PokerStars Responds to Criticism over PSC Panama

A number of high-profile pros have expressed their dissatisfaction over the recent PokerStars Championship (PSC) which was held at the Sortis Hotel, Spa & Casino in Panama City. While Bryn Kenney complained that PokerStars ended up paying 20% of the field instead of its initially stated 15%, Paul Newey joined in the criticism by stating that the PSC event was “absolutely awful” except for the local staff who had been “friendly and tried their best.”
In the meantime, Jason Wheeler has also added his voice to the chorus of dissent, with the pro complaining that PokerStars was not doing enough to use its online site to drive people towards its live events. According to Wheeler, there are simply not enough online satellites being made available to attract recreational players, and while PokerStars has since responded by stating that it had recently made a number of packages available to future PSC events, Wheeler said the operator is simply responding to declining numbers, rather than listening to player feedback.
“It seems like Stars has been scrambling more lately and playing catch up, therefore, can’t develop a cohesive strategy where they use smaller festivals to drive bigger traffic to the bigger championships,” explained Wheeler.
Unlike past criticisms that has been levelled against PokerStars, Wheeler’s views have factored in the importance of attracting recreational players to live events, and PokerStars has reacted positively by stating that it was taking his and the other pros’ opinions into consideration. Looking ahead to the PokerStars Championship Macau, scheduled to take place from March 30 to April 9, Eric Hollreiser, VP of Corporate Communications for Amaya Inc. and PokerStars, stated:
“We’re confident that Macau will be a great tour stop and that in particularly the high roller events will be among the strongest we’ve ever done.”