Some partnerships seem natural and just make sense. That is the type of business relationship between longtime poker pro Darren Elias and BetMGM Poker that began in 2021. So, this week’s announcement that Elias will continue on as the brand ambassador for the U.S.-based company was no surprise.
On March 25, 2024, Above the Felt Entertainment revealed that Elias signed an extension with BetMGM Poker to further their business partnership through 2024 “and beyond.”
Darren Elias’ New Jersey Roots
Darren Elias may have been born in Massachusetts and gone to college in California, but he and his family currently reside in New Jersey. Their East Coast roots easily took hold there, as did the BetMGM brand of online poker. Considering online poker itself was the launching pad and foundation of Elias’ poker career, and New Jersey was the starting point for BetMGM Poker in the U.S. market, the combined roots are more than just casually woven together in the Garden State.
Elias and poker in New Jersey were a natural fit from the beginning. The Borgata in Atlantic City was the place where Elias made his first World Poker Tour Main Event final table in 2011. That fifth-place finish for more than $230K, not to mention his WPT television appearance, took his poker career to new heights.
Just a few years later, Elias won his first WPT Main Event title there at the Borgata Poker Open for nearly $844K. Momentum then carried Elias to his second WPT title less than two months later in St. Maarten, making him the first player to win back-to-back WPT titles in the same season. Elias claimed subsequent WPT titles in 2017 at the WPT Fallsview Poker Classic and the WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic in 2018. To date, he holds the record for the most WPT titles with four of them, and he has claimed nearly $5 of his career earnings from the 13 final tables and 49 cashes on the World Poker Tour.
The Borgata Poker Open Championship win remains the largest in his long list of live poker scores. A Borgata Fall Poker Open Championship win in 2017 for more than $293 is his 11th most profitable score, and his 2011 WPT Borgata final table is his 13th.
As of his BetMGM Poker brand ambassadorship extension in 2024, Elias showed more than $12.7M career live poker tournament earnings. Combined with more than $4.5M in online tournament earnings to date, Elias continues to climb the poker rankings and demonstrates that he is still at the top of his game.
Growing U.S. Online Poker
The start of the relationship between BetMGM Poker and Darren Elias was off to the races thanks to the expanding United States online poker market. That 2021 announcement of Elias as the brand’s poker ambassador put a face to the BetMGM Poker brand. A long trusted and respected pro in partnership with the reliability of the iconic partypoker software brand was an ideal match.
Since that time, BetMGM Poker launched in Ontario, adding to its established presence in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
Upon Elias’ contract renewal, he noted the hope that perseveres for more online poker growth in the United States.
Darren Elias - Poker Pro & BetMGM Poker Ambassador
BetMGM Poker Director Luke Staudenmaier expressed his excitement about the continued partnership with Elias.
Luke Staudenmaier - BetMGM Poker Director
Poker players and poker fans will see Elias continue to represent BetMGM Poker online as well as at tournament festivals in New Jersey and across the world. He will also provide content on his X platform and on BetMGM’s blog.
To play online in MI, NJ, or PA, register with BetMGM Poker.
