The schedule for the Borgata Fall Poker Open 2025 was crafted to appeal to both regulars and recreational players. Alongside numerous satellites and qualifiers, 16 main events were held. Buy-ins ranged from $250 to $1,650, all leading up to the return of the grand million-dollar “Championship,” which would crown the new Borgata fall champion.
The Million-Dollar Championship Exceeds Expectations
The main attraction of the series was the Fall Poker Open Championship with a $2,700 buy-in and a guaranteed prize pool of $1,000,000. Player interest exceeded even the organizers' most optimistic expectations. With registration closed, the tournament boasted 464 entries, amassing a prize pool of $1,113,600, comfortably surpassing the million-dollar guarantee.
After three days of play, only a six-player lineup remained, taking their seats at the live-streamed final table — a rare lineup that East Coast regulars could only dream of.
A Dream Final Table
The final table of the Borgata Fall Poker Open Championship featured a mix of seasoned regulars and “quiet assassins” who had been making their mark primarily on the regional scene. Matt Zambanini began the final day with a massive chip lead, but it was far from smooth sailing. He doubled up the short stacks multiple times and admitted at one point to winning “0 out of 7” all-ins against smaller stacks. Still, he maintained his patience and stuck to the plan that had put him in the lead position.
The first casualty of the final table was the most experienced player there — three-time WSOP bracelet winner Paul Volpe. The American high-stakes regular entered with a short stack and saw his comeback hopes dashed; he finished in 6th place. Ari Katz, Andrew Porter, and Jose Wong subsequently exited, with Wong finishing in third place.
The heads-up match between Zambanini and Corpening began with Zambanini holding nearly a 10:1 advantage, and the duel for the title was short-lived. Zambanini applied pressure, leveraging his stack and position until the matter was settled in a few hands — the American regular finally clinched the tournament victory.
Zambanini Finally Secures a Major Title
Matt Zambanini has long been a respected regular in the Northeastern U.S. poker scene. He boasts over $1.2 million in live earnings and numerous deep runs at Borgata, in Vegas, and other American stops. He described hitting a rough downswing phase before the Atlantic City series, which he likened to a period familiar to every grinder. After a successful summer in Las Vegas, he faced two and a half months without “winning a pot,” but managed to persevere with support from his wife.
The Borgata Fall Poker Open Championship served as a perfect turning point. Zambanini navigated through a field of 464 players, handled the pressure of a TV table, weathered a series of lost all-ins at the final's start, and struck at the right moment. For his victory, he took home $204,000 — his career's largest win and a title that definitively set him among the champions of one of the East Coast's most prestigious series.
Final Table Results:
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1. | Matt Zambanini | USA | $204,000 |
| 2. | Kashka Corpening | USA | $140,900 |
| 3. | Jose Wong | USA | $97,975 |
| 4. | Andrew Porter | USA | $65,300 |
| 5. | Ari Katz | USA | $45,900 |
| 6. | Paul Volpe | USA | $36,625 |
Sources - X, HendonMob, CardPlayer, Poker.org
