Borgata Winter Poker Open draws record attendance in opening event

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa continues to raise the bar for poker in Atlantic City as it kicked off its 11th annual Winter Poker Open.

The tournament's six-day $2 Million Guaranteed $560 Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em opening event set an attendance record with 5,101 participants competing for $2,473,985 in prize money.

"It is great to see so many poker professionals and amateurs flock to Borgata to experience one of the premier tournament series of the year," said Borgata Senior Vice President of Operations Joe Lupo. "With a record-setting opening event and the upcoming $3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship beginning on Jan,. 31 we are proud to offer our players the opportunity to compete in some extraordinary events for substantial prize money."

Borgata's 2016 inaugural event saw over 5,000 players vying for the lion-share of the $2.4 million prize pool. The record-breaking attendance surpassed the previous mark set in the 2014 Winter Poker Open by over 200 entries, far exceeding the $2 million guarantee.

The 18-day series, which began Tuesday in the Event Center, features 22 unique main event tournaments, including No Limit Hold'em, Six-Max, Deep Stack, Bounty, Seniors and Ladies No Limit Hold'em, and Omaha events. The series culminates with the guaranteed $2 million WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship event, Jan. 31-Feb. 5. Four events including the opening event and the WPT Championship will feature live-streamed final tables which can be viewed on YouTube.

Borgata's online poker site, Borgata Online Poker, is supplementing the brick and mortar game with Winter Poker Open qualifying tournaments starting at $5 and satellites from $45.