888Poker has announced the third and final leg of the triumvirate of inaugural 888Live events, and it’s time for everyone to set their Google Maps on Barcelona for a festival that caters for everyone.
A few years back I was invited to attend an 888Live Local Series event in Dublin, Ireland. It was a throwback. The poker room was no bigger than my living room. Photographs of The Hendon Mob, Doyle Brunson, and The Devilfish sat on top of the old wallpaper. The craic-filled the room with an ease of a local home game.
But this is 888Poker, the second largest online poker room in the universe. I loved the atmosphere, organisation and the connection they were making with the dustmen, postmen, and second-hand car salesmen of Dublin. But I knew that one day they would have to move into more luxurious surroundings if they were going to maintain that second largest tag, or prevent a young pretender from pinching it from under their nose.
So I was delighted when 888 announced plans to host three major live events per year under the new 888Live banner. It came at a time when 888 looked like serious contenders to the throne currently occupied by PokerStars with a series of high-profile sponsorships and hook ups with some of the most intelligent and marketable ambassadors in the world.
Two of the three events have passed into the ether, only one remains, and I will be in attendance at the final one to interview the shit out of anyone brave enough to face me.
The venue is the Gran Casino de Barcelona in the heart of Catalan country. It’s one of the best sites in the world, right on the beach, and a perfect spot for those looking for some extra curricular activities.
888 believe it’s going to be their biggest event yet and have increased the guarantee for the €1,000 buy-in Main Event to €500,000. If their previous two events are anything to go by, they should smash it. The London Main Event pipped the $250k guarantee by $30,291, and the $320k Rozvadov guarantee was beaten by $119,419.
It’s getting bigger.
It’s getting better.
Three events?
You can do better than that.
The 888Live Barcelona event takes place May 11-22, and you had better start looking for accommodation. My advice would be to book via MainEventTravel who have the best deals on the planet.
888 has confirmed that Bruno Politano, Kara Scott, Dominik Nitsche, Bruno Kawauti, Nicola Villa-Lobos, Sofia Lovgren, and Natalie Hof will be representing the brand at the event. The likes of Global Poker Index (GPI) Female Player of the Year Cate Hall, the most talked about player on the planet, Will Kassouf, and the man who has won everything Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi, will be joining them.
The schedule has a little something for everyone with buy-ins ranging from as low as €45 and as high as €2,000, but 888 have tailored the schedule to appeal more to the working class with a large percentage of buy-ins €200 or less.
Binmen.
Postmen.
Second-hand car salesmen.
This is the event for you.
