A poker player draws the biggest mystery prize and wins the entire tournament.

Vance Martin III drew the largest prize and won the championship in the Borgata $580 Monster Mirror mystery bounty tournament, earning a total of over $37,000 in bounty and $25,650 in prize money.

The final trophy event of the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open attracted 620 hopeful players to the $580 Monster Mirror Mystery Bounty. In this unique format, the bounty is equal to the prize money, with half of the total prize pool of $310,000 allocated to the prize money and the other half to the bounty.

Seventy-six players returned for Day Two, and all of them had entered the prize pool; the bounty hunt was about to begin.

After 12 hours of intense competition, Vance Martin III proudly lifted the beautiful Borgata trophy, along with a champion's prize of $25,650. However, what truly added to his success was Martin's bounty-drawing prowess. As the chip leader at the final table, Martin drew the highest bounty, ultimately winning over $37,000 in total.

The Lebanese player from Pennsylvania defeated George Grabe in a long heads-up match after a tumultuous final table.

Martin has accumulated $24,000 in live tournament winnings, almost all of which came this year. Despite starting Day 2 with only 12 big blinds, Martin gradually built up his short stack, and his strong performance at the final table doubled his previous tournament winnings.

$580 Monster Mirror Mystery Bounty Tournament Final Table Results

Second day battle situation

Like most mystery bounty tournaments, eliminations are swift and intense at the start of the day. However, the biggest bounty is not drawn early on.

Some notable players who failed to make it to the final tables include Alex Rocha (76th, $660), Aaron Mermelstein (70th, $680), Corbin Avery (56th), Lucas Vergara (47th, $780), Lawrence Abrams (37th, $945), and Adam Agaev (29th, $1,125).

The pace of the tournament slowed down in the final three tables, with Kaifan Wang (16th place, $1,375) and Todd Lewis (15th place, $1,665) eliminated before the final table. Incredibly, Simon Lau, who left the tournament during the first break, climbed all the way to 11th place. His chip stack took three hours to run out of blinds, and he was left with a prize of $2,015.

Final table results

The final table was an "all or nothing" story—five players gathered at the top, and four players were far behind. Shane Brown held the official lead at the start of the tournament.

The first major pot was a double elimination, with Martin eliminating both Alan Johnson and David Lu. Holding AK against QJ and A-9, Martin paired with his K on the flop, completing the double kill. Even better, he went to claim the bounty, winning the two largest remaining bounties: $27,650 and $6,125.

John Port (7th place, $3,900) and Erick Ortiz (6th place, $4,855) soon followed to the prize collection area, and Martin began to widen the gap with his opponents.

Shane Brown was the next to be eliminated, finishing in fifth place with $6,125. In a huge pre-flop showdown, Brown's KJ, Robert Bernstein's J, and Vance Martin III's AQ all reached center pot. Bernstein's J held the best position, briefly giving him the chip lead, while Brown was eliminated.

The four-player battle lasted nearly an hour before the deadlock was broken. Robert Bernstein's pocket sevens lost to Grabe's J, and Anthony LaRocca was subsequently eliminated due to a short stack. Another player also fell victim to Grabe's J. The two finished with $8,785 and $13,275 respectively.

Grabe had a slight lead at the start of heads-up play, and the two exchanged many small pots, with Grabe maintaining a small lead.

The two agreed to even out the prize money, but the game remained cautious. Eventually, less than 40 big blinds remained at the table, and the two players took turns winning small pots.

In the final hand, Martin raised before the button, and Grabe went all-in with A-2 suited, shoving his last 18 big blinds, only to be instantly called by Martin's AQ. Neither player had a pair, and Martin maintained the best hand, celebrating the championship title after a 12-hour battle.

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