Jason Nguyen Wins Borgata Fall Poker Open Kickoff

Atlantic City resident Jason Nguyen won the $600 Borgata Fall Poker Open Kickoff tournament held at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. Of the 1,862 players who entered, the final three agreed to a chop. Nguyen then beat Canadian Sebastian Crema heads-up and took the first-place prize of $126,727. In the chop, Crema received $115,171, Nguyen $106,727, and Beatty $97,471.

Nguyen said he sees the Borgata as a special place in the poker world and had promised to win a trophy here this year. He said he only started playing tournaments more seriously this year. In January, he finished second in a progressive bounty event at the Borgata Winter Open, winning $76,000. According to Hendon Mob data, his live tournament earnings were about $170,000 before this final.

Nguyen said the past few months had been hard and that he had gone through a rough losing stretch. He said he started heads-up with a 34,000,000 to 21,000,000 chip lead and that Crema being short-stacked gave him an edge. He said the turning point came on the river. Crema bet 6,800,000, and Nguyen called after a long think. Crema's hand turned out to be a ten-high bluff.