- PokerStars has created a tournament lobby allowing players to sign up for the $10 Million Guaranteed Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship event running between August 28 and September 3.
- Only one $3,500 buy in is permitted using the client, and players cannot re-buy online during the event.
PokerStars has created a tournament lobby allowing players to sign up for the $10 Million Guaranteed Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship event running between August 28 and September 3.
Players can select which Day 1 they wish to play, and in registering for the event through the PokerStars client, secure their seat in the multiple entry format $10 million guaranteed tournament. Only one $3,500 buy in is permitted using the client, and players cannot re-buy online during the event.
The tournament lobby can be found under the “EVENTS – MORE – SPECIAL” tab in the main PokerStars lobby.
DP3 Consulting
Until this latest announcement, players could use a facility provided by DP3 Consulting, which acted as a Seminole Hard Rock Casino authorized intermediary, to allow people to fund their entries from their PokerStars account.
Sponsorship
Unusually, PokerStars is not an event sponsor—they appear to be providing a service which has been agreed with the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, purely for the convenience of their players.
The casino is in Florida, from where players are barred from registering for real money tournaments on their PokerStars account. Registrations must be carried out offshore.
The move may be aimed partly at US players who were pushed into exile by the DOJ’s actions on Black Friday. Many now live in Canada or Mexico, and some will be attracted to the tournament series by the huge guarantee.
Last year, the prize fund went up to $12.8 million, and Blair Hinkle took home a first prize of $1.7 million after defeating Justin Bonomo heads up.
PokerStars rehabilitated
The agreement with the Hard Rock Casino is also unusual, because since Black Friday, PokerStars has not had any similar set up with a US regulated land based casino.
Now that Amaya has taken over, with plans to return to the US regulated market in New Jersey as soon as possible, the registration facility may be a sign that the company is already looking West, and preparing relationships in advance of a US launch.
