PokerStars announce a new online event known as the Mountain Series; celebrate RG Check accreditation via the Responsible Gambling Council, and sponsor the McGill University Faculty of Education’s International Centre for Youth Gambling and High-Risk Behaviors.
In keeping with PokerStars recent trend of following a painful announcement with a more pleasurable one, the marketing masters have announced a brand new schedule named after some of the highest mountains in the world.
The 10-event festival entitled ‘Mountain Series’ will play out April 7-10, there will be over $4m in guarantees, and buy-ins ranging from as little as $11 and as big as $2,100.
Online satellites are already running on the site.
Each event carries the name of one of the world’s most famous mountains. I have absolutely no idea why?
Here is the schedule:
| Event and date | Name | Mountain | Buy-in | Guarantee |
| Event 1: April 7 | The Big $11 [Special Edition] | Sugarloaf | $11 | $100,000 |
| Event 2: April 7 | NL Hold’em [PSKO*] | Snaefell | $33 | $100,000 |
| Event 3: April 8 | NL Hold’em | Olympus | $55 | $100,000 |
| Event 4: April 8 | NL Hold’em [6-Max, 8-min levels] | Fuji | $109 | $100,000 |
| Event 5: April 9 | PL Omaha [6-Max, 3-stack] | Matterhorn | $215 | $150,000 |
| Event 6: April 9 | NL Hold’em [PSKO*] | Mont Blanc | $320 | $350,000 |
| Event 7: April 9 | NL Hold’em [8-Max, Re-Entry] | Elbrus | $530 | $500,000 |
| Event 8: April 10 | NL Hold’em | Kilimanjaro | $700 | $750,000 |
| Event 9: April 10 | PL Omaha [6-Max, Rebuys] | Denali | $1,050 | $500,000 |
| Event 10: April 10 | Main Event [Re-Entry] | Everest | $2,100 | $1,500,000 |
*Progressive Super Knock-Out
The announcement comes exactly one day after Eric Hollreiser announced plans to increase rake by approx. 4% across selected cash games and Multi-Table Tournaments (MTTs), a decision that went down like a lead balloon within the poker community.
PokerStars Earns Accreditation From the Responsible Gambling Council
Away from the tables and PokerStars have been getting on the right side of the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC). Stars have earned an RG Check accreditation, a program designed by the RGC to offer gambling companies an independent audit of their ‘responsible gambling safety net.’
In addition to the new certificate, PokerStars has also announced a two-year corporate sponsorship that will benefit the McGill University Faculty of Education’s International Centre for Youth Gambling and High-Risk Behaviors. An outfit that spends its time researching the critical factors behind youth gambling issues, and treatment for those who develop a gambling problem.
The RGC was developed in 1983 to explore problem gambling. It’s a non profit organisation.
