PokerStars EPT in Paris Breaks Record for Debut Destination
‘Build it, and they will come’ was the famous line in Kevin Costner’s 1989 classic, Field of Dreams. The same could certainly be said for real money online poker where, not long after the world was presented with the facility to play poker via the internet, people did indeed come - in massive numbers.
It’s now been a couple of decades or so since the online poker phenomenon first appeared, and operators such as PokerStars - arguably the godfather of the industry - continually manage to demonstrate that poker fans will do more nowadays than just log in. It’s a great feature of poker today that, if you organise prestigious live events, many online poker tournament players will indeed come! By successfully providing affordable online qualifiers for major megabucks live tour events, PokerStars has given players the chance to get the most they can from poker.
The recent European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Paris is a typical example that serves to give us confidence in the current climate of online poker. Held at the inviting Hyatt Paris Regency Etoile, the tournament ultimately attracted 1,606 entries which, as well as being the largest field for a new EPT destination, was the sixth largest PokerStars EPT Main Event in history.
Incidentally, Razvan Belea of Romania was the deserved winner, with the online qualifier’s inspired powerhouse performance earning him a €1,170,000 reward for emerging victorious. The 34-year-old had this to say of his life-changing win: "This is unreal. It's all I've ever dreamed of since I started playing poker." It’s worth noting that the runner-up, Sweden’s Peter Jorgne, was playing only his second live event, having first tasted bricks & mortar poker just last year at the EPT in Barcelona. Poker truly is a game for all, with limitless possibilities!
The high level of interest provided the organisers with food for thought regarding practicalities for future EPT events (keep tuning into PokerListings for updates). All of this augurs well for the future. We’ll leave the closing words to Cedric Billot, Head of Live Events Global Operations for PokerStars: “We are really pleased to bring live poker to Paris with the EPT and FPS events. We saw vast numbers and experienced some extremely exciting and impressive poker... Following a difficult start to the festival, we reviewed and improved queuing processes ensuring that the end of the event ran very smoothly."
That’s what we expect from PokerStars, which has a well-established roster of tournaments of all shapes and sizes but also has something for everyone. Texas Hold'em and Omaha cash tables at all stakes abound, while you’ll also find a variety of Sit & Go games and much more...
Check out the best online poker bonuses and offers available at our dedicated info section. Good luck at the tables, and have fun!
*Any mention of a bonus or discussion of such terms is not in relation to the province of Ontario.
