Late Entries Boost BetMGM Poker Championship Prize Pool Over $1 Million
After another nine levels of play in the first-ever BetMGM Poker Championship at the ARIA Resort and Casino, just 26 players survived to bag and tag their stacks into Day 3.
Leading the pack is Canada's Albert Nguyen and rounding out the top three chip stacks are Paul Hoefer and Jake Daniels.
The big story of the day was that the event was able to surpass its $1 million guarantee, which was thanks to a plethora of Day 2 buy-ins. Today saw a further 133 entries, bringing the total to 343. This swelled the prize pool to a $1,097,600.
Notable names who decided to make the most of the late registration period included Ethan Yau, Landon Tice, Hossein Ensan and Jeremy Ausmus. However, none would last too long in the event.
2015 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe McKeehen had his afternoon cut short by Nick Sena, who floated the flop and spiked his gutshot straight draw. The pair then got their stacks in the middle and McKeehen left the room before the runout as he saw his pocket aces were drawing dead.
Once the late registration period was closed, it was swiftly announced that 44 players would make the money. Any player who ended up in the paid places secured themselves a payday of at least $6,256 while the eventual winner will walk away with the $224,236 up top.
Isaac Kempton eliminated Fabian Gumz in 46th place in a huge hand to set up the stone bubble.
Bubble play lasted for about an hour and ended when Jeremy Saderne moved all in with his last big blind. His ace-nine was in good shape against the jack-seven of Shankar Pillai, but a jack on the river ensured that Saderne would be the last player to leave the tournament empty-handed.
Famous faces who busted in the money were WSOP bracelet winners Dejuante Alexander and Norbert Szecsi. Other names who cashed on Day 2 included Anton Wigg, Mario Navarro and BetMGM Poker Qualifiers Edward Leonard and Jonathan Lessin.
Michael Wang, Kevin Rabichow and Todd Ivens are some other names returning for Day 3. Joining them are BetMGM Poker Qualifiers Steve Bayyouk, Ryan Shinevare, Angel Lopez and Benji Felson. Those players will return to the PokerGO Studio on Saturday, June 25 at 12 p.m. to play Day 3.
BetMGM Poker Championship Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albert Nguyen | Canada | 1,745,000 | 116 |
| 2 | Paul Hoefer | Germany | 1,190,000 | 79 |
| 3 | Jake Daniels | United States | 1,100,000 | 73 |
| 4 | Shankar Pillai | United States | 1,080,000 | 72 |
| 5 | William McCracken | United States | 990,000 | 66 |
| 6 | David Eldridge | United States | 950,000 | 63 |
| 7 | Kevin Rabichow | United States | 910,000 | 61 |
| 8 | Todd Ivens | United States | 900,000 | 60 |
| 9 | Isaac Kempton | United States | 890,000 | 59 |
| 10 | Michael Wang | United States | 795,000 | 53 |
As always, keep up to date with all action from this Championship event on PokerNews.