Maryland LIVE! Highlights
Day all Started
2024 Maryland State Poker Championship
Maryland LIVE! Highlights
Day: all
The Maryland State Poker Championship at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland is officially underway on the East Coast and PokerNews is on-site to cover the action.
The PokerStars-sponsored event, running July 31-August 12, will culminate with a $2,200 buy-in Main Event that comes with a $500,000 guarantee attached.
Things got underway this week with a $600 Kickoff Event, a $300,000 guaranteed event with six Day 1 starting flights over four days. PokerNews is providing live updates of the event, which you can read here.
In addition to live reporting, PokerNews will be covering highlights of the series complete with player interviews, big hands and other activities offered here at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland.
Stay tuned for expanded coverage of what will surely be a memorable series, and take a look at the full series schedule in the table below.
Maryland State Poker Championship Schedule
| event | Date | Time | Buy-in | Gtd! | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31-Jul | 11:15 AM | $400 | $20,000 | HORSE |
| 2 | 31-Jul | 6:15 PM | $600 | $300,000 | No Limit Hold'em Multi-flight A |
| 2 | 01-Aug | 11:15 AM | $600 | $300,000 | No Limit Hold'em Multi-flight B |
| 3 | 01-Aug | 2:15 PM | $400 | $20,000 | Limit Omaha 8 |
| 2 | 01-Aug | 6:15 PM | $600 | $300,000 | No Limit Hold'em Multi-flight C |
| 2 | 02-Aug | 11:15 AM | $600 | $300,000 | No Limit Hold'em Multi-flight D |
| 4 | 02-Aug | 2:15 PM | $400 | $20,000 | Pot Limit Omaha 8 |
| 2 | 02-Aug | 6:15 PM | $600 | $300,000 | No Limit Hold'em Multi-flight E |
| 2 | 03-Aug | 11:15 AM | $600 | $300,000 | No Limit Hold'em Multi-flight F |
| 5 | 03-Aug | 6:15 PM | $400 | $20,000 | 5-Card Plo Black Chip Bounty |
| 2 | 04-Aug | 11:15 AM | No Limit Hold'em Multi-flight Day 2 | ||
| 6 | 04-Aug | 1:15 PM | $300 | $10,000 | Ladies No Limit Hold'em |
| 7 | 04-Aug | 3:15 PM | $400 | $40,000 | 6-Max Championship |
| 8 | 05-Aug | 10:15 AM | $400 | $25,000 | Seniors (50+) |
| 9 | 05-Aug | 2:15 PM | $400 | $20,000 | Pot Limit Omaha |
| 10 | 05-Aug | 6:15 PM | $400 | $50,000 | NLH Multi-flight A |
| 10 | 06-Aug | 11:15 AM | $400 | $50,000 | NLH Multi-flight B |
| 11 | 06-Aug | 2:15 PM | $400 | $20,000 | Big O |
| 10 | 06-Aug | 6:15 PM | $400 | $50,000 | NLH Multi-flight C |
| 12 | 07-Aug | 10:15 AM | $400 | $10,000 | Super Seniors (60+) |
| 13 | 07-Aug | 11:15 AM | $1,100 | Heads-up (Limited To 32 Entrants) | |
| 10 | 07-Aug | 6:15 PM | NLH Multi-flight Day 2 | ||
| 14 | 08-Aug | 2:15 PM | $1,650 | $25,000 | Pot Limit Omaha Bounty |
| 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) |
With the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) returning to Las Vegas this fall, PokerStars have released information about the new 'Path to NAPT', offering players the chance to win their way to Vegas for as little as $0.50.
Two $600 buy-in NAPT Regional events have also been announced, taking place in Maryland and Philadelphia later this summer. Don't miss the opportunity to get involved in some incredible PokerStars Live events.
PokerStars NAPT Returning to Resorts World Las Vegas November 1-10
Win a Gold Pass to NAPT Main Event
Last year Sami Bechahed defeated Jonathan Borenstein heads-up to win the 2023 NAPT Las Vegas Main Event and $268,945. He topped a 1,095-player field to win the first NAPT Main Event title in 12 years.
Want to be part of the next one? Well here's your chance! PokerStars is planning on offering 100 chances to secure a Gold Pass worth $10,000 to the Las Vegas NAPT Main Event.
These coveted passes will offer:
- $5,300 Buy-In: Entry to the Main Event of the NAPT.
- $2,900 Hotel Accommodation: Ensuring a luxurious stay during the tournament.
- $1,800 Expenses: Additional funds to cover travel and other costs.
Path to NAPT
The easiest way to get your hands on a Gold Pass is through the newly-announced 'Path to NAPT'. This offers players the chance to win their way from $0.50 and parlaying smaller wins into larger prizes — and ultimately a Gold Pass to the NAPT Main Event.
How Does the Path to NAPT Work?
Players who log into the PokerStars client will earn a $0.50 Step 1 ticket. These can then be used to enter tournaments that will lead to winning Gold Passes. If you don't have an account, be sure to take advantage of the PokerStars sign up bonus.
Players will also be able to win Silver Passes that will be redeemable for NAPT Regional events and bi-weekly $1,000 satellites to the NAPT.
NAPT Regionals
As for NAPT regionals, two $600 buy-in events have been announced that will take place between July and August.
The first, taking place at Maryland Live!, will run from July 31-August 12. The second runs from August 22-September 8 at Philly Live!
Both events will have six starting flights, with the winners of each Main Event awarded a Gold Pass to the NAPT Main Event in Las Vegas this November.
The second starting flight of the $600 Kickoff Event at the 2024 Maryland State Poker Championship sponsored by PokerStars has wrapped up with 16 players remaining, just a fraction of the 125 who entered Day 1b. PokerNews' Tyler Boyer recapped the flight, which you can read about here.
Despite the large field, a notable player ended up bagging the chip lead with a stack of 503,000 as the only player with more than half a million chips. That player is Virginia's Yaser Al-Keliddar, a longtime mid-stakes grinder who has amassed more than $1.1 million in Hendon Mob earnings.
Al-Keliddar's first tournament cash dates back 20 years when he finished 126th in the 2004 WSOP Main Event for $15,000. A quick glance at his Hendon shows that this isn't his first time grinding at Maryland Live!, and in 2017, he took down a $330 Black Chip Bounty event for $8,022.
Win Your Way to Las Vegas with the PokerStars Path to NAPT!
The next year, Al-Keliddar won a maiden bracelet in the 2019 $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed for $154,338. He picked up a Circuit ring in 2022 at WSOPC Cherokee in a $400 No-Limit Hold'em Event that grossed him $25,013.
When he returns in the money on Day 2, Al-Keliddar will need to fend off fellow bigs stacks Sean Gomez, Gregory Chill and Derek Scott, as well as any big stacks that bag the other five starting flights.
While the final five tables of Day 1c of the $600 Kickoff Event were on a 15-minute break, PokerNews chatted with Scott Stephens, a Virginian who frequently grinds the tournaments at Maryland Live! and other casinos in the region.
Stephens hopes to make Day 2 and has already done so in an event at another casino, meaning it is shaping up to be a busy few days of poker for the Virginian.
Day 1c had been rocky for Stephens, who said he "had three bad beats" including flopping a king-high flush and losing to an ace-high flush and flopping a boat and losing to a bigger boat.
His luck turned around later in the evening when he four-bet jammed with pocket kings and doubled up through an opponent with pocket nines.
Though his Hendon Mob shows only $10,410 in live earnings, that number is deceiving.
"I have a few firsts that aren't on there," he told PokerNews, adding that he has no plans of getting it updated. "I like flying under the radar."
We'll keep his secret safe if you do.