WPT Borgata

In ten days time the World Poker Tour will make it’s sixth visit to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the Borgata Winter Poker Open.

The 14-day tournament will be the biggest poker tournament in Atlantic City’s history, and take place in the new, 85-table room, the largest poker room in Atlantic City beginnig 17 January 2007, and will conclude with the Borgata Poker Classic, part of the WPT on January 26-30, 2007.

The WPT stop follows the most recent Borgata Poker Open which took place in September drew a record 540 players with a prize pool over $5,000,000.

A virtual who’s who of poker stars, the tournament drew such competitors as Michael "The Grinder" Mizrahi, Shannon Shorr, Daniel Negreanu (2004 WPT Player of the Year and winner of the 2004 Borgata Poker Open), Phil "the Unabomber" Laak, Academy-Award nominee Jennifer Tilly, David Williams, Antonio Esfandiari, actress Shannon Elizabeth, David "the Dragon" Pham and Maciek "Michael" Gracz, all vying for the WPT title. However, it was an up and coming amateur from North Carolina named Mark Newhouse, who captured the WPT title and the first-place prize of $1,519,020.

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. The room is outfitted with over seventy plasma televisions and offers the largest variety of games and limits in Atlantic City.

Highlights from 2006 include the first ever Borgata Summer Open, which drew nearly four-thousand entrants and cash prizes totaling $2,517,030; the fourth annual Borgata Poker Open, which drew nearly ten- thousand entrants with cash prizes totaling over $10 million; and $50,000 Guaranteed Friday tournaments, a favorite among amateurs and professionals alike.

"At Borgata, we strive to offer our poker players a full destination experience with A-list entertainment, exciting nightlife options, stellar dining, upscale accommodations, a robust poker program and above all, great service," said Larry Mullin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Borgata.

"Borgata is excited to partner with the World Poker Tour once again to bring a world-class tournament to Atlantic City and offer our players a unique experience while they are here."