'AK' Barta Wins Over $500,000 at Borgata Poker Summer Open

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The ten remaining players took their seats at the final table for the Championship event of the Borgata Poker Summer Open at 11:00AM on Monday. If aggressive play dominated the tournament throughout the weekend, conservative play took over on Monday. The stakes were very high, and all ten players felt they had a chance to capture the Championship and over $500,000 in prize money. The final table was split evenly amongst professionals and amateurs, but in the end, the final three players were all pros. Andrew "AK" Barta, Paul McCaffrey, and Hoa Minh Nguyen were all on a rollercoaster of emotions on Monday as they swapped chips throughout the day and battled for control.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070313/NYTU119LOGO )

After about 8 hours of play, the remaining three players returned from dinner, prepared to battle into the early morning hours. Nguyen seemed poised to continue to build his chip stack and capture the Championship, but it was not in the cards for him. McCaffrey won two big hands in a row, putting pressure on Nguyen, who then went "all in" against Barta and lost. Barta quickly moved past Boston's own, Paul McCaffrey, to take the title, the beautiful Tag Heuer watch, and $513,925 in prize money.

The final three players all had huge smiles etched across their faces as the tournament ended and they posed for photos and interviews. The boisterous crowd cheered all the players, as it was clear they just watched one of the country's elite poker tournaments. Barta spoke after the event, "It is a great honor for me to win this Championship. This tournament is a hidden jewel in the poker world and I can't wait to play more tournaments at Borgata."

McCaffrey, a Boston native who took home $283,080 for second place, is always a crowd favorite at Borgata. The Irishman spoke after the event, "I am really thrilled right now. I just felt good playing here all week. There were times at the final table that I had lost most of my chips, but I was able to fight back. This tournament is structured in a way that good players really have the advantage."

Rounding out the top three was Hoa Ming Nguyen, taking home $137,327.

Stan Strickland, Director of Poker Operations, commented after the event, "Borgata is pleased with the overwhelming response for the second annual Borgata Summer Open, further establishing Borgata as THE place to play poker on the East Coast. The Championship Event was a record-breaking event with the largest field ever in Atlantic City to participate in a $5,000 event. We are gearing up for the Borgata Poker Open/World Poker Tour (WPT) event in September and bringing yet another great event to the city."

The Borgata Summer Poker Open is gone for another year, but the best tournament poker and cash games are still going on every week at Borgata. Borgata resumes it's Guaranteed Poker Wednesdays and $50,000 Guaranteed Poker Fridays this week. Whether you are looking for live cash-game action, or the best tournament poker on the East Coast, the action is always hot in Borgata's state-of-the-art 85-table poker room. Go to http://www.theborgata.com/ for up to date tournament schedules.

ABOUT BORGATA HOTEL CASINO & SPA

Borgata is a joint venture of Boyd Gaming Corporation and MGM MIRAGE . Located at Renaissance Pointe in Atlantic City, it features 2,000 guest rooms and suites, 161,000 square feet of gaming, 200 gaming tables, 4,100 slot machines, 12 destination restaurants, 12 retail boutiques, a 54,000 square foot spa, 70,000 square feet of event space, and parking for 7,100 cars. For more information on Borgata or to obtain a copy of this press release, please visit http://www.theborgata.com/ or use AOL keyword: borgata. Additional news and information on Boyd Gaming can be found at http://www.boydgaming.com/; additional information on MGM MIRAGE can be found at http://www.mgmmirage.com/.