Registration is officially closed in the Day 1a session of the $2,200 Big, Big Kick Off. There were 258 entries in the session and 72 currently remain.
This is a $1 million guaranteed tournament that requires 500 entrants to avoid overlay, which means the Day 1b session, which just began, will need to have at least 242 players.
Darren Elias, a BetMGM ambassador, is in the field on Day 1a of the Big, Big Kick Off $1 million guaranteed tournament at Borgata.
Elias is widely considered the G.O.A.T. of the World Poker Tour, and has a record four WPT titles. His stack, with registration set to close in about 15 minutes, is slightly below average.
The $2,200 Big, Big Kick Off began at 11:15 this morning and now has just over 230 entries. Registration closes for the Day 1a session at around 6 p.m.
The tournament has a $1 million guaranteed prize pool, which means the field is on pace to reach that guarantee, although there should be some interest in late registering among those who love to find a tournament with overlay.
There's still one additional Day 1 flight to run, and that starts at 6:15 p.m. With $2,000 of each buy-in going to the prize pool, 500 entrants will get the prize pool to exactly $1 million. We'll see how it all plays out.
You've all seen the main schedule for the Big, Big Series, which includes over $6 million in guarantees. But if you're looking for a lower buy-in tournament or bust out of one of the championship events, you can enter a nightly $500 Super Turbo event at Borgata.
These tournaments take place at 7:45 p.m. each day.
Michael Gagliano, a BetMGM ambassador, finished fourth for $2,750,000 this summer in the WSOP Main Event, is competing in the $2,200 Big, Big Kick Off at Borgata, a $1 million guaranteed tournament.
Early in the Day 1a session on Monday, he was chatting with his tablemates about his experience in the Main Event. One such topic was the three-week delay after the tournament played down to the final table. PokerNews captured the interesting discussion, and it's clear Gagliano, who now has over $5 million in live tournament results, has mixed feelings about the delay.
"It was a long two weeks," Gagliano said of the lengthy delay. "I wish it was like a week."
Gagliano wasn't upset with the delay, which differed from last year when the players only took a day off before the final table. He doesn't mind having a short break, but isn't a fan of the current three-week break. He's even more opposed to the November Nine concept the WSOP Main Event used from 2009-2016 when the tournament went on a hiatus after the final table was reached in July until November.
"It's better than November. I dunno how those guys waited until November."
Gagliano said "one week is perfect," a solid compromise between one day off and three weeks off, it seems.
Registration remains open in the first of two flights in the $2,200 Big, Big Kick Off event, but there's already 186 players registered. Those who don't bag during Day 1a can come back at 6:15 p.m. tonight to enter Day 1b.
The $2,200 Big, Big Kick Off event field is increasing quickly during the Day 1a session, the first of two opening flights taking place on Monday. There are now 150 players registered in the $1 million guaranteed No-Limit Hold'em tournament.
There are some top pros in the field, including BetMGM ambassador Michael Gagliano, mid-stakes tournament crusher Justin Arnwine, and Philadelphia poker star Bin Weng.
Heads-up play in the $1,100 Big, Big Welcome H.O.R.S.E. lasted no time as Dongwuk Moon, who had basically all the chips, quickly finished off Robert Seinfeld, who entered the session with the chip lead.
Moon flopped top pair against an open-ended straight draw that didn't hit on the turn or river to finish off the 27-entrant tournament for a $12,150 win. Seinfeld had to settle for the $7,020 runner-up consolation prize.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dongwuk Moon | $12,150 |
| 2 | Robert Seinfeld | $7,020 |
| 3 | Lonnie Heimowitz | $4,590 |
| 4 | Thomas Hedlund | $3,240 |
Dongwuk Yoon appears to be just moments away from capturing the first title of the Big, Big Series.
Yoon is currently heads-up against Robert Seinfeld, the Day 1 chip leader, and he holds better than a 10:1 chip advantage. It could end any moment after the two return from break in a few minutes.
Or, we could see an epic comeback. First place will pay $12,150, while the runner-up is set to receive $7,020.
Vincent Bascilicata busted in the most unfortunate position in the $1,100 Big, Big Welcome H.O.R.S.E. — fifth place, otherwise known as the money bubble.
Bascilicata got his money in on the turn in Limit Hold'em against Robert Seinfeld, who had him drawing dead.
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