PokerStars has announced the creation of two more non-U.S. tournaments: one in Mexico and the other in Bulgaria.
From August 19th to August 22nd, Mexico City’s Casino Life del Valle will serve as host to the First National Poker Tournament, the likes of which have never been seen in the country. The tournament will begin with a maximum capacity of 300 players, who will compete until 90 remain. Those 90 advance to the semi-finals, with the eventual top ten finishers moving on to the August 22nd Grand Final. The champion of the Grand Final will win $1 million Mexican Pesos (over $78,000) and a seat in the Latin American Poker Tour Grand Final in Argentina, slated for September 22nd to September 26th.
Starting stacks will be 10,000 chips and blind levels win run for 30 minutes. This may seem short, but the tournament will be played on electronic poker tables, which will allow for faster deals, virtually no wait in between hands, and no dealer errors that necessitate calls for the floor.
Team PokerStars pro Angel Guillen, who hails from Mexico City, will be playing in the tournament. Guillen turned heads at the 2009 World Series of Poker when he finished second in the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event and then a week and a half later, he bested 1,533 other players to win his first gold bracelet the $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event. He banked over $840,000 in those two tournaments combined.
Players can enter the First National Poker Tournament in one of three ways: a) via a 10,000 + 1,000 Peso direct buy-in, b) through free daily qualifiers on PokerStars.net, and c) live daily satellites at the casino.
Just a couple of weeks later, Varna in Bulgaria will be the setting for the PokerStars Balkan Poker Festival. Held at the Grand Hotel Casino International at the Golden Sands Resort on the shore of the Black Sea from September 2nd to September 5th, the tournament will be capped at 200 players and feature a €900 + €90 buy-in. No details have been released on the prize structure, but PokerStars has guaranteed that the winner will take home a European Poker Tour prize package valued at €5,300.
As usual, PokerStars will be running qualifiers for prize packages that include a Balkan Poker Festival buy-in, hotel accommodation, and cash for expenses. Satellites will also be held at the host casino.
