Dean wins Borgata Poker Open powered by BetMGM

The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa Poker Open Powered by BetMGM featured 30 main events over the course of two weeks and awarded over $7,000,000 in total prize pools. It concluded with the $3,500 Borgata Poker Open Championship that began with a field of 758 on 13 September and ended with Donovan Dean winning the title and $408,836 on 17 September.

Dean surpassed his previous live cash ($356,952) when he defeated Luis Ortiz in heads-up play. Ortiz won $283,446 and it represented a huge leap over his previous best live cash of $3,338. Kharlin Sued finished third ($195,599) and also scored a personal best live cash.

“The latest Borgata Poker Open featured the largest slate of online qualification and more than two weeks of amazing live action,” said Luke Staudenmaier, Director of Poker, BetMGM. “The personal bests from players at the Final Table shows that Borgata poker events are some of the biggest in the country and we are proud to partner with them.”

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Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa to welcome back poker next week

Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa – an MGM Resorts International luxury resort and casino – will reopen The Poker Room at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 21 October following its closure earlier this year amidst the coronavirus crisis. Borgata Poker will return with 30 socially distanced tables following the company’s comprehensive health and safety protocols designed to protect employees and customers.

“We are happy to welcome back our loyal players as we reopen Atlantic City’s market-leading East Coast poker destination,” said Melonie Johnson, President & Chief Operating Officer of Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. “We have made some changes to enhance our guest’s experience and are excited to reintroduce live poker and the Borgata Poker brand more safely.”

All poker play will be live cash games on seven-handed tables with polycarbonate barriers. Borgata’s Bad Beat Jackpot will immediately initiate, giving players the opportunity to lose their hand but win a prize of $100,000. Hand sanitizing dispensers will be accessible throughout The Poker Room, with frequent disinfecting of high touch points. Masks are required in all public areas and spectators will not be permitted in The Poker Room.

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Borgata plans tasting week and food festival

Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa will present Savor Borgata Weekend on Friday, November 4th, and Saturday, November 5th, featuring a variety of events leading up to Savor The City, a unique food festival Saturday evening highlighting Borgata's celebrity roster of chefs. The weekend will welcome Iron Chef and The Chew co-host Michael Symon in his first events as a Borgata Chef/Partner, building anticipation for the spring 2017 debut of his signature Borgata restaurant.

Celebrating the culturally vibrant city of New York, Savor The City will offer more than 20 different stations from Borgata's star-studded culinary lineup, including Wolfgang Puck (Wolfgang Puck American Grille), Geoffrey Zakarian (The Water Club at Borgata), Michael Symon (2017 opening), Michael Schulson (Izakaya Modern Japanese Pub), Greg and Marc Sherry (Old Homestead Steak House), as well as Executive Chef Tom Biglan (Borgata), Executive Pastry Chef Thaddeus DuBois (Borgata Pastry), and Executive Restaurant Chef Michael Chiarlanza (Bobby Flay Steak.) Enjoying craft beers and a variety of wines, guests will join Savor The City at The Event Center on Saturday for a night that will include live music, festival entertainers, kitchen demonstrations and street performances, among other activities.

"This year, Savor Borgata Weekend will introduce a new member to Borgata's unprecedented and star-studded culinary lineup," said Becky Schultz, Vice President of Food & Beverage for Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. "Equally famous for his soulful cooking and joyful personality, Michael Symon is one of the country's most beloved chefs and we couldn't be more excited to debut his first Italian restaurant in Atlantic City next year. Borgata has been a fan of Symon since his guest-chef participation in Savor Borgata 2013, so to welcome him into the fold as a Chef/Partner three years later is very exciting!"

Borgata will present a program of signature events throughout the weekend that will celebrate the individual talent of each participating chef. On Friday, Savor Borgata Weekend will kick-off with three signature dinners designed to excite even the most experienced palettes. "The Best of Wolfgang Puck" will present an open-format dining reception to mix and mingle with the legendary chef while sampling several of his favorite recipes from around the globe. Across the hall, Borgata's newest Chef/Partner, Michael Symon, will host an exclusive "Debut Dinner" at 28 West where a select number of lucky guests will enjoy a menu sneak peak of his soon-to-debut Borgata signature restaurant, learning details behind the concept for the first time.

Old Homestead restaurateurs Greg and Marc Sherry will celebrate more than a century of steakhouse traditions by hosting a multi-course "Wine Dinner with Joseph Phelps Vineyards" and their award-winning Executive Chef, Romeo DiBona, while Borgata Executive Chef Tom Biglan showcases his talents during "Chef's Table at Borgata Buffet," featuring family-style favorites and signature cuts of meat. On the same evening, fans of The Water Club may choose between "Cocktails with Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian" in the hotel's Sunroom lounge, or "An Evening of Scotch and Pastry" with Executive Pastry Chef Thaddeus DuBois poolside at Immersion Spa, overlooking the city's famed Marina District.

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BorgataPoker presents fifth annual Garden State Super Series

New Jersey's premier online poker platform, BorgataPoker.com presents the fifth installment of one of the state's largest and most popular tournaments, the Garden State Super Series (GSSS V), taking place 9-23 October and featuring over $1.1 million in guaranteed prize money.

"Featuring larger guarantees, varied price points and great satellite offerings, the fifth iteration of Borgata's Garden State Super Series will be one of the most highly anticipated online tournaments of the year," said Steve Nathan, Vice President of Marketing for Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. "We have continued to grow and evolve the event series, with this year's $175,000 Main Event boasting the largest GSSS prize pool to-date."

The exciting online GSSS V consists of 75 featured events across a range of formats such as No Limit Hold'em, Limit Hold'em, Stud, Pot Limit Omaha, Six-Max and Bounty tournaments. The series opens on Sunday, 9 October, with seven events, including a $75,000 Guaranteed No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry, and culminates on 23 October, with the $175,000 Guaranteed No Limit Hold'em Re-Entry Main Event - the largest single-event guarantee in GSSS history.

"If you've never experienced a GSSS series, I highly recommend you give it a shot," said online and land-based poker professional Michael 'Gags30' Gagliano. "While there are a wide array of formats and buy-ins, I am particularly excited about playing in the high stakes tournaments, especially the $535 6max, and the $1k, which always make for some really exciting final tables."

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Borgata brings The Four Phantoms to the Music Box theater

Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa today announced the addition of The Four Phantoms, taking place at Borgata's Music Box theater on Saturday, Aug. 6 and Sunday, Aug. 7. The 90-minute, two-act performances will present hits from the acclaimed Broadway Musical, The Phantom of the Opera as well as other popular songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical catalog. "Borgata has always sought to offer our customers unique and exceptional entertainment offerings," said Joe Lupo, Senior Vice President of Operations for Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. "The addition of The Four Phantoms to our concert schedule presents an exclusive opportunity for patrons to experience some of the most talented and notable names in Broadway today." The Four Phantoms are comprised of an extraordinary quartet of performers including Brent Barrett, Franc D'Ambrosio, Davis Gaines, and Marcus Lovett, under the musical direction of two-time Grammy Award winner David Caddick and with choreography by three-time U.S. National Ice Dance Champion Renee Roca. Both Borgata performances will also feature Kaley Ann Voorhees as the Special Guest Female Artist in The Four Phantoms shows. Kaley recently played the lead role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and was one of the youngest to do so at the age of 20.

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Former NFL player bounced checks at Borgata

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- New Jersey.com is reporting that a former NFL footballer supplied bounced checks to the Borgata Casino.

Clinton Portis is alleged to have passed 170K in NSF cheques to settle his line of credit, the report said.

The casino is attempting to prevent the debt being written off under bankruptcy, according to New Jersey.com's report.

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Borgata announces new Premier Nightclub

Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa announced plans for a $14 million nightlife experience, Premier Nightclub. Designed by Josh Held (Marquee NYC; TAO Las Vegas; Voyeur Los Angeles), the 18,000-square-foot venue will ignite a rebirth of Atlantic City nightlife with its spring 2016 debut.

"As the first to introduce signature bottle service, high-caliber entertainment, and world-renowned deejays to the region, Borgata was a game-changer when it debuted its unique brand of nightlife in 2003," said Joe Lupo, Senior Vice President of Operations for Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. "Nearly 13 years later, we felt now was the ideal time to once again redefine nightlife entertainment with a venue designed to rival the top clubs in Las Vegas, Miami, and New York. With its debut, Premier Nightclub will provide partygoers with an experience that is unmatched in Atlantic City, further reinforcing Borgata's position as the market-leading resort destination."

Combining previous entertainment space with newly excavated volume, Premier will create a theatrical experience for partygoers. As guests enter the nightclub, they will be welcomed into an ornate, yet modern scene with tiered booths focused on the deejay booth, stage, and digital proscenium. The main room will be flanked by two 35-foot-long bars with carved-stone faces and pierced-metal and mirrored back bars. An internal monumental staircase with hand-welded bronze filigree will take guests upstairs to the horseshoe-shaped mezzanine. A custom 6-foot-diameter disco ball will shine as the grand showpiece in the heart of Premier, surrounded by a first-of-it-kind 25-foot-diameter chandelier made from programmable light.

Bringing more than 15 years of experience to the field, Josh Held has amassed a collection of work creating and reinventing hospitality design focused on residential, hotels, casinos, nightclubs, restaurants, theatres, and retail. A full service agency with the sole mission of evolving the designed environment and how it is experienced, Josh Held Design has created projects nationally and internationally including New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Palm Springs, Singapore, and Dubai. In addition to receiving Hospitality Design's 2013 "Wave of the Future" award, Held has been featured in numerous publications including Boutique Design and Downtown magazines.

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Borgata to develop two entertainment venues to debut in 2015

ATLANTIC CITY -- Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa today announced plans to build an outdoor entertainment venue to host concerts and festivals along with plans to construct a new nightclub later this year.

Borgata received preliminary determination of eligibility today from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to utilize approximately $14 million of its current and future funds on deposit with the CRDA generated from its Investment Alternative Tax payments. This investment will partially fund the development and construction of the two new venues that will further bolster Atlantic City's market leading entertainment and resort destination.

"We are thrilled with the opportunity to enhance and grow our already tremendous entertainment offerings through funding by the CRDA and a wonderful partnership with Live Nation," said Tom Ballance, President and Chief Operating Officer for Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. "Upon our entry into the market in 2003, Borgata set the bar for entertainment and nightlife in Atlantic City, so it is only appropriate that we raise it yet again with the addition of these two substantial projects."

Located at Borgata's Northeast entrance, Borgata Festival Park, an outdoor concert venue and festival grounds, will feature artists synonymous with Borgata's reputation for bringing world-class musical acts to the Jersey Shore. The inaugural concert will tentatively take place on Saturday, June 13th with multiple bands joining forces for an all-day outdoor celebration. Throughout the summer and early fall, a variety of well-known performers will grace the newly forged stage with announcements for the lineup coming later in March. The venue will feature some of the biggest DJs in the world with a series of day-life Electric Dance Music parties. Festival Park will also play a prominent role in the Savor Borgata Culinary Series, highlighting the city's leading culinary destination by hosting food and beverage festivals throughout the year.

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