Following in the footsteps of Americas Cardroom, Merge Gaming online poker room Black Chip Poker is set to begin offering online satellites to the 2012 Punta Cana Poker Classic. As part of the Black Chip Poker package amounting to $4,200, players will get a host of goodies, highlighted by a seat at the $1,500+150 buy-in to the Main Event with a guaranteed prize pool of $500,000.
On top of that, players will also receive a six-nights accommodations for two at the 5-star Hard Rock Hotel Casino Punta Cana from October 12th through 18th, all-inclusive premium food and beverages for two, 24-hour premium room service for two, ground transportation in Punta Cana from the the airport to the hotel and back to the airport, a welcome gift bag, and a $1,500 resort credit that can be spent on tours, golf rounds, and spa sessions at the hotel, among other things.
The 3rd Punta Cana Poker Classic will take place from October 12 to 17 at the Dominican Republic.
Meanwhile, the 2012 Genting Poker Series is celebrating a landmark of sorts after the Genting-owned UK poker tour can finally call itself a £1 million series. Now on its 4th of seven legs, the Genting Poker Series has seen an increased exposure leading up to Leg 4 at the Genting Club in Stoke with already 100 satellite qualifiers already set to play in what is expected to carry a guaranteed prize of £150,000.
The first three legs of the Genting Poker Series saw successful turnouts on all three tournaments, including Leg 1 at the Star City in Birmingham, which had a £146,000 guaranteed prize and won by Ruslan Vlasov. From there, the GPS moved to the Fox Club in London where Albert Sapiano bested a field of 580 players on his way to winning the biggest share of £232,000 prize pool. Most recently, the GPS trooped to Fountainpark in Edinburgh for Leg 3 of the series, which had a field of 387 players competing for the £154,800 prize pool and was eventually won by Paul McTaggart.
“The trend across the three tournaments to date reveals that more than 50% of players have come through our online and club satellites,” said Genting Poker manager Gary Oakes, as quoted on Gambling911.com.
“We run a comprehensive program of qualifiers for each main event of The Series and while the outright buy-in of £400 + £30 is sensible, many players are winning their seats for as little as £20.”
Given the success of the series so far, the four remaining legs are expected to draw their fair share of players with the expected guaranteed prize pool for each of the four tournaments still expected to increase, and thus, increasing the total prize of the entire series way past the £1 million threshold.
