The World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open usually takes place each year at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The WPT Borgata Poker Open has become a very popular live poker tournament over the years with poker players from all over the country visiting Atlantic City to take part in the tournament.
While the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is scheduled to proceed with its 2021 WSOP live poker tournament starting in September 2021, the Borgata Casino decided that it was in the best interests of everyone to move the live WPT Borgata Poker Main Event to an online format. The decision was made due to the growing increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
WPT Borgata Online Poker Open Main Event
The WPT has teamed up with BetMGM and Borgata NJ to host the WPT Borgata Online Poker Open Main Event from Sep 19 to 21. The Main Event will be a three day event and comes with a whopping $1 million in guaranteed prize money. This three day event will run on three poker networks which include the partypoker NJ, Borgata NJ and BetMGM NJ.
The $1 million guarantee for the Main Event is raising quite a few eyebrows in the poker community as this is only the second time in legislated U.S. poker history that a $1 million guaranteed online poker event is being staged.
The only other time an online poker event had a $1 million guaranteed prize pool was when the WSOP hosted a massive event that combined the New Jersey and Nevada poker markets.  The WSOP made this event extra special by offering a special WSOP Gold Bracelet. Many feel that the WPT is taking a big chance with its $1 million guaranteed prize pool as even PokerStars hasn’t run such a big online poker event.
Will The Main Event Result In An Overlay?
The buy-in for the WPT Borgata Online Poker Open Main Event is fixed at $3,500 which means the WPT will need a minimum of 286 player registrations in order to hit the $1 million guarantee. The $3,500 buy-in is definitely within range for a long of players when compared to the $10,000 WSOP Main Event buy-in.
Poker players who are keen on playing the WPT Borgata Online Poker Open Main Event but don’t have the buy-in amount, should look at poker staking sites like YouStake to see if they can find anyone to stake their bankroll.
If the WPT fails to get 286 player registrations it will result in an overlay. However the tournament organizers are confident that they will be able to meet the $1M guarantee. The WPT Borgata Poker Open is one of the most popular live poker tournaments in Atlantic City and has been around since 2003. Organizers expect a positive response even with the Main Event moving online.
While there is no WSOP Gold Bracelet on the line here, the winner of the Main Event will be awarded The Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup. The WPT decided to honour the iconic WPT commentator and poker player who passed away in 2020.
Angelica Hael who is the VP of Global Tour Management for the WPT said New Jersey continues to hold the number one position in the regulated iPoker market and the WPT was confident of pulling off a successful WPT Borgata Online Poker Open Main Event. She said the WPT was pleased to partner with BetMGM to host this online Main Event.
Satellite Events To WPT Borgata Online Poker Open  
The WPT Borgata Online Poker Open Main Event is part of the partypoker US Network Online Series which takes place every month. The August edition of this online poker festival generated $250K in prizes. There are a number of satellite events and freeroll tournaments taking place that give players a chance to qualify for the Main Event for a fraction of the cost.