As poker room directors and executives plan for a tournament series, there’s some information they keep close to the vest. Everything doesn’t make sense to be included in a press release, and some info is just good enough to hold for the right interview.
Kellie de Celis, Director of Poker Operations at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, did just that in a recent interview with Turnpike Sports. She highlighted some of the upcoming events at the anticipated Borgata Spring Poker Open, which begins on April 29, and provided some interesting tidbits that players and spectators may not know.
The 2024 Borgata Spring Poker Open Kicks Off April 29
But first, a reminder about the tournament. The Borgata Spring Poker Open is ready to take over East Coast poker on April 29 through May 14. Held at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, the 22-event series will feature more than $4 million in tournament guarantees.
The buy-ins will welcome more players to this series, and are set a bit lower than the Borgata Winter Poker Open. That series ran 22 events over 24 days and attracted more than 19,000 total tournament entries. And that $10 million in promised guarantees fell by the wayside when they paid out more than $15 million.
While the Spring Poker Open will be only 16 days, it will still bring 22 events to the tables, including some of the most popular ones from the previous series.
#1 – Another Open Is Already in the Works
In the Turnpike Sports interview, de Celis revealed something interesting right from the start. She and her Borgata team are already planning a Borgata Poker Open series for September. More details to follow in the coming months.
#2 – Not Every Event Will Be the Same as the Winter Poker Open
The $500 Almighty Million Kickoff event with its $1 million guarantee is a combination of the Kickoff and Almighty events, which were separate in the last series. This combo will offer five starting flights and a massive 100K starting chip stack.
#3 – See Yourself at the Mirror Mystery Bounty
The $900 Mirror Mystery Bounty is a new version of the traditional mystery bounty tournament. This one is also a reflection (see what we did there?) of player feedback. In order to even out the excitement across the bounty pulls and prize pool payouts, players suggested the bounties mirror the prize pool, and voila – this was implemented for the Spring event!
#4 – Deep, Deeper, Deepest Events
The Deep, Deeper, Deepest events will be a part of the Spring Poker Open. That is not news. It is also not news that the events are a three-part series within a series. The single-day events run with progressive buy-ins, chip stacks, and guarantees:
Friday, May 3: $400 buy-in Deep Event with 30K chips and $30K GTD
Saturday, May 4: $500 buy-in Deeper Event with 40K chips and $40K GTD
Sunday, May 5: $600 buy-in Deepest Event with 50K chips and $50K GTD
Former Tournament Director Tad Duchateau created the series around 2015 or 2016. His team made T-shirts to promote the series. The shirts read “Deep, Deeper, Deepest” in large letters, with “series” in much smaller letters underneath. However, as Borgata is a part of the BetMGM family – a large, publicly-traded corporate entity – the shirts were given the thumbs down. They had to destroy the shirts.
#5 – There’s Plenty To Look Forward To at the Borgata Spring Poker Open
Pardon the blushing, but de Celis gave a shout-out to BetMGM Poker, the King of Poker. That moniker inspired the Borgata Spring Poker Open’s King of the Stacks tournament, the $180 + $20 buy-in progressive bounty shootout tournament set for May 3.
She also revealed the structure, which consists of Round 1 shootout tables with $20 bounties and Round 2 tables with $100 bounties. Players who make it to Round 3 will be in the money and all possess $500 bounties.
Even more, BetMGM Poker will be in the house to splash pots during Round 3. There will be prizes, swag, and tournament vouchers tossed into pots at every table.
Qualifiers Running Now
Online poker players at BetMGM Poker New Jersey can get in on the satellites and online qualifiers now. They start at just a few dollars and award seats daily to the Borgata Spring Poker Open.
Players can also register on BetMGM Poker for the live tournaments online, or they can start registering in person at the Borgata on Monday, April 29.
Additionally, be sure to read the Survival Guide to the Borgata Spring Poker Open by BetMGM Ambassador and poker pro Darren Elias. Poker.org will also be bringing all the Spring Poker Open action to the fans, so stay tuned!
