The second day of the Mixed Game Festival XV kicked off at noon at Bellagio. At the center of the daily activities was the $300 TORSE tournament, which got off to a somewhat slow start, but ended up exceeding expectations for a “random Tuesday in October.”
The action started with two tournament tables and one low-stakes dealer’s choice cash game running, but with three hours of late registration, players had plenty of time to get over to Bellagio and join the fun. As it turned out, quite a few took advantage of this opportunity, as the tournament saw a total of 27 entries and a solid prize pool of $6,615.
The lion’s share of that prize pool went to Joseph Hallock, who, after an ICM deal with the runner-up Tony Porcheron, took home $2,534 and the title. Porcheron banked $2,228 for his efforts.
Never a Dull Moment
When there is a tournament happening, the atmosphere can be a bit different in a poker room, as players are more focused and not as splashy, but the Mixed Game Festival is always different, and almost every day, something happens to remind everyone about it.
Although our “official” pizza party took place on the first day of MGF XV, players at Bellagio were in for a surprise yesterday, as Lupe Soto, a member of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame and a longtime supporter of the Festival, showed up with some more free pizza for EVERYONE!
Surprise! @WIPHOF-er @PokerLupe just showed up with pizza for EVERYONE at @BellagioPoker!
There’s nothing like a Mixed Game Festival 😍 https://t.co/pvqvBEr2b3
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) October 6, 2026
This wasn’t scheduled or expected; it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, and this made the whole occasion that much more special.
About halfway through the day, with six total tables running between the tournament and cash games, there was the second $1,100 Bellagio Fall Classic seat giveaway. This time around, the winner was selected by a random draw of cards, where the first draw selected the lucky table, and the second draw determined the lucky seat number at that table.
The man sitting in that seat was Patrick Moulder, a Las Vegas local, who expressed a great deal of excitement to put his free tournament entry to good use and potentially claim a share of the $100,000 guaranteed prize pool!
Congratulations to Las Vegas local Patrick Moulder.
He was sitting at the lucky table in the lucky seat (random draw) and won himself an $1,100 seat in the Bellagio Fall Classic Main Event courtesy of @BetMGMPoker! 🥳
📸: @pkrreporting https://t.co/cSwNuX66a0
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) October 7, 2026
Battle for the TORSE Title
The first of the two tournaments scheduled for this edition of the Mixed Game Festival did not disappoint. As mentioned, by the time the registration ended, there were 27 entries, which is a very decent turnout for a daily TORSE event.
The final prize pool of $6,615 was split by four players, and the title went to Joseph Hallock, who managed to outlast the competition and claim the victory after 16 levels of play. The tournament actually ended in an ICM chop between the final two players. Here are the results:
|
Place |
Name |
Prize |
| 1 | Joseph Hollock | $2,534 |
| 2 | Tony Porcheron | $2,228 |
| 3 | Joe Santagata | $1,125 |
| 4 | Shale Juster | $728 |
Chris Wallace, another longtime Mixed Game Festival supporter (and past winner of the WSOP $10K HORSE event), was on-site doing an excellent job covering the tournament action, and he compiled some great, detailed reporting and player stories, along with some FANTASTIC professional photos, which you should absolutely check out on Pokerreporting.com.
Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day: Emir Delic
Day 2’s pick for Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day is Emir Delic, hailing from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Emir is originally from Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the very same country that this poker writer comes from. 🙂
Emir heard about the festival from his friend (Mike Tyson — no, not THAT Mike Tyson — who was attending his fourth festival), and he decided to join for the trip, even though he considers himself somewhat of a mixed game novice. Back home, he plays at the Gun Lake Casino, but also in some home games, where they not only play the usual rotation, but try to come up with some new mixed game variations as well. “The crazier, the better,” he tells us.
Emir’s experience with mixed games so far has been that they are more complex than most people think, and that there is a lot of underlying strategy to them.
Despite his lack of experience, he’s enjoying the Mixed Game Festival, sharing the same experience we’ve heard so many times before: “Everyone’s friendly and welcoming, making you feel comfortable at the table and helping instead of criticizing. This is the side of poker that people should be much more open to!”, Emir tells us, and we couldn’t agree more.
RunGoodGear Dealer of the Day: Kevin Poladyan
Kevin Poladyan, today’s RunGoodGear Dealer of the Day, is originally from Armenia, but has been living in Las Vegas for 27 years. His first job as a dealer was at Mandalay Bay. He then spent a year in California, dealing at the Hollywood Park. After that, Kevin moved back to Las Vegas and started working at Bellagio in 2001. Kevin has also dealt at the Wynn for nearly 13 years, so he’s really seen it all at the poker table after a lengthy career in the box.
What brought him to this job was his love for poker, which he used to play a lot before, although these days he spends most of his free time with his three children and doesn’t get as many opportunities to sit on the other side of the felt.
Mixed games are his favorite to deal, primarily because there is more going on and the action changes constantly.
Kevin also shared with us a story that involves late Doyle Brunson. On one occasion, Doyle was playing in a high-limit mix, with BIG action happening on the side. Brunson was in line to win a full $1 million if his prop bet came in (the board of T-2-2 or T-T-2), and he promised Kevin a $5,000 tip if it came in.
Laughingly, Kevin told us that he was doing everything in his power to deal as many hands as possible during that 30-minute down, but, unfortunately, the bet/win did not materialize, so the $5,000 tip did not find its way across the table.
Action Continues Into the Wee Hours
The action at the Mixed Game Festival continued well after the tournament had ended at just after 9pm. We had two games of $4/$8 dealer’s choice going, with one table of $9/$18 forming later on.
As the clock struck midnight, we lost one of the smaller tables, but two kept on going strong for a fair few hours more. Just your standard Festival “business as usual.” 🙂
For Day 3, there is another tournament on the docket, a $300 Triple Draw Mix, plus more cash game action, and the final $1,100 seat giveaway courtesy of BetMGM Poker. The action kicks off at noon, sharp, and you can reserve your seat at the table by calling the Bellagio Poker Room at (702) 693-7290.
About The Author
