The new tournament marks a comeback for poker, which saw live games in casinos languish during the coronavirus pandemic. The packages included a buy-in for the BetMGM Poker Championship, travel expenses and a five-night stay at Aria. Through a rolling schedule of daily qualifiers and weekly satellite games, BetMGM Poker awarded prize packages to at least 15 players from each U.S. “We ran online promotions that awarded players a package to come to Las Vegas and play this event,” he said. On Saturday, a $600 buy-in BetMGM Poker Mystery Bounty will mark the first time Aria has run this modern take on a live poker knockout tournament.īetMGM poker is primarily an online product in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ontario, Canada, Staudenmaier explained. “We have a lovely opportunity to bring a lot of our players from across the country to poker’s capital in Las Vegas.”Īt least 300 players are expected to participate in the inaugural tournament, which is a $3,500 buy-in no limit hold ‘em tournament carrying a $1 million payout guarantee. “To me, it complements our online business that we have these fantastic properties that are legendary for poker, especially the Aria, and so it’s a natural progression, the growth of our business, to start utilizing our relationship here,” said BetMGM Director of Poker Luke Staudenmaier.

It’s also going on during rival Caesars Entertainment’s World Series of Poker, which began May 31 and runs in Las Vegas through July 20.

The first-ever BetMGM Poker Championship is scheduled through Sunday at Aria and is occurring during the 2022 Aria Poker Classic. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)īetMGM, the sports betting and iGaming operator affiliated with MGM Resorts International, is launching a new poker tournament Thursday and has brought dozens of online tournament poker winners to Las Vegas for the competition.

Benji Felson, left, chats with Kirby Kozel, at the PokerGO studio at Aria during a private event for online qualifiers before the kick off BetMGM Poker Championship on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, in Las Vegas.

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