$2,200 Mystery Bounty Event ($1,000,000 in Guaranteed Bounties)
Day 1 Started
The Return - A Borgata Championship Event
$2,200 Mystery Bounty Event ($1,000,000 in Guaranteed Bounties)
Day: 1a
The Return: A Borgata Championship Event Kicks Off With $2,200 Mystery Bounty
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.
Happy to be back at borgata. Eagerly waiting for a fan to come up to @dude904 and him tell them to go away and flic… https://t.co/KxQ7UDNAOG
— Adam Hendrix (@AdamHendrix10)
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.
Action About to Kick Off
Action is about to kick off as players continue to make their way to their seats.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 100
Shuffle Up and Deal
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
Cards are in the air and action is underway in Day 1a of $2,200 Mystery Bounty Event.
"End Boss" Elias Among Early Entrants
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
BetMGM ambassador and "End Boss" Darren Elias is among the 433 entrants in the Mystery Bounty event so far. Also in the field is 2022 GPI Player of the Year runner-up Adam Hendrix and New Jersey native Frank Funaro.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
35,000 | 35,000 |
|
35,000 | 35,000 |
|
35,000 | 35,000 |
Five Players to Watch in The Return: a Borgata Championship Event
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
Today, The Return: a Borgata Championship Event kicks off at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa at Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Running from January 2-8, The Return: A Borgata Championship Event features four action-packed tournaments, including a $3 million guaranteed Main Event that guarantees $1 million to the winner.
The Return is a $5,300 buy-in $3 million guaranteed No-Limit Hold'em event that features a brace of Day 1s. Day 1A shuffles up and deals at 11:00 a.m. on January 4 with Day 1B starting at the same time on January 5. Days 2 and 3 get underway at 11:00 a.m. on January 6 and January 7, respectively, with the final table commencing on January 8; the final table's starting time depends on when Day 3 concludes.
Before $3 million The Return, there is the Borgata's first-ever Mystery Bounty event. It costs $2,200 to enter, and guarantees at least $1 million worth of mystery bounties. Rounding off the week-long series are a $2,100 buy-in Bounty Event where you receive $1,000 for every opponent you send to the showers, and a $1,100 Super Survivors tournament where one in ten will walk away with $10,000.
PokerNews' live reporting team will be on the ground throughout the series, bringing you all of the action as it happens. Our team is providing updates on the $2,200 Mystery Bounty, the $2,100 Borgata Bounty, and, of course, the $3 million guaranteed The Return Main Event.
Here are five players, in no particular order, to keep an eye on during The Return!
Al-Keliddar Gets a Double Check-Raise Through
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
WSOP bracelet winner Yaser Al-Keliddar was in the big blind in a heads-up pot against Naftali Rosenberg in the cutoff on a flop of 
.
Al-Keliddar checked on the flop and Rosenberg bet 500. Al-Keliddar check-raised to 2,100 and Rosenberg called. Al-Keliddar then checked on the 
turn and his opponent checked back.
Al-Keliddar checked again on the 
river and Rosenberg bet 1,800. Al-Keliddar once again check-raised, this time to 9,000, and his opponent laid it down.
"Nice hand — nice bluff," said Rosenberg. "I should have just checked back."
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
40,000 | 40,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
Foxen Takes a Seat
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
East Coast native Alex Foxen has taken a seat in the Mystery Bounty event as the high stakes pro looks to add to his $27 million in live earnings.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
35,000 |
Update Your Own Chip Count Using the PokerNews MyStack App!
Level 1
: Blinds 100/100, 100 ante
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.