New York's Vineet "Vinny" Pahuja is looking for his next big score after qualifying into the $3,500 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA. Pahuja, who has $3.2 million in Hendon Mob-reported earnings, qualified like dozens of others by playing on BetMGM Poker.
Pahuja earned his maiden WSOP Circuit ring in 2017 when he took down a $365 buy-in event at WSOP Circuit Harrah's Atlantic City for $13,284. In March 2022, Pahuja was denied a second Circuit ring in a $215 buy-in WSOP Circuit Super Series online event, finishing in second for $12,513.
Pahuja's biggest live score dates back to 2008 when he finished second in the Borgata Summer Poker Open $5,000 Championship for $289,800. Ten years later, he earned his second-biggest score from a fourth-place finish in a $540 event at the 2018 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open for $137,168.
Another player who qualified for the $3,500 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA is Michigan's Corey Paggeot, a two-time WSOP Circuit ring winner with $127,816 in Hendon Mob-reported live earnings.
Paggeot's greatest poker achievements have been online, including winning a $400 buy-in WSOP.com Circuit event in 2019 for his first Circuit ring and $15,447, and later winning a $250 buy-in WSOP.com Circuit event for a second ring and $24,204.
Paggeot's biggest score came in 2021 WSOP.com Event #24: $400 No Limit Hold'em MonsterStack, where he finished second for $47,840. The very next day Paggeot, earned his second-best score in WSOP.com Event #26: $500 No Limit Hold'em The BIG 500 Encore, finishing in third for $40,952.
Paggeot is also the head of marketing for Solve For Why, a poker training and content site founded by Matt Berkey.
Among the players in New Jersey who qualified for the $3,500 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA is Ryan Hagerty, a "Garden State" grinder with $378,438 in Hendon Mob-reported tournament earnings.
Hagerty earned more than his entire live earnings through a single online score when he finished fourth in the 2020 WSOP.com $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event for $387,130.
The next year, Hagerty won his maiden WSOP bracelet on WSOP.com by taking down Event #23: No Limit Hold'em Turbo for $67,207. It was not his first piece of WSOP hardware as just a month earlier he won a $350 buy-in event as part of the WSOP Summer Online Super Circuit for $22,925.
Hagerty's best live cash to date is $70,865 and he looks for a new career-high as he competes in the 2022 BetMGM Poker Championship after qualifying by playing on BetMGM Poker.
For the past several weeks, BetMGM in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey has been qualifying players online for the live $3,500 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD BetMGM Poker Championship June 23-26 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
One player to win their way in was 26-year-old Jack Goodin. a Philosophy Masters's student at Western Michigan University where he teaches classes in applied ethics and study logic/metaphysics.
"During the pandemic, I spent a lot of time playing chess. I thought if I was going to sink time into learning how to play a strategy game I might as well pick one where I could make some money," Goodin said of learning poker. "I started going to the local cardroom, grinding online, and joining Discord servers to talk strategy. Now I mostly study with video courses, sims, and coaching."
In September 2021, Goodin joined BetMGM.
"One incredible perk of moving to Michigan for school has been access to the BetMGM tournament poker pool, which I think replicates the fun live poker environment better than bigger sites," he explained.
He added: "I’ve picked up some decent final table scores and won two or three mid-stakes events. I still have yet to bink a $215+ but with the volume and study I’m putting in it’s only a matter of time."
While he drove through Las Vegas one time during a summer road trip in college, Goodin didn't stay, so it's essentially his first 'real' visit to Sin City.
"This trip will be my first foray into big live events," he said. "In addition to the BetMGM Poker Championship I’ll play the Aria Poker Classic $50k guarantee, the Mystery Bounty, and the WSOP Colossus."
Goodin may be relatively new to the game, but he's on the rise and is prepared to meet the upcoming challenge of competing in a major live poker tournament.
"I’ve been working incredibly hard this month and have had a string of big final table scores, two high-stakes wins on BetMGM and PokerStars, and a second-place finish in a live tournament at Firekeepers Casino," he said. "I’ve made more money from poker in the past few weeks than I made in two semesters as a teaching assistant. Winning the BetMGM Poker Championship Qualifier prompted me to get coaching and investigate playing other tournaments in Vegas. To play these I’ve had to sell a fair amount of action, and it all went within an hour or two of posting the offer in a handful of chat servers. This month has taken poker from a fun hobby to a viable part-time job and I’m really proud of the work I’ve put in to get there."
He concluded: "I’m particularly excited to be playing the highest stakes I’ve ever played in the BetMGM Poker Championship and contending with other strong players. I’ll also play the [WSOP] Colossus, which is iconic. I would be thrilled to make final tables in either of those events and show off my play on stream."
PokerNews will most certainly keep an eye on Goodin, who could very well surprise a lot of the competition!
For the past several weeks, BetMGM in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey has been qualifying players online for the live $3,500 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD BetMGM Poker Championship June 23-26 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
One player to win their way in was New Jersey's Val Arzunian, CEO and founder of a tech start-up called UBMe.
"I was born in Ukraine and when I was 12, my family moved to the United States and settled in New Jersey," Arzunian told PokerNews. "I have a Bachelor's Degree from C.W. Post Long Island University."
Arzunian is relatively new to poker having learned the game a year and a half ago during the pandemic.
"We all went into lockdown, so I learned poker to keep myself sane," he said of signing up for BetMGM, which is where his poker success is limited to, at least thus far.
"I have been to Vegas but have not played in any other tournaments," he admitted. When asked if he would like to meet any poker pros while in town, Arzunian responded: "Absolutely, would love to learn from the best!"
Only time will tell if Arzunian can turn his satellite win into a big Vegas payday!
For the past several weeks, BetMGM in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey has been qualifying players online for the live $3,500 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD BetMGM Poker Championship June 23-26 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
One player to win their way in was Michigan's Brett Baublitz, a retired lieutenant from the Gratiot County Sheriff’s Office who plays online as “Hitman29904LT”.
"That came about from an old professional wrestler Brett 'The Hitman' Hart combined with the County I worked for '29', my badge number '904', and my rank when I retired," Baublitz told PokerNews. “I retired from the Gratiot County Sheriff’s Office after 25 years of service in 2018. I started my new career working for the City of Alma as their Director of Transportation for our local transit system."
Baublitz, who lives in Ithaca, recently turned 50, has a beautiful wife and two wonderful children.
"Both of my kids are married, and my son and his wife are expecting their first child," he said with a smile.
Baublitz learned to play poker as a young man playing nickel/quarter cash games. He was a part of a poker club for a few years where we met monthly in a tournament-style format. Naturally, he found his way to online poker when it came to the Wolverine State.
"I’ve been on BetMGM for probably two years now," he explained. "I joined because of the amazing first-time offers that were available. I’ve stayed because the platform is amazing. I’ve had some success on BetMGM playing their casino games (mainly blackjack). I enjoy the sportsbook too!"
As for winning his way to Vegas, Baublitz is quite excited as it'll be his first visit to Sin City.
"I’m excited to take it all in," he said. "I’ve never played poker in any major tournaments either. I watch several poker professionals online and learn their playstyle. My favorite player is probably Daniel Negreanu. I enjoy watching him process the table, have a good attitude while playing, and best of all have fun. Life is short to do something that you don’t get pleasure from. I would love the chance to meet him if possible. I know that Darin Elias will be there, and he’s playing some of the best poker in the world today."
As for Baublitz's proudest poker accomplishment to date? ... "I’d say qualifying for this event."
From June 23-26, leading sports betting and internet gaming operator BetMGM Poker will hold the inaugural $3,500 buy-in BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The BetMGM Poker Championship, which headlines the 2022 ARIA Poker Classic, will not only be comprised of players in Las Vegas, but also a slew of players from Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania who are busy winning their way via online qualifiers.
"There are already 30 online qualifiers and it looks like there’s going to be around 75 total when all is said and done," said Matt Berkey, who is representing BetMGM this summer. " I know the next two Sundays they’re going to be running five-seat giveaways. We really haven’t seen too much of this since Black Friday, it’s nice to finally see the two worlds merge together."
Another part of the qualifier process will be a player party and freeroll: "The day before the actual BetMGM Championship there will be a freeroll where Darren Elias and I will be doing a meet-and-greet. We’ll give them some quick pointers before they get in there for a chance to win their way into the Main Event."
While he won't be winning his way in via an online qualifier, Berkey still has every intention of playing.
"I’ve got all the bullets in the chamber. I'll fire as many as I need."
"I’ve got all the bullets in the chamber," he told PokerNews. "I'll fire as many as I need."
He's also looking forward to playing the $600 BetMGM Mystery Bounty.
"I’ve played one at the Wynn, didn’t make Day 2, so I’ve no idea what it’s like to stick my hand in that roller wheel," he said, "but I really want to try and get that experience, so there’s a pretty good chance I’ll be in the BetMGM Mystery Bounty as well."
For now, Berkey looks forward to continuing his relationship with BetMGM.
"It’s been really smooth. I know Luke Staudenmaier [Director of Poker of BetMGM], he’s a Pittsburgh guy himself," said Berkey. "He’s wrapped up in the community. It’s nice to see someone who has their hand so heavily involved as a player kind of make their way into a management position. He’s really easy to deal with. Obviously, Tom Wheaton has been a big help and influence with all of this. He’s always overseeing everything, so he’s nice to have as a friend in my corner."
Berkeys' BetMGM deal paid big dividends back in March when he traveled home to Pennsylvania to represent the brand in the March Poker Mania for the $1,060 Main Event. Berkey stole the show on the final day of the series with a win in a wild finish in Pennsylvania, while "s7udz88" and "GogoYubari" took down the Main Events in Michigan and New Jersey.
"I wasn’t going to go home and not hold it down for Pittsburgh. I had to make the trip worthwhile, so yeah, I was lucky enough to ship the Main Event," he said with a smile.
Berkey came from behind in late final table play to defeat Edward "Hisoka" Leonard, who held a commanding lead throughout the end stages.
BetMGM Pennsylvania March Poker Mania Main Event Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Matt Berkey
$31,250
2
Edward "Hisoka" Leonard
$17,500
3
"MrSchneebly"
$12,750
4
"MuckLavin"
$9,500
5
"pa500"
$7,350
6
"Gail the Snail"
$5,550
7
"bottleopener"
$4,150
8
"luckybluffer777"
$3,250
Matt Berkey Only Friends
Finally, Berkey commented on his new his web show, Only Friends.
"I’m a huge Pat Macafee fan. For anybody who doesn’t know who that is, he was a punter for the Indianapolis Colts, also a Pittsburgh native. He actually grew up 10 miles away from where I grew up," Berkey said of the show's origin. "I’ve kind of followed his journey since retiring. He did this really cool thing where he got six or seven of his closest friends and just started a daily show on the internet."
He continued: "Here we are a few years later and he’s been picked up by SiriusXM, by Fan Duel, he just signed a $100 million deal. I said you know what the poker space lacks – daily content. Why not us? We have the ability, we have the production crew, we have the team to do it. So it sort of fell out of the sky overnight, kind of emulating a little bit of what Pat Macafee does on his show."
Leading sports betting and internet gaming operator BetMGM Poker is hosting the first-ever $3,500 buy-in BetMGM Poker Championship from June 23-26 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The BetMGM Poker Championship, which headlines the 2022 ARIA Poker Classic, will kick off four days of BetMGM live poker action at the luxurious Las Vegas casino.
One man who will be there is BetMGM Ambassador and four-time World Poker Tour (WPT) champ Darren Elias, who recently spoke with PokerNews about the upcoming series and just missing out on his record-extending fifth WPT title.
"It’s still kind of bittersweet to be so close, be heads-up with the chip lead, be right on the precipice there," Elias said of finishing runner-up to Mark Davis at the end of May in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, a tournament that attracted 2,010 entries. "It’s tough to be too upset because it’s still a great score but obviously I would’ve liked to win."
Elias earned $660,000 for finishing in second place. While the New Jersey native failed to close that one out, he's hopeful he can carry his momentum into the summer at the 2022 World Series of Poker, and more important for him, the BetMGM Poker Championship.
"It’s kind of unique here in America to have this concept going again," Elias said of having an online avenue to send players to live events. "We’ve already qualified around 20 players from Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. We expect to qualify over 75 players. We have satellites running in those states, the big one being $535 every Sunday to give away the $6,000 packages. I think it’s great just to see these sorts of events exist again in the US and hopefully, we can run more of these bigger events at MGM properties and get some synergy with the online market."
For those who win their way to Vegas, they'll not only compete in a major tournament but also get the chance to hang out with Elias.
" There will be a Player Party, maybe even a freeroll event at PokerGO Studio, we’re still hammering out the details, but a great experience for the players to go over and play at, in my opinion, the premier place to play poker, the PokerGO Studio. Where the high rollers are filmed, the Super High Roller Bowl, it's absolutely pristine in there, so that will be a good event. Matt Berkey and I will be there for that event."
Whether it was the End Boss Poker Series late last year or more recently the March Poker Mania a few months back, BetMGM has been hitting home runs in the US market, and Elias is their biggest slugger lending his name, expertise, and support to each event.
"It’s exciting to be a part of a team that’s willing to take chances and run these sorts of events," he said. "I feel like we’re building momentum and hopefully the cards fly the way we’d like to with regulation and combining markets so we can kind of create these bigger player pools and run bigger events. It’s exciting to be a part of and I’m looking forward to the future with BetMGM."
Likewise, Elias is looking forward to calling the ARIA home all summer long as that's his new home away from home.
"ARIA is definitely one of my favorite places to be, one of my happy places I’d say," he said. "We’ve got great restaurants, great rooms, and the poker room, the staff there, they all do a great job. You get treated with respect. They really work with the players to give them what they want which I appreciate and I think most players appreciate."
BetMGM and ARIA have partnered to give players in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania a chance to play live in Las Vegas this summer in the inaugural BetMGM Poker Championship! Daily mega-qualifiers are running now and offer players a chance to win for as little as $5!
Enter $500 Sunday qualifiers for the chance to win $6,000 BetMGM Poker Championship packages! These packages include travel expenses and free ARIA lodging.
Players who qualify will not only win a seat in the $3,500 live event, but also enjoy exclusive access to a $25K Freeroll hosted by Darren Elias and Matt Berkey prior to the $1,000,000 GTD BetMGM Poker Championship.
BetMGM Poker
HEre's a look at the qualifier schedule, which will run through June 12:
Leading sports betting and internet gaming operator BetMGM Poker will be expanding into the live realm later this summer with the first-ever $3,500 buy-in BetMGM Poker Championship scheduled to take place June 23-26 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
The BetMGM Poker Championship, which headlines the 2022 ARIA Poker Classic, will kick off four days of BetMGM live poker action at the luxurious Las Vegas casino.
"The first-ever BetMGM Poker Championship descends on Las Vegas during one of the most exciting times of the poker season," Luke Staudenmaier, Director of Poker of BetMGM, said in a recent press release. "ARIA is a legendary poker brand and we're thrilled that the Championship has become an integral part of this year's Poker Classic. Through our relationship with MGM Resorts and its world-class U.S. properties, we'll continue to leverage event programming and connect with players both online and in their favorite poker rooms."
A Million Up for Grabs
The no-limit Hold'em BetMGM Poker Championship will feature a guaranteed prize pool of $1,000,000, and it could surpass that with so many poker players in town for the summer poker action.
PokerNews will be on-site to live report on the BetMGM Poker Championship, so be sure to check out the live reporting hub for tournament updates.
Next up will be the $600 buy-in BetMGM Poker Mystery Bounty event on June 25, which will mark the first time ARIA has run such an event. Mystery Bounty events are all the hype right now and add an additional sweat factor to the game, so expect this event to be an exciting one that draws a sizable field.
Other notable events that will take place during the ARIA Poker Classic, which is running June 1-July 17, include the $400 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Ladies event, which kicks off on June 28 and has a $50,000 guarantee.
Omaha junkies are in luck as the ARIA Poker Classic will feature four Pot-Limit Omaha events with buy-ins ranging from $600 to $1,100, including the $1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha event on July 3 with a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000. The series will also feature a $600 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event that will run on June 9 with a $50,000 guarantee.
The 2022 ARIA Poker Classic will wrap up with a Player's Choice freeroll on July 17, with the entrants being chosen via Twitter vote.
Ways to Qualify
Ahead of the series, Bet MGM Poker is awarding prize packages to at least 15 players from each US market, which consists of BetMGM Poker Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In addition to a buy-in into the BetMGM Poker Championship, these packages include travel expenses and a five-night stay at ARIA.
BetMGM ambassadors Darren Elias and Matt Berkey, who recently hosted the online BetMGM March Poker Mania series, took to Twitter on May 18 to promote the upcoming live events, including offering daily qualifier tickets.
15 online poker players have already qualified for the BetMGM Poker Championship at @ARIAPoker!
— Darren Elias (@DarrenElias)
Every Sunday leading up to the BetMGM Poker Championship, BetMGM Poker will host $500 qualifier events for a chance to win the $6,000 prize package.
Be sure to check out BetMGM Poker's Twitter page at @BetMGMPoker for more information about the upcoming live events and ways to qualify.
A full schedule of the upcoming 2022 ARIA Poker Classic is available in the table below.
