Massachusetts residents and visitors will have an opportunity to take part in an unprecedented gambling event this year. An MGM poker tour in conjunction with Borgata is coming to the Bay State.
The tour involves three facilities over the course of 10 months. It’s the first time that Borgata and MGM have worked in conjunction on such an event.
Details on the 2020 MGM East Coast Poker Tour
The tour, which will only involve properties on the East Coast, begins next month. The kickoff will be the Potomac Winter Open, slated for Feb. 5-17 at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The $3,000 buy-in event offers a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The next four events, including the Armory Classic at MGM Springfield, guarantee prize pools of at least $1 million. Buy-ins for those events range from $2,700 to $3,500, depending on the event.
Details for the five stops are as follows:
- Feb. 5-17: $3,000 buy-in Potomac Winter Open at MGM National Harbor (Oxon Hill, MD)
- April 7-24: $2,700 buy-in Spring Open at Borgata (Atlantic City, NJ)
- July 7-24: $2,700 buy-in Summer Open at Borgata (Atlantic City, NJ)
- July 22-Aug. 30: $3,500 buy-in Potomac Poker Open at MGM National Harbor (Oxon Hill, MD)
- Aug. 12-24: Armory Classic (buy-in TBA) at MGM Springfield (Springfield, MA)
The tour culminates with the Fall Poker Open Championship Nov. 15-20 at the Borgata. A total of 100 players will qualify for this $2 million guaranteed event over the course of the five preliminary stops, while others may buy in for $3,500.
Before players invest their energy and time in a tournament, they like to know the opportunity is worth the work. This new venture between Borgata and MGM offers a lucrative pot for its winners.
How to qualify for the Fall Poker Open Championship event
Players can earn points on the ECPT leaderboard during the five aforementioned events to earn their free spot in the biggest event of the tour.
The Fall Poker Open Championship in November boasts a $2 million guaranteed prize pool and 100 players will qualify for free. That group of 100 will be composed of the winners of the five previous events, the top 90 players on the tour’s leaderboard who didn’t win an event and five other randomly-selected players (one from each event).
According to an MGM news release, these 100 players will win a complimentary two-night stay at Borgata along with the free $3,500 entry into the Fall Poker Open Championship.
Other prizes up for grabs for top leaderboard finishers include a $500 MGM Resorts gift card, $250 hotel credit at Borgata and a Cartier watch. According to the release, players must be part of MGM’s M Life program to qualify.
East Coast Poker Tour could be a win-win
The co-sponsored poker tour offers East Coast players and those willing to travel an opportunity to compete for some larger prize pools across the region. They’ll also have a chance to qualify for a $2 million guaranteed event for free.
For the MGM Springfield, the win is in being one of only three facilities to take part in the novel tour. It also has the honor of hosting the final preliminary event, the last tournament where players can earn leaderboard points.
That should translate to drawing quite a crowd in August. If the tour is a moneymaker for both brands, there’s a chance that it could become an annual tradition, and grow even larger.