From famous poker players, to amateurs, to pros, and internet wizards, everyone was focused on winning the coveted WPT Borgata Winter Open title and $1.6 million prize purse. Six players have achieved at least part of their dreams, advancing to the WPT Final Table beginning this Tuesday afternoon at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.

Meet the six Final Table players:

Chip leader Joseph Simmons, a musician by trade, is an amateur who plays most of his poker at Borgata. Simmons said, “I feel blessed that this tournament is at Borgata, my home (turf). All my friends and family are here cheering me on.” Simmons went on a monster run at the end of the day knocking out three great players to take the chip lead.

He first sent David Redlin from the tournament, followed by John Racener and Joe Cappello. Simmons sits atop the leader board with $5.5 million in chips.

John Gale, 2006 Caribbean Poker Adventure Champion is riding Simmons’ coattails in second place with $4.8 million in chips. Gale leaped towards the top of the leader board after taking out then-chip leader, David Mathew, in dramatic fashion.

Gale is joined by WPT Season 1 star, John Hennigan, who sits with $3.25 million chips. Hennigan is one of the many pros making the high stakes area in Borgata’s Poker Room his home away from home. Along with Hennigan, players like Phil Ivey, David, Williams, Barry Greenstein, Mike “The Mouth Matusow” and Ted Forrest have been forming “big games” throughout the Borgata Winter Open.

But today, the focus is away from the poker room and on the WPT Final Table. Newcomers Chuck Kelley and Michael Sukonik have $1.6 and $1.3 million, respectively, in chips. Jon James from Lowell, MA, rounds out the Final Table as the short stack with $535,000 in chips.

The public is invited to  watch the WPT Borgata Winter Open Final Table live in the Borgata Event Center — a unique opportunity to watch some of today’s best poker talent compete for $1.6 Million in first place prize money. Admission is complimentary. Guests are encouraged to arrive early as seating is limited.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 at 9:14 am and is filed under Land-Based Casino Poker, Poker Events, Poker Industry News, Poker Players. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.