Anthony Merulla Wins #WPTBorgata Winter Poker Open

Anthony Merulla topped a final table that included Champions Club member Jared Jaffee and perennial chip leader David Paredes to win the World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open on Friday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He takes home $842,379, the WPT Champions Cup, and a limited edition pair of Monster headphones for the victory. The final table started out fast but things got slow thee handed. That battle took 61 hands but it was only a warmup for the marathon final match between Merulla and Paredes that took 95 hands. In the end Merulla finally emerged victorious after they took turns doubling up for hours and he is the champion here at the Borgata Hotel and Casino.

Here is a look at the final table when cards got into the air.

Seat 1.  Vlad Mezheritsky  –  1,390,000  (13 bb)
Seat 2.  Jared Jaffee  –  6,620,000  (66 bb)
Seat 3.  Anthony Maio  –  9,445,000  (95 bb)
Seat 4.  Anthony Merulla  –  3,445,000  (34 bb)
Seat 5.  David Paredes  –  9,655,000  (96 bb)
Seat 6.  Farid Jattin  –  6,115,000  (61 bb)

Action started quick and didn’t let up as three players were eliminated in the first 15 hands at the final table. The quick series of eliminations was kicked off by the series of events in Hand 11. On that hand Jared Jaffee raised to 225,000 from middle position and Anthony Merulla reraised to 595,000 on the button. Farid Jattin then four-bet to 1,125,000 and Jaffee shoved all in for 5,505,000. Merulla and Jattin both made the all-in call and all three players flipped over their hands.

Merulla: [QdQh]
Jaffee: [10h10s]
Jattin: [KcKs]

The board was dealt [9d7d5h10dAd] and it was a roller coaster. Jaffee stormed to the lead on the turn with a third ten but he was quickly topped on the river when Merulla hit a diamond flush. That meant Jattin’s kings were no longer enough for the win and he was eliminated in sixth place, good for $174,352.

Just two hands later the short stack Vladislav Mezheritsky was all in for his tournament life for 1,375,000. He was all in preflop with [AcKh] against the [JhJs] of David Paredes. The board was dealt [AdJc7h2dQs] and Mezheritsky was out in fifth place, good for $213,650.

Another two hands was all it took once again before we lost another player. This time Jaffee was all-in for 1,350,000 preflop with [KcJd]. Anthony Merulla called with [Ah8h] and the board fell [9h4c3sAsJc]. Jaffee was eliminated in fourth place, good for $258,590 and that took things down to the final three players very fast.

Three-handed play took a long time but over the course of 60 hands Anthony Maio saw his stack start to dwindle. On Hand 76 he raised to 325,000 preflop on the button and Merulla called on the small blind. The flop was dealt [7d5d2d] and Merulla checked. Maio bet 225,000 and Merulla called. The turn fell [9c] and Merulla checked. Maio bet 425,000 and Merulla tanked before moving all in. Maio quickly called all in with pocket queens but Merulla turned over [Ad6d] for a flopped flush. The river delivered the [8h] and Maio was eliminated in third place, good for $307,565.

Paredes held the chip lead at the start of heads-up play with 20,500,000 as he had the entire time at the final table beforehand. Merulla wasn’t too far behind with 16,175,000. Paredes pulled out ahead to start the final but Merulla doubled up to 22 million on Hand 124. On Hand 157 Paredes took his turn doubling up but he was still behind with 16 million. The third time all of the chips went into the middle the tournament came to an end.

On the 171st hand of play Paredes raised to 1.2 million preflop and Merulla called. The flop was dealt [Qc6c3s] and Merulla bet 900,000. Paredes raised to 2.3 million and Merulla reraised to 4.3 million. Paredes reraised all in for 12.3 million and Merulla called. Paredes held [Qs8c] but he ws behind the [Qd3d] of Merulla who flopped two pair. The turn and river fell [7d4d] and that was it for Paredes, who took home $499,549. Merulla won the pot and the tournament, which is good for a payday worth $842,379.

1st: Anthony Merulla – $842,379
2nd: David Paredes – $499,549
3rd: Anthony Maio – $307,565
4th: Jared Jaffee – $258,590
5th: Vladislav Mezheritsky – $213,650
6th: Farid Jattin – $174,352

That concludes our coverage from the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open. Thanks to the Borgata for hosting a great event as always and thanks to Joe Giron for tonight’s outstanding photography. You can see more of his work at his website: www.joegironphotography.com. Next up on the WPT schedule is the Lucky Hearts Poker Open at the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek in South Florida. The live updates team will be there to bring you all of the action from February 7-11.