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Mikita Badziakouski Goes Back-to-Back in Aria High Rollers

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It has been almost three weeks since we’ve heard anything from the ARIA in Las Vegas regarding their Summer High Roller Series, but officials have finally released results for their High Roller Events through July 3rd.

Some big names managed to take down High Rollers over the last three weeks. Juan Dominguez managed to win his third high roller of the summer while Michael Addamo picked up his second title. Meanwhile, Mikita Badziakouski managed to take down back-to-back $25k High Rollers.

Ben Lamb Highlights PLO High Rollers

The last time we reported on the Aria Summer High Roller Series, we told you that a week of PLO High Rollers was on the docket. Those events have come and gone and they overall failed to pull in a substantial crowd.

The first $10k PLO High Roller was on June 16th and drew the largest crowd of the four. A field of 39 entries entered the event with six receiving a payday. Ultimately, it was Ben Lamb coming out on top for the victory over Norbert Szecsi. Lamb earned $140,400 for the win.

The June 17th PLO High Roller only drew 12 entries and it the only two players receiving a payday were Lazlo Bujtas and Sam Soverel. Soverel came out on top of the heads-up match-up, receiving $84,000 for the win.

The June 18th PLO High Roller was the smallest of the events, drawing just 11 entries. Andrew Ige and Ben Tollerene were the only ones paid and ultimately it was Ige that took down the title. He earned $77,000.

The final PLO High Roller on June 21st saw an uptick of players, but still only drew 19 players. Just three players were paid in this one and ultimately, it was Richard Gryko that took down the title and a $102,600 payday.

Addamo and Dominguez Add to High Roller Title Totals

Things went back to NL Hold’em starting with the June 25th $10k High Roller but the field was still somewhat small. There were only 15 entries in the field, paying just three. Mikita Badziakouski managed a min-cash for $24k, leaving Nicholas Schulte and Michael Addamo to play for the title. Addamo came out on top, winning $81,000 and his second Aria High Roller title of the summer.

June 26th brought another $10k High Roller, but this one saw a massive uptick compared to other events. A field of 39 entries showed up to create a $390k prize pool. Barry Hutter, Matthias Eibinger and Koray Aldemir cashed but fell short of heads-up play.

Stephen Chidwick, fresh off his WSOP bracelet win battled Juan Dominguez for the title. Chidwick finished runner-up but earned $93,600. Juan Dominguez took his third Aria High Roller of the summer, earning $140,400.

June 27th saw a field of 28 entries show up for the $10k High Roller and the final four consisted of Michael Addamo, Koray Aldemir, Mattias Eibinger, and John Andress. Ultimately, it was Andress that would win his first career Aria High Roller title, earning $128,800 in the process.

Mikita Badziakouski Goes Back-to-Back in $25k High Rollers

Earlier this week, Aria held a pair of $25k High Rollers and Mikita Badziakouski managed to take down both titles. Tuesday’s $25k High Roller drew 26 entries, with a killer final four making the money. Poker Central founder Cary Katz finished fourth, earning $65,000. Michael Addamo fell short of his third title of the summer, earning $104,000.

A name we haven’t heard much from in these events this summer is Justin Bonomo. In this event, he faced Mikita Badziakouski heads-up but fell short of the win. He still earned $182,000 for his time. Badziakouski earned the victory and $299,000.

Badziakouski too his momentum into Wednesday’s $25k High Roller, but this one only drew a paltry nine entries. It was Badziakouski facing David Peters heads-up for the title. Peters finished in second, earning $67,500. Badziakouski earned his second consecutive $25k High Roller title of the summer along with $157,500 in prize money.

Changes Announced for Remainder of the Schedule

Early Thursday morning, Aria Tournament Poker Manager Paul Campbell tweeted some changes to the remaining Summer High Roller schedule. The majority of the events remaining on the schedule will all feature $10k buy-ins with the exception of the event on July 10th that will feature a $25k buy-in.

One has to wonder if the low turnouts for these events are due to the oversaturation of the High Roller market or if it’s because of the jammed-packed WSOP schedule including a lot of large buy-ins, high profile tournaments.

One also has to wonder if next summer’s schedule will be modified to help maximize field size or if the tournament is fine with putting for the time and effort to run two to three table tournaments on a regular basis.

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