Massachusetts Woman Takes First Place In Ladies Event at Borgata Winter Poker

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- The poker action was wild at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa with two final tables taking place on Monday. The morning's action started with the conclusion of the Ladies Event
  which began with 390 players, the highest attendance of any Ladies Tournament in Atlantic City. The final table was formed around 1:00 AM as these tenacious female players continued to play until a champion was crowned. Emily Flax of Provincetown, MA, was the last lady standing at 4:00 AM, taking home $30,927 in first place.

"I am so excited I won," commented Flax. "I started to believe I had a real chance to win when we made the final table." After picking up her winnings and her engraved champion's watch, Flax's smile brightened up the entire Event Center as she told the crowd: "I'm going to Spa to enjoy my victory before heading home. Borgata is out of this world!"

The second place finisher, Nicole Rowe of Salisbury, NY, took home $17,035. Rowe, who learned to play poker online, explained, "I was stuck at home so much while I was pregnant, that I started playing poker in my free time and I guess I got good. I played my first tournament at Borgata a couple of weeks ago, but this was my first big tournament."

The Final Table for the $500+60 Limit Hold "Em Event took place on Monday after the Ladies Event. The final table featured calculated play and some tension amongst the players. It seemed like the final table would last for hours, but players fell quickly. Daniel Occhipinti of Saddleback, NJ won the event and $41,075 in first place prize money. He battled with Shawn Berthiame of Brooklyn, NY who took home $23,187 in prize money. Justin Peckholdt of Babylon, NY earned $12,187 for third place.

Monday also featured the start of the $2,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'Em event. There were 249 entrants when the event began competing for their piece of the $622,500 prize pool. John Turner of Henderson Nevada, one of the top internet players in the world, is the current chip leader; but there is a lot of poker left to be played.

The pros have arrived in large numbers at Borgata. Many are ready to compete in Wednesday's $5,000 buy-in event. Others are arriving in time for Thursday's WPT Kick-Off Party at Gypsy Bar beginning at 8:00PM. The party will feature a heads up poker tournament with several top pros. The tournament is sponsored by Poker Tek.