In keeping with its strong tradition of cross-integration between the live and online worlds, the partnership of market share leading strong>PartyPoker and the Borgata in New Jersey has announced that it will be hosting online qualifiers for several Borgata Spring Poker Open land-based events.
The quarterly extravaganza is far and away the most prestigious live poker event on the East Coast, attracting thousands of players and generating upwards of $3 million prize pools for its flagship tournaments. But with price points ranging from the hundreds to the thousands, not every grinder may be able to justify the trip down to Atlantic City.
Satellites for as low as $5 on the other hand, now that’s a different story.
Borgata Spring Poker qualifiers on Party/Borgata
Online qualifiers will be held beginning on March 27, with multiple sub and direct qualifiers running during prime time hours.
At 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. daily until April 22, players can ante up $5 to participate in a sub-qualifier where the top 10 percent win a $45 ticket to a direct qualifier.
From there, grinders will be afforded a couple of options:
- They can try their luck at a BPO event #1 satellite (7:30 p.m. daily until April 13), where 1 in 14 players will win a $560 entry into the $1 million guaranteed kickoff event. Or…
- They can hold off until April 14, when the network will begin hosting $45 buy-in qualifiers to BPO event #11 – otherwise known as the Almighty $500,000 Guaranteed. Direct entry to this event is $450, meaning that roughly 1 in 11 players will win tickets.
Beginning on Friday, April 8 at 8:15 p.m., the network will be rolling out $45 buy-in qualifiers to the $2,700 buy-in, $1 million Guaranteed Borgata Championship. Winners of these sub-qualifiers will be granted entry into a $400 Super Satellite where a lucky few will be awarded a $3,000 prize package consisting of the $2,700 entry into the Championship and $300 cash to be put toward hotel accommodations or other expenditures.
The running times for the $45 buy-in qualifier are as follows:
- Friday, April 8 at 8:15 p.m.
- Saturday, April 9 at 8:15 p.m.
- Friday, April 15 at 8:15 p.m.
- Saturday, April 16 at 8:15 p.m.
- Friday, April 22 at 8:15 p.m.
- Saturday, April 23 at 8:15 p.m.
While the Super Satellites run on the following dates and times:
- Saturday, April 9 at 7:45 p.m.
- Sunday, April 10 at 7:45 p.m.
- Friday, April 15 at 7:45 p.m.
- Saturday, April 16 at 7:45 p.m.
- Sunday, April 17 at 7:45 p.m.
- Friday, April 22 at 7:45 p.m.
- Saturday, April 23 at 7:45 p.m.
- Sunday, April 24 at 7:45 p.m.
As far as the live events themselves, event #1 is spread across four starting flights beginning on April 12 at 11 a.m., while the first of four starting flights for event #11 kicks off on April 20, also at 11 a.m.
The Borgata Championship is slated to begin on April 24. There will be two starting flights, both at 11 a.m., and four days of poker action in total.
All three event final tables will be live streamed for public viewing, presumably on the Twitch Poker channel.
Recent history of the Borgata Poker Open
A quick survey of the Borgata poker room and event center during Open time firmly extinguishes the notion that poker is a dying sport.
Just this winter, the Borgata Winter Poker Open saw the aggressive guarantees for its top shelf events shattered. When all the numbers were tallied, the final prize pool for the $2 million kickoff event came in at a whopping $2,550,440.
Turnout for the $3 million guaranteed Championship was just as impressive, as players came together to create a $3,543,200 prize fund.
Expect more guarantee-busters when the Spring Open goes live on April 12.
Image credit: Racheal Grazias / Shutterstock.com