The BetMGM Poker Championship is back for its fourth summer outing and, if recent trends are anything to go by, it’s set to be bigger than ever.
The $3,500 tournament is, once again, part of the ARIA Poker Classic Summer Series. Following on from last year’s record-breaking event, the 2025 BetMGM Poker Championship has a $3 million guarantee this time around.
The action gets underway on June 30 inside the ARIA, Las Vegas, and play will continue until a champion is crowned on July 4. As ever, BetMGM Poker is running a plethora of low-cost online satellites, but there’s another way to grab yourself a seat.
Stick around, and I’ll reveal what it is in a moment. Before that, here’s why the BetMGM Poker Championship has done what most deem to be impossible and made its mark on Sin City’s packed summer schedule.
History of the BetMGM Poker Championship
The first BetMGM Poker Championship took place in 2022. Back then, it was a shot in the dark from BetMGM Poker.
With tournaments at every turn in Las Vegas, particularly during the summer, breaking through isn’t easy. BetMGM Poker managed it.
The initial $3,500 tournament broke its $1 million guarantee. Joey Weissman won on that occasion and returned to defend his title in 2023 when the guarantee was upped to $2 million.
Once again, expectations were surpassed and the prizepool soared beyond the $2 million mark. In fact, when Leo Taffe eventually topped a field of 1,026 entries, he took home the lion’s share of a $3.2 million prizepool.
Fast-forward to last year, and the BetMGM Poker Championship kicked off with a $3 million guarantee. As before, the guarantee didn’t remain intact for long. A record-breaking 1,141 entries pushed the prizepool to just short of $3.3 million.
When the dust had settled, Daniel Maor stood victorious. His epic heads-up battle with Shannon Shorr not only captivated those inside the ARIA but fans watching online.
Congratulations to Daniel Maor, our 2024 #BetMGM Poker Championship winner! @Dmaor9 bested a field of 1,141 players @AriaLV @AriaPoker to capture the crown 👑
📸: @pokerorg pic.twitter.com/0SsjoE14aP
— BetMGM Poker (@BetMGMPoker) June 12, 2024
A Poker Tournament for Everyone
The same fans who watched online in 2024 can follow along this year with updates on Poker.org and PokerGO’s live stream. Those who are fortunate enough to have a seat to play in the BetMGM Poker Championship will have a chance to win a share of at least $3 million.
I asked Dave Mileaf, Senior Manager of Poker Operatons at BetMGM, why the tournament has struck a chord with players. He told me the event’s success is helped by BetMGM’s continued growth in the online arena.
“We are going into this summer with tremendous momentum, especially as BetMGM Poker merged Pennsylvania with New Jersey’s and Michigan’s playerpools in April. Since then, we’ve seen an unprecedented volume of play,” said Mileaf.
He added that supporting content and auxiliary initiatives have added to the tournament’s appeal.
“In addition to PokerGO’s final table stream and live coverage from Poker.org, we are leaning into our partnerships. Our new poker ambassador, Abby Merk, is putting together a creator game, and the digital baseball show, Foul Territory, will also be a part of the BetMGM Poker Championship,” Mileaf continued.
Partnerships Bolster BetMGM Poker’s Reputation for Excellence
Mileaf’s point about partnerships is particularly poignant given the link with Cardplayer Lifestyle’s upcoming Mixed Game Festival XI.
“Holding a BetMGM Poker Championship seat giveaway at Mixed Game Festival XI definitely adds excitement. It also puts BetMGM in the conversation among poker players during the summer,” Mileaf said.
More than excitement, it’s the Mixed Game Festival’s connection with players across all parts of the community that caught Mileaf’s attention.
“This is the eleventh Mixed Game Festival, and it is a unique event in the poker community. With our connection to Bellagio Las Vegas and the Mixed Game Festival’s great reputation among players, it was an easy decision for us to partner with Cardplayer Lifestyle,” Mileaf concluded.
It’s interesting Mileaf said that, because the social aspect of poker has been on my mind recently. From my perspective, events like the Mixed Game Festival and BetMGM Poker Championship are rekindling a part of poker that seemed lost a few years ago.
Reigniting the Spirit of Poker
In fact, I’m not the only one who thinks that poker’s social side has dwindled in recent years. YouTube’s telepathic algorithm was clearly doing its thing as I wrote this piece because it suggested the video you see below.
The video in question is a recent episode of the Table 1 podcast with the laconic but always erudite Huckleberry Seed. Why am I telling you this? For two reasons. Firstly, Huck has 26 live tournament wins to his name. Of those victories, seven were in non-Hold’em events.
That leads me to the second reason for bringing up this fortuitous moment. Throughout the podcast, Huck talked about his start in poker, his outlook on the game, and why he stepped away from the felt.
The key takeaways are relevant to the Mixed Games Festival. Huck got his start playing Lowball with his dad. From there, he played Seven Card Stud in college with Konstantin Othmer, one of the first people to write a strategy book based on computer simulations.
The thread that held Huck’s stories together was social interaction. He loved the social aspect of poker and the characters it attracted. The loss of this in the mid-2000s is why he stepped away from the felt.
Poker As it Should be this Summer
For me, this is relevant to the BetMGM Poker Championship and, of course, the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival. Poker is, and always will be, a form of entertainment. Sure, it’s nice to win money, but the people you meet, the stories you hear, and the experiences you have along the way are worth more.
As Mileaf said, there’s a buzz surrounding the BetMGM Poker Championship, and it’s not just because of the prizepool. The same is also true of the Mixed Game Festival; it isn’t only about money. You only have to look at this year’s schedule to see that.
From pizza parties to celebrity appearances, the 10-day festival is more than just endless cash games or “just another tournament series”. It’s an event that embodies the essence of poker, an essence that Huck Seed, and no doubt others, yearn for.
The fact that four Mixed Game Festival goers are going to win seats into the $3,500 BetMGM Poker Championship is a bonus. Plucking people from Cardplayer Lifestyle’s summer social shows BetMGM Poker’s commitment to creating a player-friendly tournament.
So, let’s bring this tangent to a poignant conclusion: Huck Seed is worth listening to. He’s been around poker for decades. He’s won the WSOP Main Event and is a Poker Hall of Famer.
If he says there’s more to poker than Hold’em bots and solvers, we should probably listen. More than that, there are plenty of options out there for players who want something more from their time at the tables.
The BetMGM Poker Championship is one option and Mixed Game Festival XI is another. So, if you’re in Las Vegas over the next few weeks and you’ve got some spare cash, I’d consider getting involved.
