Money Bubble to Burst on Day 2 of BetMGM Poker Championship
Day 2 of the 2023 BetMGM Poker Championship kicks off at noon local time at the ARIA Resort & Casino, where 307 of the 1,026 entries currently remain.
Jing Wang currently sits in pole position after he bagged a chip-leading stack of 667,000 on the opening day. Wang is 79 big blinds better off than his closest rival, Ben Farrell (465,000), who topped the counts from Day 1b. Rounding out the top three is WSOP bracelet winner Anuj Agarwal, who returns today with 453,500.
Top Ten Chip Counts Ahead of Day 2
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jing Wang | Unknown | 667,000 | 267 |
| 2 | Ben Farrell | United Kingdom | 465,000 | 186 |
| 3 | Anuj Agarwal | United States | 453,500 | 181 |
| 4 | Adrian Bertini | United States | 406,500 | 163 |
| 5 | Erfan Geula | United States | 391,000 | 156 |
| 6 | Michael Arellano | United States | 386,500 | 155 |
| 7 | Paul Gunness | United States | 362,000 | 145 |
| 8 | Bin Weng | United States | 355,500 | 142 |
| 9 | Ryan Remington | United States | 353,500 | 141 |
| 10 | Leo Taffe | United States | 350,500 | 140 |
The Day 2 hopefuls are competing for a bumper $3,283,200 prize pool, which is almost triple the value from 2022. However, more than half of the field will leave empty-handed as only the top 128 players will make the money.
The min-cash has been set at $4,793, while a six-figure payday of $560,442 awaits the winner along with the title and trophy.
Despite finding a double up on the last hand of Day 1b, defending champion Joey Weissman (28,000) will need to spin up a stack to have any hopes of retaining his crown. Also returning today is former Major League Baseball player Jason Kipnis
Kipnis is just one of the hundred-strong qualifiers who booked their seat at the table for a fraction of the buy-in by playing on BetMGM Poker. Twenty-one qualifiers made it through Day 1a, and six more did the same in Day 1b.
They will be looking to replicate the actions of Benji Felson, who was the last qualifier standing last year before hitting the rail in fifth place for $51,587. Felson will have to watch from the sidelines this time around as he busted in the middle stages of yesterday's session.
Notable names returning for Day 2 include players such as Bin Weng (355,500), who is on a huge heater, having won three major events in 2023 alone. Popular vlogger Ethan "Rampage" Yau (227,000) as well as BetMGM Poker ambassador and tournament end boss Darren Elias (131,500).
BetMGM Poker Championship Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $560,442 | 10-12 | $44,323 | 55-63 | $10,244 |
| 2 | $392,704 | 13-15 | $34,474 | 64-72 | $9,488 |
| 3 | $254,645 | 16-18 | $28,334 | 73-81 | $8,733 |
| 4 | $188,193 | 19-21 | $23,475 | 82-90 | $7,978 |
| 5 | $142,655 | 22-24 | $19,469 | 91-99 | $7,256 |
| 6 | $114,157 | 25-27 | $16,547 | 100-108 | $6,534 |
| 7 | $94,523 | 28-36 | $14,512 | 109-117 | $5,811 |
| 8 | $75,054 | 37-45 | $12,542 | 118-126 | $5,155 |
| 9 | $56,044 | 46-54 | $11,229 | 127-128 | $4,793 |
Play resumes on Level 11 where the blinds will be 1,500/2,500 with a 2,500 big blind ante. The plan for the day is to stop after Level 19 but this is subject to change. As always, keep it locked in with PokerNews to follow all of the action.