January 10-15
Big blinds in Blake Vogdes' stack when Olivier Busquet was eliminated in sixth place.
- 1STBlake Vogdes$457,980
- 2NDJack Kwon$407,110
- 3RDZachary Fischer$243,245
- 4THDuane Mitchell$159,570
- 5THBenjamin Morgan$109,925
- 6THOlivier Busquet$85,300
- 7THKyle Grupp$67,655
- 8THGreg Himmelbrand$53,995
Blake Vogdes was the shortest stack with five players left in the Borgata Winter Poker Open. Not 45 minutes later. he had the trophy in his hand and $457,980 to go along with it.
It was a battle for Vogdes, who came into the day with the third shortest stack out of the final eight. For the vast majority of the final table, he hung around the bottom of the counts.
From the bottom to the top
The turning point came when Vogdes doubled up multiple times and grabbed the lead during the four-handed section of the tournament. Once heads-up was reached between Vogdes and Jack Kwon, they struck a deal where BetMGM qualifier Kwon would take second place and $407,110, while Vogdes would take first place for $457,980 and the trophy.
"I don't have too much experience with the final table stuff," the newly crowned champion told us. "I was just trying to navigate each spot as I went. There were some good players on the table, but there some people making big mistakes. I was just trying to find the correct spots to take my chances and advance."
Vogdes' tournament cashes date back to 2021, many of which came in the online format. He has steadily climbed up the ranks into playing many high roller tournaments, with 2025 being a career-high year earnings for him. Vogdes admits that while the score is great, he is focusing on other endeavors in life.
"I've just been playing more live tournaments, just having fun with it. I used to play a lot online, but now I'm transitioning out of poker into doing some other things. It's nice to have some fun in some tournaments."
His new high score hasn't changed his plans for the rest of the series, as his next stop is back home. When asked about his plans for the money, Vogdes only had one thing to say.
"I need a shot of Tequila."
