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Finalists Wanted in the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open Championship Event
At noon local time, the penultimate day of the 2026 Borgata $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship Event is set to recommence and 24 players out of 565 total entries return to their seats in the poker room of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City to battle for the largest slice of the B]$1,356,000 prize pool[/B].
During the final hands of last night, Ricky Guan took over the lead and will return with the largest tally of 2,145,000, but he is only five big blinds ahead of Nicholas Verderamo (2,035,000). The gap between third-placed Concetta Rinaldi (1,795,000) and Bin Weng (1,790,000) is even smaller and amounts to a single smallest chip denomination.
The top ten for Day 3 furthermore include Ricky Landais (1,010,000), Mike Dentale (1,000,000) and Gregory Bauer who likewise are separated by a mere fraction of a big blind.
Top Ten Chip Counts for Day 3
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ricky Guan | United States | 2,145,000 | 86 |
| 2 | Nicholas Verderamo | United States | 2,035,000 | 81 |
| 3 | Concetta Rinaldi | United States | 1,795,000 | 72 |
| 4 | Bin Weng | United States | 1,790,000 | 72 |
| 5 | Michael Renna | United States | 1,540,000 | 62 |
| 6 | Sean Ruane | United States | 1,130,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Joel Mitchell | United States | 1,060,000 | 42 |
| 8 | Ricky Landais | United States | 1,010,000 | 40 |
| 9 | Mike Dentale | United States | 1,000,000 | 40 |
| 10 | Gregory Bauer | United States | 995,000 | 40 |
Three women are still in the mix to potentially claim the top prize of $242,385 with Xiaoqiong Liu and Austen Yueh joining Rinaldi on the final three tables. Both have the exact same stack of 360,000, which is good enough for 14 big blinds when the action resumes.
Yueh and Liu gained their entry into the event in a $250 satellite on BetMGM Poker and that has also been the case for fellow BetMGM qualifier John McDonald (785,000), whereas James Tedrow (490,000) spent just $25 qualifier and made it through on a single bullet.
Day 3 is set to recommence with level 21, which contains blinds of 15,000-25,000 with a big blind ante of 25,000. The level duration increases to 90 minutes each and the goal for the penultimate day is reaching the final six players for tomorrow's grand finale.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (in USD) | Place | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $242,385 | 8 | $28,160 |
| 2 | $167,985 | 9 | $22,945 |
| 3 | $116,525 | 10-11 | $18,150 |
| 4 | $77,345 | 12-15 | $14,965 |
| 5 | $54,100 | 16-23 | $12,475 |
| 6 | $42,975 | 24 | $10,345 |
| 7 | $34,620 | Prize Pool | $1,356,000 |
All 24 players have locked up $10,345 for their efforts and the next pay jump will be secured at the very next elimination. With action clocks in play giving players 20 seconds to act preflop and 30 seconds thereafter, it shouldn't take long to whittle down the field either. The final nine will receive at least $22,945 and the first six-figure prize awaits for the final three players.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor from start to finish and you can also follow the cards-up coverage and commentary of the remaining two days on the BetMGM YouTube channel on a 30-minute delay.