Estonian Martin Piik won the final MPN Tour event which was staged in Madrid’s Grand Casino Colón (© KAX Media)
Another poker tour has bitten the dust with MPN Tour having its last hurrah in Madrid last weekend.
The closure of the popular tour, which made its debut in 2014 with a first stop in London, was inevitable given its operator, the Microgaming Poker Network, announced its closure in late 2019. It will have its plug pulled on May 19, 2020.
The record books will forever show the final event, staged in Madrid’s Grand Casino Colón, featured a main event which attracted 575 players and fell to Estonian Martin Piik who collected €52,000 for his efforts.
The total prize pool in the €550 entry event was €278,875 a result of €50 in registration fees being taken from the overall pot plus an additional three percent (€8,625) of the purse which the soon-to-become defunct operator withdrew as a ‘marketing fee’.
Unprecedented stuff.
WSOP 2020 – It’s a Mystery
The World Series of Poker is a little over three months away but event organisers have yet to release their full and finalised schedule.
So far we know the 2020 WSOP will feature at least 79 live and online poker tournaments.
Bracelet events start from just $400 (The Colossus – June 24-25) and are topped off at $250,000 (the Super High Roller – starting June 27).
Hitherto there are 16 scheduled competitions that demand a $10,000 entry fee including a new $10,000 buy-in Online High Roller.
But it is another first-time tournament which has seemingly created the biggest buzz amongst the poker playing community.
The new event, a ‘$1,500 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold’em Tournament’ starting on June 28th, is being described as “similar to a typical bounty tournament – where every player has a bounty on their head – but the major difference is not all bounties will have the same value.”
The standard bounty is just $100 but 100 players, unbeknown to them, will carry a ‘mystery bounty’ worth at least $2,500 but possibly worth as much as $250,000.
The total value of the ‘mystery bounties’ will be $1,000,000 with 80 x $2,500 prizes, 10 x $10,000 prizes, 6 x $25,000 prizes, 3 x $100,000 prizes and the single $250,000 golden ticket.
The value of any acquired scalp will not be known until after a player is eliminated and their accumulated scalp tokens are cashed out.
And, following the removal of the scalp prizes from the prize pool, the remaining purse will be dedicated to the regular prize pool which will be paid out on a standard scale with the final 15% of the field receiving a ‘cash’.
Zynga and WPT Cosy Up
Zynga Poker, the world’s largest free-to-play mobile poker game, have unveiled a World Poker Tour Sweepstakes competition in partnership with the well-known WPT brand.
For a three-week contest period all players who complete Zynga daily in-game challenges will qualify for the chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to compete at what organisers call “the ultimate poker proving ground”, the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.
“There will be 15 winners drawn from the pool of entries who will receive their shot at a chance for fame and fortune at a real-life World Poker Tour tournament,” a joint release from both companies said on Thursday.
“Winners will be sent on an all-expenses paid trip to Hollywood, Florida, including the $3,500 buy-in to compete in the tournament. Supplementing their Zynga Poker skills, winners will also have the chance to attend an exclusive training workshop run by WPT commentator and champion, Tony Dunst.”
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First published on: Gambling.com
