Chainsaw Mixed Series Heads to New Jersey for Borgata Fall Poker Open

^{This year, Allen Kessler’s Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker is part of the Borgata Fall Poker Open for the first time. (Photo: courtesy of Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa)}

The Borgata Poker Open held in Atlantic City is almost upon us, running from Nov. 4-17 with over $4 million in guaranteed prize money. The event is a part of Borgata’s broader tournament calendar under BetMGM Poker. This year features 44 events across three tournament series:  26 during the main series, 11 for Allen Kessler’s Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker, and seven for the Bar Poker Open.

The Fall Poker Open returned last year after a five-year absence, and this edition’s headline events give players plenty of events to watch out for. The $600 Fall Deepstack Kick Off Event runs from Nov. 4-8 with a $1 million guarantee, while the $350 Mini-Main Event runs through the full festival from Nov. 4-17 with a $500,000 guarantee. The $2,700 Borgata Fall Poker Open Championship is the centerpiece of the series, with a $1 million guarantee, and it runs from Nov. 13-17. The feature table will be live-streamed on Nov. 16, as well as the final table on the following day.

How the Chainsaw Series Got Its Start

This is the first time Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler’s series will be held at the Borgata, running from Nov. 4-14. The 11-event lineup gives mixed-game enthusiasts a reason to attend the festival with a wide range of variants, including Chainsaw’s $600 8-Game Mix on Nov. 13 and both a $1,100 T.O.R.S.E. (Nov. 12 and 13) and H.O.R.S.E. Championship (Nov. 5 and 6). You can find the full schedule here.

Kessler’s series started in 2023 as the Caesars Palace Mixed Game Poker Series before being rebranded as the Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker (CMSOP). As always, the series’ trophies are among the most distinctive in poker, designed as miniature chainsaws. 

Its latest iteration was an eight-day run at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas this past August. As an additional incentive for players to compete throughout the series, all CMSOP events will count toward the Player of the Series leaderboard.

“The Borgata is the premier tournament venue in the Northeast, and it’s an honor to have them host this series,” Kessler told Casinos.com. “I grew up on the East Coast and used to play mixed cash games at ‘The Taj’ back in the day.”

Kessler had been supporting their mixed events during their regular series, and the opportunity arose to merge his series into one of theirs.

“They are dedicated to offering mixed events, and I go out of my way to support venues that do so,” Kessler said. “The past few times I was playing there, I kept getting questions from mixed players about when my series would run there…and we finally made it happen!”

Kessler has also seen a huge interest in mixed games in New Jersey. “You see the same players returning series after series, and they keep asking for more mixed events,” he said.

Omaha 8 Gets the Series Started

Kessler chose Omaha 8 as the series’ opening event because of its popularity among local players, aiming to establish a strong field for the remaining events. “Omaha 8 has been a staple in Atlantic City for as long as I can remember,” he said.

Kessler was careful to construct his schedule so that there was as little conflict as possible between their scheduled events and his series. He has been a fan and advocate of mixed games for years. 

His enthusiasm for mixed games goes beyond scheduling logistics. “They are far more interesting to play, and less ‘solved,’” Kessler said. He added that he has been enamored with draw games in particular for their social element and the sheer number of decision points they offer compared to “stoic No Limit.”

Mixed games have grown in popularity and bring a strong community well beyond Kessler's own series. Along with the CMSOP, there’s Robbie Strazynski's Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival, and the Golden Nugget is now offering low-limit mixed games in Vegas.

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