For the past several weeks, BetMGM in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey has been qualifying players online for the live $3,500 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD BetMGM Poker Championship June 23-26 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

One player to win their way in was New Jersey's Val Arzunian, CEO and founder of a tech start-up called UBMe.

"I was born in Ukraine and when I was 12, my family moved to the United States and settled in New Jersey," Arzunian told PokerNews. "I have a Bachelor's Degree from C.W. Post Long Island University."

Arzunian is relatively new to poker having learned the game a year and a half ago during the pandemic.

"We all went into lockdown, so I learned poker to keep myself sane," he said of signing up for BetMGM, which is where his poker success is limited to, at least thus far.

"I have been to Vegas but have not played in any other tournaments," he admitted. When asked if he would like to meet any poker pros while in town, Arzunian responded: "Absolutely, would love to learn from the best!"

Only time will tell if Arzunian can turn his satellite win into a big Vegas payday!

Tags: Val Arzunian