One of the largest poker rooms in the United States is set to reopen this Wednesday after being closed since mid-March due to the pandemic. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey will open its doors at 10 a.m. local time, albeit with some changes.
East Coast Poker Tournaments. November 15, 2017. Las Vegas Poker Tournaments, Comprehensive Schedule with Ratings. November 15, 2017. Poker Tournament Skill Levels. MGM Resorts International is a huge gaming operator that just recently announced a brand new poker tour involving their venues on the East Coast. Known as the East Coast Poker Tour, the ECPT will offer players a chance to compete in quality poker gaming in the US within the operator’s venues located in this region of the nation.
The room, which previously housed 77 tables, will open with just 30 spaced-out tables, each with polycarbonate divides between each seat. Only seven-handed cash games will be offered as there are no plans for tournaments right now. However, players can expect some lucrative promotions including a Bad Beat Jackpot starting at $100,000.
Here are some other changes and procedures:
- Masks are required in the poker room (and other public areas in the casino)
- Beverage service is available
- Food will not be permitted in the poker room
- Hand sanitizing stations will be available throughout the room
- Spectators will not be allowed in the poker room
“We are happy to welcome back our loyal players as we reopen Atlantic City’s market-leading East Coast poker destination,” said Melonie Johnson, president and chief operating officer of Borgata.
She continued: “We have made some changes to enhance our guests’ experience and are excited to reintroduce live poker and the Borgata Poker brand more safely.”
While Borgata was the last casino to reopen in Atlantic City, it will be the first of the city’s poker rooms to welcome back players. It’s by far the busiest against the competition, which includes Harrah’s Atlantic City, Bally’s, Golden Nugget, and Tropicana. Over the past two years, the combined revenue from all five rooms has totaled approximately $28.5 million each year. In 2019, just shy of $18 million of that came from Borgata.
#BorgataAC's Poker Room REOPENS October 21 at 10AM. Poker play will be live cash games on seven-handed tables with… https://t.co/qZqvkiy8oW
— BorgataPoker (@BorgataPoker)Looking to Continue Strong Legacy
Borgata has a long history in the poker world. Not only do they host popular in-house tournament series like the Borgata Spring/Summer/Fall Poker Open (all of which were canceled this year), but they also enjoy a longstanding relationship with the World Poker Tour.
In fact, prior to the pandemic, the 2020 World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open $3,500 Main Event took place, which saw a 1,290-entry field whittled down to the final six players. The final table was slated to play out at the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on April 1, but the pandemic interrupted those plans.
Even now, that final table – as well as those for the 2020 WPT Gardens Poker Championship and WPT L.A. Poker Classic – are still on hiatus with an unknown return date. As such, players like Veerab Zakarian, James Anderson, Brian Altman, Bin Weng, Andrew Hanna, and Nathan Russler will need to wait to see who walks away with the title and $674,840 first-place prize.
Despite the pandemic, the WPT and Borgata continued their relationship last month by hosting the WPT Online Borgata Series powered by partypoker US Network. The 10-event series saw Tony “ToNiSiNzz” Sinishtaj top a 440-entry field to win the $1,060 Main Event for $77,349.
Sinishtaj, who was recently a guest on the PokerNews Podcast, previously won the WPT Seminole Rock Poker Showdown in Season XVI for $661,283.
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MGM Resorts International has announced the upcoming launch of the East Coast Poker Tour (ECPT), a new mid-stakes tour designed to expand the availability of that level of tourney to players based predominantly in the eastern United States. The new ECPT will launch in February of 2020. Three MGM Resorts venues have already been slated to hold tour stops, including MGM National Harbor in Maryland, MGM Springfield in Boston, and Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa (owned by MGM) in Atlantic City.
While mid-range poker tourneys have been available at all these and other East Coast venues for years, the “mid-priced” tour, as it’s popularly developed, has succeeded in the US’s central states more than other regions. (Examples include the Heartland Poker Tour, which is now more national, the Mid-Stakes Poker Tour, and the newer RUNGOOD Poker Series.) MGM hopes to shift that balance with the launch of the ECPT.
“MGM Resorts offers players the best poker product on the East Coast,” said Jorge Perez, Portfolio President. “Our East Coast Poker Tour is a great way for us to showcase three of our industry-leading properties while creating an exciting tournament series for our guests and poker enthusiasts.”
A total of six series stops for 2020 have been announced, with three of the six to be held at the Borgata in New Jersey. The six stops are co-branded as ECPT offerings to build upon existing individual series. In the Borgata’s case, for example, that includes the venue’s Spring Poker Open, Summer Poker Open & Fall Poker Open Championship. MGM National Harbor’s Potomac Poker Open series in February and July get the ECPT treatment as well, as does the MGM Springfield Armory Classic. The Borgata’s Fall Poker Open will now double as the ECPT’s championship, with a leaderboard and points chase already in place to generate interest and interest in the 2020 ECPT’s $2 million finale.
A few other details have been announced as well. According to MGM, “Players can qualify for the MGM Resorts ECPT leaderboard between February 5, 2020 and August 24, 2020 by registering in any of the five tournaments prior to the championship. A minimum of 100 players, including the five winners of the tour’s previous tournaments, five randomly selected participants (one from each tournament), and the top 90 participants on the leaderboard will receive a complimentary two-night stay at Borgata and entry into the Borgata Fall Poker Open / MGM Resorts East Coast Poker Tour $2 Million Guaranteed Championship November 15-20, 2020. Additional prizes include a $500 MGM Resorts gift card, $250 hotel credit at Borgata, and a Cartier watch. Participants must be M life cardholders to qualify.”
The ECPT has also created a new online home at http://www.mgmecpt.com/. More information on the tour and the 2020 stops can be found there. Here’s the 2020 MGM Resorts ECPT Schedule:
POTOMAC WINTER POKER OPEN – MGM National Harbor
February 5 – 17, 2020
* featuring guaranteed $500,000 championship ($3,000 buy-in)
BORGATA SPRING POKER OPEN – Borgata
April 7 – 24, 2020
* featuring guaranteed $1 million championship ($2,700 buy-in)
BORGATA SUMMER POKER OPEN – Borgata
July 7 – 24, 2020
* featuring guaranteed $1 million championship ($2,700 buy-in)
POTOMAC POKER OPEN – MGM National Harbor
July 22 – August 3, 2020
* featuring guaranteed $1 million championship ($3,500 buy-in)
THE ARMORY CLASSIC – MGM Springfield
August 12 – 24, 2020
BORGATA FALL POKER OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP – Borgata
November 15 – 20, 2020
* featuring guaranteed $2 million championship ($3,500 buy-in)
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