2023 BetMGM Poker Championship

$3,500 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info

2023 BetMGM Poker Championship

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
aa
Prize
$560,442
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,500
Prize Pool
$3,283,200
Entries
1,026
Level Info
Level
33
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
400,000
Players Info - Day 1b
Entries
541
Players Left
157

$3,500 Main Event

Day 1b Completed

Day 1b Field Pushes BetMGM Poker Championship Prize Pool Over $3 Million

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Tournament Area
Tournament Area

There was another huge turnout at the 2023 BetMGM Poker Championship as 541 players hopped into the final starting flight, which played out inside the ARIA Resort & Casino.

With the 485 entries from Day 1a, the final tally became 1,026, which generated a bumper prize pool of $3,283,200, almost triple the value from 2022.

The 157 Day 1b survivors will join the 150 players that bagged and tagged a stack in Day 1a. They will return at 12 p.m. local time for Day 2, where the money bubble is expected to burst.

Payout information has not yet been released but PokerNews will relay the facts and figures when available.

Ben Farrell (465,000) ended the day at the top of the chip counts. Notable names who also navigated today’s session include Martin Jacobson (211,500), Ethan Yau (227,000) and Dylan Linde (139,000).

Defending Champion Joey Weissman (28,000) also squeaked into Day 2 after doubling up his short stack on the final hand of the night.

Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Ben FarrellUnited Kingdom465,000186
2Adrian BertiniUnited States406,500163
3Erfan GeulaUnited States391,000156
4Michael ArellanoUnited States386,500155
5Bin WengUnited States355,500142
6Ryan RemingtonUnited States353,500141
7Jonathan PastoreFrance321,000128
8Aleks DimitrovBulgaria312,500125
9Mark DubeUnited States301,000120
10Adam AdlerUnited States300,000120

Day 1b Recap

There were some big hands to kick off the day, with chess superstar Alexandra Botez busting on her first hand after an ace-king versus aces encounter. Not to be deterred, Botez used her single reentry and ran up a stack after waking up with aces twice and holding against ace-king on both occasions. Botez was the early chip leader but could not sustain the momentum and bowed out in the middle of the day.

Dan Colpoys also had a blistering start to his time at the felt. Colpoys avoided a bad beat when he got it in with aces, which held against pocket kings, pocket queens and ten-eight suited.

Also in the mix was Major League Baseball player Jason Kipnis. The former roster member of the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago Cubs was also in the upper echelons of the chip counts at one stage, but despite chipping down, he still found a way to get over the first hurdle with a stack of 139,500. Kipnis is one of the many BetMGM Poker qualifiers to make it through to tomorrow’s action.

One qualifier who was not so fortunate was Benji Felson, who could not replicate his efforts from last year. In 2022, Felson qualified for the event for just $500 and claimed fifth place for $51,587. His eliminator was Andrew Esposito, who flopped a set of kings while Felson hit his ace. Esposito made headlines recently after being caught using a solver at the WPT Gardens Poker Championship.

Day 2 will begin on Level 11, where the blinds will be 1,000/2,500 with a 2,500 big blind ante. The plan for the day is still to be confirmed but be sure to keep it locked in with PokerNews to follow all of the action.

Tags: Alexandra BotezAndrew EspositoBen FarrellBenji FelsonDan ColpoysDylan LindeEthan YauJason KipnisJoey WeissmanMartin Jacobson

End of Night Chip Counts (full)

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Player Chips Progress
Ben Farrell gb
Ben Farrell
465,000
419,000
419,000
Day 1B Chip Leader
Adrian Bertini us
Adrian Bertini
406,500
406,500
406,500
Erfan Geula us
Erfan Geula
391,000
391,000
391,000
Michael Arellano us
Michael Arellano
386,500
386,500
386,500
Bin Weng us
Bin Weng
355,500
205,500
205,500
WPT 2X Winner
Ryan Remington us
Ryan Remington
353,500
218,500
218,500
Jonathan Pastore fr
Jonathan Pastore
321,000
1,000
1,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Aleks Dimitrov bg
Aleks Dimitrov
312,500
312,500
312,500
Mark Dube us
Mark Dube
301,000
301,000
301,000
Adam Adler us
Adam Adler
300,000
300,000
300,000
Nick Maimone us
Nick Maimone
264,000
-36,000
-36,000
Benjamin Kaupp us
Benjamin Kaupp
254,000
54,000
54,000
Michael Stashin us
Michael Stashin
254,000
254,000
254,000
Mark Babekov us
Mark Babekov
252,000
252,000
252,000
Alfred Atamian us
Alfred Atamian
250,000
250,000
250,000
Aram Oganyan us
Aram Oganyan
247,000
247,000
247,000
WPT 1X Winner
Sang Sim
Sang Sim
246,500
246,500
246,500
Christopher Taki
Christopher Taki
238,000
238,000
238,000
BetMGM Poker NJ
Elias Garney us
Elias Garney
238,000
238,000
238,000
BetMGM Poker NJ
Aaron Motoyama us
Aaron Motoyama
236,000
236,000
236,000
John McMurry us
John McMurry
233,500
63,500
63,500
Ethan Yau us
Ethan Yau
227,000
-14,000
-14,000
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 2X Winner
Hersh Mahajan
Hersh Mahajan
220,000
220,000
220,000
Benjamin Sai sg
Benjamin Sai
219,000
219,000
219,000
Mitch Garshofsky us
Mitch Garshofsky
219,000
219,000
219,000

Read full

Day 2 Seat Draw

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
TableSeatPlayer NameChip CountBig Blinds
71Tomas Szwarberg149,00060
72Tae Gon Kim119,50048
73Vikenty Shegal105,00042
74Corey Dodd83,50033
75Ran Koller158,00063
76Adrian Buckley112,00045
77Aaron La41,50017
78Alan Zheng74,00030
     
81Leo Taffe350,500140
82Ernesto Cuellar93,00037
83Christopher Taki238,00095
84Martin Jacobson211,50085
85Chance Kornuth193,00077
86Ben Palmer90,00036
87Mario Arribas83,00033
88Sean Ragozzini65,00026
     
91Erfan Gevla391,000156
92Gabriel Moura146,50059
93Timothy Ulmer52,50021
94Michael Rossitto186,50075
95Sergey Banuchyan50,50020
96Jamey McKay51,00020
97Biao Ding69,00028
98Alex Condon160,00064
     
101Jack Shea46,50019
102Ranjeet Pawar117,00047
103Farid Jattin146,00058
104Melanie Pittard175,50070
105Ryan Remington353,500141
106Jeff Stellwagon74,50030
107Alen Alencar86,50035
108Govert Metaal57,50023
     
111Josh McMurry233,50093
112Joey Weissman28,00011
113Anthony Bellino53,00021
114Yita Choong33,00013
115Anatoly Nikitin260,500104
116Ward Martin198,50079
117Kyung Lee134,00054
118Prasad Vemulapalli104,50042
     
121Ivanov Vladislav84,50034
122Ethan Yau227,00091
123Bradley Hinson205,50082
124Stevan Chew100,00040
125Justin Lett83,50033
126Edward Szumski67,50027
127Nikolai Tulin115,00046
128Dylan Linde139,00056
     
131Will Givens155,50062
132Yiannis Liperis102,00041
133Jason Mann235,50094
134Rodrigo Semeghini137,50055
135Anthony Hu225,50090
136Thomas Eychenne102,00041
137Stephen Song285,500114
138Eli Garney238,00095
     
141Beau Winn155,00062
142Shiva Dudani265,500106
143Christopher Maguire24,50010
144Ben Warrington105,50042
145Andrew Lichtenberger24,50010
146Gregory Caubet151,00060
147Nolan King190,50076
148Aaron Massey43,50017
     
151Brett Brashers68,00027
152Alexander Pryor106,50043
153Aleks Dimitrov312,500125
154Jesse Lonis147,50059
155Eric Semega60,50024
156Kevin Stammen214,50086
157Michael Gathy83,00033
158Jack Oliver163,00065
     
161Eric Yanousky214,00086
162Hao Tiam80,50032
163Alexandre Vuilleumier284,000114
164Lyu Junqiang140,00056
165Nick Maimone264,000106
166Jesus Castro Reyes33,50013
167Josh Boulton315,000126
168Elliott Kampen53,00021
     
181Mario Navarro73,00029
182Tarun Gulati59,50024
183Johann Ibanez108,00043
184Mo Zhou66,50027
185Kevin Berthelsen78,00031
186Tommy Nguyen88,50035
187Jesse Rosen78,50031
188[Removed:446]65,00026
     
191Haoqi Xie78,00031
192Lorenc Puka88,00035
193Jeffrey Farnes191,50077
194Bob Shao123,00049
195Dann Turner212,00085
196Mitchell Halverson135,00054
197Matthew McEwan80,50032
198Wojtek Barzanty106,50043
     
201Samuel Laskowitz99,50040
202Dennis Zeigler37,50015
203Arsemi Karnatcki217,50087
204Joseph Wilson-Stewart78,00031
205Mitch Garshofsky219,00088
206Juha Helppi107,00043
207Ryan Wolfson122,00049
208Kharlin Sued53,00021
     
211Spencer Champlin45,50018
212Yuriy Boyko62,00025
213Ben Farrell465,000186
214Erick Lindgren224,00090
215Fiodor Martino99,00040
216Dong Chen177,50071
217Masashi Oya25,50010
218Calvin Lee139,50056
     
221Andrew Ostapchenk82,00033
222Chad Lipton131,00052
223Darren Elias131,50053
224Rakesh Bedi40,00016
225Alex Nguyen56,00022
226Michael Setera11,0004
227Josef Gulas Jr189,50076
228Jason Kipnis139,50056
     
231Filipp Khavin64,50026
232Don Naponse315,000126
233Brandon Caputo138,00055
234Kenny Deffrasness56,50023
235Sultan Khair138,00055
236Stanley Lee56,00022
237Adekunle Olonoh101,50041
238Craig Mason58,00023
     
241Danny DeJesus88,00035
242Lyudwie Ivanov82,00033
243Eric Blair179,50072
244Shengchao Zhu127,00051
245Landen Lucas43,50017
246Drew O'Connell171,50069
247Frank Funaro Jr.40,00016
248Tauan Naves151,50061
     
251Brian Hastings149,00060
252Ezequiel Waigel115,00046
253Jeremy Ausmus155,50062
254Michael Lavenburg157,50063
255Adam Kharman81,50033
256Anthony Spinella180,50072
257Frank Lillis157,00063
258Victoria Livschitz136,00054
     
261Johannes Straver59,00024
262Igor Ioffe176,50071
263Emanuele Gugliuzza92,00037
264Zinan Xu34,00014
265Michael Stashin254,000102
266Patrick Hensley127,50051
267Sergio Aido133,00053
268Szecsi Norbert176,00070
     
271Igor Dursel50,00020
272Michael Wang25,50010
273Yong Kwon126,50051
274Adam Miller204,50082
275Ivan Galinec317,000127
276Kyle Julius40,00016
277Adam Hendrix47,00019
278Elia Ahmadian80,00032
     
281Nadya Magnus92,50037
282Adrian Bertini406,500163
283Nikolaos Platis19,5008
284Tiago Rocha78,50031
285Rodney Turvin81,50033
286Dan Cosner207,00083
287Luis Faria56,50023
288Brandon Mueller88,50035
     
291Anuj Agarwa453,500181
292Martin Finger33,00013
293Ronald Sullivan48,00019
294Serhii Popovych45,50018
295Michael McNicholas76,00030
296Andre Tassinari166,50067
297Aaron Motoyama236,00094
298Wasim Mahfooth93,50037
     
301Wai Ngai197,50079
302Matthew Lambrecht89,50036
303Brett Bassock329,000132
304Kristen Foxen151,50061
305Duane Mitchell90,00036
306Justin Chi Jen Chu128,50051
307Daniel Chuprun60,50024
308Jim Farrelly142,00057
     
311Jonathan Jaffe213,50085
312Chad Himmelspach1,0000
313Mark Dickstein78,50031
314Talesh Patel118,00047
315Bin Weng355,500142
316Mike Vanice250,500100
317Daniel Rezael84,50034
318Owen Savin126,00050
     
321Martins Adeniya23,0009
322Steve Yea45,00018
323Connor Rash165,50066
324Anthony Macaluso80,00032
325Aram Oganya247,00099
326Johan Schumacher121,00048
327Gary Dileo97,50039
     
331Chang Yu Chung84,50034
332Viliyan Petleshkov117,50047
333Yigit Tinay28,00011
334Lander Lijo195,00078
335Boris Kuzmanovic161,50065
336Corey Gutilla70,00028
337Stanton Tentnowski155,00062
338Peter Turmezev187,50075
     
341Gregory Brewer65,50026
342Sonny Franco33,00013
343Aram Zobian80,50032
344Fabian Gumz37,50015
345Yue Liu131,00052
346Andrew Duffy74,00030
347Davide Suriano141,50057
348William Paholak64,00026
     
351Federico Cirillo94,50038
352Alex Gil59,00024
353Brian Orrico67,00027
354Fabrice Bigot118,50047
355Pablo Mariz189,50076
356Frank Lagodich103,50041
357Halil Tasyurek113,50045
358Giovani Torre78,50031
     
361Andrew Swenson48,50019
362Tobias Schwecht129,00052
363Jeremiah Fitzpatrick247,50099
364Steven Rosen98,00039
365Jun Wu168,50067
366Christopher Nguyen110,50044
367David Stamm210,00084
368Adam Adler300,000120
     
371Gregor Sverko32,50013
372Ma Zhanpeng56,50023
373Hersh Mahajan220,00088
374Carlos Chadha148,50059
375Paul Richardson124,50050
376Stephen Cooper84,00034
377Nikita Kuznetcov276,500111
378Alex Keating223,50089
     
381Allen Pierce75,00030
382Ben Kaupp254,000102
383Abhinav Iyer131,50053
384Tyng Low102,50041
385Ioannis Angelou65,00026
386Daniel Smiljkovic88,50035
387Sergio Fernandez163,50065
388Vitaly Kovyazin124,50050
     
391David Lee173,00069
392Peter Lombardo84,50034
393Jared Jaffee200,00080
394Taylor Black39,50016
395Tuan Phan50,50020
396Rami Boukai155,00062
397Bahbak Oboodi106,50043
398James Collopy104,50042
     
401Paul Gunness362,000145
402Joe Kuether112,50045
403Nikolaos Lampropoulos148,00059
404Sriharsha Doddapaneni57,00023
405Matt Stout64,50026
406Josue Aguirre138,50055
407Mark Babekov252,000101
408Jing Wang667,500267
     
411Miguel Lopes74,00030
412Dan Noor42,00017
413Linh Le56,00022
414Michael Jozoff248,00099
415Tse Shing67,00027
416Mark Ioli223,50089
417Fernando Zuliani186,00074
     
421Thomas Hall168,00067
422Michael Cannon89,50036
423Rehman Kassam113,00045
424Eric Afriat40,50016
425Michael Arellano386,500155
426Sundiata DeVore59,00024
427Pratik Mehta116,50047
428Raul Martinez151,00060
     
431Albert Nguyen91,00036
432Kyriakos Papadapolous74,00030
433Jason Ziffel136,50055
434Justin Young149,00060
435Casey Stewart85,00034
436Alfred Atamian250,000100
437Sang Sim246,50099
438Mark Dube301,000120
     
441John Riordan152,00061
442Adam Walton195,00078
443Clemen Reng207,50083
444Art Papazyon161,00064
445Michael Lavin187,50075
446Jon-Micheal Gisler57,50023
447David Gonzalez162,50065
     
451Nick Yunis187,00075
452Benjamin Sai219,00088
453Jacob Dolehanty34,50014
454Gustav Mastellot43,00017
455Raj Vohra118,50047
456Aleksei Istomin29,50012
457Jonathan Pastore321,000128
     
461Yuan Yilu222,00089
462Cherish Andrews53,50021
463Petar Kalev100,00040
464Fabian Schaefer146,00058
465Dominik Nitsche66,50027
466Fernando Garcia280,500112
467Nick Pupillo54,50022

Defending Champion Weissman Doubles on Last Hand of Night

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Joey Weissman
Joey Weissman

On the final hand of Day 1b, Joey Weissman moved all in for his last 11,500 from early position and was called by the cutoff.

Joey Weissman: J9
Cutoff: A9

Weissman was dominated and looked like he wasn't going to be able to defend his title.

This looked more certain on the 732 flop but the 4 turn gave Weissman a superior flush draw. The Q hit the river and Weissman survived to make it through to Day 2.

Player Chips Progress
Joey Weissman us
Joey Weissman
28,000
-22,000
-22,000
Defending Champion
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Joey Weissman

Lampropoulos Finds the Light on the River

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Mario Navarro opened to 5,000 from the hijack only to have the button three-bet to 12,000 and Nikolaos Lampropoulos four-bet all in for a total of 44,000 from the big blind.

Action was back on Navarro, who moved all in behind for much more and the button quickly got out of the way leaving the two sets of cards tabled with Lampropoulos at risk.

Nikolaos Lampropoulos: AK
Mario Navarro: KK

Navarro was in a good position to knock out Lampropoulos with his pocket kings, but the board did not agree with him as it came out Q968A to give Lampropoulos an ace on the river to stay alive.

Player Chips Progress
Nikolaos Lampropoulos gr
Nikolaos Lampropoulos
100,000
100,000
100,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Mario Navarro es
Mario Navarro
91,000
91,000
91,000

Tags: Mario ArrochaNikolaos Lampropoulos

Alencar Announces All-In

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Alen Alencar made it 12,000 to go preflop and was called only by larger stack Yue Liu.

The flop came out 984 and Alencar continued for 8,000 and Liu check-called.

On the turn, Liu checked to Alencar once more, who then moved all in for around 25,000 and Liu promptly folded to award him the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Yue Liu cn
Yue Liu
106,000
-10,000
-10,000
Alen Alencar br
Alen Alencar
68,000

Tags: Alen AlencarYue Liu

2023 ARIA Poker Classic Remaining Schedule

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
DateStartEvent
11-Jun12:00 PM$3,500 BetMGM NLH Day 2 $2M GTD
12-Jun11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
12-Jun1:00 PM$3,500 BetMGM NLH Day 3 $2M GTD
13-Jun11:00 AM$800 Eight Game Mix $50K GTD
13-Jun3:00 PM$3,500 BetMGM NLH FT $2M GTD
14-Jun11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
15-Jun11:00 AM$600 Big O $50K GTD
16-Jun11:00 AM$800 NLH Seniors (50+) $150K GTD
17-Jun11:00 AM$600 TD Mix (2-7, Badeucey, Badugi) $30K GTD
18-Jun11:00 AM$600 PLO 8/B $50K GTD
19-Jun11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
20-Jun11:00 AM$600 PLO $75K GTD
21-Jun11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
22-Jun11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
23-Jun11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
24-Jun11:00 AM$600 PLO $75K GTD
25-Jun11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
26-Jun11:00 AM$800 PLO Mystery Bounty $150K GTD
27-Jun11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
28-Jun11:00 AM$800 NLH Mystery Bounty $150K GTD
29-Jun11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
30-Jun11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
1-Jul11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
2-Jul11:00 AM$600 Limit Omaha 8/B $50K GTD
2-Jul5:00 PM$240 PLO Milestone Satellite 5 Seats GTD
3-Jul12:00 PM$1,600 PLO (2 Day Event) $200K GTD
4-Jul11:00 AM$500 NLH Ladies $50K GTD
4-Jul1:00 PM$1,600 PLO Restart $200K GTD
5-Jul12:00 PM$1,600 Limit H.O.R.S.E. (2 Day Event) $125K GTD
6-Jul12:00 PM$1,600 Limit H.O.R.S.E. Restart $125K GTD
7-Jul11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
8-Jul11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
9-Jul11:00 AM$600 PLO $75K GTD
10-Jul11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
11-Jul11:00 AM$600 Limit Omaha 8 / Stud 8 $50K GTD
12-Jul11:00 AM$800 NLH Mystery Bounty $150K GTD
13-Jul11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
14-Jul11:00 AM$600 NLH $75K GTD
15-Jul11:00 AM$600 PLO Mix $50K GTD