BetMGM will hold its eponymously-named, high-stakes poker tournament in Las Vegas for the third consecutive year in 2024.
And it could be the last year that the BetMGM Poker Championship doesn’t have online qualifiers in Nevada if the operator launches a real money online poker room in Nevada.
Such a launch appears closer than ever. Consider that executives with Entain went before the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) on May 1 to recommend that the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) issue an interactive gaming license to its US subsidiary, Bwin.Party.
Translation: Entain wants a license in Nevada for its PartyPoker software, which powers BetMGM Poker in three other states and BetMGM Poker Ontario. They could get the license this week — the NGC meets on Thursday, and the NGCB agreed to recommend issuance of a license at its aforementioned meeting on May 1.
Until BetMGM Poker NV launches, online poker in Nevada won’t be on a method for qualifying players for the BetMGM Poker Championship. At this stage — and considering executives with MGM Resorts International said as much when they went before the NGCB back on April 4 — BetMGM Poker NV is likely still one year away.
BetMGM is a 50-50 joint partnership between Entain and MGM.
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Online Qualifiers in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania
This year, the BetMGM Poker Championship will be held from June 6 to 11 at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, with $3 million guaranteed.
BetMGM offers online poker in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania where players can win their way to Vegas. Daily qualifiers are being held in all three states with buy-ins ranging from $2 to $600.
Online qualifiers started on May 7 and are scheduled for every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday through May 30. All of the qualifiers being held at 9:15 p.m.
Players are competing for a Las Vegas prize package that includes entry to two events:
- June 6: $1,100 entry to the NLH Mystery Bounty, $500,000 guaranteed
- June 7: $3,500 entry to the Championship NLH Day 1A, $3 million guaranteed
Package winners will be entered into the Day 1A flight on June 7. Prize packages also include travel expenses and a five-night stay at the ARIA Resort & Casino.
And yes, you read that right — for the second year in a row, BetMGM added another $1 million to the guarantee for the BetMGM Poker Championship.
“Partnering with BetMGM for the BetMGM Poker Championship solidifies ARIA’s position as a global leader in tournament poker,” said Ryan Kirk, ARIA’s director of poker operations. “We anticipate another record-breaking event this summer as we offer a $3 million guarantee and add more tournament tables.”
Another record-breaker is likely. Consider that the number of entrants nearly tripled last year, from 343 players in 2022 for the series’ inaugural run to 1,026 entrants last year. If the series continues to grow in popularity at that clip, there will be more than 3,000 entrants this year.
More players made it into the championship through an online qualifier in 2023 (110) than in 2022 (66), but they represented a small percentage of overall entrants in the later contest, due in no small part to the tournament’s surge in popularity.
Interest in the inaugural running of the championship helped improve upon the $1 million guarantee — the pot would grow nearly 9.8% to reach a prize pool of nearly $1.1 million.
Last year’s performance was much more impressive — a nearly $3.3 million pot, up more than 64% from the original guarantee of $2 million.
The 2024 running is expected to be better still.
“The BetMGM Poker Championship is all about creating excitement and more action for poker enthusiasts nationwide,” said Luke Staudenmaier, BetMGM’s Director of Poker. “Through online qualifiers where BetMGM is live, we are offering players more ways to win their way to Vegas and the opportunity to earn larger prize packages and guarantees.
“Our partnership with ARIA continues to get stronger, allowing us to build on the omnichannel poker experience.”
ARIA and BetMGM announced the following schedule of events:
BetMGM Poker Championship: Event Schedule & Guarantees
| Date | Time | Event | Chips | Levels | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 6 | 11 am | $1,100 NLH Mystery Bounty | 30K | 30/40 min | $500,000 |
| 6 pm | $400 Satellite (1 in 10) | 25K | 20 min | 10 seats | |
| June 7 | 12 pm | $3,500 Championship NLH Day 1A | 50K | 50 min | $3 million |
| 6 pm | $400 Satellite (1 in 10) | 25K | 20 min | 10 seats | |
| June 8 | 12 pm | $3,500 Championship NLH Day 1B | 50K | 50 min | $3 million |
| June 9 | 12 pm | $3,500 Championship NLH Day 2 | 60 min | $3 million | |
| June 10 | 1 pm | $3,500 Day 3 (livestreamed on PokerGO) | 75 min | ||
| June 11 | 3 pm | $3,500 Final Table (livestreamed on PokerGO) |
As in years past, ARIA will be busy with its own poker tournament as the BetMGM Poker Championship unfolds. The ARIA Poker Classic runs from May 29 to July 13.
It’s been a busy month for WSOP.com, too — the operator is expected to upgrade its poker software in Nevada and on WSOP New Jersey, which would be the first step toward building a three-state network to share liquidity with WSOP Michigan.
WSOP would become a tougher competitor for BetMGM after those software upgrades and combined player pools. BetMGM can take its first step by launching online poker in Nevada and taking away the current monopoly that WSOP NV enjoys there.