PokerStars has been a bright star on the landscape for poker action. Nobody would be able to deny the organization’s leadership position. Of late, we’ve been chatting away about the Premium Passes on more than one occasion. Today, though, we want to shed a wee bit more light on the matter.
Generosity or Skilled Marketing? Bit of Both, Really
PokerStars is of course dying to be seen as a do-gooder, an organization that surely bags a fair bit of money, but is also in the business of giving back. The 160 Platinum Passes the organization has allocated are worth over $4.5 million and that’s quite the sum to consider. Taking the show on the road, adding new players and offering fresh opportunities to burgeoning talent is all part of the deal, and by the look of it – an important part of the deal.
With the inaugural PokerStars Players NL Hold’em Championship (PSPC) coming up on January 6, 2019, it’s time to mention that the company has been shedding $25,000 to cover the entry fee alone, plus offering extra $5,000 to make sure that travel fares and your stay at The Bahamas will be in fact covered.
A better breakdown of the pass is in fact a six nights’ accommodation at the Atlantis Resorts in the Bahamas and additional $2,000 which you will use to cover your traveling and on-site expenses. However, the current number is not the whole deal, really. A total of 320 such promotional bundles are expected to make it to just as many players. This is absolutely fantastic, and the competition could even beat the EPT Barcelona Main Event where almost 2,000 players tried their luck.
Despite the solid numbers of voucher players, the event estimates to attract between 600 and 800 entrants in total, which is not as many participants as everyone could have hoped for. Then again, it takes a shiny penny to be able to afford a trip to the place where the tournament will be held, and PokerStars are effectively doing a rather exclusive campaign.
Even then, it’s hard to argue with the facts, namely that the company is providing all skilled players with sufficient opportunities to actually be part of the global action.
Creating Equal Opportunities in Poker
There have been dozens of clever ways PokerStars has distributed its passes so far. Not so long ago, the company said that it is empowering its own ambassadors to come up with their own manner of distribution.
our first @runitupreno qualifier starts in a little over an hour on @PokerStars. I’ll be in it to not win it! https://t.co/jIhWFqhUIx
— jcarver (@JasonSomerville) August 30, 2018
Meanwhile, tournaments have been going on around the United States. A good example is the Jason Somerville-hosted initiative, a multi-event tournament, granting opportunities to attendees to grab a Premium Pass for themselves.
Respected professional Jeff Gross, on the other hand, has prepared five vlogging challenges to attract a diverse and talented group of players. Poker is still about playing poker, but it doesn’t mean that the distribution of passes shouldn’t be done in a way that tells players a little more about themselves other than their love to conquer the odds and cards.
