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Congya Zhang won the $2,200 Global Poker Championship at the 2026 Mediterranean Poker Party, banking $300,000 after a final-day comeback at Merit Crystal Cove Casino in Cyprus. Zhang topped an 830-entry field in the festival’s kickoff no-limit hold’em event, which carried a $2 million guaranteed prize pool paid across 124 places.

The victory was Zhang’s largest live tournament cash, surpassing the $150,000 she earned for finishing 61st in the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event. That July run, from a field of 9,208 entries, also made her the last woman standing in the championship.

Zhang began the final day 12th of 16 remaining players, while Sergei Petrushevskii led the counts with 13.245 million chips and Yilu Yuan was second with 11.045 million. PokerNews reported that Zhang scored an early elimination but reached the final table among the shorter stacks.

Adrian State controlled much of the early final-table action, eliminating several players and building a chip lead. The momentum began to turn after State lost substantial pots to Petrushevskii and Mengdian Peng.

Zhang’s climb accelerated with six players left. She doubled through Paul Esau, then moved into second after Petrushevskii paid off her rivered straight. Zhang then eliminated State in fifth when her ace-king held against State’s ace-five, taking a huge lead in the process.

She went on to knock out Peng in fourth for $100,000 and Yuan in third for $140,000. Zhang held pocket tens against Yuan’s ace-king in the latter hand, leaving her with roughly a 4-to-1 advantage over Petrushevskii at the start of heads-up play.

The final duel lasted less than 20 minutes. Petrushevskii, who earned $200,000 as runner-up, moved all-in with pocket fives; Zhang called with pocket jacks, which held on a 7-3-3-10-9 board to secure the title.

“I have a lot of feelings, but the main one, I feel peaceful. I feel calm,” Zhang said after the win. She described it as “a fantastic year” and said she had grown more confident.

The late stages also featured three Chinese players at the final table. Zhang said she was proud of the group, calling it “a big moment for China,” and said, “Every Chinese player who comes so far to be here, they are all very good players.” The win earned her 912 Card Player Player of the Year points.

Québec’s Liberal Party has made a campaign pledge to license private online gambling operators, a change that would end the province’s single-operator legal online market if enacted. Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has backed the idea, putting regulated iGaming on the agenda ahead of the Oct. 5 provincial election.

Liberal leader Charles Milliard announced the proposal Sept. 9. It would require every online gambling platform to obtain provincial accreditation and expand the mandate of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux, or RACJ, so it oversees the whole sector, including Loto-Québec. A Liberal government would introduce the necessary bill in its first year.

Operators would face stricter rules on advertising, gambling-addiction prevention and protection of minors. The plan also calls for an independent organization, funded by the industry, to provide harm-prevention and support services. Part of the new revenue would go to a prevention fund.

Milliard projected annual revenue of C$310 million to C$320 million starting in fiscal 2027-28. That estimate appeared in the party’s Sept. 13 fiscal framework. It is a campaign projection, rather than an enacted government forecast.

The PQ has not set out its own costed framework or identified which regulator would supervise private operators. Still, Plamondon called the Liberal proposal “brilliant” and described online sports betting in Québec as a “Wild West,” pointing to American companies advertising in the province without regulation. He said potential proceeds could be directed to homelessness, school hunger and learning disabilities.

Québec currently authorizes Loto-Québec’s online products, including Espace Jeux, as the province’s legal online gambling offering. That leaves online poker players limited to the provincially run market, including Loto-Québec’s Canada Poker Network offering.

The Québec Online Gaming Coalition, an industry group representing private-sector companies, welcomed the commitments from both parties. Its February submission to the provincial government argued that the present system does not control private online offers and leaves about C$300 million in annual tax revenue uncollected. The coalition’s estimates should be read as industry advocacy, not government projections.

The coalition cited a survey of 1,010 Québec residents who said they played online: 73% used privately operated platforms for online casino games and sports betting, while 26.6% used Espace Jeux for those activities. It also cited a 2025 Blask estimate that Loto-Québec accounted for 17% of online gambling activity in the province.

The proposed direction resembles competitive-market reforms already adopted elsewhere in Canada. Ontario opened its market to private operators in April 2022 and generated C$1.26 billion in total gaming revenue in its first full year, with iGaming Ontario contributing C$145.7 million directly to the province. By fiscal 2024-25, total gaming revenue had reached C$2.9 billion and iGaming Ontario’s provincial contribution was C$261 million. Alberta became the second province with a regulated market open to private operators on July 13.

For poker, a Québec market opening could create a new regulated opportunity for operators, but it would not itself establish shared player liquidity with Ontario or Alberta. Ontario’s poker market remains ring-fenced, Alberta’s regulated online poker market has not launched, and any cross-provincial pool would depend on each province’s rules and agreements governing shared play.

Pallas Data polling published Sept. 12 put the PQ at 27% among decided and leaning voters, with the CAQ and Liberals both at 23%.

Phil Hellmuth and Shaun Deeb are set to headline Lilac Club Casino’s $60,000 Legends of Poker Tournament: One-Day Challenge in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Thursday, Sept. 24. The $600 buy-in event begins at 4 p.m. in the Lilac Club Poker Room, with 12 tables available and seating limited.

As we reported last week, the tournament will be the casino’s second major event to feature Hellmuth, who first played at the property last year. Jason White, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and Brandon Cantu are also scheduled to play.

Players who eliminate Hellmuth or Deeb will receive a $500 Champions Bounty for each headliner. Hellmuth and Deeb are the advertised stars, but the event is expected to draw between 150 and 200 entrants, according to NH Journal.

The tournament is expected to be the second-biggest poker event hosted in New Hampshire. A first satellite on Sept. 13 sent several players into the main event, while a final Mega Satellite Tournament is scheduled for Sept. 20. Players can also buy in for $600 at the poker room from 9 a.m. Sunday.

Thriving Roots Childcare and the Seacoast Educational Endowment of Dover will receive the charitable-gaming contributions assigned to the tournament dates. Thriving Roots provides affordable care for children from 6 weeks to 6 years old, and its share is intended to replace pre-K classroom flooring and buy playground equipment.

The Seacoast Educational Endowment of Dover supports Dover public-school educators through grants for continuing education, classroom resources and teaching tools. Granite State Gaming & Hospitality COO Eric Barbaro said the event’s support for organizations serving local children, families and educators was what made bringing it to New Hampshire especially meaningful.

New Hampshire Lottery rules classify poker as a regulated Game of Chance under RSA 287-D and state regulations. Licensed gaming operators can partner with up to two charities per day, and the partner charities receive 35% of gross gaming revenue on their assigned dates.

That formula means a $100 gaming loss generates $35 for the designated charity. Granite State Gaming & Hospitality uses a charity-selection committee to review applications, assess community needs and schedule charitable dates.

The broader contributions are substantial, though the reported measures differ. Granite State Gaming & Hospitality’s Rochester property had generated about $3 million in charitable contributions so far this year, while its Seabrook property had produced just over $1 million. Separately, the City of Rochester said in March that Lilac Club Casino had contributed more than $3.3 million to local charitable organizations since opening in March 2025.

Lilac Club Casino’s earlier charitable giving included more than $116,000 split between Rochester Main Street and the Rochester Rotary Club in 2025.

William Joyner led the largest opening flight so far in the inaugural $400 Mississippi State Poker Championship at Horseshoe Casino Tunica, bagging 607,000 from Day 1c’s 127 entries.

Fifteen players advanced from the third of four starting flights, putting Joyner ahead of runner-up Bill Onley, who finished with 515,000. Andrea Hizer completed the top three in chips, according to PokerNews’ live coverage.

Joyner’s surge began with a runner-runner flush against Colin Heaton that took him to roughly 250,000 chips. He also eliminated Paul Stewart on the money bubble: with 16 players left and 15 Day 2 spots available, Joyner called Stewart’s 54,000-chip shove and won an ace-versus-ace hand when his kicker played.

The event carries a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool and started players with 30,000 chips. Each Day 1 flight used 30-minute levels, and the top 12.5%, rounded down, qualified for Day 2. Players could enter multiple flights and re-enter without limit; anyone who qualified more than once retained their largest stack, forfeited the smaller stack or stacks, and received the lowest Day 2 payout.

Day 1c was a clear jump from the 73 entries recorded in Day 1b, which sent nine players through. Kerry Dawson led that flight with 431,000, followed by Jesse Lott with 362,000 and Benjamin Ridge with 338,000.

The final Day 1d flight was underway when the Day 1c report was published. Day 2 is scheduled to begin at noon local time on Sunday, Sept. 20, with 35-minute levels before they increase to 40 minutes at the final table.

David Stefanski won the $10,200 BetMGM Poker Big, Big Baller at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. The tournament had a $500,000 guarantee and drew 69 entries for a $690,000 final prize pool. Stefanski collected $169,220 and his first title of the Borgata Big, Big Series.

The two-day no-limit hold’em event began Sept. 17 with 30,000-chip starting stacks, unlimited re-entry and registration open through the first hand of Day 2. PokerNews reported that 56 entries had been logged after Day 1, producing a provisional $560,000 prize pool. Thirteen players max-late registered at the start of Day 2.

Jeremy Becker had led the first-day survivors with 317,500 chips, more than 10 starting stacks and 105 big blinds. David Stefanski was second with 194,500, while Drew O’Connell bagged 184,500. Nicholas Verderamo, Brock Wilson and Daniel Monosson were also among those returning for Day 2.

There is a minor discrepancy in the Day 1 accounts. Bonus.com’s initial report said 12 players advanced from the 56-entry field, while the final event recap said 13 players bagged on Day 1 before being joined by the 13 max-late registrants.

Becker’s lead did not carry through the final day. He was eliminated first at the eight-handed stage when his ace-queen ran into Clemen Deng’s ace-king. Wilson then lost a flip to Stefanski, who later eliminated BetMGM ambassador Michael Gagliano in sixth place.

A three-handed ICM deal shaped the payouts near the end. O’Connell, who finished third, received $156,675, while runner-up Michael Wang earned $127,750. The three-way chop covered $149,260 of the prize pool, with a further $19,960 played for after the agreement.

Stefanski eliminated O’Connell and then Wang to take the trophy and the largest payout. He said he had entered Day 2 with roughly six and a half starting stacks and credited both the cards he received and the strength of the field for the result.

The win pushed Stefanski past $3 million in career live earnings and into the top 1,000 on The Hendon Mob’s all-time money list.