Emad Alabsi Wins Event 8: $450 Big Stack PLO Reentry ($12,629)
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Emad Alabsi is a local legend of sorts, racking up more than $1 million in live earnings since 2003 while recording more than a dozen cashes at Borgata Open events. He's also on a heater, having just taken top honors at the Park Casino Big Stax V $1,600 event for a $164,469 score in March - by far the biggest of his poker career.
Proving that momentum is paramount in the game of poker, Alabsi turned the trick yet again, winning Event 8 of the Borgata Spring Poker Open for a $12,629 haul (a chop was arranged prior to heads-up play, with Alabsi pocketing $9,000 before taking down the remainder and the trophy). What's more, Alabsi was playing in the first Pot-Limit Omaha tournament of his life.
With his good friend James Woods - who actually served as best man at Alabsi's wedding - standing by to sweat and offer support, he claimed the last chip on the table to add yet another feather to his cap. Alabsi bested a field of 93 runners to emerge as champion, and while winning a tournament does not necessarily connote a skillful performance, outlasting several of poker's premier players on the way to victory certainly does.
World Series of Poker bracelet winners Allen Cunningham, Chris Reslock and Greg Ostrander were all among the the combatants here today, but when it was all said and done Alabsi's name was the one to remember. Despite entering the day at a clear disadvantage in terms of PLO experience, Alabsi stormed to the final table holding a wide chip lead with about 33 percent of the chips in play when the bubble burst. From there, he played a patient game and withstood the swings associated with PLO, never losing his composure despite dropping back to the pack many times during the final table. What's more, Alabsi did not notch single elimination during final table play, simply collecting the pots due to him without engaging in unnecessary clashes.
In the end, it was Alabsi and Konstantin Shoulav who waged a heads up war, and even though the pair arranged for a chop, the duel for the title and the trophy was heated indeed. Alabsi and Shoulav entered heads-up play with nearly even chip counts, but after Woods sat down behind Alabsi to sweat his pal, destiny seemed to be in his corner as well. Eventually, after about an hour whittling away at Shoulav, the end came when Alabsi crippled his opponent by flopping the nuts.
With an above average chip stack already bagged and tagged in Event 7 ($2,700 Spring Poker Open Championship), Alabsi headed off to get some much needed rest, knowing that if his heater continues tomorrow he very well could add another entry to an already impressive résumé on the felt.