BetMGM Teams Up with Borgata for $3 Million Live Poker Event
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The Borgata and BetMGM are teaming up for a championship showdown featuring a $3 million guaranteed main event.
BetMGM is quickly beginning to become a force on the live poker scene and its next series will only bolster this reputation. Parlaying the success it’s enjoyed since launching a network of U.S. poker sites, BetMGM will follow its first poker championship with a January festival in Atlantic City.
BetMGM entered the live poker arena in January with the Aria Poker Classic. The June festival featured a variety of mid-stakes tournaments, as well as a $3,500 main event. The main event attracted 343 entries which meant the $1 million guarantee was beaten by almost $100,000. The turnout also meant the winner, Joey Weissman, walked away with a top prize worth $224,236.
BetMGM Poker Back On the Road
Buoyed by the success of its first live championship, BetMGM Poker will head back out on the road from Jan. 2 to 8 for a series dubbed, The Return: A Borgata Championship Event.
The series’ highlight is a $5,300 main event boasting a $3 million guarantee. However, BetMGM, in collaboration with Atlantic City’s Borgata Casino, has created three additional events with buy-ins starting at $1,100.
The Return: A Borgata Championship Schedule
- Jan. 2 to 3: $2,200 Mystery Bounty Event
- Jan. 6 to 7: $1,100 Borgata Bounty Event
- Jan. 4 to 8: $5,300 The Return: A Borgata Championship Event
- Jan. 7 to 8: $1,100 Super Survivor Event
The festival will also feature a $600 live qualifier for the main event. Those who prefer to play online can try to qualify for the main event on BetMGM Poker. The U.S. online poker site will be running satellites from Dec. 1 and, although the entry fees haven’t been announced, the expectation is they’ll cost less than $100.
The main event is undoubtedly the jewel in the festival’s proverbial crown. BetMGM ambassador Darren Elias said that it’s “great to see major events at the Borgata,” and January’s festival will be the “beginning of a big 2023.”
Something for Everyone at BetMGM’s Borgata Championship
However, the organizers aren’t pinning everything on the main event. The Super Survivor event will pay $10,000 to at least ten players who last longer than everyone else. Another interesting proposition is the Mystery Bounty event.
Taking inspiration from similar events held at the World Series of Poker and other festivals, the tournament will award bounties for eliminating certain players. Anyone who claims a bounty gets to draw a mystery prize. Each prize is paid in cash and the minimum amount will be $500. The player who draws the star prize will take home $250,000.
These events should help to make the return of championship poker to the Borgata a real celebration. Indeed, with COVID-19 restrictions disrupting play for two years, staff at the New Jersey casino are eager to see high stakes poker events return.
“The return of championship poker to Borgata is a long time coming. Borgata is the premier gaming destination on the East Coast, which includes best-in-class poker tournaments,” said Vincent Alonge Jr., director of poker operations at the Borgata.
Alonge Jr. and his staff will get their wish on January 2, 2023, when BetMGM’s tournament bandwagon rolls into town. Until then, stay tuned for more information about online satellites in the coming weeks.
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Updated by
Daniel Smyth
Last Updated:
