NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

Borgata Crowns 2008 Poker Open Champion

Twenty-two year old wins $1.4 million in record-breaking tournament

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2008 Borgata Poker Open, which offered a $5 million prize pool -- the largest ever guaranteed by a casino -- concluded Thursday night with 22-year-old Vivek Rajkumar winning $1.4 million in first-place prize money along with the 2008 Borgata Poker Open title.

Rajkumar is part of a new breed of online poker players. Not only is he a newcomer to the Borgata Poker Open, he's fairly unknown to tournament play. Rajkumar honed his poker skills by playing online, which proved valuable during aggressive play against top contender, Sang Kim, an eight time tournament winner and black belt Taekwondo instructor.

Eliminations began quickly during the last day of Borgata's Poker Open. In only six hands, Andrew Knee was eliminated when his Ace/Four failed to pair the board. Knee earned $237,500 for finishing sixth.

The next player to fall was Mark Seif. Seif's title hopes were dashed when his pocket Aces cracked by Rajkumar's set of tens. Seif collected $287,500 for his tournament play.

Nine hands later Jason Strochak fell victim to elimination after losing a crucial hand to Sang Kim's pocket Kings. Strochak took home $337,500.

With only three final players at the table, the action continued rapidly as World Series of Poker bracelet-owner Dan Heimiller made a run at the top spot. Unfortunately for Heimiller, he was unable to overcome a short stack and was eliminated in third place. He earned $387,500 for his five days of tournament play.

With one last opponent to defeat, the online whiz kid, Rajkumar, took down Sang Kim in six hands of play. Kim collected $750,000 for his second-place finish -- the most in his career -- whileSeattle, Washington native, Rajkumar, banked $1.4 million in first place.

About Borgata

Borgata is a joint venture of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) and MGM MIRAGE (NYSE: MGM). Located at Renaissance Pointe inAtlantic City, it features 2,000 guest rooms and suites, 161,000 square feet of gaming, 200 gaming tables, 4,100 slot machines, 11 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 www.theborgata.com or use AOL keyword: borgata. Additional news and information on Boyd Gaming can be found at www.boydgaming.com; additional information on MGM MIRAGE can be found at www.mgmmirage.com .

SOURCE Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa