PA Poker News December Update: BetRivers Gobbleknocker Series Results; Winter Poker Open Returns to Borgata
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Hi! I'm Keith Becker, PokerNews Ambassador and Pennsylvania native, here with a PA poker update for December 2025. It's an exciting time in America for the game we all know and love, and I'm excited to be bringing you state highlights every month.
What are the big issues and stories on everyone's minds? Let’s get into it.
Live Poker in PA
The $300 Road to Riches tournament is back at Philly Live! Casino, and it’s already drawing a crowd. With seven starting flights and a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool, the December edition is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet.
Looking ahead to January, BetMGM and Borgata have released the full schedule for the 2026 Borgata Winter Poker Open, which will return to Atlantic City from January 2-18, 2026.
The Event Center at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa will play host to the BWPO festival, which features 37 numbered events and $8 million in guaranteed prize pools.
The schedule is filled with a variety of buy-ins for all types of poker action. Online qualifiers are underway, and real-time registration will be available exclusively at BetMGM Poker.
The $3,500 buy-in, $3 million GTD Winter Poker Open Championship begins Saturday, Jan. 10, with the first of three starting flights, which will kick off at 11:15 a.m. ET. Days 1B and 1C will take place at the same time on Sunday, January 11, and Monday, January 1,2 respectively. The surviving players from all flights will then return at Noon local time on Tuesday, January 13, for Day 2 action. The championship event will end with a live-streamed final table on Thursday, January 15.
Additional Borgata Winter Poker Open highlights include:
- Exclusive Online Qualifiers: BetMGM Poker players in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania can win seats to the Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship now through Sunday, Jan. 11. BetMGM Poker also will host nightly seat-only qualifiers for a variety of BWPO events, with buy-ins starting at as little as $2. Online registration is available for a majority of BWPO events exclusively through BetMGM Poker.
- Same-Day Registration: BetMGM will offer same-day, real-time registration through the BetMGM Poker app.
- Online to Live: The $250,000 BetMGM Online Hybrid Championship starts online Sunday, January 4, and finishes with a live-streamed final table at Borgata on Thursday, Jan. 8.
- Almighty Winter Kick Off (January 3-7): $400 buy-in and $1,000,000 guarantee starts off main event action.
- Deepstack Main Event (January 7-11): $600 buy-in and $2,000,000 guarantee featuring “Big Blind Rewind” on Day 2.
- Mix Event Leaderboard: The BWPO will offer a Mix Event Leaderboard, and the total prize pool for the leaderboard will be paid out to the top 20 players.
- Fans will have the opportunity to watch live streams on BetMGM’s YouTube channel.
Here's a look at the 2026 BWPO schedule:
Online Poker in PA
Over on BetRivers Poker, the Gobbleknocker Series wrapped up with excellent numbers. Across 26 events, the series pulled in 3,406 entries and paid out $294,918, well above the posted guarantees. A special shout-out to "shakabrahz", the only multi-event champion of the series, taking down both the $50 Iron Man and the $200 Sunday Showdown. A two-trophy performance that totaled more than $7,800 in winnings. BetRivers continues to deliver strong numbers and creative formats, keeping the PA online scene lively and competitive.
Gobbleknocker Series Winners
| Date | Event | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/28/2025 | 🦃🥊 #1: $50 Opening Bell $5,000 Gtd | Cabby123 | $1,955.14 |
| 11/28/2025 | 🦃🥊 #2: $20 Friday Night Face-Off $4,000 Gtd | KingKash76 | $952.93 |
| 11/29/2025 | 🦃🥊 #3: $100 Haymaker [70% Bounties] $10,000 Gtd | chunky | $3,429.08 |
| 11/29/2025 | 🦃🥊 #4: $20 6-max Takedown $4,000 Gtd | BrickhouseBoyz_404141 | $870.48 |
| 11/30/2025 | 🦃🥊 #5: $50 Iron Man $6,000 Gtd | shakabrahz | $2,236.42 |
| 11/30/2025 | 🦃🥊 #6: $200 Sunday Showdown $20,000 Gtd | shakabrahz | $5,567.28 |
| 11/30/2025 | 🦃🥊 #7: $100 Slobberknocker $10,000 Gtd | RocketIsGROOT | $2,532.06 |
| 12/1/2025 | 🦃🥊 #8: $100 6-max Sparring Session $10,000 Gtd | TaaDaa | $2,275.98 |
| 12/1/2025 | 🦃🥊 #9: $50 Clinch $4,000 Gtd | HALLKG15 | $1,593.19 |
| 12/2/2025 | 🦃🥊 #10: $20 Brawl $3,000 Gtd | BADDAZZ7 | $890.11 |
| 12/2/2025 | 🦃🥊 #11: $200 Prize Fight $12,500 Gtd | Quickmcnick | $4,545.35 |
| 12/2/2025 | 🦃🥊 #12: $50 6-max Submission $4,000 Gtd | AsherFLY | $1,424.72 |
| 12/3/2025 | 🦃🥊 #13: $100 Ground & Pound $12,000 Gtd | NanoShatter | $1,547.50 |
| 12/3/2025 | 🦃🥊 #14: $50 6-max Punch Out $4,000 Gtd | Jmkrtumian | $1,307.23 |
| 12/4/2025 | 🦃🥊 #15: $20 Throwdown $3,000 Gtd | HeyZeus | $768.64 |
| 12/4/2025 | 🦃🥊 #16: $200 6-max Prize Fight $12,500 Gtd | TheNumbersLie | $4,358.35 |
| 12/4/2025 | 🦃🥊 #17: $50 Speed Bag [50bb] $4,000 Gtd | Tamara | $1,248.35 |
| 12/5/2025 | 🦃🥊 #18: $20 Overhand [70% Bounties] $4,000 Gtd | CHECKDIRT23 | $1,105.47 |
| 12/5/2025 | 🦃🥊 #19: $100 Omahammer $4,000 Gtd | gback6182 | $1,742.65 |
| 12/5/2025 | 🦃🥊 #20: $50 Friday Flurry $4,000 Gtd | Ifloppedit | $1,318.82 |
| 12/6/2025 | 🦃🥊 #21: $100 Cage $10,000 Gtd | MeganCox334 | $2,783.23 |
| 12/6/2025 | 🦃🥊 #22: $50 Hammerfist [70% bounties] $4,000 Gtd | MRJAB | $1,499.78 |
| 12/7/2025 | 🦃🥊 #23: $100 Survivor $15,000 Gtd | Strud | $3,500.02 |
| 12/7/2025 | 🦃🥊 #24: $500 Heavyweight Fight $20,000 Gtd | dabledore | $8,313.71 |
| 12/7/2025 | 🦃🥊 #25: $200 Main Event $30,000 Gtd | Snorlax | $7,585.62 |
| 12/7/2025 | 🦃🥊 #26: $50 Final Bell $5,000 Gtd | XManPhilly | $1,128.00 |
BetRivers is also running Rakeback Resolution from December 24 to January 1. Each day you play real‑money cash games, you’ll earn one dollar in Poker Bonus for every five dollars in rake you generate. If you reach five dollars in rake on a given day, you qualify for that day’s bonus. It’s a simple way to pick up extra value during the holiday stretch.
And continuing the holiday theme, BetRivers is running Sock the Halls from December 20-31. Players can win limited‑edition “Naughty or Nice” socks featuring Phil Hellmuth on one design and Phil Galfond on the other. You can earn them through Santa‑tagged MTTs, where both the winner and the bubble receive a pair, or by playing cash games or SNGs to earn entries into daily drawings. There’s no limit to how many entries you can earn, and no opt‑in is required.
Finally, PokerStars PA is running its festive "25 Days of Tournaments" series from December 6-30. Every night at 7:30 p.m. ET players can jump into a new twenty‑five‑dollar MTT, with formats like Goose Hunt, Santa Stack, and the Naughty or Nice Mystery Bounty.
Each event is revealed the night before at nine p.m., so the schedule stays fresh. PokerStars is also dropping tickets throughout the month to a special $2,500 freeroll on December 31.
Also, through January 2, 2026, PokerStars is running Holiday Cash Game Happy Hours, where players earn double Stars Rewards during two daily windows: 3-5 p.m., and 10 p.m.- midnight. Eligible tables are marked with a small smiley‑face icon in the lobby.
Poker is surging in America, and I'm thrilled to be your ambassador here in Pennsylvania. For more information, check out our PokerNews Pennsylvania page here, and be sure to follow me on socials to stay in the know.
Keith Becker is an American poker player based in Pennsylvania. A former member of PokerStars Team Pro Online, Becker is now a PokerNews Ambassador and Streamer. Becker has been streaming poker on Twitch since Day 1 of regulated poker in Pennsylvania and led a grassroots movement for PA to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement.
