Day 3 of Aria Poker Open’s $1,600 BetMGM Poker Open Championship returned seven experienced players to the final table at the PokerGO Studio. The 1,130 entrants smashed the $1 million guarantee, which set the stage for Thomas Fuller to enter with the lead and earn five of the six eliminations en route to winning the title and $272,074.
“It was incredible,” Fuller said. “I was really happy with my play, but I made one horrific misclick at the final table. It would have been hard to forgive myself if this wasn’t the result. I’m so grateful.”
“I’ve learned a lot in the last year,” he said. Fuller was a pro in his 20s, left to become a teacher and returned to the game only six months ago. “This is a magical way to cap my comeback.”
“It’s changed quite a bit in a way that’s beneficial to me,” Fuller said. “It’s become more academic and measured rather than bravado – which was my weakness. That was a change I didn’t anticipate.”
The final table had a home game vibe with all players becoming fast friends. “It was great – all cool guys, a terrific atmosphere.”
Fuller scores the eliminations
The first elimination of the day came in the first orbit. Edward Dixon battled sickness all day during Day 2 but he gutted it out for his deep run. His short stack run didn’t last a full orbit after he shoved pairing a seven. Fuller called after hitting a queen; it held and Dixon was eliminated.
An hour passed before Fuller and Yaser Al-Keliddar got their chips in the middle preflop. Fuller had sevens, Al-Keliddar had fours, and the board ran 
. Fuller’s sevens were best and Al-Keliddar packed his belongings and left.
An orbit later, Yang Lu three-bet shoved preflop with pocket sevens and Fuller called with 
. Fuller hit a king on the flop, Lu’s sevens never improved and he was next to the payout cage.
They played four-handed for two levels before Hieu Tran three-bet his short stack preflop holding 
. Fuller called with 
and continued his run as the board went 
. Tran’s beat was softened by his girlfriend, who flew in on her birthday and they headed to one of Aria’s famed restaurants.
Fuller, Benjamin Gros and Michael Estes negotiated a modified ICM deal where they played for $5,000 and the trophy. Estes got right into action after the deal and was all in with 
. He was up against Gros’ 
, the board ran 
and Estes made way for heads-up play.
Gros and Fuller battled, got to even, and traded the chip lead a few times. Fuller started to pull away after an hour before they went to a limped flop of 
. Gros check-called 800,000, the turn came and he check-called 2.7 million. The river came 
, Fuller shoved holding 
for two pair and Gros called off with 
.
BetMGM events pick up January 2-16 for the Borgata Winter Poker Open, featuring $5 million in guarantees. There’s a $600 Kickoff event and a $400 Almighty Million event that both have $1 million guarantees and a $3,500 Main Event with $2 million guaranteed.
BetMGM Poker Open Championsip final table payouts
| Place | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Fuller |
$227,074* |
| 2 | Benjamin Gros |
$190,046* |
| 3 | Michael Estes |
$168,269* |
| 4 | Hieu Tran |
$91,573 |
| 5 | Yang Lu |
$69,193 |
| 6 | Yaser Al-Keliddar |
$55,942 |
| 7 | Edward Dixon |
$46,215 |
*Reflects three-way deal assisted by tournament staff
All photos courtesy of 8131 Media - images by Jesse Beck.
