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Bonus TL;DR
- Matthew Zambanini finished Day 1a of the $5,300 BetMGM Poker Big, Big Championship at Borgata as the chip leader.
- The opening flight advanced 25 players toward the event’s $3 million prize pool, including notable BetMGM ambassadors and qualifiers.
Matthew Zambanini ended Day 1a of the $5,300 BetMGM Poker Big, Big Championship at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa with the chip lead after 80 entries produced 25 players who bagged for the next stage.
The opening flight matters because the BetMGM-branded championship carries a $3 million prize pool and has already drawn a field that includes established tournament players, BetMGM qualifiers, and BetMGM ambassadors. Day 1a also set the pace for the remaining starting flights as the event continued on September 20 with Day 1b.
Zambanini finished with 235,000 chips, good for 94 big blinds. He was followed by Max Young with 211,000 and Justin Arnwine with 201,000.
Rounding out the top 10 were Blake Vogdes (197,000), Joe McKeehen (187,000), Anthony Piacquadio (177,000), Ketan Pandya (169,000), Michael Gagliano (158,500), Daniel Monosson (146,000), and Carlos Vizoso (141,000).
Notable players move through the opening flight
Several recognizable names advanced out of Day 1a. Brock Wilson, the champion of Event 7: $2,200 Big, Big Pot-Limit Omaha, moved on with 118,000.
Drew O’Connell and Michael Wang, who chopped Event 10: $10,200 Big, Big Baller, also advanced with 84,000 and 107,500, respectively.
BetMGM online poker qualifier Austen Yueh bagged 101,000. BetMGM ambassadors Michael Gagliano and Darren Elias advanced with 158,500 and 101,500.
At the time of the tournament update, the event showed 118 total entries, 63 players left, an average stack of 55,873, and 3,520,000 chips in play. Blinds were listed at 200/400 with a 400 ante in Level 3.
What comes next in the championship
Day 1b was scheduled for 12:15 p.m. local time on September 20. According to the event details, that flight was set to use 60-minute levels and play 10 full levels before bagging.
The source identified Day 1a as the first of three opening flights, leaving more chances for the field to grow and for the overall leaderboard to change before players combine for the next stage.
For now, Zambanini holds the early advantage after the first completed flight of one of the marquee events on the 2026 Borgata Big, Big Series schedule.
Source: As reported by Justin Arnwine.
