Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Event five of the 2006 Borgata Poker Open concluded late Sunday night with
New Yorker Jeremy Shor coming from behind to defeat an accomplished field
and capture the championship. The final table included one Shannon Shorr,
ranked second best poker player in the world by Card Player magazine. Jeremy
Shor and James English of South Florida began their head's up duel at 9:00
p.m. and battled late into the night. The duel combined the strategy of a
chess match with the intensity that only comes from high stakes poker.
English, the second place finisher in the $2,500 event at the 2005 Borgata
Poker Open, seemed to have the advantage much of the night before going
"card dead." Shor seized the opportunity and gained control eventually
ousting English to capture the championship Rolex and $188,000 in first
place prize money. After the tournament ended, a drained but ecstatic Shor
was very blunt in describing his victory: "I got lucky. I knew I was playing
against better players so I had to take more risks and get lucky; it
worked."
English, who watched his significant chip lead evaporate over the last hour
of competition, was in shock after the event. After the shock wore off,
English admitted he was happy to be taking home $98,000 in prize money --
finishing in second place, for the second consecutive year. A regular on the
WPT circuit, English commented after the event, "Borgata is my favorite
hotel and casino on the Tour. The tournaments feature the best structure,
the best staff, the best hotel rooms; it has everything I want as a poker
player."

Another notable player at the final table was eighth place finisher Kirk
Acevedo, who took home $19,000 in prize money. Acevedo is a regular on both
the big and small screens having starred in HBO's "Oz" and appeared as a
guest star on "Law and Order." Acevedo can currently be seen in "Invincible"
starring Mark Walberg.