$3,500 Main Event Day 1 | 2022 BetMGM Poker Championship

06-23-2022 22:25 UTC-7

Qualifer Michael McNicholas Among Chip Leaders at End of Day 1 in BetMGM Poker Championship

Connor Richards

Level 9 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

Day 1 of the 2022 BetMGM Poker Championship $3,500 Main Event at the beautiful ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas has concluded with 90 players left after nine hours of play. Michael McNicholas is among the chip leaders with a healthy stack of 346,000 as he looks to take home his latest tournament score.

McNicholas, a one-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner with $116,746 in live earnings, will be joined on Day 2 by fellow big stacks Graham Mathews (380,000), Linus Richter (296,000), fellow qualifier Edward Leonard (287,500) and Albert Nguyen (262,000).

Day 1 of the Main Event atttracted 210 runners and many of the biggest names in poker. Some of the notables who made it to bagging time include 2015 WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen, Anton Wigg, Nick Schulman, Isaac Kempton, Jake Daniels, Kevin Rabichow, Dejuante "DJ" Alexander, Matthew Wantman and James Romero.

A total of 68 players qualified into the Main Event by playing online on BetMGM Poker, among them Vincent Lestingi, Larry Lucci, Connor Boyle, Vineet "Vinny" Pahuja, Kevin Allebach, Corey Paggeot, John Goodin and Yuriy Garifoulline.

BetMGM Poker Ambassadors Matt Berkey and Darren Elias both fired multiple bullets across Day 1, but only Elias found a bag as the night wound down.

Some of the players who didn't survive to bag include Nate Silver, Ryan Laplante, Connor Drinan, Thomas Muehloecker and Ryan Hagerty.

Day 2 of the BetMGM Poker Championship will kick off on Friday, June 24 at noon PST on Level 10 with blinds at 1,000/2,000/2,000. Like the previous day, Day 2 will play for nine 60-minute levels with players taking a 15-minute break every two levels. Late registration will remain open until the completion of Level 11.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on-site tomorrow for continued coverage of the BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA. Stay tuned.

06-23-2022 21:28 UTC-7

Bruscia Sends Elias to Rail; Elias Hops Back In

Connor Richards

Level 9 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

Darren Elias was in the big blind in a heads-up pot against Anthony Bruscia on the button on a board of .

Elias checked on the flop and Bruscia bet 7,500. Elias check-raised to 23,000 and Bruscia called. Elias then moved all-in on the turn and Bruscia quickly called.

Darren Elias:
Anthony Bruscia:

Bruscia was ahead with a better two pair and he improved to a full house on the river the send the BetMGM Poker ambassador to the rail as the night winds down.

Elias was seen taking a seat at a nearby table shortly after on another bullet.

Player	Chips	Progress
Anthony Bruscia	265,000 265,000	265,000
Darren Elias	Busted

06-23-2022 21:18 UTC-7

Daniels Makes a Full House; Farrell Besotted

Calum Grant

Level 9 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

Jake Daniels opened to 3,200 from early position and was called by the button and the big blind.

Daniels bet 5,100 on the flop and only the button called.

Daniels then fired for 9,800 on the turn and again the button called.

The river checked through and Daniels tabled his for a full house.

Niall Farrell, who is sat next to Daniels, seemed to enjoy Daniels check on the river.

"I've never been more attracted to you," said the Scotsman.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jake Daniels	200,000 140,000	140,000

06-23-2022 20:32 UTC-7

Aces for Alexandrov

Calum Grant

Level 8 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Yuriy Garifoulline opened to 2,600 from the button and then called the 11,100 three-bet from big blind Vladimir Alexandrov.

Alexandrov continued for 6,200 and then called off the rest of his stack when his opponent moved all in on the flop.

Vladimir Alexandrov:
Yuriy Garifoulline:

Both players would make a full house on the runout but Alexandrov's hand remained best.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vladimir Alexandrov	110,000 110,000	110,000
Yuriy Garifoulline	28,000 -62,000	-62,000

06-23-2022 20:22 UTC-7

Martinez Downs Berkey; Charette Buys In as Rabichow and Wigg Reenter

Calum Grant

Level 8 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Matt Berkey was seen leaving the tournament room with late entrant Raul Martinez raking in the last of his chips.

Elsewhere, Duff Charette (also a late entrant) has more than doubled his stack while Kevin Rabichow and Anton Wigg are on their second bullet.

Player	Chips	Progress
Raul Martinez	117,000 117,000	117,000
Duff Charette	110,000 110,000	110,000
Anton Wigg	50,000 50,000	50,000

Kevin Rabichow	41,000 41,000	41,000
Matt Berkey	Busted

06-23-2022 20:10 UTC-7

Elias Loses Most of Stack

Calum Grant

Level 8 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Atul Sehgal limped from under the gun before Darren Elias raised to 4,400 from the next seat over. David Botcowsky made it 13,800 from the button and only Elias called.

The flop checked through to the turn and and Elias bet 32,000. Botcowsky called.

Elias then checked on the river. His opponent bet 41,000 and Elias went into the tank. He eventually called and then mucked after Botcowsky turned over his for two pair, aces and queens.

Player	Chips	Progress
David Botcowsky	300,000
Darren Elias	30,000 -95,000	-95,000

06-23-2022 20:04 UTC-7

Rollercoaster Runout Keeps Daniels Afloat

Connor Richards

Level 8 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Jake Daniels was in a three-way pot on a board reading . A player bet 5,000 and the next player to act called, while Daniels check-raised to 17,000.

The initial bettor re-raised all-in for 49,800 and Daniels snap-called with less when the action folded to him.

Jake Daniels:
Opponent:

Daniels was in front with trips but still needed to dodge a diamond. The turn brought the to give the opponent the flush and Daniels stood up from his seat in defeat.

"I'm always losing — Oh! Look at that!" he said as the dealer put out the to improve him to a full house.

"Don't say I stood up. Say 'Jake said a three is always coming.' That sounds better!" Daniels instructed PokerNews.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jake Daniels	60,000 -5,000	-5,000

06-23-2022 19:48 UTC-7

Bursavich Busts Schulman

Connor Richards

Level 7 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Nick Schulman moved all-in with his remaining stack of around 26,000 and Austin Bursavich re-shoved as one of the tournament chip leaders to get the hand heads-up.

Nick Schulman:
Austin Bursavich:

Schulman needed an ace or a king to stay alive and he couldn't hit as the board ran out to mark his elimination.

Player	Chips	Progress
Austin Bursavich	280,000 280,000	280,000
Nick Schulman	Busted

06-23-2022 18:17 UTC-7

Carapella Doubles Through Elias

Connor Richards

Level 6 : 400/800, 800 ante

David Carapella was in a three-way pot against Darren Elias and Dejuante Alexander on a board of .

Elias bet 1,200 on the flop and Alexander called. Carapella moved all-in for around 35,000 and only Elias called.

David Carapella:
Darren Elias:

Elias' top pair was no good against the trips of Carapella, whose hand held up as the board ran out to improve Elias to a worthless two pair.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dejuante Alexander	120,000 5,000	5,000

Darren Elias	80,000 -40,000	-40,000

David Carapella	80,000 -45,000	-45,000

06-23-2022 17:46 UTC-7

McKeehen Cracks Queens for Chip Lead

Calum Grant

Level 6 : 400/800, 800 ante

For a pot worth around 50,000, Joe McKeehen had the button player all in and at risk preflop from the big blind.

Button Player:
Joe McKeehen:

McKeehen was the underdog but immediately leapfrogged his opponent following the flop. McKeehen secured the elimination after the runout.

Player	Chips	Progress
Joe McKeehen	150,000 93,000	93,000