Atlantic City has been buzzing with the Borgata Summer Poker Open, and the first week of action was proof of the ever-growing popularity of this quarterly Borgata Poker Open series. The summer iteration has been full of players who never seem to tire of the live poker tournaments, especially in a place that brings East Coast regulars and traveling players together for a series that caters to them all.

The first four major events surpassed their prize pool guarantees handily, and the Borgata Summer Poker Open powered by BetMGM Poker continues on as the Championship begins. But let’s take a look at the results of several events – courtesy of the PokerNews live reporting team – that found their title holders already.

Childress is Champion of Kick Off

The first event on the BSPO schedule was the reliable and ever-popular Deep Stack Kick Off, and the $600 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament offered six starting flights to get involved. And a lot of players got involved.

• Total entries:  2,390
• Prize pool:  $1,242,800 ($1,000,000 guaranteed)
• Paid players:  191
• Minimum payout:  $1,515

By the time Day 2 began, the 191 players were all in the money, and as the final table neared late that night, defending champion James Lauer fell a wee bit short of a repeat when he exited in eighth place. Soon after, the final six bagged chips and got a little rest before the final table.

Day 3 began with Coleem Chestnut in the chip lead and Derek Childress second. But Lingyu Zen was the first to bust a player, sending Leo Saiag out in sixth place. Play moved forward as Childress took and relinquished the chip lead several times. Chestnut ended his run in fourth, and Zen was a dominating force…until Childress took over the lead again. Zen busted Jordan Williamson to start heads-up play with slightly more chips than Childress. The final two battled as Zen looked to run away with the title until Childress doubled into the lead. A prize money deal led Zen to risk his final chips with pocket sixes, but Childress called with A-Q and hit an ace on the flop. Childress won more than $170,000.

• 1st place:  Derek Childress $170,610
• 2nd place:  Lingyu Zen $158,370
• 3rd place:  Jordan Williamson $90,775
• 4th place:  Coleem Chestnut $60,205
• 5th place:  Craig Robertson $40,975
• 6th place:  Leo Saiag $31,260

Mueller Masters PLO Championship

For just a $650 buy-in, players had the chance to jump into the PLO Championship in this series. There were two starting days and a $75,000 guarantee. The final numbers set a much bigger prize pool:

• Total entries:  197
• Prize pool:  $112,290 ($75,000 guaranteed)
• Paid players:  25
• Minimum payout:  $1,525

Double the hole cards, double the fun; Pot Limit Omaha remains ever popular. Several hundred entries whittled down to just 25 players in the money, all of whom started Day 2 with chips. Mark Aridgides was the day’s starting chip leader, with Brandon Mueller second. But as the final table was set with nine players, Mueller had the lead with twice as many chips as the next guy, who was Danny Chang, and Aridgides pulled up in third.

Aridgides took out two of the first three players at the final table, but then Mueller sent home Elan Chabi in sixth, Terence Beaman in fourth, and Aridgides in third. Mueller took nearly 4.5 million into heads-up play, but Chang had nearly 3.5 million, and the two battled for well over an hour until Mueller pushed Chang down to about 500,000. The two took a break, after which Chang doubled twice, but Mueller won it a few hands later.

• 1st place:  Brandon Mueller $24,575
• 2nd place:  Danny Chang $17,025
• 3rd place:  Mark Aridgides $11,875
• 4th place:  Terence Beaman $8,075
• 5th place:  Mario Damiao $5,925
• 6th place:  Elan Chabi $4,855

Local Liang Succeeds in Six-Max

The third highlighted event of the 2026 Summer Poker Open was the Super Deep 6-Max with a $650 buy-in and $200,000 guarantee. Four starting days provided plenty of chances for players to get in on the short-handed event:

• Total entries:  401
• Prize pool:  $228,570 ($200,000 guaranteed)
• Paid players:  65
• Minimum payout:  $1,120

Day 2 brought back all 65 in-the-money players. BetMGM Poker Ambassador Mike Lavin was among them but fell in 29th place for $1,760. Later that night, the day’s chip leader Tanupat Punjarojanakul departed in eighth place with $4,800, and the night ended soon after with six players. Giorgi Arveladze was the overwhelming chip leader, but local favorite Li Liang was still in the mix, as was well-known pro Bin Weng.

Day 3 started with Arveladze adding to his lead and busting the first two players, including Weng in fifth place. Liang found several well-timed double-ups to stay alive, kept climbing, and then busted Yuriy Kudrynskyy in fourth place. Arveladze took care of Ryan Syrko in third and took double the chips of Liang into heads-up play. But the latter quickly added to her stacks and then doubled into a massive lead. When Arveladze tried to double back, Liang flopped trip queens to end the tournament and claim her first Borgata and BetMGM trophies.

• 1st place:  Li Liang $41,150
• 2nd place:  Giorgi Arveladze $28,575
• 3rd place:  Ryan Syrko $20,000
• 4th place:  Yuriy Kudrynskyy $13,710
• 5th place:  Bin Weng $9,140
• 6th place:  Frank Costigan $7,430

Fishman Aces Almighty Stack

One week after the start of the Borgata Summer Poker Open, players lined up for the $500 buy-in Almighty Stack tournament. After six starting days of entries, the staff tallied the final numbers:

• Total entries:  2,209
• Prize pool:  $927,780 ($750,000 guaranteed)
• Paid players:  279
• Minimum payout:  $1,060

All of the players who managed to survive the bubble returned for Day 2 of this event, and the initial bustouts were fast and furious. Among them were many recognizable poker faces, like Matt Matros, Mukul Pahuja, John D’Agostino, Daniel Lazrus, and Bin Weng. Late into the night, Will Failla busted in eighth place for $14,210, and play stopped with six survivors. John Malczan had the chip lead but Yuriy Kudrynskyy was second, and Baruch Fishman and Raymond Ferretti were the shortest stacks. 

Fishman started by ousting Ferretti, and Kudrynskyy took a huge pot from Malczan to jump into the lead. Fishman busted John Wilson in fourth, though William Shaw doubled through Fishman to keep the latter on the struggle bus. Shaw doubled through Kudrynskyy, but the latter flew away with the lead. Malczan doubled through Fishman, but the latter busted the former a while later. The final three battled for quite some time before deciding on an ICM chop, though they played on for more money and the trophies. 

Fishman then doubled through Shaw into the lead and didn’t look back. Kudrynskyy eliminated Shaw in third place but trailed Fishman going into heads-up play. Kudrynskyy shoved with K-6, but Fishman called with A-9 and won with ace-high for victory.

• 1st place:  Baruch Fishman $108,840
• 2nd place:  Yuriy Kudrynskyy $92,920
• 3rd place:  William Shaw $107,340
• 4th place:  John Malczan $44,375
• 5th place:  John Wilson $30,225
• 6th place:  Raymond Ferretti $23,075

Action Continues at Borgata and Online at BetMGM Poker

Poker players continue on at Borgata in the Summer Poker Open Championship and other events still on the schedule, while many others are avoiding the heat and crowds at all costs by playing online at BetMGM. With real money poker available at your fingertips, the online tables are always open and waiting, with cash games, MTTs, and SNGs available around the clock. Just don’t forget to use the online poker welcome bonus when signing up for the first time to take advantage of the best sign-up deal around.