Hands of the Week: Cooler on Stone Bubble at the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open

In late July, PokerNews returned to the East Coast to once again offer live updates from the Borgata in Atlantic City. The 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open was comprised of a full schedule of events, and PokerNews was on-hand to capture big and game-changing hands.

That included the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship, a tournament that attracted 565 runners and offered up a $1,356,000 prize pool, and the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off, which had a field of 2,390 entries and awarded a $1,242,800 prize pool.

Here’s a look at some of the big and game-changing hands as reported by the PokerNews Live Reporting Team.

Carmen Coolered by Hwang

On Day 2 of the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off, reporter Calum Grant captured a big hand in Level 27 (40,000/80,000/80,000). That is when Robert Hwang opened to 160,000 from under the gun and Jamie Carmen called from the big blind.

On the 10♥7♦7♠ flop, Carmen check-raised to 375,000 over a bet of 80,000. Hwang called.

Carmen continued for 500,000 on the 3♥ turn and Hwang called once more.

The 5♣ completed the board, and Hwang snap-called when Carmen jammed for around 1,800,000.

Carmen had a full house with 3♦3♦, but Hwang had a bigger boat, and turned over 10♣10♦ to take the pot.

Chestnut Drills the River to Send Steinberg Out

Not long after, Grant captured another big hand in Level 28 (50,000/100,000/100,000) when Christopher Steinberg opened to 200,000 from under the gun and called when Coleem Chestnut made it 550,000 from the small blind.

Chestnut continued for 675,000 on the Q♣9♥2♣ flop, and Steinberg called.

Chestnut quickly moved all in as the big stack on the 10♦ turn. Steinberg had around 1,600,000 behind and called after some time in the tank.

Christopher Steinberg: J♥10♥
Coleem Chestnut: 5♣2♠

Steinberg made a great call with second pair, but it soon turned into a disaster as Chestnut began tapping the table with joy as the 5♦ river gave him an unlikely two pair to score the pot and elimination.

Lewis Esposito Coolered Out on the Stone Bubble

On Day 2 of the $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship, it was Level 16 (4,000/8,000/8,000) on the stone bubble when reporter Bret Slezak caught it bursting. On the 14th hand of the bubble, Paul Volpe opened from early position before Lewis Esposito jammed for 95,000 from the hijack. On the button, Drew O’Connell rejammed for 143,000, and Volpe folded.

Lewis Esposito: Q♠Q♣
Drew O’Connell: K♠K♦

Esposito was in rough shape with the dominated pair as the A♥4♦3♥ flop offered no help. Nothing changed on the 6♥7♠ runout, leaving O’Connell’s kings best as Esposito leaves empty-handed while the remaining 71 players celebrated being in the money.

The Demise of Bin Weng

On Day 3 of the Championship, it was Level 25 (30,000/60,000/60,000) when Grant caught the elimination of one of the most accomplished players in the tournament. With just 11 players remaining, Bin Weng raised to 120,000 from the cutoff and Carlos Chadha called out of the small blind.

A A♠K♣8♠ flop saw Chadha check-call for 105,000. The J♣ came in on the turn, and it checked through to the 4♠ river.

Chadha bet 190,000 into a pot of 570,000, putting a frown on Weng’s face. Weng had 1,710,000 behind, used a time bank and then raised to 630,000. Chadha three-bet shoved as the bigger stack.

“So sick,” said Weng as he mulled over what to do with the 1,080,000 he had behind. “What a card on the river.”

A fourth time bank went into the middle, leaving Weng with one time chip. That also found its way towards the dealer.

Weng made a crying call, and Chadha tabled K♠J♠ for the nut flush, and Weng’s 4♦4♣ headed into the muck after Weng turned it over before leaving the feature table. Weng took 11th place for $18,150.

It was good seeing Weng back in action after going through some health issues over the past year, something he discussed with PokerNews while at the Borgata.

Hand of the Tournament? Chadha Overbets Turn and River

On Day 3, it was Level 26 (40,000/80,000/80,000) when Grant captured what might’ve been the hand of the tournament. In a limped pot between the blinds, Nicholas Verderamo bet 80,000 on the A♥7♣4♥ flop and Carlos Chadha called.

The 7♦ turn paired the board, and Verderamo checked. Chadha bet 700,000 into a pot of 410,000, putting Verderamo in the blender. After using a time chip, Verderamo called.

The 3♦ river saw Verderamo check once more. Another overbet came from Chadha, and he sized up to 2,400,000.

Verderamo had 2,830,000 behind, and chucked in a time chip. He eventually settled on a fold, returning his A♠6♠ to the dealer. Chadha got away with one, as he had just 6♣3♠ in the hole.

PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, host of both the PokerNews Podcast & MPST Podcast Presented By PokerNews, and 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game.

Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).