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2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open
Daily Tournament Highlights
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The Potomac Summer Poker Open is back at MGM National Harbor from August 5-17, bringing 13 days of tournament action and more than $1.5 million in guaranteed prize pools across a 23-event schedule.
Powered by BetMGM Poker, the series has a collection of mixed-game offerings, bounty tournaments and a $3,000 Main Event, as players from across the Mid-Atlantic and beyond compete for trophies.
PokerNews will once again be on-site throughout the series, with live reporting beginning on Day 2 of the $600 NLH Opener on August 9, followed by Day 2 of the $500 Monumental Stack event. The team will then provide wall-to-wall live coverage of the $3,000 Main Event, which runs from August 14-17. There will also be a daily tournament highlights blog throughout the festival.
BetMGM Poker has announced Esther "E-Tay" Taylor as its newest ambassador, adding one of the game's most respected tournament regulars and top 20 women's all-time money listers to its growing roster of pros.
The leading online poker and sportsbook operator revealed that Taylor will represent BetMGM Poker across live streams, social media content, live tournament appearances, and promotional events, joining fellow ambassadors Darren Elias and Mike Lavin.
Taylor's path to becoming a sponsored poker professional is a remarkable one. Born in South Korea and found alone as an infant in a bus station before being adopted and raised in the United States, Taylor made history at the 2025 WSOP when she became the second woman in history to final table the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship.
The $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship has officially surpassed its $1 million guaranteed prize pool.
With 199 entries recorded so far in the final starting flight, the tournament has now attracted 444 total entries, generating a prize pool of $1,065,600 with registration still open until the start of Day 2.
The final starting flight is currently in Level 4. Once ten levels have been completed, the survivors will join those who advanced from the opening two flights for Wednesday's Day 2 restart, where the chase for the Summer Poker Open title and six-figure top prize will begin.
If you can't make it to Atlantic City, you won't have to miss the biggest moments from the Borgata Summer Poker Open powered by BetMGM Poker.
Throughout the festival, the BetMGM YouTube channel will be live with a packed schedule of final tables, feature-table coverage and cash games, bringing viewers all the action.
The livestream schedule kicks off on July 20 with the final table of the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off, before turning its attention to a mix of cash games and tournament action over the following week. The spotlight then shifts to the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship, with feature table coverage on Days 2 and 3 before the festival concludes with the final table on July 31.
| Date | Time | Stream |
|---|---|---|
| July 20 | Noon | $600 Deep Stack Kick Off Final Table |
| July 21 | TBA | Pot-Limit Omaha Cash Game |
| July 22 | TBA | RAF's Game |
| July 23 | TBA | Borgata Big Game |
| July 24 | Noon | $650 Super Deep 6-Max Final Table |
| July 25 | TBA | Signature $2/$5 Cash Game |
| July 27 | Noon | $500 Borgata Almighty Stack Final Table |
| July 29 | Noon | $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship Feature Table |
| July 30 | Noon | $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship Feature Table |
| July 31 | Noon | $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship Final Table |
Start times for the cash game streams will be confirmed closer to each broadcast. Players and fans can keep an eye on the Borgata Poker social media channels for the latest updates.
The final starting flight of the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship is approaching its first 15-minute break, with 133 entries already on the board.
A handful of players have made fast starts, with Zachery Tsachalis leading the way on 91,000 chips, closely followed by Lawrence Abrams (89,000) and Xiang Zou (68,000).
Several accomplished players are also beginning to build stacks. WPT champion Bin Weng has climbed to 54,000 after starting the day with the full 40,000-chip stack, while fellow WPT champion Aaron Mermelstein sits on 46,000. Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Frank Funaro is also in the mix with 40,000.
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $600 Deep Stack Kick Off | 2,390 | $1,242,800 | Derek Childress | $170,610 | $1,000,000 |
| $250 Monster Stack Turbo Nightly | 37 | $7,400 | Alex Ortiz Vazquez | $3,035 | — |
| $650 The "One Shot" Freezeout | 52 | $29,900 | Corrie Samuels | $9,000 | $25,000 |
| $250 Friday Night Super Deep Frenzy | 52 | $10,400 | Anonymous | $3,690 | — |
| $250 Double Board Bomb Pot PLO | 81 | $16,200 | Gordon Ernst | $4,840 | $10,000 |
| $350 Borgata Sunday Series | 522 | $151,380 | James Eddy | $20,000 | $100,000 |
| $500 Pot-Limit Big O | 84 | $35,700 | Danny Chang | $10,660 | $15,000 |
| $250 Sunday Night Turbo | 37 | $7,400 | David Piede | $3,035 | $5,000 |
| $365 Seniors Championship | 365 | $113,150 | David Golin | $11,565 | $50,000 |
| $650 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship | 197 | $112,290 | Brandon Mueller | $24,575 | $75,000 |
| $500 H.O.S.E. | 50 | $21,250 | Thomas Savitsky | $7,540 | $15,000 |
| $650 Super Deep 6-Max | 401 | $228,570 | Li Liang | $41,150 | $200,000 |
| $500 T.O.R.S.E. | 66 | $28,050 | Dongwuk Moon | $5,735 | $15,000 |
| $650 5 Card PLO | 44 | $25,080 | Matthew Cannuli | $9,390 | $20,000 |
| $250 Deep Stack Super Turbo | 41 | $8,200 | Zachary Feldman | $3,070 | $5,000 |
| $500 H.O.R.S.E. | 69 | $29,325 | Patrick McCarthy | $9,570 | $15,000 |
| $500 PLO/NLH | 31 | $15,000 | George Jannes | $4,185 | $15,000 |
| $250 Triple Green Chip Bounty | 57 | $7,125 | Ioannis Konstantinidis | $1,625 | $5,000 |
| $500 Borgata Almighty Stack | 2,209 | $927,780 | Baruch Fishman | $108,840 | $750,000 |
| $500 O.E. | 62 | $26,350 | Anton Grinkevich | $5,040 | $20,000 |
| $1,100 Mad Max (8 Max to 6 Max) | 35 | $35,000 | Erik Escobar | $13,110 | $25,000 |
| $250 Monster Stack Turbo Nightly | 42 | $8,400 | Umberto Salvati | $1,740 | — |
| $500 Stud Hi-Lo | 58 | $24,650 | Thomas Savitsky | $7,250 | $15,000 |
| $260 Ladies Championship | 107 | $21,935 | Kimberly Mercer | $5,755 | $15,000 |
| $250 Friday Night Super Deep Frenzy | 31 | $6,200 | Anonynmous | $2,300 | — |
| $500 Omaha Hi-Lo | 64 | $27,200 | Anthony Bellino | $7,425 | $15,000 |
| $260 Double Board Bomb Pot PLO | 56 | $11,200 | David Birnabaum | $3,975 | $10,000 |
| $500 H.O.E. | 33 | $15,000 | Patrick McCarthy | $6,010 | $15,000 |
| $250 Sunday Night Turbo | 34 | $6,800 | Richard Micewicz | $2,785 | $5,000 |
| $160 Bounty Ladder Shootout | 100 | $11,500 | Vincent Kustera | $2,625 | $10,000 |
The only side event to wrap up on Monday at the Borgata Summer Poker Open powered by BetMGM Poker was the $160 Bounty Ladder Shootout, where Vincent Kustera came out on top of a 100-entry field to claim the $2,625 first-place prize.
The tournament generated an $11,500 prize pool, comfortably surpassing its $10,000 guarantee. That continues a strong trend across the series, with all but two tournaments having now exceeded their advertised guarantees.
Kustera denied what would have been just the third female title of the festival, defeating Laura Hill and Maria Vicari, who finished second and third respectively. So far, only Kimberly Mercer, winner of the Ladies Championship, and Li Liang, champion of the Super Deep 6-Max, have lifted trophies for the women at this year's series.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vincent Kustera | $2,625 |
| 2 | Laura Hill | $1,650 |
| 3 | Maria Vicari | $1,235 |
| 4 | Jared Arnold | $920 |
| 5 | Justin Munoz | $655 |
| 6 | Lucas Vergara | $415 |
The final starting flight of the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship gets underway at 12:15 p.m.
The first two flights attracted 245 entries, with 67 players successfully navigating to Day 2. The field has already generated $588,000 in prize money, putting the tournament well over halfway to its $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool ahead of the final Day 1. With late registration remaining open until the start of Day 2, there's still plenty of time for the guarantee to be surpassed.
Also on today's schedule is the $650 Borgata Forty Bigs, featuring a $20,000 guarantee, before the $250 Deep Stack Super Turbo wraps up the evening's action.
| Time | Buy-in | Event | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:15 p.m. | $2,700 | Day 1C – Summer Poker Open Championship | $1,000,000 |
| 3:15 p.m. | $650 | Borgata Forty Bigs | $20,000 |
| 7:15 p.m. | $250 | Deep Stack Super Turbo | — |
