Online poker room Ladbrokes is banking on the luck of the Irish. The site will once again sponsor the Irish Poker Festival, a multi-day event in Killarney set to begin on Thursday, October 2nd. The location: the Irish National Events Center, which will become the center of poker throughout Europe next month. Four events are scheduled in total, highlighted by a massive €250,000 guaranteed prize pool Main Event.
Players who make their way to Killarney – which is in the Southwest part of Ireland – will be able to hang out in the Ladbrokes Lounge, which will house pool, darts, “and other activities to help you relax in between the poker action,” according to Ladbrokes’ website. The Main Event will start on October 3rd and run for three days. Here’s a look at the full schedule:
Thursday, October 2nd at 19:30
Main Event Super Satellite – 20 tickets guaranteed
€50 + €10 buy-in Rebuy Event
Friday, October 3rd at 16:00
Irish Poker Festival Main Event
€500 + €50 buy-in
€250,000 guaranteed prize pool
15,000 starting chips, one hour blind levels
Saturday, October 4th at 16:00
Two-Day Event
€270 + €30 buy-in
€60,000 estimated prize pool
10,000 starting chips, 40 minute blind levels
Sunday October 5th at 15:00
One-Day Event
€150 + €20 buy-in
€25,000 estimated prize pool
8,000 starting chips, 30 minute blind levels
Every Monday, Ladbrokes is qualifying its own players to travel to the Irish Poker Festival. At 19:30 GMT, the site holds a $137.50 buy-in tournament that awards one prize package for every $1,250 in the prize pool. Winners will receive a €550 Main Event buy-in plus two nights at the Gleneagle Hotel on October 3rd and 4th. Satellites begin at $5 if the $137.50 price tag is out of your budget. All players in the Irish Poker Festival must be at least 18 years-old.
Also available are five and ten seat turbo satellites that award seats directly into the Irish Poker Festival Main Event, but do not dole out hotel stays. For a full list of qualifiers to the Irish Poker Festival, just click on “MTT,” “Offline Events,” and then “Ladbrokes Irish Festival” in the lobby of Ladbrokes Poker. Brick-and-mortar card rooms across Ireland are offering seats into the Main Event as well.
Ladbrokes is also gearing up for its annual Ladbrokes European Online Championship of Poker (LEOCOP). The tournament series begins on Sunday, October 26th and ends with a $250,000 added Main Event on November 9th. A Masters Event will take place on November 22nd; that tournament is a $120,000 freeroll. There are 16 money-added tournaments that comprise LEOCOP IV, which spans 15 days of play. Styles of poker that will be featured include No Limit Hold’em, Fixed Limit and Pot Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split.
There are a limited number of $1,250 packages available to the Irish Poker Festival. Interested parties are encouraged to e-mail irishfestival@ladbrokespoker.com or call +44 (0) 1372 277 722. Players who want to register for the Main Event can do so for €550 in the Ladbrokes Poker lobby before the tournament begins.
