button in SafariLarge Turnout Expected for Final Flight of the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open Championship
At noon local time, the conference room on the second floor of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City will be buzzing with poker enthusiasts from New York and New Jersey as the final starting flight of the 2026 Borgata $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship will be just a quarter of an hour away from kicking off.
The crown jewel of the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open comes with a $1 million guarantee and has thus far attracted a field of 245 entries across two starting flights. However, the third and final Day 1 is traditionally the strongest and local staff at Borgata expect more than 300 entries.
In the previous two flights, 67 players have bagged up chips and Lewis Esposito remains the overall chip leader with his massive stack of 425,500 from Day 1a. He is now followed by Coleem Chestnut (359,000) and John McDonald (324,500), who claimed the largest chip tallies last night. Whether or not anyone will be able to break into the overall top three spots remains to be seen.
Top 10 Chip Counts Across Day 1a and 1b
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | BB Day 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Esposito | United States | 425,500 | 170 |
| 2 | Coleem Chestnut | United States | 359,000 | 144 |
| 3 | John McDonald | United States | 324,500 | 130 |
| 4 | George St. Lawrence | United States | 288,000 | 115 |
| 5 | Corbin Avery | United States | 262,000 | 105 |
| 6 | Gregory Fishberg | United States | 256,500 | 103 |
| 7 | Samuel Ick | United States | 255,000 | 102 |
| 8 | Joel Mitchell | United States | 232,500 | 93 |
| 9 | Eric Starker | United States | 228,500 | 91 |
| 10 | Colin Moll | United States | 227,000 | 91 |
The plan for the day is identical with the previous two flights: A total of ten levels of sixty minutes each await with a 15-minute break every two levels and an extended 75-minute dinner break scheduled upon completion of level six.
Unlimited re-entries are available throughout the entire day with all players receiving 40,000 in chips. The action kicks off at initial blinds of 100-200 with a big blind ante of 200, which gives everyone 200 big blinds in the first level of play. However, don't be surprised if even such a deep-stacked affair will provide fireworks from the get-go.
Day 1c Structure
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | BB Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 200 | 200 |
| 2 | 200 | 300 | 300 |
| Break | 15 minutes | ||
| 3 | 200 | 400 | 400 |
| 4 | 300 | 500 | 500 |
| Break | 15 minutes | ||
| 5 | 300 | 600 | 600 |
| 6 | 400 | 800 | 800 |
| Dinner | 75 minutes | ||
| 7 | 500 | 1000 | 1,000 |
| 8 | 600 | 1200 | 1,200 |
| Break | 15 minutes | ||
| 9 | 1,000 | 1500 | 1,500 |
| 10 | 1,000 | 2000 | 2,000 |
All survivors from today will join the 67 players who bagged up chips in the previous two flights but the overall attendance figures won't be set in stone just yet. The late registration will remain open until the start of Day 2 on Wednesday, July 28, 2026 at noon local time. Recommencing blinds then will be 1,500-2,500 with a big blind ante of 2,500.
Four-time WPT Main Event champion Darren Elias is among those who have already qualified for Day 2 whereas fellow BetMGM ambassador Michael Lavin busted on Day 1b and will likely give it another shot, Esther Taylor is also expected to join the action along with many other notables from the local poker community. Perhaps, even 2026 WSOP Main Event finalist Michael Gagliano may also jump in as well but the chances of that are a toss of the coin.
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The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide all of the action until a winner has been crowned in a few days from now on July 31, 2026 and there will also be cards-up coverage on the BetMGM YouTube channel as of Day 2 as well.