Day 1b of Massive WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Ready to Go

Day 1a of the Season XVII WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open lived up to every expectation and Day 1b should be no different. 424 entries jumped into the $3 million guaranteed action yesterday with more than 600 more registrants expected to join today. The Borgata Event Center has seen four-figure fields many times before and the only question now is just how large the total field will be when registration closes at the start of Level 11 on Day 2.

Daniel Wellborn leads the field with 308,600 and a new group of challengers is ready to contend for the top stack in the 1b flight. Wellborn heads the group of more than 200 runners who survived the Day 1a action with WPT Raw Deal host Phil Hellmuth among the players who bagged. The WPT Main Event wasn’t the only highlight of Hellmuth’s day as he won the Borgata Winter Poker Open $1,590 Heads Up event for $37,248 early this morning.

As with Day 1a, today’s action starts at 11 a.m. and plays for eight 60-minute levels until the bags come out at the end of Level 8. The WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open offers unlimited re-entry until the cage closes on Day 2. All players start their tournament with 40,000 in chips and the big blind ante will be in play starting in Level 3. Play in this event continues until the end of Day 4 on January 31 when the six remaining players bag up and head to Las Vegas to play the televised final table on March 13 at HyperX Esports Arena.

Expect to see Hublot WPT Player of the Year leader Tony Ruberto in the field to add more points to his lead. Right behind Ruberto in the standings is Ping Liu, who bagged a whopping 221,400 on Day 1a. The WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open offers 1,200 POY points to the winner of the event but should the prize pool top $4 million (approximately 1,250 entries), the winner will ship 1,400 points.

Keep a tab open today for all WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open action as we move one day closer to finalizing what will likely be the largest field so far in Season XVII.

Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive

Looking to win your way to a World Poker Tour event for your shot at becoming a WPT champion? Play for your chance on ClubWPT.com, where eligible VIP Members can play for over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, including seats to WPT events, no purchase necessary.