Regional news

Regional news

$500k guarantees a tournament victory and includes three of the biggest mystery prizes.

$500k guarantees a tournament victory and includes three of the biggest mystery prizes.

Regional news

Aaron Pinson has won the Borgata $2,200 Big, Big Mystery Bounty, taking home all three top prizes for a total of $199,825. He defeated Matt Glantz heads-up to win the trophy and the final $25,000 prize. Not only did Aaron Pinson win a $500,000 guaranteed tournament in Borgata, Atlantic City, he practically won the entire prize pool. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration. But this $2,200 Big, Big Borgata Mystery Bounty (a 232-player No-Limit Hold'em tournament) champion has taken home all three top prizes. And, fittingly, he defeated Matt Glantz heads-up—the player who famously drew the $1 million mystery bounty at the 2023 WSOP—to win the final prize. Here's how it happened: In this Borgata Big, Big series tournament, Day 2 saw 24 players remaining. They were all in the money, and the mystery bounty phase began. There were two $50,000 bounties, no bigger than that. Pinson was the first player to eliminate an opponent on Day 2. He stepped forward and immediately won the first $50,000 bounty. His odds of winning were one in twelve. But this was just the beginning. Pinson had over 2.4 million $ in live tournament winnings at The Hendon Mob, and he continued accumulating chips throughout the day. His bounty was already comparable to the first-place prize. But this didn't stop him from continuing to collect bounties, including a $10,000 draw. Then, he went up and won the second $50,000 bounty. But he wasn't done yet. When Pinson and Glantz entered heads-up play, Pinson had already accumulated 130,000 chips from the available $250,000 bounty. The two players had nearly identical chip stacks. They agreed to split the prize pool, each receiving $44,825. However, they decided to flip a coin to determine who would win the trophy, and then each would draw one of their last two bounties. Pinson won the coin flip and thus won the trophy. He drew his last bounty, which happened to be the second largest denomination—$25,000. Glantz, through elimination, knew that his only bounty was worth $10,000. Pinson won a total of $199,825, representing 40% of the entire prize pool. A good day's work. Want to transform Texas Hold'em from "understanding" to "winning"? If you want to learn more about Texas Hold'em, you can continue reading: The Origin of Texas Hold'em: Why Has It Become the Most Popular Poker Game in the World? Texas Hold'em Hand Rankings and Comparison Rules

David Stefani wins the Big, Big Baller heads-up match with a $ score of 169,220.

David Stefani wins the Big, Big Baller heads-up match with a $ score of 169,220.

Regional news

David Stefanski won the Borghata Big, Big Series Event 6: $10,200 Big, Big Baller, taking home $169,220. He dominated heads-up to defeat Michael Wong and broke his career $3 million live winnings mark. After two full days of Big, Big Baller battles at the Borghata Hotel Casino & Spa, the 69 entrants for Event 6: $10,200 Big, Big Baller were reduced to just one. That player was David Stefanski, who emerged victorious from a field of high-stakes players to win his first title in the Borghata Big, Big Series. As if the trophy wasn't sweet enough, Stefanski also took home a lovely first-place prize of $169,220, the peak of the $690,000 prize pool generated during the event's registration period. This included $149,260 from the three-way prize deal, and $19,960, which had to be contested further. Michael Wong also performed admirably, falling in the final round and losing the heads-up match. He left with a very solid consolation prize of $127,750. Drew O'Connell was the other player involved in the three-way ICM deal. He took home $156,675 for his efforts. Although he was the first of the three to be eliminated, he received the largest share of the prize money because he was the chip leader at the time. Event 6: $10,200 Big, Big Baller Final Table Results Rank Player Country Prize Money 1st David Stephensky USA $169,220* 2nd Michael Wang USA $127,750* 3rd Drew O'Connell USA $156,675* 4th Matt Grantz USA $62,530 5th Clement Deng USA $46,295 6th Michael Galliano USA $38,785 7th Brock Wilson USA $33,380 8th Jeremy Becker USA $29,325 *Indicates a deal Champion Reaction Stephensky couldn't have come any closer in Event 2: $2,200 Big, Big Kick Off, entering heads-up play with a nearly 5:1 chip lead. However, things didn't go as planned, and he ultimately settled for second place. This time, he made sure the same thing wouldn't happen again. "The last heads-up experience was very different. I had a huge chip lead, but nothing just went right. Today against Mike (Wang), I got a really good hand. I was able to lock in the win." Stephenski completely dominated the match, chipping away at his opponent's chips until the trophy was his. That said, it wasn't just about him facing Wang. "I'm glad I went in with six and a half starting chips," Stephenski noted, referring to his seat at the start of Day Two. He successfully made the most of his chip stack, overtaking his opponent all the way up.

The RSOP Dongying Station Main Event saw 508 entries in the first round, with 88 players advancing. Yuan Haifeng and Du Shangze led the last remaining qualifiers.

RSOP Dongying Station | Main Event Round 1: 508 entries, 88 players advance; Yuan Haifeng and Du Shangze lead the last remaining spots.

Regional news

    On September 20, 2026, the RSOP Dongying Station entered its fourth day of competition, with the final two starting groups of the Main Event, Day 1C and Day 1D Turbo tournaments, officially commencing. After a day of intense competition, 189 players entered Day 1C, with 32 advancing; 77 players entered Day 1D, with 19 advancing. Du Shangze and Yuan Haifeng were the chip leaders in their respective groups. With all four starting groups completed, the RSOP Dongying Station Main Event recorded a total of 508 entries, with 88 players qualifying for the second round. All advancing players will return to the field at 12:00 noon on September 21 to continue competing for the Main Event championship. The RSOP Dongying Station Main Event featured multiple starting groups, allowing players to compete for second-round qualification in batches. The first round was completed after the final two groups on September 20. RSOP Dongying Main Event Day 1 Data: 508 entries, 88 advancing to Day 2. Day 1C: 189 entries, 32 advancing. Day 1D (Turbo): 77 entries, 19 advancing. Day 1D starts at 12:00 PM on September 21st. From the 508 entries, only 88 players managed to retain chips and advance to the next stage. With all starting groups complete, the Main Event officially entered its intense competition phase. Day 1C: Du Shangze leads with 432,500 chips. The first focus on September 20th was the Main Event Day 1C. This group had 189 entries. After the day's competition, 32 players advanced. Du Shangze took the chip lead in Day 1C with 432,500 chips. Day 1C Core Results: 189 players, 32 advance. Chip leader: Du Shangze with 432,500 chips. Notably, Du Shangze previously won the Omaha Turbo Challenge at this year's RSOP Dongying event, and now he has successfully advanced to Day 2 in the first round of the Main Event, carrying the most chips in Group C. From a side event champion to the Main Event chip leader, Du Shangze is one of the players to watch at this year's Dongying event. Day 1D Turbo: Yuan Haifeng leads with 474,000 chips. Simultaneously with Group C, the final starting group of the Main Event also took place: Day 1D Turbo. This group had: 77 players. Ultimately: 19 players advanced. Yuan Haifeng became the chip leader in Group D with: 474,000 chips. Day 1D Core Results: 77 players, 19 advance. Chip leader: Yuan Haifeng with 474,000 chips. Turbo events typically have a tighter blind pace, requiring players to accumulate chips in a shorter time. Yuan Haifeng ultimately advanced with 474,000 chips, becoming the player with the most chips in both starting groups on September 20th. September 20th Chip Leader Comparison: Day 1C: Du Shangze 432,500; Day 1D: [Details of Day 1C and Day 1D are missing from the original text.]