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Baruch Fishman, a dental technician from Philadelphia, turned a single tournament buy-in into a life-changing victory at the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open powered by BetMGM Poker. Originally from Israel, Fishman has spent 15 years as a cash game specialist, with only $6,172 in prior recorded tournament earnings.
He entered the $500 Borgata Almighty Stack with modest expectations, but the event drew a massive 2,209 entries, creating a $927,780 prize pool. Only 279 players cashed, with $144,250 awaiting the eventual winner.
The tournament stretched across nearly 24 hours of play before reaching a three-way negotiation between Fishman, Yuriy Kudrynskyy, and William Shaw. Shaw held the largest guaranteed payout at that stage, but the trio agreed to lock up money while still playing for the trophy and an additional $15,480.
Fishman ultimately prevailed, banking $108,840 for the win. He described the run as surreal, crediting several fortunate moments, including surviving multiple short-stacked all-ins and rivering a straight on the Day 3 bubble to stay alive.
At the final table, Fishman eliminated Raymond Ferretti and John Wilson with pocket kings before doubling through a gutshot straight against Shaw’s kings in a pivotal three-way hand. He later doubled again with aces to send Shaw to the rail in third.
Heads-up against Kudrynskyy, Fishman’s ace-nine held against king-six to seal the title. Despite the breakthrough score, he said he plans to return to his regular job and has no immediate tournament plans, though he expressed enthusiasm for playing more events in the future.
