Derek Childress Poker Player Profile: Career, Earnings & Borgata Win
Derek Childress is an American recreational tournament poker player from Northern Virginia who broke through in a major way at the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open. After entering the event with only a few thousand dollars in recorded live tournament cashes, Childress defeated a 2,390-entry field in the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off and earned a career-best $170,610.
The victory transformed Childress from a player with a limited tournament record into the champion of one of the largest-field events of the Borgata festival. His story also stands out because he had played poker for decades while maintaining a career outside the game and only began having more freedom to enter multi-day tournaments after retiring.
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Who Is Derek Childress?
Derek Childress is an American poker player based in Northern Virginia. Unlike many players who build their careers around a full-time tournament schedule, Childress spent most of his poker life playing on a more limited basis.
In a July 2026 interview with PokerNews, Childress said he had been playing poker for nearly 30 years. He recalled playing his first casino tournament around 2005 in a radio-sponsored event near where he lived in Northern Virginia and said he won that tournament.
Work commitments prevented Childress from regularly entering the type of multi-day tournaments that make up much of the major live poker circuit. After retiring, he gained more flexibility to travel and compete, although he said following his Borgata victory that he expected poker to remain something he played only a few times each year.
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Derek Childress's Poker Career
Childress had very little recorded live tournament history before his breakthrough at Borgata.
The Hendon Mob listed three live tournament cashes totaling $3,142 before the July 2026 result. His largest recorded cash at that point was $1,201.
One of those results came at the 2021 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Childress advanced to Day 2 of the $600 Deepstack Championship No-Limit Hold'em, Event #61, and finished 360th for $1,201. The tournament attracted 3,916 entries.
Official WSOP records from that event listed Childress as being from Ashburn, Virginia.
That modest tournament résumé changed dramatically in July 2026.
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2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open Breakthrough
Childress entered the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off at the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open with expectations far below winning the tournament.
The No-Limit Hold'em event attracted 2,390 entries across six starting flights at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The field generated a $1,242,800 prize pool, surpassing the tournament's $1 million guarantee.
A total of 191 players reached the money.
Childress survived the large field and entered the final day second in chips among the final six players. His opponents included Lingyu "Roger" Zen, Jordan Williamson, Coleem Chestnut, Craig Robertson, and Leo Saiag.
Childress gained an important double-up against Chestnut before eventually reaching heads-up play against Zen.
The two finalists agreed to a heads-up payout deal but continued playing for the championship. Zen initially gained control of the match before Childress doubled with pocket fours against ace-seven.
The decisive hand followed immediately afterward. Zen held pocket sixes and Childress held ace-queen. An ace on the flop put Childress ahead, and his hand held to secure the tournament title.
Childress earned $170,610 for first place. Zen collected $158,370 as the runner-up.
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Derek Childress's Biggest Poker Win
The $170,610 Borgata victory is the largest publicly documented tournament cash of Derek Childress's career as of August 2026.
The size of the result is particularly significant when compared with his previous tournament record. Childress entered the event with only $3,142 listed in live tournament earnings by The Hendon Mob, meaning the Borgata score was more than 50 times larger than his previously recorded career total.
The victory also gave Childress a major live tournament title against a field of nearly 2,400 entries.
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Derek Childress Live Tournament Earnings
As of August 2026, the publicly documented results reviewed for this profile support at least $173,752 in live tournament cashes for Derek Childress.
The Hendon Mob player page still listed $3,142 in total live earnings when reviewed, indicating that the database had not yet incorporated his $170,610 Borgata Summer Poker Open victory. Adding the verified Borgata payout to the previously listed total produces at least $173,752 in recorded live cashes.
Tournament earnings databases can change as new results are added, so this figure should be treated as a dated career statistic rather than a permanent total.
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Derek Childress at the World Series of Poker
Childress has competed at the World Series of Poker.
His documented WSOP result came in the 2021 $600 Deepstack Championship No-Limit Hold'em. The event drew 3,916 entries and created a $1,997,160 prize pool.
Childress advanced from Day 1 with 108,000 chips and ultimately finished 360th for $1,201.
As of August 2026, the sources reviewed for this profile do not show Childress winning a WSOP bracelet or a WSOP Circuit ring.
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Derek Childress's Playing Style
There is not enough documented tournament history to place Derek Childress into a broad playing-style category such as loose-aggressive or tight-aggressive.
His comments after the Borgata victory do provide some insight into the approach he used during that tournament. Childress described folding patiently and committing his chips when he believed he had a worthwhile hand.
PokerNews live reporting also showed that he was willing to make disciplined folds during heads-up play while taking aggressive opportunities when circumstances favored him.
It would be misleading to treat one tournament as a complete description of his overall poker style, but his Borgata performance demonstrated patience, selective aggression, and an ability to survive the swings of a very large-field tournament.
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Major Poker Accomplishments
Won the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open $600 Deep Stack Kick Off
Earned a career-best $170,610 in the Borgata victory
Defeated a field of 2,390 entries
Won an event that generated a $1,242,800 prize pool
Cashed in the 2021 WSOP $600 Deepstack Championship
Has at least $173,752 in publicly documented live tournament cashes as of August 2026
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Where Is Derek Childress Now?
Childress entered a new stage of his poker life after retiring from his previous career.
Before retirement, work made it difficult for him to commit to lengthy tournament trips and multi-day events. Following his Borgata victory, Childress told PokerNews that retirement gave him the opportunity to play more tournaments of that type.
He did not indicate that he planned to become a full-time professional. Instead, he suggested that major tournament appearances would probably remain limited to approximately two or three trips per year.
That makes his future schedule difficult to predict, but the 2026 Borgata result established Childress as a player capable of converting an occasional tournament appearance into a major live victory.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Derek Childress?
Derek Childress is an American recreational tournament poker player from Northern Virginia. He became widely known in poker after winning the $600 Deep Stack Kick Off at the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open.
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How much did Derek Childress win at Borgata?
Derek Childress earned $170,610 for winning the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open $600 Deep Stack Kick Off after a heads-up deal with Lingyu "Roger" Zen.
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What is Derek Childress's biggest poker cash?
Childress's largest publicly documented live tournament cash as of August 2026 is the $170,610 he earned at the 2026 Borgata Summer Poker Open.
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How many players did Derek Childress beat at Borgata?
The $600 Deep Stack Kick Off attracted 2,390 entries. Childress finished first in the tournament.
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How much has Derek Childress won playing live poker tournaments?
Publicly documented results reviewed as of August 2026 support at least $173,752 in live tournament cashes. The Hendon Mob had not yet updated its $3,142 pre-Borgata total when this profile was prepared.
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Has Derek Childress cashed at the WSOP?
Yes. Childress finished 360th in the 2021 WSOP $600 Deepstack Championship No-Limit Hold'em and earned $1,201.
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Does Derek Childress have a WSOP bracelet?
The sources reviewed for this profile do not show Derek Childress winning a WSOP bracelet as of August 2026.
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Is Derek Childress a professional poker player?
Available reporting does not establish Childress as a full-time professional poker player. He spent much of his life working outside poker and said after retiring that he expected to enter major tournaments only a few times per year.
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How long has Derek Childress played poker?
Childress told PokerNews in 2026 that he had been playing poker for nearly 30 years. He said his first casino tournament was around 2005.
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Sources
PokerNews
The Hendon Mob
World Series of Poker
BetMGM Poker
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa