2023 BetMGM Poker Championship

$3,500 Main Event
Day: 1b
1a1b234
Event Info

2023 BetMGM Poker Championship

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a♦a♣
Prize
$560,442
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,500
Prize Pool
$3,283,200
Entries
1,026
Level Info
Level
33
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
400,000
Players Info - Day 1b
Entries
541
Players Left
157
All Highlights Social
Sort
10 Show newer posts

Hallay Makes Interesting River Play

Calum Grant
Calum Grant
Level 4 : Blinds 300/500, 500 ante
Axel Hallay
Axel Hallay

With 3,800 in the middle on the K?K?5? flop, Axel Hallay checked in the cutoff, prompting the button to bet 1,200. Hallay made it 3,200 and was called.

Hallay continued for 6,000 on the Q? turn and again was called. On the Q? river, Hallay downsized to 2,000, which induced his opponent to make it 9,000. Hallay then jammed for 18,000 total and the button quickly folded.

Player Chips Progress
Axel Hallay fr
Axel Hallay 		53,500

Tags: Axel Hallay

Yue Liu Has a Big Heart

Kirk Brown
Kirk Brown
Level 4 : Blinds 300/500, 500 ante
Yue Liu
Yue Liu

On a heads-up turn of J?8?5?9?, Yue Liu bet 12,000 into the pot of 24,000 and Aleksei Istomin went into the tank for a bit before making the call.

The river then came the 8?, pairing the board, and both players decided to check and the cards were tabled.

Istomin flipped over 7?7? for a seven-high flush but Liu tabled A?6? for the nut flush to win the pot, boosting him to 90,000.

Player Chips Progress
Yue Liu cn
Yue Liu 		90,000
28,000
 28,000
Aleksei Istomin ru
Aleksei Istomin 		48,000

Tags: Aleksei IstominYue Liu

$2 Million Guarantee Already Hit

Calum Grant
Calum Grant
Level 2 : Blinds 200/300, 300 ante
BetMGM Poker Championship
BetMGM Poker Championship

With 219 entries in Day 1b already, an extra $700,800 has been added to the $1,552,000 collected yesterday.

The prize pool currently stands at $2,252,800, meaning the guarantee has already eclipsed early in the final starting flight.

There are another six levels of late registration, so the above figure will continue to get bigger and bigger as the day goes on.

Botez Finds Redemption with Role Reversal

Kirk Brown
Kirk Brown
Level 2 : Blinds 200/300, 300 ante
Alexandra Botez
Alexandra Botez

Alexandra Botez had made it 5,000 to go preflop when the player to her left raised her to 10,900. Botez then decided this was not quite enough and she quickly moved all in for around 35,000. Her opponent quickly made the call for less, putting himself at risk, and the cards were tabled.

Opponent: A?K?
Alexandra Botez: A?A?

Botez, who had busted her first bullet on the opposing side of this same situation, now found herself with upper hand and the 6?3?8?2?8? runout secured her victory in the big pot.

Player Chips Progress
Alexandra Botez ca
Alexandra Botez 		77,000
43,000
 43,000

Tags: Alexandra Botez

Misclick for Brannan Pays Off

Calum Grant
Calum Grant
Level 2 : Blinds 200/300, 300 ante
Frank Brannan
Frank Brannan

Frank Brannan, with a fresh starting stack, opened to 5,200 from early position, and the cutoff moved all in for 40,700. Action folded back to Brannan, who found himself in quite the spot.

He commented that he had made a misclick and added, "This is so sick. I have a hand."

After about a minute, Brannan called, and the cards were exposed.

Frank Brannan: 9?9?
Cutoff: A?K?

Brannan was ahead preflop but the cutoff spiked an ace on the A?6?4? flop to move in front. The cutoff's lead was shortlived as the 9? turn improved the Brannan to a set of nines, the J? completed the board, and Brannan doubled up.

Player Chips Progress
Frank Brannan us
Frank Brannan 		80,000
80,000
 80,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Frank Branman

Day 1b of BetMGM Main Event Kicks Off at Noon; Record Field Predicted

Kirk Brown
Kirk Brown
BetMGM Maim Event
BetMGM Maim Event

Welcome back for Day 1b of the 2023 BetMGM Poker Championship $3,500 Main Event at the beautiful ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

485 total entries fired in yesterday’s flight, including 63 of which qualified by playing online on BetMGM Poker and scoring a seat. This generated a prize pool of $1,552,000 which is well on the way to smashing the $2,000,000 guarantee for this event. As this is the final starting flight, it is projected to be the larger field, and there are still BetMGM qualifiers who have not entered the ring.

The chip stack to beat is now Jing Wang who bagged a massive 667,000 after hitting a huge hand in the last level of the night. Other notables who bagged include Jonathan Jaffe (213,000), Anuj Agarwal (453,500), and Stephen Song (285,000).

Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

PlaceNameCountryChipsBig Blinds
1Jing Wang 667,500267
2Anuj AgarwalUnited States453,500181
3Paul GunnessUnited States362,000145
4Leo TaffeUnited States350,500140
5Brett BassockUnited States329,000132
6Ivan GalinecCroatia317,000127
7Joshua BoultonUnited States315,000126
8Stephen SongUnited States285,500114
9Alexandre VuilleumierSwitzerland284,000114
10Fernando GarciaSpain280,500112

As with 1a, 1b will play nine-handed and will follow the same structure, with players starting with 40,000 in chips and Level 1 will begin with blinds at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante. Players will play ten 60-minute levels, with a 15-minute break every two levels. The tournament permits one reentry per flight, with late registration closing after Level 8 (approx. 9 p.m.)

NOTE: All pre-purchased seats will have their chips in play from the beginning.

Make sure to follow along here on PokerNews so you don't miss any of the action!

Tags: Anuj AgarwalBrett BassockFernando GarciaIvan GalinecJing WangJonathan JaffeJoshua BoultonLeo TaffePaul GunnessStephen Song