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2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open
Daily Tournament Highlights
Day: live
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The shuffle up and deal has taken place, and the 92 initial entries are looking to punch their ticket to Day 2 as cards are in the air.
Welcome back to PokerNews' live coverage of the Borgata Summer Poker Open at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.
The festival got off to a busy start on Thursday as the first two flights of the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off played out. By the end of the night, 47 players had secured their seats in Day 2.
Defending champion James Lauer picked up where he left off last summer, finishing as the overall chip leader after bagging 1,140,000 on Day 1a. Robert Elias wasn't far behind after Day 1b with 955,000, while Steven Petitte rounded out the top three overall with 930,000.
We'll have a full recap of yesterday's action a little later today, but for now the focus shifts to another packed Friday schedule.
Players have two more chances to qualify for Day 2 in the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off, with Day 1c getting underway at 11:15 a.m. and Day 1d following at 5:15 p.m. Both flights feed into the tournament's $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
| Date | Time | Day | Buy-In | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Jul 17 | 11:15 a.m. | Day 1C | $600 | Deep Stack Kick Off |
| Fri, Jul 17 | 3:15 p.m. | — | $650 | The "One Shot" Freezeout |
| 17-7 | 5:15 p.m. | Day 1D | $600 | Deep Stack Kick Off |
| Fri, Jul 17 | 7:15 p.m. | — | $250 | Friday Night Super Deep Frenzy |
There's also plenty of side-event action, including the $650 One Shot Freezeout at 3:15 p.m., which features a $25,000 guaranteed prize pool, before the $250 Friday Night Super Deep Frenzy closes out the day's schedule at 7:15 p.m.
With the money bubble burst in Day 1a of the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off, the PokerNews highlight blog is wrapping up for the evening.
We'll bring you the chip counts from both Day 1a and 1b when available, with a recap of the action. We'll also bring you the results from the side events taking place in the morning.
For players looking to see the photos from today, head to the gallery tab or to the photo shelter album.
Until then, goodnight!
The PokerNews live reporting for this event will officially begin on Sunday, which marks Day 2 of the tournament.
After a series of short stack double ups on the stone bubble, Hector Santucci jammed for 63,000 from the button. Bijay Lama reshoved as the bigger stack from the small blind and Dhesikan Ananchaperumal folded in the big blind for the cards to go on their backs.
Hector Santucci: A♣K♦
Bijay Lama: 5♥5♦
Santucci needed to hit to take the lead but whiffed on the Q♥8♦4♥ flop, with the 8♥ turn bringing in some counterfeit outs. Any ace, king or queen would give Santucci the checkmark, but the 7♠ river ensured he was the last player to leave empty-handed.
The 48 remaining players are now playing until 31 players remain. Once that figure is hit, Day 1a will close.
The blinds were 4,000/8,000, and after the A♠ was exposed during the deal, Andrew Torrico raised to 20,000 from the button. Defending champion James Lauer defended his big blind, then check-called a bet of 25,000 on the A♦8♦4♥ flop.
The 7♣ landed on the turn, and after Lauer checked again, Torrico fired 37,000, leaving himself around 155,000 behind. Lauer responded by moving all in, putting Torrico to the test for his tournament life.
"I'm ahead," Torrico groaned as he slipped deep into the tank.
While he wrestled with the decision for more than five minutes, the soft bubble burst on a neighboring table.
George St. Lawrence found himself in a dream spot three ways all in, holding A♦A♣ against 9♦9♣ and 8♥8♠. The board ran out 10♥K♣K♥7♠10♠, keeping his aces best and boosting him to around 335,000, while the player holding nines departed to set up the soft bubble.
Meanwhile, Torrico was still thinking. Eventually, he called the clock on himself, but failed to act before his 30 seconds expired and his hand was ruled dead.
Lauer immediately tabled 10♣10♠, prompting Torrico to reveal he had folded an ace.
On the very next hand, Nick Steen — the dealer who kick-started his bankroll by hitting a bad beat jackpot — moved all in for 31,000. Lauer made the call.
Lauer tabled 9♠8♠ and found himself flipping against Steen's K♣J♣. Steen paired his king on the K♠10♥4♦3♣5♠ runout to secure the double-up and keep his tournament hopes alive.
The remaining 55 players have been sent on a break, with the action now on the soft bubble. The 48 players will lock up a cash.
As it stands, Leo Saiag has the biggest stack in the room with 760,000, while James Lauer is the only other player to hit the 700,000 milestone. James Lillis is not far from the leading back, and is the third biggest stack in Day 1a with 620,000.
The button limped in before Khalee Ward moved all in for 114,000 from the small blind. The big blind got out of the way, and after some thought, the button called as the bigger stack.
Khalee Ward: A♣K♥
Button: K♠J♠
Ward was in great shape when the cards were turned over, and remained ahead after the Q♠9♦2♥ flop and held out to get the pot following the 7♥ turn and Q♥ river.
Should Ward make the money, it will be his 74th recorded live cash according to The Hendon Mob.
- Borgata Summer Poker Open is Off and Running
- $600 Deep Stack Kick Off Guarantee Boosted to $1 Million
- Three-Way Cooler Kicks Opens First Day of Borgata Summer Poker Open
- O'Rourke Crushes Kings with Fives
- Borgata Summer Poker Open Shares Livestream Schedule
- How to Qualify for the Borgata Summer Poker Open for Less
- Dealer Using Bad Beat Jackpot to Take On Borgata Summer Poker Open
- Lillis Finds a Heater
- Defending Champ Lauer is Among the Big Stacks
