Jason Nguyen has won the Borgata Fall Poker Open $600 Kickoff, taking home $126,727 including a $20,000 bonus, according to PokerNews. The event drew 1,862 entries, and the final table was reported on November 8, 2026. Nguyen beat Canada's Sebastian Crema heads-up after a three-way chop that left Crema with $125,171 for second and Chadd Beatty with $97,471 for third. For Nguyen, it was the biggest result of his live career and a fulfilled promise.
Final table payouts
Here is how the top nine finished, based on the PokerNews report.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Nguyen | US | $126,727 |
| 2 | Sebastian Crema | Canada | $125,171 |
| 3 | Chadd Beatty | US | $97,471 |
| 4 | Jason Simone | US | $50,225 |
| 5 | Nicholas Cassese | US | $34,245 |
| 6 | James Calderaro | US | $26,175 |
| 7 | Spyros Malkotsis | US | $20,325 |
| 8 | Thomas Yarbrough | US | $16,150 |
| 9 | Rick Zhou | US | $12,650 |
The top three agreed to a chop. Under that agreement Crema received $115,171, Nguyen $106,727 and Beatty $97,471, with an extra $10,000 reserved for second place and $20,000 for the champion. That explains why Nguyen's listed total is only slightly above Crema's.
How the final table played out
Nguyen did not start as a favourite. He began the final table with 3,850,000 chips, a middle-of-the-pack stack, while Crema led with 15,525,000. Heads-up, Nguyen held a 34,000,000 to 21,000,000 lead, which shows how far he climbed during the final stages.
The elimination sequence was a mix of coolers and calculated gambles:
- 9th, Rick Zhou: Folded to two shoves, then ran into Spyros Malkotsis' flush.
- 8th, Thomas Yarbrough: Nguyen flopped top pair with king-queen.
- 7th, Spyros Malkotsis: Ace-seven lost to Nguyen's eights.
- 6th, James Calderaro: Jacks were cracked by Crema's rivered straight.
- 5th, Nicholas Cassese: Lost a flip with deuces to Nguyen's ace-king, and Nguyen then made two pair.
- 4th, Jason Simone: Called off with trips against Crema's flush.
- 3rd, Chadd Beatty: King-six lost to Crema's king-queen.
Nguyen was involved in several of those knockouts, which is how a short-to-medium stack turns into a chip leader at a final table: win flips, pick up pairs and avoid the big mistakes.
The hero fold that mattered
The most discussed moment came heads-up. PokerNews reports that Crema bluffed with ten-high on the river, and Nguyen folded jack-high after a long tank. Nguyen admitted afterwards: "I swear to God, I almost called with jack-high." It was a disciplined decision, because calling would have risked a large part of his lead.
The final hand was far simpler. Crema had a flush draw and moved in his last 10,500,000. Nguyen held a straight draw, paired his fours on the turn, and Crema missed on the river.
The promise and the numbers
PokerNews' headline describes Nguyen as fulfilling a promise, and the context shows why the win mattered. His previous best live result was second place in a Progressive Bounty event at the Borgata Winter Open in January, worth $76,000. Before this event his total live earnings were about $170,000, according to The Hendon Mob. Winning $126,727 therefore represented a major step up. "It means the whole world, to be honest," Nguyen said. Asked about his next event, he replied he was "Super confident."
What this means for players
A $600 buy-in, a field of 1,862 and a six-figure first prize make events like this attractive for serious amateurs. A few lessons stand out.
Deals are normal at the end. The three-way chop is common in live tournaments. Understanding how a chop is calculated helps you decide whether to accept one. Our guide to ICM explains why chips are not worth a straight dollar amount, and our companion piece on final table deals is linked on the site's news feed.
Folding can win tournaments. Nguyen's jack-high fold is the sort of decision that never makes a highlight reel but protects a stack. It is a good example of thinking in terms of ranges and pot odds rather than hand strength alone. If you are still learning, our page on how to bluff and the guide to poker tells cover the other side of the coin.
Short stacks can come back. Starting a final table in the middle of the pack is not a disadvantage if you pick your spots. Reviewing basic poker strategy and tournament formats can help you spot those opportunities.
The series continues
The Borgata Fall Poker Open "rolls on for the next ten days" after the Kickoff, per PokerNews, though exact dates were not given in the article. Atlantic City remains a key stop on the US live circuit, and the venue has been in the news recently, including leadership changes in its poker room. If you plan to travel for a series, compare live and online formats in our guide to online poker vs live poker, and consider bankroll management before you commit to a run of buy-ins.
For readers who prefer to play online, our tournaments page lists the best places to find large guarantees and regular satellites, and the real money poker hub reviews licensed and offshore options.
Bottom line
Jason Nguyen turned a middle-of-the-pack final table stack into the biggest live win of his career, aided by a well-timed hero fold and a series of favourable flips. Sebastian Crema's $125,171 and Chadd Beatty's $97,471 show how tightly the chop spread the money. For ambitious tournament players the takeaway is clear: stay patient, make disciplined folds and know your numbers before you agree to a deal.
Source: PokerNews, "Jason Nguyen Fulfills Promise and Wins Borgata Fall Poker Open Kickoff for $126,727," November 8, 2026.