- Online satellites now running on PokerStars.ES for weekly tournaments in Casino Gran Madrid.
- First PokerStars LIVE poker room opening at the beginning of the month with little fanfare.
- Poker room now also promoted in the “news” popup in the Spanish online lobby.
PokerStars Spain is launching its first series of online satellites to qualify for a regular live tournament in its new poker room in Casino Gran Madrid.
Two weeks after the grand opening, PokerStars has started cross-promoting its brick and mortar venture: First spotted by Poker-Red.com, online satellites quietly filled the previously empty “Madrid” tab of the PokerStars.ES lobby late last week, and the opening of the casino is now promoted in the “News” popup in the lobby.
The Madrid Warm Up, a €120 + €20 buy-in weekly live event, runs 7pm each Wednesday. Entry to the satellites starts as low as a €0.50 turbo that awards one entry to a €3 online satellite into the live tournament. There are also €10 and €20 satellites running through Tuesday.
The live room, which holds more than 200 players, quietly opened earlier this month.
There was little promotion of the opening, outside of a Spanish-language press release from the site. PokerstarsMadrid.com, the home for information about games in Gran Madrid, lists a tournament schedule, but details about cash games has still not been posted.
The Madrid poker room is the debut of the PokerStars’ LIVE brand, the first in the company’s expansion into live poker rooms. There are plans to cross-promote more online and live tournaments in the future.
The room already hosts a series of nightly NL tournaments with buy-ins between €60 and €140, along with €150 monthly tournaments and €300 quarterly tournaments. Every Thursday, there are “sit and go” tourneys with buy-ins from €25 to €100.
The next milestone in PokerStars’ LIVE plans is the opening of the refurbished poker deck in the London Hippodrome in just two weeks’ time.