The summer of poker is in its final weeks. After the first month of dozens upon dozens of tournaments at the 2026 ARIA Poker Classic, including the first round of BetMGM events with extra-large guarantees, the second set is now in the books as well.

ARIA Resort & Casino will continue its summer series through mid-July, but the pinnacle of events that included the BetMGM Championship just wrapped on July 4. Some say the fireworks above the Las Vegas Strip were hosted in celebration of the BetMGM Championship final table action. Let’s take a look at highlights (thanks to PokerOrg) of the two Mystery Bounty events and the Championship that awarded more than $5,000,000.

Viet Nguyen Wins BetMGM Mystery Bounty

Bounty poker tournaments have been all the rage for some time, but mystery bounty tournaments are even more exciting for many players. Bounty awards begin after the money bubble, and the amounts can be quite high. This $1,100 buy-in BetMGM No Limit Hold’em Mystery Bounty gave the players what they wanted. That delivered these numbers:

• Total entries:  931
• Prize pool:  $500,000
• Players paid:  116
• Minimum payout:  $1,280
• Maximum bounty:  $50,000

That top bounty went to Alan Gendelman after the money bubble burst, and payouts and bounties were flying all over the place. By midnight, the field was reduced to just two tables, with Saif Keshwani as the chip leader and Viet Nguyen as a short stack, with only Jesse Herron holding fewer chips. Keshwani kept climbing and ultimately eliminated Emma Woolfrey on the final table bubble.

Andrew Tran held the chip lead at the start of that final table, though, with Keshwani in second and Nguyen holding an average stack. But Nguyen started strong by eliminating Dylan Kahn in ninth place. Tran and Keshwani took care of the next two eliminations, and Nguyen then doubled through Keshwani into the chip lead. Nguyen eliminated two more players, but he and Keshwani battled for the lead. The latter eventually sent Tran home in fourth place, and Nguyen ousted Anatoly Korochenskiy in third.

Keshwani took a slight lead into heads-up play, but Nguyen doubled through his dueling partner and left Keshwani needing a double-up. He did just that, but when he tried again, that time holding A-J, Nguyen woke up with pocket fives that only improved to a straight on the board. Nguyen won $98,925 for his victory.

Mathyeu Provost Pips PLO Mystery Bounty

Next up on the schedule at ARIA was the $1,100 BetMGM Pot Limit Omaha Mystery Bounty event, a chance for PLO players to get in on the mystery bounty action. And they did.

• Total entries:  576
• Prize pool:  $500,000
• Players paid:  72
• Minimum payout:  $1,250
• Maximum bounty:  $50,000

Play moved forward into the money, and by the fifth break of the day, only 24 players remained for the latest stage of the tournament. Tyler Brown was not only in the chip lead, he also pulled the top bounty. But Jason Wheeler then propelled himself into a distant lead over the rest of the last two tables.

The final table saw Wheeler still dominating, with his 4,600,000 stack towering over the others, as no one else even surpassed 2,400,000 at that point. Brown eliminated the first player from that table, though Wheeler stepped up to eliminate the player who refused to provide his real name. But Florian Bardet doubled through Wheeler and Colin Mchugh eliminated several players.

Mathyeu Provost took the reins and busted Wheeler in fifth place and Bardet in fourth. After Brown hit the rail in third place, Provost took a solid lead into heads-up play and ultimately defeated Mchugh to win the tournament for the trophies and $71,150 in cash, including the bounties he pulled.

Mammen Maneuvers to BetMGM Championship Win

The biggest tournament of the ARIA Poker Classic is always the BetMGM No Limit Hold’em Championship. This summer’s edition had the largest guarantee in its history. With $4,000,000 on the line, the $3,500 buy-in BetMGM Championship offered two starting days for players. And the excitement of it all produced a grand number well beyond the guarantee:

• Total entries:  1,512
• Prize pool:  $4,838,400
• Players paid:  189
• Minimum payout:  $5,515
• Top prize:  $801,000

Day 2 Makes the Money

When the second full day of play began, there were still 289 players in action. This meant that 100 of them would go home without cashing in the tournament, but the last 189 still standing would be paid for their efforts and surviving the bubble. Among those still in the field were BetMGM Ambassadors Darren Elias and Esther Taylor.

Little more than two hours later, Jans Arends and Anthony Ambroselli were both eliminated on the bubble, leaving the rest to hit the cashier desk on their eventual way out. As so happens at this stage, eliminations came fast and furiously, leaving just 79 of them on the third break of the day and only 36 at the end of the night.

Day 3 Sets Final Table

Of the 36 returning players, Joshua Mammen was the chip leader holding more than 5,000,000 chips. The minimum payout at that point was $17,950. 

Eliminations began almost immediately, and among them were Joe Serock, Brock Wilson, Bradley Hinson, Martin Finger, and Hossein Ensan. Meanwhile, Erik Eisen skyrocketed into the chip lead, with Nick Palma in a distant second and Mammen in third. Ultimately, it was Wouter Beltz who left in tenth place with $60,140, courtesy of Paul Hofer, to set the stage for the final table.

The remaining players prepared for the livestreamed final table with these stacks:

• Erik Eisen – 18,600,000
• Paul Hofer – 16,875,000
• Nick Palma – 9,725,000
• Josh Mammen – 9,350,000
• Ariel Celestino – 7,800,000
• Mike Wilklow – 5,000,000
• Nenad Cvetkovic – 4,425,000
• Pavlos Xanthopoulos – 2,475,000
• Uri Kadosh – 1,375,000

Tough Final Table Action at BetMGM Poker Championship

The men started somewhat cautiously at the final table, but when Cvetkovic decided to put his stack on the line with A-Q, Hofer called with A-K, which only improved to bust Cvetkovic in ninth place. Mammen then took out Kadosh in eighth, while Celestino eliminated Xanthopoulos in seventh. Wilklow took a chunk of Hofer’s chips, but Mammen doubled through Wilklow before Celestino busted Wilklow in sixth place. 

The final five played for 20 minutes before Hofer doubled through Mammen, though the latter continued to lead the pack. After nearly an hour of play, five hours into the livestream, they began to discuss a payout deal. They agreed to give chipleader Mammen $481,000, with $431,000 each for the other four and the trophies on the line for the ultimate winner. It ended up with Mammen knocking out Eisen, and Mammen won the trophies to go with his larger portion of the chop.

Play Online Poker at BetMGM

If you kept up with the Las Vegas poker action this summer or watched livestreams like the BetMGM Championship final table, you’ve likely learned a few things. Why not put those to use at the online poker tables? Poker players in Vegas shouldn’t have all the fun! You can open a new account at BetMGM Poker online today – using our exclusive online poker welcome bonus, of course – and play real money poker at your convenience.