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Dramatic Finish for Borgata Poker Open

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – (Press Release) -- War horse Noli Francisco of New York, outlasted the crop of young stallions to win the inaugural Borgata Poker Open Monday night. Six players had the opportunity to win their share of $986,550 at the final table of the Borgata Poker Open, part of The World Poker Tour, which visited Atlantic City for the first time this past weekend.

Francisco amassed a huge pile of chips over a hard fought 5 hours of play and claimed $470,000 and the title 'Borgata Poker Open Champion.'Charlie Shoten of Glendale, CA, another long time poker veteran, lost out to Francisco but still won $235,000 with a second place finish.

Francisco, a real estate and import/export entrepreneur, also earned entry into The World Poker Tour Championship at the Bellagio in Las Vegas in April 2004, where the prize pool will be in excess of $3 million.

The youngsters making it to the final table included 2001 World Champion Carlos Mortensen of Madrid, Spain, David Oppenheim of Los Angeles, Mickey Seagle of Las Vegas and Randy Burger of Mesa, AZ. Burger, a finance manager from Motorola, played his way into the event from a $12 satellite tournament on the Internet and won $41,125.

With a prize pool of $1,175,000, the Borgata Poker Open will be televised nationally as part of the World Poker Tour. The event was a huge success drawing 235 entrants each of which bought in for $5,000. The World Poker Tour airs on the Travel Channel each Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Borgata is a joint venture development of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) and MGM MIRAGE (NYSE: MGG). Located at Renaissance Pointe in Atlantic City, it features 2,002 guest rooms and suites, 125,000 square feet of gaming, 145 gaming tables, 3,640 slot machines, 11 destination restaurants, 11 retail boutiques, a 50,000 square foot spa, 70,000 square feet of event space, and parking for 7,100 cars.

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