The New Year has just begun and already some big live and online events are on the immediate horizon.
The big online event in January for many is without a doubt the Super XL Series on 888poker with $5 million guaranteed for this edition of the growing tournament series.
The first of 63 events begins at 7 PM GMT on January 19 and it’ll be the kick-off for a series of low and high buy-in, fast and slow-paced tournaments that all lead to the highlight and focus of attention – the main event.
When the 888poker Super XL Series 2017 Main Event takes off on Sunday, January 29 at 7 PM it’ll have a buy-in of $1,050 and a guaranteed prize pool of $1,500,000.
That means the winner this time might walk away with a quarter of a million dollars.
What Would They Do with 250k?
If you struggle to think of what you might do with that kind of money, we asked the people who know what it feels like – the 888poker ambassadors.
Don't spend yet, grasshopper.
Take Chris Moorman for example. Did you know he doesn’t have a driver's licence?
Moorman: "If I won the main event I would finally learn to drive and buy a very nice first car, probably a Mercedes Benz G SUV."
Bruno Politano, on the other hand, would go for some more instant pleasure:
"I would travel to Indonesia with my fiancée Anne and spend 20 days looking at the sun and ocean and meeting new people and culture ..."
Kara Scott would take a much more down-to-earth approach and invest in her personal future.
"If I won the XL Series main event, I'd use that money to buy a gorgeous house in the city where we now live.
"I've moved around so much over the past 10 years that buying a house never seemed like a smart idea but if I came into lots of money and 'smart' didn't matter, that's the first thing I'd do!"
What Should You Do with the Super XL Main Event Prize?
However, 'quod licet iovi, non licet bovi,' as they say, which means pretty much that what is right for the pros isn't necessarily right for you.
We also asked the 888 ambassadors what a recreational player like you or me should do if they land their first big hit in an online tournament.
Bruno says live a dream instead.
Moorman suggests you ignore it now so you’ll have more in the future:
"I'd be smart with it and save it to build your bankroll rather than buying anything lavish. With your first big win you should put the money away like you didn't even win it so you will always have a backup."
His Brazilian counterpart Politano once again pledges for a more life-affirming, less serious way to handle the money.
"Spend your money fulfilling a dream of yours so you can remember this moment for all your life. And save some money, he he he ... saving money is always important :)
Scott shows once more how smart a person she is – although she’s too humble to admit it.
Be generous, too.
"If you're looking for an exciting and baller response, you've come to the wrong person. I am boringly sensible!
"I can tell you what I did with my first big poker win, which happened before I was playing more serious poker. I locked a large percentage of it away somewhere I couldn't touch it for years and where it would grow for my retirement.
"With the rest, I played some poker that was way out of my bankroll but too fun to resist (the NBC Heads Up, Poker After Dark, even the WSOPME was too high really for my bankroll) and thankfully it went well enough that I didn't lose it all!
"I set aside a certain amount for people I love, and then I made sure that none of my friends had to buy their own drinks or pay for their own taxis for about a year, until they forcibly sat me down and told me to stop splurging so much. It was fun while it lasted though!"
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