Starting on Wednesday of this week, players on CEREUS Network sites Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker began competing in a high-stakes two month Points Race worth $530,000. The prize pool will be divided among the top Status Point earners.
While many people in the United States were busy scrambling at the last minute on Wednesday to file their taxes, players on Tokwiro-owned online poker rooms Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, both part of the CEREUS Network, were racking up Status Points and watching their names climb the UB 500 and AP 500 leader boards. The Points Race concludes on June 15th with the top 500 earners splitting a $500,000 prize pool. First place will grab $25,000, second place takes home $22,000, and third place will see their online poker bankroll grow by $20,000. Everyone who makes the leader board will receive at least $150 and the top 10 will pocket five-figure paydays.
Tokwiro Chief Operating Officer Paul Leggett told Poker News Daily, “Our players truly enjoy rake races and we wanted to give them one of the largest races in online poker history. Our $500,000 rake race is just one of the many promotions we will run this year to make online poker more exciting and competitive.” That’s not all, however. The top 1,000 Status Point earners will receive an invite into a special $30,000 freeroll scheduled for June 28th at 2:00pm ET. In total, $530,000 is up for grabs as part of the promotion, which more than doubles the prize money given away in last month’s CEREUS rake race.
Just a few days into the competition, SOUTHCJAY7 leads the pack in the UB 500, generating 14,116 Status Points. Right behind him is MAKE_IT_RAIN, who holds 10,679 Points. If the contest were frozen today, VOSS1313 (8,967), ANEW (8,862), MERKER1 (7,860), AIRKID3 (7,558), Z06FANATIC (6,699), MINUTEMAN233 (6,287), DURZAAAA (6,180), and JAMESRED111 (5,790) would all take home over $10,000. A total of 74 players will earn at least $1,000.
CEREUS was formed in November with the merging of the player bases of Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker. According to PokerScout.com, which ranks traffic across the major sites, CEREUS is the seventh largest worldwide with a seven day running average of 2,250 real money ring game players. Its 24 hour peak is 3,416 and at the time of writing, which is mid-afternoon Eastern Time, there are 2,561 cash game players on its virtual felts. A press release distributed by Tokwiro this week reads, “Thanks to CEREUS, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker’s Rake Race promotion continues to deliver on the promise of a bigger and better online poker experience for players at both online poker sites. So, settle into the driver’s seat and just keep earning STATUS Points to participate and secure a share of the $530,000 prize money up for grabs.”
“Celebrity Apprentice” candidate Annie Duke and 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth serve as the front men ultimate Bet. This week on the popular NBC reality show, the two may square off on national television. In an ongoing task that asks teams to raise money for charity by auctioning off pieces from Ivanka Trump’s jewelry line, Duke’s opposition has solicited Hellmuth to come to New York and place a bid. Whether Hellmuth will actually turn out for the show is unknown. “Celebrity Apprentice” airs at 9:00pm ET on Sunday nights on NBC.
At the end of March, Ultimate Bet signed Matt “mattg1983” Graham to become the newest member of its Star Player Team, which also includes Adam “Roothlus” Levy, “Hollywood” Dave Stann, Tiffany Michelle, “Best Damn Poker Show” Season 1 winner Tracy Scala, and Michael Binger.