In January of 2023, after nearly three years of COVID-19 impacted reductions in poker offering, Atlantic City, New Jersey's Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa will once again host a tournament with a five-figure buy-in. The Borgata and BetMGM have jointly announced "The Return: A Borgata Championship Event."
The event, in actuality a four-tournament mini-series, begins on January 2, 2023, runs for seven days, and offers buy-ins ranging from $1,100 to $5,300, with the latter being the entry to the Return's championship event, which will guarantee both a $3 million prize pool and a $1 million first-place payday.
Only once since the pandemic's onset has the Borgata offered a live tourney with a buy-in of $1,000 or higher, with that being a $1,090 standalone event last March. That's a far cry from pre-pandemic days for what was long regarded as one of the East Coast's true destination casinos for tournament poker.
"The return of championship poker to Borgata is a long time coming," said Vincent Alonge Jr., Borgata’s Director of Poker Operations. "Borgata is the premier gaming destination on the East Coast, which includes best-in-class poker tournaments."
The $5,300 championship event begins on January 4th and is the second of four big-buy-in events being served up as part of the Borg's "Return". The series begins with a $2,2000 mystery-bounty event on January 2 that will guarantee another $1 million in bounties. Following that and the championship event, there are two other major events on tap. A $2,100 ($1,000 + $100 + $1,000) bounty event kicks off on January 6, and an $1,100 "Survivor" event, where ten players are guaranteed at least $10,000 each, rounds out the slate.
The four big live events are supported by numerous satellite qualifiers, both live at the Borgata and online at BetMGM NJ. More information is available at borgata.mgmresorts.com.
"BetMGM recognizes the strong legacy of tournaments at Borgata and is thrilled to collaborate with the team to bring online qualifiers to ’The Return,’" added Luke Staudenmaier, BetMGM's Director of Poker. "In the upcoming months, we look forward to offering online poker players various ways to qualify for this momentous event which will kick off 2023 with a bang!"
Featured image source: BetMGM/Borgata
