It happens more often than most people realize. Online players at BetMGM Poker play regular promotions, such as Pick-a-Card and Spin the Wheel, and transform a satellite ticket into a tournament score that changes everything.
Take the promotions leading up to the Borgata Winter Poker Open (BWPO). There were several opportunities for regular BetMGM online poker players to qualify for BWPO tournaments and the unique BetMGM Online Hybrid Championship. They could play in the step satellites that started at just $2 or play the special Hybrid Pick-a-Card promo. By earning just 20 BRPs (BetMGM Rewards Points) in a day through January 4, anyone could then pick a random card to win Hybrid qualifier tickets ($2, $10, or $100) or a seat into the Hybrid Championship worth $1,000.
Nicholas Devenezia of New Jersey did just that, and he won a $10 qualifier ticket. He played that qualifier and won his seat into the Hybrid Championship. From there, he played his best game online on January 5 and became one of the six finalists to play the live final table at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City on January 9.
The rest, as they say, is history.
BetMGM Online Hybrid Championship By the Numbers
Devenezia was one of the entries in the $1,000 buy-in BetMGM Online Hybrid Championship on January 5. He played online in a field that showed these numbers:
- Total entries: 149
- Total prize pool: $141,550
Finishing in the money would have been a win for Devenezia, at least on paper, by turning his $10 ticket into a four-figure tournament payout. But he kept playing into the money and on toward the final table. When the online portion of the tournament ended, there were six players remaining, all of whom would meet in person at the Borgata a few days later to play the final table on a livestream.
The six players and their chip stacks were:
- Frank Funaro – 3,755,000
- Calvin Kelleher – 2,725,000
- Nick Devenezia – 2,635,000
- Michael Lavin – 2,570,000
- Yong Kwon – 1,730,000
- David Stevens – 1,485,000
Working a Tough Poker Table
The very first hand of the livestreamed final table found Kwon all-in with pocket queens preflop against the jacks of Lavin. The double-up put Kwon close to Funaro’s chip lead, and Kwon took that top spot with a small pot in the next hand. A few hands later, Devenezia and his pocket nines put Stevens at risk with his A-K suited preflop, and a nine on the turn sent Stevens out in sixth place. Lavin and his short stack took a shot with K-6, but Yong called from the big blind with A-7 and eliminated Lavin in fifth place.
Devenezia was the shortest of the four remaining stacks. And it appeared that a fourth-place exit was in the cards when he moved in with pocket kings against Kelleher’s set of tens post-flop. But a king on the river saved and doubled Devenezia into the lead. Kelleher was all-in on the next hand and out in fourth.
Funaro and Devenezia then exchanged the chip lead over the following rounds. And when Devenezia and his A-J busted Yong with Q-9, Devenezia nearly evened the stacks going into heads-up play.
Two to Tango
With Yong out in third, Funaro and Devenezia started their duel with similar stacks.
- Frank Funaro – 7,440,000
- Nick Devenezia – 7,025,000
Devenezia came out swinging, but the two played a long match, well over an hour in length. They exchanged the chip lead multiple times, though Devenezia maintained a fair amount of dominance over his well-experienced opponent.
At the point that Funaro was down to about 10 big blinds, he risked it all with K-3 against the A-3 of Devenezia. The board blanked, and Devenezia won his largest live tournament to date and more than doubled his live career earnings.
- 1st place: Nicholas Devenezia $35,388
- 2nd place: Frank Funaro $24,064
- 3rd place: Yong Kwon $16,986
- 4th place: Calvin Kelleher $12,797
- 5th place: Michael Lavin $9,980
- 6th place: $7,361
To watch how it all played out, check out these two videos from the BetMGM Poker YouTube channel:
That is how to turn an online promotion into a five-figure payout!
Could You Be the Next Winner at BetMGM Poker?
If you want to take your shot at the next promotion, play poker online at BetMGM. And those promotions? There’s always something available, and you can start with this new player poker deposit bonus.
