The check-in of the fall is synonymous with the rollout of poker promos sponsored by Atlantic City casinos as they rush to lure players into the felt. It is therefore not surprising that some operators are spending heavily to make sure that the season ends with big wins for them. Rumors going around in the industry indicate that Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is holding talks with like-minded stakeholders to organize a live poker tournament in the winter.
The current situation in Atlantic City is that some casinos like the Borgata Casino (52 tables), Harrahs Resort (28 tables), and Tropicana Atlantic City (10 tables) hold cash games on a 24/7 basis. Let us take a look at what is taking place in the poker circles of AC;
According to a Borgata insider whose identity has been withheld, the management of the casino has already agreed to the hosting of a live tournament series which will be played in January. By the time this article was published, the exact date, amount of tournament buy-in, and schedule on which the events will run had not been made public. This means that poker players will have two tournaments to take part in at the start of 2023; the other one is the January Borgata Poker/BetMGM Poker online series whose schedule has already been released.
Did you know that Borgata is the only casino destination in the whole of Atlantic City that hosts live tournaments? In the month of September, the casino holds an annual survivor series and this time is no exception.
If you would like to try out your luck in the survivor series this time, check out the event dates which have been set for the third week of the month. The series is comprised of four events which will be played on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday starting at 11 a.m. to participate in any of these events, players will need to part with buy-ins ranging between $125-$450.
What we cover
How does a survivor event work?
At the beginning of any survivor event, the rules and guidelines of a normal tournament will apply. This familiar routine will be followed until the players on the game have played down the remaining entries to a certain number. At this point, there will have been some eliminated players and those that manage to stay in the game. All remaining players after a certain level are awarded an equal payout and the tournament is closed.
At the Borgata, there is a normal survivor event that runs every Wednesday night from which $1,500 is paid out. This weekly event incorporates a double green-chip bounty.
Presently, there are no guarantees on any tournaments host by Borgata but players are assured that the popular bounty tournament will be held in September. Are you free on Thursday night? The Super Knock Out Black Chip Bounty is the event for you. Detailed information on the day specific events is available from the Borgata website.
September Poker Promotions at AC Borgata
The gambling market in New Jersey is currently counting gains from the High Hand Promotions that had been designed for the fall. At the Borgata the wins are flying through into people’s pockets like a joke;
- $200 is won 30 minutes on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11am-12am
- $250 is won 15 minutes on Friday and Saturday to the highest hand in the room, starting from 11 a.m. to midnight
- $500 power hour takes place every 20 minutes at the start and close of the day on Fridays and Saturdays.
At the close of the past week, the Borgata Bad Beat Jackpot prize had risen to $100,000. For players to be eligible for the bad beat jackpot, they are required to have four of a kind 10s or better. In addition to that, a player must have used two of the cards which they hold in their hand. Losing the hand does not mean walking home empty-handed – the losing hand is awarded 40% of the jackpot. Winning the bad beat jackpot earns a player 20% of the jackpot amount while the remaining 40% is shared amongst all the players that remain from the dealt hand.
Reopening the Poker Room
From March 2022, the poker room of the Borgata Casino in AC has been dormant. The eerie silence that has been the norm in this part of the casino will soon be punctuated with constant chip clattering sounds, echoes from squishing of hand sanitizers, and stories of a bad beat.
The official date of reopening the online poker room has been set for October 21, but no spectators will be allowed. Players who must eat at the premises will be better of making plans on the outsides because only drinks will be available for table service (no Food).
A total of five casinos in Atlantic City, including Borgata have and operate a poker room but none of them is operational at the moment. On the day that Borgata opens this facility to players, it will be the only casino establishment in all of New Jersey to host live poker games. Since there is no word from the management of the other casinos (Golden Nugget AC, Bally’s AC, Tropicana AC, and Harrah’s AC) on when they will resume operations, the focus will be on Borgata.
By virtue of the pandemic, all gambling spots had been closed and only at the start of summer did the Governor of NJ, Phil Murphy issue a directive that allowed AC casinos to admit players at 25% capacity. Obviously, it was upon the casinos to decide which of their operations was more profitable so as to make a low capacity economical. Borgata did not resume operations immediately and when they did, they kept the Poker Room ‘out of bounds.’
Final Thoughts
Downtimes are not always a bad thing – Borgata Casino took advantage of the time out of business to have the poker room modified. Before the lockdown, it housed a glorious 77 tables but the new capacity is less than 30%. The current spacing is permanent as it was enforced as a safety precaution during the pandemic period.
