Wesley Shi raised to 1,000 under the gun and Joel Mitchell called in middle position. Michael Greifinger then moved all in for 25,100 on the button, and Shi reshoved. Mitchell went into the tank for a minute, but he eventually got out of the way. "Do you have jacks?" Shi asked as they turned over their cards.
Michael Greifinger: A♣K♥
Wesley Shi: Q♥Q♣
"I wish I had jacks," Greifinger replied after the flop came J♥J♦2♠, and he caught the K♠ on the turn to take the lead. The river was the 8♦ and he doubled up.
Will Failla and Michael Dentale have both joined the field.
Stanton Tentnowski raised to 700 and was called by Jason Seller. Pal Zagreda then three-bet to 2,800 one seat over and Tentnowski moved all-in with his shorter stack. Seller got out of the way and Zagreda called.
Stanton Tentnowski: A♥K♣
Pal Zagreda: 10♥10♣
The classic flip went to Tentnowski thanks to the K♦Q♠9♦2♣7♣ board and he doubled for 14,700. Zagreda was left with around 4,000 and busted shortly after to become the first casualty on Day 1b.
In a battle between the blinds, Laura Church led out for 2,000 on a board of 8♠K♥2♣Q♠ before Edward Szumski raised to 11,000. Church then moved all in for 22,900, and Szumski called.
Szumski showed K♣Q♣ for top two pair, but Church had flopped a set with 8♣8♥. The river was the 9♥ and Church doubled up.
Thomas Cullis raised to 900 under the gun before an opponent in the hijack three-bet to 2,800. Cullis called, and they went heads-up to the Q♠2♠3♦ flop.
The hijack then bet 1,500, and Cullis called. The 8♣ fell on the turn, and the hijack bet another 6,000. Cullis again called.
The river was the 7♥ and the hijack moved all in. Cullis snap-called for 23,300 and turned over 7♠7♦ for a rivered set, and his opponent tossed A♠6♠ into the muck as he handed over the double up.
Thomas Cullis and an opponent built a pot of around 6,000 as they went to the turn with the board showing Q♦Q♠J♠6♦. The middle-position player then bet 3,000, and Cullis moved all in for 14,000 from early position. His opponent called.
Cullis showed A♥K♥ for a straight draw, while his opponent had 9♠9♥. Cullis needed to improve to stay alive, and he spiked the A♣ on the river to make two pair and double up.
"I am asking if he you checked," Laura Church inquired when a massive pot of more than 26,000 had emerged to the 7♠5♣3♦Q♠9♥ river. Wesley Shi confirmed that and Church tabled her 8♥8♠ for a pair of eights.
Shi had that beat with the K♣9♣ for a rivered pair of nines and that left Church flabbergasted.
One hand later, Shi raised the button to 700 and was called by both players in the blinds. They checked down to the K♠J♥7♦A♣9♠ river on which Joel Mitchell checked. Tanupat Punjarojanakul bet 500 and forced two folds.
Joseph Foote raised to 800 in the cutoff and the button called. Eun Joo, who had only just taken her seat, then three-bet to 2,500 in the big blind, and both opponents called.
Joo checked the A♠10♣3♦ flop and Foote bet 3,500. The button called, while Joo then raised to 13,000. Foote and the button quickly folded, and Joo showed A♦K♣ as she took her first pot.
"She sits down in the big blind and is like, 'What's the starting stack? What's the big blind?" another tablemate joked.
"I'm new to poker. I don't even know what ace-king is. I just think it looks nice," Joo replied.
A player under the gun raised to 600 under the gun and the button called. Coleem Chestnut then three-bet to 3,000 in the small blind, and the under-the-gun player four-bet to 7,600.
The button got out of the way, but Chestnut then moved all in. His opponent tanked for a minute, but he eventually gave up his hand.
Nick Palma and Tanupat Punjarojanakul recently joined the field early on Day 1b.
After nearly two weeks of action inside the Borgata poker room, players will continue to flock to Atlantic City for the grand finale of the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open, the $2,700 Championship Event.
The second of three opening flights begins today at 12:15 p.m. local time. A total of 89 players came out for the first flight yesterday, with 24 already securing their tickets for Day 2. Lewis Esposito ended up as chip leader with 425,500, followed by George St. Lawrence (288,000), Eric Starker (228,500), and Colin Moll (227,000). Vittorio Abbate, who won his seat in a charity event in New York, also ended up inside the top five with 226,000, while Darren Elias (79,000) and Brandon Mueller (74,000) were further down the counts.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
BB Day 2
1
Lewis Esposito
United States
425,500
170
2
George St. Lawrence
United States
288,000
115
3
Eric Starker
United States
228,500
91
4
Colin Moll
United States
227,000
91
5
Vittorio Abbate
United States
226,000
90
6
Xiaoqiong Liu
United States
221,500
89
7
Andrew Porter
United States
204,500
82
8
Gregory Bauer
United States
193,000
77
9
Emily Sun
United States
165,000
66
10
Jean Augustin
United States
162,000
65
A new crop of hopefuls will look to join them on Day 1b today. Players begin with a 40,000 starting stack and will play ten 60-minute levels today. There is a break after every two levels, and a 75-minute dinner break at the end of Level 6. Late registration remains open until the start of Day 2, with unlimited reentries allowed.
Remaining Event schedule
Date
Flight
Time
Levels
July 27
Day 1b
12:15 p.m.
60 minutes
July 28
Day 1c
12:15 p.m.
60 minutes
July 29
Day 2
12 p.m.
60 minutes
July 30
Day 3
12 p.m.
90 minutes
July 31
Day 4
12 p.m.
60 minutes
The third and final starting flight takes place tomorrow at 12:15. All surviving players then combine for Day 2 on Wednesday, July 29, at noon, when they'll battle to secure a piece of the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
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It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
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