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Event #1: $3,000 PokerGO Cup Showcase
Day 1a Completed
2026 PokerGO Cup
Event #1: $3,000 PokerGO Cup Showcase
Day: 1a
Event Info
2026 PokerGO Cup
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Buy-in
$3,000
Prize Pool
$645,000
Total Entries
215
Level
28
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
54
Players Left
8
Players Left 1 / 215
Filter
Level 15
: Blinds 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
The first starting flight of the opening event of the 2026 PokerGO Cup in Las Vegas took place today and saw eight players bagging.
Event #1: $3,000 PokerGO Cup Showcase, the lowest buy-in offering of the prestigious series, drew 54 runners in the first starting flight, including top poker pros like Sean Winter and Anthony Zinno, as well as up-and-coming qualifiers looking to make their mark in the PokerGO Studio.
One of those qualifiers was Adam Bonilla, a daily tournament regular with under $20,000 in live earnings who bagged the Day 1a chip lead over Winter, Zinno and other poker pros including Samuel Laskowitz, Mitchell Halverson and Victoria Livschitz.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Bonilla | United States | 1,765,000 | 71 |
| 2 | Mitchell Halverson | United States | 1,230,000 | 49 |
| 3 | Kai Nicholls | Australia | 965,000 | 39 |
| 4 | Michael Berk | United States | 650,000 | 26 |
| 5 | Anthony Zinno | United States | 570,000 | 23 |
| 6 | Victoria Livschitz | United States | 555,000 | 22 |
| 7 | Samuel Laskowitz | United States | 525,000 | 21 |
| 8 | Sean Winter | United States | 490,000 | 20 |
Nicholls Runs Over Opponents
Shakespeare's Hamlet is one of the most famous tragedies in the history of literature, and Brandon Hamlet's exit in the PokerGO Studio four centuries later was just as tragic.
The New York grinder got his chips in with aces against the queens of Kai Nicholls, who flopped queens full to put a tough beat on Hamlet.
It wasn't Nicholls' first casualty. The Australian entertained the table earlier in the day by telling the story of when he hit two wild boars while driving in the Czech Republic before fleeing the scene and being detained for three hours at the German border.
Unlike on the Czech roads, Nicholls, who held the chip lead for part of the evening, was able to dodge obstacles on Day 1a. He correctly folded kings toward the end of the night in a heads-up pot against Bonilla, who used some table talk to persuade his opponent to fold as he protected his pocket aces from a two-outer.
Other casualties in the Showcase event included PokerGO founder Cary Katz and longtime pros Shannon Shorr, Jonathan Little and Justin Zaki, who was eliminated on the soft bubble after several orbits of nursing a micro stack.
Shortly after, 2025 WSOP Main Event finalist Adam Hendrix fell on the money bubble as his pocket nines were stone pipped by the pocket tens of Halverson, who launched to second in chips after winning the pot.
There is another starting flight left to play in the Showcase event, which will kick off on Monday at noon local time. Day 1b will follow the same structure as the first starting flight, with starting stacks of 125,000 and blinds of 500/1,000/1,000.
Levels will once again be 30 minutes in duration with short breaks every four levels.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on site on Monday for continued coverage of the PokerGO Cup in Las Vegas. Check out the live reporting portal in the meantime.
*Photos courtesy of PokerGO and Antonio Abrego
Level 15
: 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
Day 1a has ended with eight players remaining and Adam Bonilla lead the way.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's action.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,765,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
||
|
1,230,000 | |
|
965,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
|
650,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
570,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
||
|
555,000
195,000
|
195,000 |
|
525,000
575,000
|
575,000 |
|
490,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
Level 15
: 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
Adam Hendrix opened to 200,000 for most of his stack and called off as Mitchell Halverson three-bet in the small blind.
Adam Hendrix: 9x9x
Mitchell Halverson: 10x10x
Hendrix was pipped and couldn't spike a two-outer as the board ran out blank to mark his elimination on the money bubble of Day 1a.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,230,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 15
: Blinds 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
The two chip leaders played a massive pot on the money bubble and Kai Nicholls got away unscathed despite having a massive holding.
On a flop of 9♣4♠2♣, Nicholls and Adam Bonilla exchanged bets with Nicholls committing around 200,000 from his stack. Bonilla then raised all in to send Nicholls deep into the tank for his remaining stack of around 900,000.
"Tough spot," said Bonilla. "I think I know what you have."
"You can't have it again!" cried Nicholls as he used five time banks with other players crowding around.
Nicholls eventually folded, leading Bonilla to flash aces. Nicholls then quickly retrieved his hand from the dealer and showed that he found the fold with pocket kings.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,800,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
900,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 15,000/25,000
Ante: 25,000
Level 14
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Michael Berk opened from under the gun and Anthony Zinno three-bet to 200,000 on the button as Timothy Capretta four-bet shoved in the big blind. Berk folded and Zinno called with a bigger stack.
Timothy Capretta: A♣A♠ 
Anthony Zinno: K♣Q♣
Capretta had picked up aces at the right time, but the dealer had other plans as the board ran out Q♥5♦4♦8♦Q♦ as Zinno rivered trips to send Capretta out on the soft money bubble.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
700,000
425,000
|
425,000 |
|
|
600,000
275,000
|
275,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 14
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Victoria Livschitz open-jammed a stack of around 280,000 from under the gun as Justin Zaki was forced all in from the big blind.
Justin Zaki: A♥3♣
Victoria Livschitz: 9♥9♦
Zaki couldn't pull ahead as the board ran out Q♦4♥10♣9♣5♣ to mark his elimination.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
360,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 14
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
In a heads-up pot on a flop of 6♦3♣9♠, Anthony Zinno checked and Mitchell Halverson bet 55,000.
Zinno check-raised to 150,000 and Halverson slid out a three-bet to 240,000 to bring a quick fold from the five-time bracelet winner.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,100,000
550,000
|
550,000 |
|
|
325,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
|
|
||
Level 14
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Timothy Capretta was all in from the small blind against Michael Berk in the big blind, who had him covered.
Timothy Capretta: Q♠10♣
Michael Berk: K♦Q♥
Capretta was dominated but the board proceeded to run out 7♣Q♦8♣5♠10♦ as he spiked a ten on the river to double up on the soft money bubble.
At the other table, Justin Zaki quadrupled up his single chip to also stay alive as he flopped a full house.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
550,000
125,000
|
125,000 |
|
|
275,000
425,000
|
425,000 |
|
|
20,000
430,000
|
430,000 |
