By
Dan

On January 26, 2007, the World Poker Tour returns to Atlantic City for the Borgata Poker Classic.
PocketFivesLive.com and Tournament Reporter Court Harrington will be at the event covering the best online poker players anywhere in their quest for poker glory. The final table will play out on January 30, and the event will appear on The Travel Channel in late June. This is the WPT’s sixth visit to the Borgata and will see
JohnnyBax,
BeL0WaB0Ve, and other online superstars compete.
The 2006 Borgata Winter Poker Open was won by Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, who defeated John D'Agostino heads up for nearly $1.2 million. The final table included Erick Lindgren and Stuart “The Donator” Patterson, who finished sixth for $110,000. 381 poker hopefuls competed last year. PocketFives.com Co-Owner and Chief Editor Adam Small on Patterson’s play: “As far as Stu goes, he’s been one of the very best and most consistent online winners over the past several years. He’s had some huge online wins, and he really doesn’t even seem to play all that much. Very few people are capable of playing on the level that he does, and he’s done it consistently for years.” Peter “Nordberg” Feldman finished 7th in 2006 when his aces were cracked and he was sent to the rails. The $10,000 event began last year and is the second WPT event of the season at the Borgata; the 2,000 room hotel hosts the Borgata Poker Open in September as well.
There are 13 major events that make up the Borgata Winter Poker Open. The first was a $500 event that took place on January 17. In addition to the $10,000 Main Event, a $5,000 buy-in event kicks off on January 24. Also on tap are several lower buy-in events, which include a $300 Ladies Hold’em event. In 2006, the Borgata opened the largest poker room in Atlantic City. According to a casino press release, “Last year also marked the debut of Borgata's revamped 21,500 square-foot poker room, home to three anchor events: Borgata Winter Open/WPT Poker Classic, Borgata Summer Open and the WPT/Borgata Poker Open. The Borgata Poker Room now features an eighteen-table High Limit Room offering food service; a nine-table tournament area offering bleacher seating for tournament viewing that may be partitioned off as a ‘reserved’ poker area; and a 58-table Main Poker Room offering live poker action.”
Up next for the PocketFivesLive.com crew is the L.A. Poker Classic. This $10,000 WPT event takes place on February 24, 2007 from the Commerce Casino. If you or someone you know has qualified or is planning on buying into this or any WPT tournament, you can sign up for coverage on PocketFivesLive.com. We will track all your progress, including chip counts, key hands, and images. Visit PocketFivesLive.com for more details.