After recently announcing the new BetMGM Poker Championship this summer in Las Vegas, on Thursday expanded qualifying opportunities to online poker players in Ontario.
The $3,500 championship is set for June 23-26 as part of the Aria Poker Classic and comes with a $1 million guarantee. Players in Ontario can now qualify for the event beginning this weekend. Qualifiers and satellites will run on a rolling basis and BetMGM is awarding six complete tournament packages.
“The first-ever BetMGM Poker Championship descends on Las Vegas during one of the most exciting times of the poker season,” BetMGM director of poker Luke Staudenmaier said in a news release.
“Aria is a legendary poker brand and we’re thrilled that the championship has become an integral part of this year’s Poker Classic. Through our relationship with MGM Resorts and its world-class US properties, we’ll continue to leverage event programming and connect with players both online and in their favorite poker rooms.”
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Qualifying via BetMGM
Ontario is the fourth online poker market for BetMGM, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan in the US. The province began regulating the market this year, creating a ringed-in environment as seen in the US.
BetMGM also shares player pools with partypoker in Ontario, but players only compete against others within the province.
The platform is operated by Roar Digital, owned by MGM Resorts and Entain (owner of the international partypoker brand). Roar officials are now planning more utilization of MGM’s popular casino resorts and poker rooms in coordination with the online product.
Ontario players looking to grab a seat in the BetMGM Poker Championship now have several opportunities. There are numerous satellites running with two qualifiers planned for three upcoming Sundays: May 29, June 5 and 12. Winners receive a prize package that include:
- tournament buy-in
- travel expenses
- five-night stay at Aria
More on tap for Vegas satellite winners
In the US, online poker is legal on a state-by-state basis and BetMGM has become one of the country’s major operators. The brand is a skin of the partypoker US Network, along with Borgata Poker. All three skins share player pools in each state as BetMGM and party do in Ontario.
Winners can expect a fun few days of action in Las Vegas. Beyond the championship, the company is promising sportsbook watching parties and other activities.
A $600 BetMGM Poker Mystery Bounty is also planned for June 25. This is the first time Aria has run this popular version of a traditional bounty tournament.
The BetMGM Poker Championship is the second opportunity for online players to qualify online for a live event at an MGM property. In the US, players in the March Poker Mania series could also qualify for a tournament at the Borgata in Atlantic City.
Those efforts now expand to Canadian players in Ontario. Four-time World Poker Tour champion and BetMGM ambassador Darren Elias is excited to see expansion of online- and live event cross-promotions.
“BetMGM is particularly well-equipped to offer these sorts of events as our online platforms can qualify players to events at any of our MGM properties,” he recently told USPoker. “Whether that be Aria and Bellagio in Las Vegas or Borgata and MGM National Harbor on the East Coast, players can expect to play at some of the premier poker destinations in the country.
“This recent Borgata event we ran and the upcoming BetMGM Aria event should only be the beginning. I’m expecting to see more integration between the live and online arenas and even larger events in the future.”