The poker community is anticipating in the January’s PokerStars Poker Players Championship and players of varying skill are trying their best to procure a Platinum Pass. The Platinum Passes are a trademark of the majority of tournament hosts, and PokerStars in particular, who are interested in giving incentive to players to try their hand at qualifying on merit alone!
Meanwhile, PokerStars have stated that the company is working hard to make sure that the event gets maximum exposure. And why stop with awareness? PokerStars is now tinkering with the idea to let its players shape up what they want. In fact, the company means it. Players will now have to choose what the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas will look like.
Your Opinion Matters
Yesterday, August 16, PokerStars started the Have Your Say About #PSPC campaign which targets future participants and fans. Accessible on PokerStars’ own website, the initiative will carry on until August 31. It will specifically target Platinum Pass winners and players who have already committed $25,000 to buy into the tournament. And yet, PokerStars doesn’t rule out the possibility to send out more questionnaires and seek the opinion of a broader audience.
For the first time, players will have a slightly better control over the tournament itself and be able to fine-tune the details as they see fit. Players may suggest what the length of levels should be or discuss the starter chip pools. More specifically and perhaps excitingly, players will have a say over the minimum payout and how much of the pot will go to the actual winner.
And PokerStars does intend to deliver on its promise. Following the vast data collection, PokerStars will try to tailor a solution adjusted to player feedback and then come up with a final schedule in the first weeks of October, allowing players to see what their votes meant.
More Ways to Get In
PokerStars are already aware that the buy-in may prove too pricey for the majority of would-be participants. PokerStars have been trying to encourage people to participate in the Platinum Pass adventure programs as they rely on people’s skill rather than anything.
Naturally the events that award the Platinum Pass also have entry fees. Then again, the rate is quite bearable at $86, allowing many a pot at the $30,000 Pass, which covers for all the needs a poker player may have during the upcoming January competition. The tournament specific schedule for the January event has yet to be announced, but the entire tournament will take place between 6-10 January, 2019.
Overall, PokerStars expects to add 320qualifying events for the tournament, which will create a diversity of unique stories about the poker players that are joining.
Considering the turn up rate, PokerStars estimate that nearly 400 people could show up and take part of the competition. Ultimately, PokerStars hopes to inspire even more people to try and qualify for expensive events. PokerStars is contributing around $8 million to the PSPC prize pools.
It surely costs the company a dear penny to be funding all these competitions, albeit it does rake back some of that through tournament fees and the interest in the individual qualifiers. Even then, only demand and interest will determine whether PokerStars will repeat its Platinum Pass program on such an extensive scale in future.
