Nottingham casino offers first prize guarantee and helps ISPT regain momentum
Following numerous setbacks, at last things are starting to look-up for the International Stadiums Poker Tour and in particular the Wembley event scheduled to take place this summer. The main reason for this newfound positivity is the news that Nottingham-based casino Dusk Till Dawn has stepped in to guarantee the winner of the huge outdoor event at least €1 million.
Initially, the organisers had announced a €20m guarantee for the total prize pool, but the company soon realised this figure was unrealistic and subsequently retracted it leading to widespread criticism and uncertainty about the legitimacy of event throughout the poker community.
But it looks like ISPT has taken a big step towards solving these early problems and also regaining the poker world’s support with this bold move. More importantly, it looks like the ambitious and extravagant event that was originally envisioned will go ahead as planned.
Speaking out about the Wembley event, Dusk Till Dawn owner Rob Yong commented, “If Wembley is a success, I believe ISPT could be replicated in other iconic venues across the world generating huge prizepools and giving poker fantastic mainstream exposure, just look at Wembley’s official web site—ISPT is alongside the FA Cup Final, Champions League Final and Bruce Springsteen’s Concert.”
Yong went on to say that, “This event is a ‘win win’ for the UK poker community; it will either be a great success with thousands of players, or there will be a massive overlay.”
The latest revised player targets from the organisers now stand at a more realistic 16,000 estimated online qualifiers, each buying-in for €270, plus about 250 live players, each paying the full €2,700 buy-in, creating a combined prize pool of around €5 million.
The live phase of the Wembley event is currently scheduled to begin on June 1 at Wembley Stadium, where the thousands of online qualifiers will join the live players who have bought in directly for the first time and the two groups will play together until a champion is crowned.
