Jing Wang Bags Best in Bumper Day 1a Field of BetMGM Poker Championship
Day 1a of the 2023 BetMGM Poker Championship $3,500 Main Event at the ARIA Resort and Casino has concluded with 150 players remaining after ten hours of play. This tournament is on track to easily surpass its $2,000,000 guarantee with today’s 485 entries contributing $1,552,000 to the prize pool.
Jing Wang is the one who emerged leading the pack and is in a prime position to control the action when players return for Day 2 on Sunday. Wang scooped the biggest pot of the day after turning a two outer in the last level of the night.
Wang will be joined on Day 2 by fellow big stacks Jonathan Jaffe and Anuj Agarwal.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jing Wang | 667,500 | 267 | |
| 2 | Anuj Agarwal | United States | 453,500 | 181 |
| 3 | Paul Gunness | United States | 362,000 | 145 |
| 4 | Leo Taffe | United States | 350,500 | 140 |
| 5 | Brett Bassock | United States | 329,000 | 132 |
| 6 | Ivan Galinec | Croatia | 317,000 | 127 |
| 7 | Joshua Boulton | United States | 315,000 | 126 |
| 8 | Stephen Song | United States | 285,500 | 114 |
| 9 | Alexandre Vuilleumier | Switzerland | 284,000 | 114 |
| 10 | Fernando Garcia | Spain | 280,500 | 112 |
Agarwal collected his own large pot late on at the expense of qualifier Thomas Coan. He hit a set while his opponent held ace-king for top pair top kicker on a ace-high board.
Alex Keating had the highest hand of the day and received a momentum-shifting double up after flopping quads and getting paid off.
There were 110 players who qualified for the Main Event by playing online on BetMGM Poker and 63 of them took part in today’s flight. Among them were Jim Farrelly, Patrick Hensley, and Laura Church.
Joining Farrelly in Day 2 will be ambassador Darren Elias, who also registered in the opening flight and found a bag.
Notable names to not survive include Ethan “Rampage” Yau, Jesse Lonis, Robbi Jade Lew, Landon Tice, and defending BetMGM Champion Joey Weisman.
Those who wish to try their luck in this tournament Saturday can do so, as Day 1b kicks off at noon local time with the same structure.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on-site tomorrow, June 10th, for continued coverage of the BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA, so stay tuned!