With the money bubble drawing ever closer in the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship, Esther "E-Tay" Taylor is the lone BetMGM Poker ambassador still in contention.
Taylor, who was announced as BetMGM Poker's newest ambassador just last month, is sitting on 163,000 chips as play continues in Level 14. She joined the operator's ambassador team alongside fellow pros Darren Elias, Michael Lavin, but both of her teammates were eliminated during the early stages of Day 2.
The five BetMGM Poker Qualfiers who made it through to Day 2 of the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship are all still in contention as Day 2 prepares to enter bubble play.
Each player secured their seat online for a fraction of the full buy-in. Four of the five qualified through $250 satellites, while James Tedrow booked his place for just $25, making him the lowest-cost qualifier. There are 99 players remaining, with the top 71 places paid.
Play is currently in Level 14 with blinds at 3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante.
| Player | Qualifier Cost | Current Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Austen Yueh | $250 | 143,000 |
| Emily Sun | $250 | 205,000 |
| John McDonald | $250 | 230,000 |
| Nicholas Funaro | $250 | 172,000 |
| James Tedrow | $25 | 215,000 |
McDonald recently dropped a small pot after calling a 23,000 river bet on a J♦9♦4♣3♠3♣ board. His opponent tabled J♥J♠ for a full house, prompting McDonald to send his cards into the muck.
Funaro also gave up some chips shortly after. He opened to 10,000 from the hijack and called a raise to 26,000 from the cutoff before check-folding to a 16,000 continuation bet on the K♥9♣2♥ flop.
Despite those minor setbacks, all five online qualifiers remain well in contention with just 28 eliminations needed before the payouts begin.
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Brandon Lulov picked up a title at the Borgata Summer Poker Open on Tuesday. The New Yorker topped the 49-entry field in the $650 Borgata Forty Bigs and captured the $9,600 first-place prize.
The top six players made the money, and took a share of the $25,650 prize pool.
Lulov defeated Nikole Lisovyy in heads-up play, with Russel Dunlevy rounding out the podium finishes.
Lulov is also looking to make the money in Day 2 of the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship, sitting on a stack of around 90,000.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Lulov | $9,600 |
| 2 | Nikole Lisovyy | $5,900 |
| 3 | Russel Dunlevy | $3,850 |
| 4 | Gary McCoy | $2,670 |
| 5 | Randy Hagen | $1,975 |
| 6 | Joseph Foote | $1,655 |
It's time for the first break of Day 2 in the Summer Poker Open Championship, and if you're just joining us, here are the highlights from the first two levels of the day:
The BetMGM Poker Ambassador Cash Game of the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open is in the books, and it was a profitable night for all three ambassadors.
Darren Elias finished as the biggest winner, banking $7,530, while Michael Lavin added $7,285 to his bankroll.
Esther Taylor rounded out the winners with a $6,415 profit after an eventful session that included an early double-board bomb pot cooler.
On the other side of the ledger, Dave Stefanski dropped $8,300, with Ben Duronio finishing down $8,005.
| Player | Stack | Session Result |
|---|---|---|
| Darren Elias | $17,220 | +$7,530 |
| Michael Lavin | $9,580 | +$7,285 |
| Esther Taylor | $19,140 | +$6,415 |
| Stanton Tentnowski | $14,200 | -$2,060 |
| Dave Stefanski | $8,405 | -$8,300 |
| Lucas Bernui | $4,755 | -$215 |
| Ben Duronio | $1,895 | -$8,005 |
| Aubrey Williams | — | -$2,650 |
The livestream action continues this afternoon, with coverage shifting to the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship.
Cards go in the air at 4:35 p.m. ET on the BetMGM Poker YouTube channel, where viewers can follow the Day 2 action alongside the live updates from the outer tables.
The $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship has grown even bigger on Day 2 after 14 late registrations pushed the final field to 565 entries, creating a $1,356,000 prize pool.
The event has comfortably surpassed its $1 million guarantee, with the official payout schedule set to be released later today.
While the field fell short of last year's 685 entries, which saw Olivier Busquet capture the title and $255,135 in first-place prize money, the 2026 edition has still delivered another impressive turnout.
The Championship is now playing in Level 11, with 171 players remaining.
The result also means that all but two tournaments at this year's Borgata Summer Poker Open have exceeded their advertised guarantees.
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