$2,200 Mystery Bounty Event ($1,000,000 in Guaranteed Bounties)
Day 1 Completed
The Return - A Borgata Championship Event
$2,200 Mystery Bounty Event ($1,000,000 in Guaranteed Bounties)
Day: 1a
Romero Bags Big in Day 1a of $2,200 Mystery Bounty Event
Level 12
: Blinds 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Day 1a of the $2,200 Mystery Bounty Event as part of The Return - A Borgata Championship Event wrapped up after 12 levels of play and saw James Romero bagging the chip lead with a stack of 377,300 chips.
Day 1a began with 807 runners and saw 277 making it to bag-and-tag time, including plenty of well-knowns like poker vlogger Ryan Depaulo (189,300), 2022 GPI Player of the Year Stephen Song (54,100) and runner-up Adam Hendrix (99,900) and two-time bracelet winner David Jackson (22,700).
Romero, an Oregonian with $5.6 million in Hendon Mob-reported earnings, will look for his next big score as he heads to Day 2.
Day 1a saw plenty of action and big hands during the exciting return to the luxurious Atlantic City casino. Early in the day, high-stakes pro Alex Foxen took a tough beat when he busted with a full house against the better full house of Frank Bland. Foxen wasted no time buying back into the event and managed to bag a stack of 32,900.
Foxen's other half, three-time bracelet winner Kristen Foxen, also survived to see Day 2 with a stack of 42,900 chips.
The Day 1a and Day 1b survivors will combine on Day 2, which will commence on Jan. 3 at noon local time and will play down to a winner.
Mystery Bounties will start at 300 players and the minimum Mystery Bounty prize will be $500. Additional prizes include 20 prizes of $1,000, 24 prizes of $2,500, 11 prizes of $5,000, 5 prizes of $10,000, 4 prizes of $25,000, 3 prizes of $50,000, 2 prizes of $100,000 and a Grand prize of $250,000.
$1,000 of each buy-in will go to the bounty pool. Once all Mystery Bounties are fulfilled, all funds collected as player buy-in will be dedicated to the prize pool.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on-site tomorrow to see a winner crowned in $2,200 Mystery Bounty Event. Check out Day 1b coverage in the meantime.
Assorted End of Day 1a Chip Counts
Level 12
: Blinds 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
377,300 | 77,300 |
|
189,300 | 74,300 |
|
132,000 | 52,000 |
|
126,400 | |
|
99,900 | 62,900 |
|
82,400 | -92,600 |
|
42,900 | -27,100 |
|
33,200 | 12,200 |
|
22,700 | -32,300 |
Day 1a Has Ended
Level 12
: Blinds 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Day 1a has wrapped up after 12 levels of play. Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's events.
Two More Hands
Level 12
: Blinds 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
The tournament director has announced two more hands before players will bag and tag.
Patel Good at Showdown Against Depaulo
Level 12
: Blinds 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Hitesh Patel opened in early position and a player called in between before Ryan Depaulo three-bet to 15,000 on the button. Patel called and the other player folded.
Patel checked on the flop of 
and Depaulo bet 7,500. Patel called. Patel checked again on the 
turn and Depaulo checked back.
Patel checked a third time on the 
river and Depaulo checked back. Patel tabled 
for fives and aces.
"Three pair," Depaulo quipped before mucking his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
120,000 | 120,000 |
|
|
115,000 | 115,000 |
Level: 12
Blinds: 1,500/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Anderson Gets Queens to Fold
Level 11
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Francis Anderson opened to 4,500 in middle position and the cutoff three-bet to 10,000.
Action folded back around to Anderson and he four-bet jammed for around 100,000. To the surprise of the table, the cutoff, who had Anderson covered, quickly folded 
face-up.
Anderson claimed after the hand that he had ace-king offsuit.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
115,000 | 40,000 |
Romero Crosses 300K
Level 11
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
300,000 | |
|
175,000 | -35,000 |
|
|
175,000 | 5,000 |
|
|
80,000 | |
|
80,000 | 45,000 |
|
|
75,000 | 45,000 |
|
|
70,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
55,000 | 30,000 |
|
32,000 | 10,000 |
|
|
21,000 | -6,000 |
|
11,000 |
Weissman Gets Paid With a Set
Level 11
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Joey Weissman was out of position in a heads-up pot and got to the river with the board reading 
.
With around 30,000 already in the pot, Weissman bet 21,000. His opponent thought for about a minute and called, only to muck when Weissman showed 
for a set of tens.
"I had better than an ace," she said as she tossed her cards to the dealer.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
100,000 | 55,000 |