The Return - A Borgata Championship Event

$2,200 Mystery Bounty Event ($1,000,000 in Guaranteed Bounties)
Day: 1a
Event Info

The Return - A Borgata Championship Event

Event Info
Buy-in
$2,200
Prize Pool
$2,670,340
Entries
1,361
Players Left
9
Average Chip Stack
5,292,778
Total Chips
47,635,000
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
160,000
Players Info - Day 1a
Entries
807
Players Left
277

Romero Bags Big in Day 1a of $2,200 Mystery Bounty Event

Level 12 : Blinds 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
James Romero
James Romero

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.

Alex Foxen
Alex Foxen

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.

Tags: Adam HendrixAlex FoxenDavid JacksonFrank BlandJames RomeroKristen FoxenRyan Depaulo

Anderson Gets Queens to Fold

Level 11 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Francis Anderson
Francis Anderson

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 {q-Spades}{q-Diamonds} face-up.

Anderson claimed after the hand that he had ace-king offsuit.

Player Chips Progress
Francis Anderson us
Francis Anderson
115,000 40,000

Tags: Francis Anderson

Weissman Gets Paid With a Set

Level 11 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Joey Weissman
Joey Weissman

Joey Weissman was out of position in a heads-up pot and got to the river with the board reading {6-Spades}{3-Diamonds}{10-Hearts}{9-Hearts}{a-Hearts}.

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 {10-Spades}{10-Clubs} for a set of tens.

"I had better than an ace," she said as she tossed her cards to the dealer.

Player Chips Progress
Joey Weissman us
Joey Weissman
WSOP 1X Winner
100,000 55,000

Tags: Joey Weissman

Pickell Rising

Level 10 : Blinds 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Lisa Pickell
Lisa Pickell

Lisa Pickell opened to 3,400 from the hijack and the button three-bet to 10,000. Pickell called.

Pickell checked on the flop of {a-Hearts}{8-Hearts}{8-Clubs} and her opponent bet 5,500. Pickell called. Pickell checked again on the {5-Spades} turn and her opponent checked back.

The {4-Diamonds} river completed the board and Pickell led out for 10,500. Her opponent quickly folded {q-Hearts}{q-Clubs} face-up.

Player Chips Progress
Lisa Pickell us
Lisa Pickell
170,000

Tags: Lisa Pickell

Elias Takes Two Pots

Level 7 : Blinds 400/800, 800 ante
Darren Elias
Darren Elias

Darren Elias was in position in a heads-up pot on a board of {9-Hearts}{7-Diamonds}{j-Hearts}{4-Clubs}.

The opponent checked on the turn and Elias bet 6,500. The opponent called. The opponent checked again on the {q-Hearts} turn and Elias bet 14,000. The opponent called, only to muck when Elias showed {10-Hearts}{8-Diamonds} for a straight.

"Luck box!" joked table mate Renata Colache.

The next hand, Elias opened to 1,800 and was called by Ren Lin in the big blind.

Lin checked on the flop of {a-Clubs}{q-Spades}{4-Spades} and Elias bet 1,500. Lin called. Lin checked again on the {4-Clubs} turn and Elias checked back. Lin checked a third time on the {6-Clubs} river and Elias bet 5,500.

"I don't believe you. Happy New Year," Lin said as he tossed in a call.

Elias tabled {k-Clubs}{k-Spades} for a pair of kings and it was good to win the pot.

"King-king?? Ugh... You're not scared (of the board)?" asked Lin.

Player Chips Progress
Darren Elias us
Darren Elias
60,000 24,000
Ren Lin cn
Ren Lin
28,000 3,000

Tags: Darren EliasRen LinRenata Colache

Back-to-Back Pots for Al-Keliddar

Level 3 : Blinds 200/300, 300 ante
Yaser Al-Keliddar
Yaser Al-Keliddar

Patrick Dalton opened to 900 from under the gun and Yaser Al-Keliddar three-bet to 3,100 in middle position. Naftali Rosenberg flat-called in the small blind and Dalton folded.

Rosenberg checked on the flop of {2-Hearts}{4-Clubs}{a-Diamonds} and Al-Keliddar continued for 3,500. Rosenberg laid it down.

The next hand, Al-Keliddar opened to 700 and got two callers, including Dalton in the big blind. Al-Keliddar bet 1,000 on the flop of {3-Diamonds}{q-Hearts}{8-Spades} and both opponents folded.

Player Chips Progress
Yaser Al-Keliddar us
Yaser Al-Keliddar
WSOP 1X Winner
40,000
Naftali Rosenberg us
Naftali Rosenberg
35,000 5,000
Patrick Dalton us
Patrick Dalton
32,000 32,000

Tags: Naftali RosenbergPatrick DaltonYaser Al-Keliddar

"Never Fold" Lin Leads Turn

Level 2 : Blinds 100/200, 200 ante
Ren Lin
Ren Lin

The hijack opened to 600 and a player called behind before Ren Lin also called in the big blind.

"Never fold!" Lin said as he tossed in his chips.

The flop landed {6-Diamonds}{6-Clubs}{j-Hearts} and Lin checked. The hijack bet 1,100 and only Lin called. "NEVER FOLD!" Lin repeated.

The turn brought the {4-Diamonds} and Lin led out for 3,500. His opponent laid it down.

As he placed out his small blind for the next hand, Lin joked to his table mates that "this is a straddle table."

Foxen Falls to Better Full House

Level 2 : Blinds 100/200, 200 ante
Alex Foxen
Alex Foxen

Just as quickly as he entered the tournament, Alex Foxen was eliminated.

As relayed to PokerNews by the table, Foxen opened to 500 and received two callers, including Frank Bland. Foxen bet 500 on the flop of {6-}{6-}{2-} and only Bland called.

Foxen sized up to 3,000 on the {7-} turn and Bland again called. The {2-} river completed the board and Foxen bet 10,000. Bland moved all in and Foxen called with a smaller stack.

Bland showed {7-}{7-} for sevens full of deuces, while Foxen showed an inferior full house with {a-Clubs}{6-Clubs} for sixes full of deuces.

Foxen quickly bought back into the event and sat down with a fresh starting stack of 35,000.

Player Chips Progress
Frank Bland us
Frank Bland
75,000 75,000
Alex Foxen us
Alex Foxen
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
35,000

Tags: Alex FoxenFrank Bland

Update Your Own Chip Count Using the PokerNews MyStack App!

Level 1 : Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
MyStack
MyStack

PokerNews has activated the MyStack App for this event, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting blog using your iPhone or Android phone.

You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.

Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.

The Return: A Borgata Championship Event Kicks Off With $2,200 Mystery Bounty

Chips, Cards, Branding
Chips, Cards, Branding

The new year is kicking off in style in Atlantic City with The Return: A Borgata Championship Event, which commences today with Day 1a of $2,200 NLHE Mystery Bounty at 11 a.m. local time.

The Return festival, running Jan. 2-8, features four tournaments including a $3 million guaranteed Main Event that promises $1 million to the eventual champion. But before that, the two-day $2,200 NLHE Mystery Bounty event promises $1 million in bounties for players who eliminate opponents.

The tournament series at Borgata is expected to attract many top grinders looking to ring in the new year with a big score or bounty pull.

Players will begin the Mystery Bounty event with a starting stack of 35,000 chips and blind levels of 100/100/100. The first eight levels will last 30 minutes in duration and will increase to 40 minutes on Level 9. Once players reach the money, the level length will increase to 50 minutes.

There will be 15-minute breaks after levels 4, 8 and 11 on Day 1 and every three levels on Day 2, which will also feature a dinner break.

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.

Day 1a will end after Level 12 or hard stop at 150 players. Day 1b will kick off later tonight at 7 p.m. and will follow the same structure.

Stay tuned as PokerNews live reporting team is here on-site in Atlantic City and ready to bring you updates on the exciting action at The Return: A Borgata Championship.

Tags: Borgata