2024 Maryland State Poker Championship
Maryland LIVE! Highlights
Day: all
The Maryland State Poker Championship has now reached the final table of nine. Nicholas Verderamo currently leads the way on 1,725,000 but is not far ahead of Ben Gazzola in second (1,575,000) or Michael Bills in third (1,525,000).
Parker Talbot is also still in the mix, though with a short stack of 225,000 he does have his work cut out for him.
As a reminder, coverage of that event can be found here.
Event #16: $400 Black Chip Turbo Bounty played down to a winner late last night. There were 66 total entries, generating a prizepool of $22,700. Roland Varblow came out on top after a four way chop to claim $4,100 to go along with any bounties collected along the way. This is Varblow's biggest tournament cash to date and adds a decent chunk to his $23,004 total live earnings.
There will be plenty of more action throughout the day as two more events are in play. Be sure to check back in on this feed to get all the latest highlights from the Maryland State Poker Championship.
Day 2 of the Maryland State Poker Championship Main Event is underway with 22 players currently left in the running from a starting field of 245. For the second year in a row, the tournament has failed to meet its guarantee, which this year was set at $500,000. That means there is some extra value for anyone who did choose to enter.
Nicholas Banyas is the chipleader at the moment with a stack of 1,100,000, the only player so far to have made it into seven figure territory. Pokerstars ambassador Parker Talbot is also in contention with 448,000, good for a roughly tournament average stack.
Everyone who is left is guaranteed at least $4,511 with $110,578 and a NAPT Gold Pass up top for the winner. Check out our live updates here to stay abreast of the action.
Looking ahead to the rest of the day, Event #17: $1,100 Live! Stacks Championship kicks off at 2:15 p.m. local time. That tournament comes with a healthy $50,000 guarantee and is set to play down to a winner today.
In the 851st episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by PokerStars, Chad Holloway and Kyna England are joined by "Loose Cannon" Lily Newhouse at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas to talk about GGPoker purchasing the World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand for $500 million. What will it mean for the future of poker? It's too early to tell, but that doesn't stop the crew from offering their thoughts.
From there, Newhouse talked about her experience as the Loose Cannon on the PokerStars Big Game, which included playing a big pot early against Sam Grafton and battling against Dave Krosky, who proved to be a different sort of loose cannon! Oh, and did we mention the PokerStars Big Game is confirmed to return this Fall during the NAPT for a second season? Well, it is and you can get all the details here.
Kyna then talks about attending the grand opening of the brand-new Venetian Poker Room, now the largest room on the Strip, and you get to hear from other attendees including Joey Ingram, Maria Konnikova, and 2017 WSOP Main Event champ Scott Blumstein. Plus, rapper Nelly was in the house to play the room's first hand, but you'll have to watch to see how he did.
Additionally, hear about poker reporter Terrance "TJ" Reid winning the Destination: RunGood $2,500 Million Dollar Main Event for $192,755, Nick Kocman capturing a career-best score at Maryland State Poker Championship, and Daniel Bellis winning a NAPT Gold Pass in last longer contest. Speaking of which, you'll have a chance to qualify for NAPT Las Vegas at the upcoming Pennsylvania State Poker Championship.
Finally, learn about one Texas poker room's quest to appeal to the female demographic with a women-first concept, hear about Chad's experience competing on Survivor Angelica: Medieval Mayhem, and get a sneak peek at the new Life Outside Poker featuring Brazilian Vlogger Romulo "Poker Profit" Dorea.
Earlier this evening while the Main Event Day 1b was happening on one side of the poker room, Event #16: $400 Black Chip Bounty got underway at the other side. PokerNews will be recapping that tournament once it reaches its conclusion later tonight.
With the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) returning to Las Vegas this fall, PokerStars have released information about the new 'Path to NAPT', offering players the chance to win their way to Vegas for as little as $0.50.
Last year Sami Bechahed defeated Jonathan Borenstein heads-up to win the 2023 NAPT Las Vegas Main Event and $268,945. He topped a 1,095-player field to win the first NAPT Main Event title in 12 years.
Want to be part of the next one? Well here's your chance! PokerStars is planning on offering 100 chances to secure a Gold Pass worth $10,000 to the Las Vegas NAPT Main Event.
Riva Arthur is no stranger to success on the NAPT, having finished 10th in the $5,300 High Roller back in November 2023 for $16,295. Now, she is in a good position to continue that success in the Maryland State Poker Championship Main Event after winning a massive three-way all in with a flopped flush to sit up near the top of the leaderboard.
At the time of writing, Arthur had amassed 165,000, second only to Joseph Cashen in first with 175,000. Of course, there is still plenty of play left here on Day 1b but so far things are looking good for Arthur as she seeks to build on a live poker resume that, despite only dating back to 2023, contains some impressive results. For example, she bested a field of 1,236 competitors in a $250 event here at Maryland Live! Casino in March to net a career high $29,300.