Daily Tournament Highlights | 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open

Jul 26, 2026

How to Qualify for the Borgata Summer Poker Open for Less

Calum Grant

Players heading to the Borgata Summer Poker Open powered by BetMGM Poker do not necessarily need to pay full price for their tournament seats.

A packed satellite schedule is running both online at BetMGM Poker and live inside the Borgata poker room, giving players plenty of chances to qualify for the festival's biggest events at a fraction of the regular buy-in.

Qualify Online at BetMGM Poker

BetMGM Poker is running online qualifiers throughout the festival, with buy-ins starting from just $10.

The cheapest option is the $10 Borgata Bounty Shootout qualifier on July 26, where players can win a $160 tournament seat along with $50 in cash.

There are also $50 qualifiers running until July 29 for the Deep Stack Kick Off, Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, Borgata Almighty Stack and Monster Mirror Mystery Bounty. Winners receive their seat plus an additional $50.

Players targeting the festival's biggest event can enter $250 Championship qualifiers through July 28. Packages include a $2,700 seat to the Summer Poker Open Championship and $500 in cash to help cover expenses.

Players should check the BetMGM Poker lobby for start times and any additional qualifiers added during the series.

Live Satellites at Borgata

There are also several live routes into the action at Borgata, including satellites that award seats across multiple events.

The $500 Borgata Big 4 satellite guarantees five packages, with each package including seats to Events 1, 11, 16 and 22.

The $220 Out the Gate satellite also guarantees five packages, this time awarding seats to Events 1, 11 and 16.

Players looking for more flexibility can enter the $560 $5K Your Way satellite, which awards $5,000 in tournament buy-ins at a one-in-ten ratio and comes with a $15,000 guarantee.

There are also two routes into the $2,700 Championship. The $320 MEGA Championship satellite guarantees 10 seats, while another $320 Championship satellite guarantees five.

See the Full Schedule Here

New to BetMGM Poker?

If you don't already have a BetMGM Poker account, there's an extra incentive to sign up before chasing a Borgata Summer Poker Open seat.

New players can receive a 100% deposit match up to $1,000, plus up to $75 in tournament tickets, giving them even more opportunities to qualify for the festival's biggest events.

Whether you're taking a shot in a $10 online satellite or trying to win your way into the $2,700 Championship, the welcome offer provides plenty of extra value before you even play your first hand.

Jul 26, 2026

BetMGM Poker Qualifiers Eye Deep Run in Borgata Almighty Stack

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Calum Grant

Three BetMGM Poker qualifiers have already locked up at least $1,060 after navigating their way into the money in the $500 Borgata Almighty Stack.

Jackson Sprague, Jacob Reid and Robert Thomas all won their seats online through BetMGM Poker and have turned those qualifiers into a guaranteed cash.

Thomas is the best placed of the trio, and returned with 1,742,000 chips (70 big blinds), while Sprague sits comfortably on 1,393,000 (56 big blinds). Reid has work to do with 208,000 chips (8 big blinds).

All three came back for Day 2 among the final 279 players from a field of 2,209 entries, with the eventual champion set to earn $144,250.

Player	Chip Count	Big Blinds
Robert Thomas	1,742,000	70
Jackson Sprague	1,393,000	56
Jacob Reid	208,000	8

Jul 26, 2026

2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open Winners So Far

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Calum Grant

With the $500 Borgata Almighty Stack still to crown its champion on Monday, the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open has already produced plenty of winners across No-Limit Hold'em, Mixed Games and Pot-Limit Omaha.

So far, 7,240 entries have generated $3,177,935 in prize pools, with $534,120 awarded in first-place prizes.

Tournament	Entries	Prize Pool	Winner	Prize
$600 Deep Stack Kick Off	2,390	$1,242,800	Derek Childress	$170,610
$250 Monster Stack Turbo Nightly	37	$7,400	Alex Ortiz Vazquez	$3,035
$650 The "One Shot" Freezeout	52	$29,900	Corrie Samuels	$9,000
$250 Friday Night Super Deep Frenzy	52	$10,400	Anonymous	$3,690
$250 Double Board Bomb Pot PLO	81	$16,200	Gordon Ernst	$4,840
$350 Borgata Sunday Series	522	$151,380	James Eddy	$20,000
$500 Pot-Limit Big O	84	$35,700	Danny Chang	$10,660
$250 Sunday Night Turbo	37	$7,400	David Piede	$3,035
$365 Seniors Championship	365	$113,150	David Golin	$11,565
$650 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship	197	$112,290	Brandon Mueller	$24,575
$500 H.O.S.E.	50	$21,250	Thomas Savitsky	$7,540
$650 Super Deep 6-Max	401	$228,570	Li Liang	$41,150
$500 T.O.R.S.E.	66	$28,050	Dongwuk Moon	$5,735
$650 5 Card PLO	44	$25,080	Matthew Cannuli	$9,390
$250 Deep Stack Super Turbo	41	$8,200	Zachary Feldman	$3,070
$500 H.O.R.S.E.	69	$29,325	Patrick McCarthy	$9,570
$500 PLO/NLH	31	$15,000	George Jannes	$4,185
$250 Triple Green Chip Bounty	57	$7,125	Ioannis Konstantinidis	$1,625
$500 Borgata Almighty Stack	2,209	$927,780	TBC	$144,250
$500 O.E.	62	$26,350	Anton Grinkevich	$5,040
$1,100 Mad Max (8 Max to 6 Max)	35	$35,000	Erik Escobar	$13,110
$250 Monster Stack Turbo Nightly	42	$8,400	Umberto Salvati	$1,740
$500 Stud Hi-Lo	58	$24,650	Thomas Savitsky	$7,250
$260 Ladies Championship	107	$21,935	Kimberly Mercer	$5,755
$250 Friday Night Super Deep Frenzy	31	$6,200	Anonynmous	$2,300
$500 Omaha Hi-Lo	64	$27,200	Anthony Bellino	$7,425
$260 Double Board Bomb Pot PLO	56	$11,200	David Birnabaum	$3,975

Jul 26, 2026

Bellino and Birnbaum Pick Up Saturday Side Event Titles at Borgata

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Calum Grant

While a lot of attention was on the final starting flights of the Almighty Stack, two more side event trophies were handed out on Saturday at the Borgata Summer Poker Open.

Anthony Bellino came out on top in the $500 Omaha Hi-Lo, navigating a 64-entry field to earn the title and the top prize of $7,475. Bellino defeated Adam Calabrese heads-up after a chop, with PLO Championship runner-up Danny Chang rounding out the podium in third.

$500 Omaha Hi-Lo Results

Place	Player	Prize
1	Anthony Bellino	$7,475
2	Adam Calabrese	$7,425
3	Danny Chang	$3,690
4	Jeffrey Jerome	$2,565
5	Ilya Dyment	$1,900
6	Glenn Engelbert	$1,590
7	Kearns Julien	$1,370
8	Randy Hagen	$1,185

The evening's $250 Double Board Bomb Pot PLO attracted 56 entries, generating an $11,200 prize pool. David Birnbaum claimed the victory and $3,975 after defeating Henry Lopez in heads-up play, while Robert Rickards Jr. finished third.

$250 Double Board Bomb Pot PLO Results

Place	Player	Prize
1	David Birnbaum	$3,975
2	Henry Lopez	$2,440
3	Robert Rickards Jr.	$1,590
4	Sanjay Pandya	$1,105
5	Andrew Smith	$815
6	Nicholas Barone	$685
7	Barbara Grilli-Lambert	$590

Tags: Adam Calabrese Andrew Smith Anthony Bellino Barbara Grilli-Lambert Danny Chang David Birnbaum Glenn Engelbert Henry Lopez Ilya Dyment Jeffrey Jerome Nicholas Barone Randy Hagen Robert Rickards Jr Sanjay Pandya

Jul 26, 2026

Are You Accidentally Giving Away These Poker Tells? | PokerNews Podcast #997

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Chad Holloway

In the 997th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas and joined by Nacho Cuesta of Master Poker Tells.

Cuesta's greatest strength has always been the observation of patterns and details under pressure. For more than five years, he has systematically studied how decisions are physically executed in live poker. While much of modern poker study focused on solvers, ranges, and theoretical optimization, he has focused on a far less structured dimension: the physical execution of actions.

In live poker, the mind decides. The body executes. And when cognitive load increases, repeatable patterns appear. That is where micro tells and macro tells are born.

Not since Mike Caro, the "Mad Genius of Poker," has there been someone so devoted to live tells in poker. In this episode, he offers a trio of hands that really drives the point home.

Master Poker Tells highlights "74 Unique Poker Tells Most Elite Players Still Don't Recognize." They have been validated as universal tells across six categories:

10 Check Tells
20 Betting Tells
13 Eye Tells
10 Verbal Tells
11 Body Language Tells
10 All-In Tells

Click here to learn more about Master Poker Tells!

Be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.

A new PokerNews Podcast drops four times a week in July! You can expect a new episode every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!

Click here to listen to the new PN Podcast!

Jul 26, 2026

It's Time! Summer Poker Open Championship Begins as Almighty Stack Returns for Day 2

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Calum Grant

IT'S TIIIIIME!

The $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship gets underway at 12:15 p.m. today as players begin their pursuit of the festival's biggest title. With a $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool and three starting flights on the schedule, Day 1A marks the opening chapter of the Borgata Summer Poker Open's marquee event.

Before that, though, there's unfinished business in the $500 Almighty Stack.

A massive 2,189 entries packed the field across six starting flights, with 279 players returning for Day 2 at noon. Leading the way is Will Failla, the WPT champion bagged the biggest stack of the tournament and will be looking to turn that advantage into a major Borgata title.

Mixed-game players also have the $500 H.O.E. on the schedule, while anyone still hoping to earn a seat in the Championship can take their shot in the $320 Mega Summer Poker Open Championship Qualifier, where one in every ten entrants will win a seat and 10 seats are guaranteed. The afternoon also features the $550 $5K Re-Up Survivor, before the day wraps up with the $250 Sunday Night Turbo.

Sunday's Schedule

Time	Buy-in	Event	Guarantee
12:00 p.m.	Borgata Almighty Stack Day 2	—	$750,000
12:15 p.m.	$2,700	Summer Poker Open Championship Day 1A	$1,000,000
1:15 p.m.	$500	H.O.E.	$15,000
1:15 p.m.	$320	Mega Summer Poker Open Championship Qualifier (1 in 10)	10 Seats Guaranteed
4:15 p.m.	$550	$5K Re-Up Survivor	$50,000
7:15 p.m.	$250	Sunday Night Turbo	—

Tags: Will Failla

Jul 25, 2026

Late Reg About to End in Day 1f

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David Salituro

As the players bagged up on Day 1e, the sixth and final starting flight was nearing the end of late registration with a few minutes left in Level 12.

The tournament clock currently shows 324 entries, bringing the total field up to 2,189.

Jul 25, 2026

Failla Finishes Atop the Leaderboard, But He's Lamenting the Chips He Didn't Earn

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David Salituro

Will Failla bagged up 3,300,000 to end Day 1e, but he still wasn't satisfied. "I should have 4 million," he said as he recounted a hand he played against Lingyu Zen.

According to Failla, he opened to 65,000 before Zen three-bet to 200,000. Failla called, and the flop came eight-high with two spades. Both players checked, and a second three came on the turn. Failla then bet 200,000, and Zen called.

The river was a queen and Failla bet 500,000. Zen called and turned over two kings, but Failla had two aces. "I almost threw up," Failla said as he took the pot which could've been a lot bigger.

Tags: Lingyu Zen Will Failla

Jul 25, 2026

Gjini, Sprague Help Burst the Bubble

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David Salituro

Dhaval Joshi moved all in for 170,000 from the cutoff. "Jig is up," Pashk Gjini said as he called in the big blind.

Dhaval Joshi: 10♦9♥ All in
Pashk Gjini: K♣K♥

Gjini had woken up with kings to leave Joshi at risk. The 10♣8♣5♣ flop gave Joshi top pair, but he improved no further on the Q♥ turn and 7♥ river and was sent to the rail.

At the same time at another table, a player in the small blind shoved for 180,000 and as up against Jackson Sprague on the button.

All-In Player: A♥7♣ All in
Jackson Sprague: K♥Q♦

Sprague hit top pair on the Q♥J♣3♣ flop, and the at-risk player couldn't catch up on the 5♠ turn or K♦ river as Sprague finished with two pair.

The remaining 81 players are bagging up their chips for the night. Will Failla appears to be the chip leader, and official chip counts should be available later tonight.

Tags: Dhaval Joshi Jackson Sprague Will Failla Pashk Gjini

Jul 25, 2026

Sewell Finds a Set in Three-Way All In

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David Salituro

Andrae Sewell moved all in for 462,000 from the cutoff and was called by Ben Beahm in the big blind and another opponent in early position. Beahm then moved all in for 225,000 on the 10♥Q♣4♥ flop, and the early-position player called.

Andrae Sewell: 10♠10♣ All in
Ben Beahm: K♣K♦ All in
Opponent: A♣8♠

Beahm showed two kings, but Sewell had spiked a set on the flop to take the lead. The board ran out 2♣8♣ and Sewell tripled up to 1,300,000, while Beahm took the side pot and was left with around 450,000.

Tags: Andrae Sewell Ben Beahm Big Blind