LFG POKER
T I M E S
WEEK OF MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2026 · LFGPOKER.APP
MARYLAND CUT ITS BUY-IN AND THE FIELD GREW 67 PERCENT · BORGATA'S $1 MILLION KICK OFF PLAYS TODAY · TAMPA'S $250K FALL FRENZY FLIGHTS WEDNESDAY
Big Stories
The $500 Price Cut That Fixed a Tournament
A year ago, the Maryland State Poker Championship Main Event at Live! Casino Maryland charged $2,200, drew just 228 entries, and missed its $500,000 guarantee, leaving the room to cover the difference. This year the room cut the buy-in to $1,700 and the field jumped to 380 entries, a 67 percent increase that built a $570,000 prize pool and beat the same guarantee by $70,000. Across all 16 events the series drew 3,032 entries for $1,491,760, roughly 40 percent above its combined guarantees. Justin Arnwine banked $86,167 in a three way deal, with Daniel Iachan taking the trophy and $78,112.
It is the cleanest pricing lesson the tournament world has offered in a while: the same room, the same guarantee, and a $500 discount turned a loss into a beat. Players vote with their buy-ins.
Big Week
Borgata Goes Big and Tampa Goes Everywhere
Borgata's Big Big Series is underway: the $1,000,000 Kick Off plays its Day 1s today, the $500,000 Mystery Bounty flights Wednesday, and the $5,300 Championship with $3,000,000 guaranteed starts Saturday. Over $6 million is on the line through September 23.
Tampa Bay might be the busiest market in poker this week: the $500 Fall Frenzy ($250,000 guaranteed) runs ten Day 1 flights Wednesday through Saturday across two rooms, TGT Poker and The Silks at Tampa Bay Downs, with Day 2 Sunday at The Silks. Seminole Hard Rock Tampa's $200 September Little Slick ($100,000 guaranteed) flights Tuesday through Saturday. And in Maryland, Live! Casino's $200 Multi Flight for $100,000 starts Wednesday.
Results
Ellinghaus Takes Jacksonville for $294,900
Blake Ellinghaus topped 294 entries to win the $5,000 WPT bestbet Scramble Main Event at bestbet Jacksonville, earning $294,900, his first major title, and a place on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup. The prize pool reached $1,337,700 against a $1,000,000 guarantee, a 34 percent beat that fits the season's pattern: from Maryland to Florida, guarantees are getting crushed right now.
The Number
$500
The buy-in cut that did it. Maryland's Main Event dropped from $2,200 to $1,700 and the field grew from 228 entries to 380, turning last year's covered guarantee into this year's $70,000 beat.
Worth Knowing
- Derby Lane has posted a $500,000 guarantee, the biggest event we have ever listed for the St. Petersburg room: $800 buy-in, eight Day 1 flights October 17 to 24, Day 2 October 25. Satellites run Sunday nights now, from $50.
- The RunGood Golden Expedition hits MGM National Harbor next week, September 21 to 27: 12 ring events, over $300,000 guaranteed, and a $1,300 Main Event for $250,000. Satellites are already running, and several National Harbor dailies award Main Event seats this week.
- One household, four rings. Married couple Eric and Lauren Bunch won four WSOP Circuit rings and made nine final tables between them at the Hard Rock Tulsa stop, he took three titles including the 895 entry Mini Main, she took the PLO, and in the Big O they made the same final table, where she outlasted him. The same $400 heavy Circuit format arrives at Pompano Beach October 1.
- The WSOP Circuit at Pompano Beach is three weeks out and every detail is now on the site, including restart days and structures for all 18 events. One quirk worth knowing: WSOP publishes structures for this stop only inside its WSOP LIVE app.
This Week's Top Tournaments · Nationwide Highlights
Big Big Series Championship$3,000,000 GTD
Borgata · $5,300 · Day 1s September 19 – 21
Big Big Kick Off$1,000,000 GTD
Borgata · $2,200 · Day 1s today, Day 2 September 15
Fall Frenzy$250,000 GTD
TGT Poker & The Silks, Tampa · $500 · Ten flights September 16 – 19, Day 2 September 20 at The Silks
September Little Slick$100,000 GTD
Seminole Hard Rock Tampa · $200 · Nine flights September 15 – 19, Day 2 September 20
Live! Maryland Multi-Flight$100,000 GTD
Live! Casino Maryland · $200 · Seven flights September 16 – 19, Day 2 September 20
Everglades Poker Open Triple Stack$200,000 GTD
Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood · $600 · Flights September 23 – 26, Day 2 September 27
RunGood Main Event$250,000 GTD
MGM National Harbor · $1,300 · Flights September 24 – 26, Day 2 September 27
WSOP Circuit Pompano Main Event$1,000,000 GTD
Harrah's Pompano Beach · $1,700 · Flights October 8 – 10, Day 2 October 11 · Series October 1 – 12
Derby Lane $500K$500,000 GTD
Derby Lane, St. Petersburg · $800 · Eight flights October 17 – 24, Day 2 October 25
New to LFG Poker
Say hello to venue number 29: The Silks Poker Room at Tampa Bay Downs is now on the site with its full schedule, which means every one of the Fall Frenzy's ten flights across both host rooms is searchable in one place. Borgata's complete September is loaded too, from the Grind series through the Big Big and back to the nightly games.
The WSOP Circuit at Harrah's Pompano Beach is loaded down to the detail level: all 18 events, every flight, restart days, chips, level lengths and late registration for the whole series. And Derby Lane's October $500K is up with its structure sheet, months of planning runway for the biggest guarantee on Florida's west coast this fall.
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