847 entries hit the felt for Day 1A of the Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship Event, putting the $3 million guarantee within striking distance with three starting flights remaining. The $3,500 buy-in tournament kicked off Tuesday at noon with Atlantic City’s poker faithful showing up in force.
Day 1A wrapped after 10 levels with 127 players bagging chips. Leading the survivors is Philadelphia grinder Marcus Chen with 312,400 - good for 156 big blinds heading into Day 2.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Borgata needs 857 total entries to hit the guarantee. With 847 on just the first flight, they’re already 98.8% of the way there. And that’s before accounting for the typically larger Day 1B (Wednesday) and 1C (Thursday) fields, plus the turbo Day 1D on Friday morning.
For context: Last year’s Spring Championship drew 1,142 entries total. Day 1A represented just 31% of that field.
If similar ratios hold:
- Projected total: ~2,732 entries
- Prize pool: $9.56 million
- First place: ~$1.43 million
Those projections might be conservative. Atlantic City tournament attendance is up 23% year-over-year through Q1 2026, according to New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement data.
Chip Distribution Reveals Tight Play
Here’s where it gets interesting. The average stack among Day 1A survivors sits at 165,354 (82.7 big blinds). But the median? Just 142,000 (71 BBs).
That 16.4% gap between mean and median indicates a top-heavy distribution - a handful of big stacks skewing the average upward while most players nursed medium stacks through to Day 2.
Breaking down the 127 survivors:
- 6 players (4.7%) bagged over 250K
- 31 players (24.4%) between 150K-250K
- 52 players (40.9%) between 100K-150K
- 38 players (29.9%) under 100K
The variance here tracks with Borgata’s structure - players started with 50,000 chips and 60-minute levels. Conservative early-stage play dominates when the structure allows it.
Notable Names and No-Shows
Among those advancing: Two-time Borgata champion Anthony Zinno (198,500), online crusher turned live tournament regular Katie Stone (176,200), and 2019 WSOP Circuit ring winner David Jackson (215,000).
Conspicuously absent from the Day 1A field were most of the East Coast’s headline pros. No Matt Glantz. No Joe McKeehen. No Mike Dentale. Standard practice - the sharks typically swim in for Day 1C when registration’s about to close and they can better gauge the prize pool.
One interesting development: Seven players fired multiple bullets on Day 1A, contributing 14 extra buy-ins to the prize pool. Multi-entry strategy gets debated endlessly, but the data’s clear - players who fire multiple Day 1 bullets cash at a 34% lower rate than single-entry players in major Borgata events over the past three years.
Schedule and Structure Notes
Day 1B kicks off Wednesday at noon, with 1C Thursday at the same time. The turbo Day 1D runs Friday at 10am with 30-minute levels - expect fireworks and a completely different dynamic there.
All surviving players return Saturday at 11am for Day 2. They’ll play down to 27 players (three tables), return Sunday to find a final table, then play down to a winner.
Structure stays consistent throughout:
- 60-minute levels (except Day 1D)
- Big blind ante format
- 15-minute breaks every 2 levels
- 60-minute dinner break after level 6
Payouts should be announced Thursday evening once late registration closes. Based on current numbers, expect around 275-300 spots paid, with a min-cash worth approximately $5,800.
The real question isn’t whether Borgata hits their guarantee - it’s by how much they’ll exceed it. Every major tournament at the property this year has beaten its guarantee by at least 40%. No reason to expect this one breaks that streak.
