Welcome Back to Coverage of the Maryland State Poker Championship
The 2024 Maryland State Poker Championship got underway on July 31st with the $600 Kickoff Event. Nick Kocman of Pennsylvania ended up coming out on top of a 892 entry field to claim $77,869. Another big winner from that event was 9th place finisher Daniel Bellis who, as the last qualifier standing, took home a coveted North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Gold Pass worth $10,000 in addition to the $7,787 payout.
As a reminder, the NAPT Gold Pass awards an entry into the $5,300 NAPT Main Event at Resorts World in Las Vegas as well as $2,900 for hotel accommodation and $1,800 to cover other expenses.
Since the Kickoff Event, the Maryland State Poker Championship has crowned 14 winners in side events. Full results can be found below.
Maryland State Poker Championship Winners so Far
| EVENT | ENTRANTS | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HORSE | TBD | $26,286 | Eric Lucas | Havre De Grace, MD | $ 8,972 |
| Kickoff | 892 | $456,704 | Nick Kocman | York, PA | $ 77,869 |
| Limit Omaha 8 | 40 | $20,000 | William Fidel | Odenton, MD | $ 7,800 |
| Pot Limit Omaha 8 | 55 | $20,000 | Donovan Bates | Woodbridge, VA | $ 7,400 |
| 5-Card PLO Black Chip Bounty | 53 | $20,000 | Timothy Faro | Glen Burnie, MD | $ 3,884 |
| Ladies NLH | 52 | $12,584 | Jenny Chang | Ellicott City, MD | $ 4,657 |
| 6-Max | 215 | $71,810 | Marshall Tarzy | Ijamsvile, MD | $ 11,823 |
| Seniors | 159 | $53,106 | Joseph Malebranche | Baltimore, MD | $ 10,034 |
| PLO | 42 | $20,000 | Tim Faro | Glen Burnie, MD | $ 6,942 |
| NLH Multi Flight | 243 | $80,676 | Justin Arnwine | Upper Marlboro, MD | $ 17,956 |
| Big O | 67 | $22,378 | Matthew Riebel | Savage, MD | $ 7,832 |
| Super Seniors | 65 | $21,710 | Steven Halperin | Ellicott City, MD | $ 5,283 |
| Heads Up NLH | 14 | $14,000 | Maxwell Schrack | Glen Burnie, MD | $ 7,000 |
| PLO Purple Chip Bounty | 36 | $54,288 | Anthony Luong | Sterling, VA | $ 14,878 |
Today's schedule sees the start of the much anticipated $2,200 Main Event. Flight A is already underway with the second final Day 1 taking place tomorrow before the field combines for Day 2 on Sunday, August 11th. At the time of writing, 54 players have registered and full updates of play can be found courtesy of the PokerNews live reporting team here.
Last year saw Isiah Ditoto take down a $5,300 version of the Main Event for a career best $221,853 after striking a heads-up deal with James Anderson. That tournament garnered 172 entries, thus failing to surpass the $1,000,000 guarantee. Those numbers are likely the reason the buy in for 2024 has been slashed by more than 50% and the guarantee cut down to just $500,000. Still, with the lower buy in, expect to see a larger field this year as the best of the best from the Maryland poker scene seek to etch their names in the state's poker history books.
While the Main Event is the marquee tournament, there are still plenty of other events set to take place over the next few days. Details of the remaining schedule can be found below.
Maryland State Poker Championship Schedule
| event | Date | Time | Buy-in | Gtd! | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Event | 09-Aug | 11:15 AM | $2,200 | $500,000 | The Main Event Flight A |
| Main Event | 10-Aug | 11:15 AM | $2,200 | $500,000 | The Main Event Flight B |
| 16 | 10-Aug | 6:15 PM | $400 | $20,000 | Black Chip Bounty Turbo |
| Main Event | 11-Aug | 12:15 PM | Main Event Day 2 | ||
| 17 | 11-Aug | 2:15 PM | $1,100 | $50,000 | Live! Stacks Championship |
| 18 | 12-Aug | 11:15 AM | $400/team | Tag Team Championship | |
| Main Event | 12-Aug | 2:15 PM | Main Event Day 3 (If Necessary) |
Be sure to stay tuned as PokerNews continues to provide periodic highlight updates from the Maryland State Poker Championship in addition to the traditional live reporting of the Main Event.