
The first event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open, the one offering a $2 million guarantee, has been beset with scandal and confusion every step of the way. Its second and third day 1 flights held on the same day, the event made it extremely difficult for the organizers to keep proper track of the number of buy-ins going into the prize-pool and the number of participants bellying up to the tables. The final numbers were thus delayed, but this bit of confusion – followed by a loud vocal spat between two players – was apparently only the tip of the iceberg of troubles soon to befall the ill-fated
poker tournament.
On Friday, after the event had played down to its final 27, organizers put the hostilities on hold, when reports of counterfeit chips used at the tournament’s tables surfaced.
Senior Vice President of Operations for the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, Joe Lupo said on Friday that following the investigation, the event would play down to its winner as scheduled. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement was called in though to perform the investigations, and what they found was apparently grave enough to warrant the complete cancellation of the poker tournament.
It was indeed confirmed on Saturday that the DGE had ordered the cancellation of the event. All prize money which had not yet found its way to the players has been frozen pending further investigation.
According to the Borgata’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Tom Ballance, the investigations concluded that there were one or several players who had introduced counterfeit chips into the tournament to gain an advantage. Exactly who the guilty were is not yet known.
Ballard expressed his regret that the actions of a few criminally-minded individuals have ruined the tournament for 4,000 other players. Before the cancellation of the event, Allard Broedelet was the one leading the pack with 10.3 million chips.
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