WPT and PokerStars Join Forces to Offer Extra Value

While the live poker scene is thriving, over the years the challenge has been to attract more new players to tournaments, a task which has become increasingly harder in light of increasing travel and buy-in costs. Two main organizers of live tournaments, however, have decided to join forces in order to put the consumer first, and have announced a joint venture called the PokerStars Championship WPT MonteDam Swing.
Under the new collaboration between the World Poker Tour (WPT) and PokerStars, players entering certain tournament at the PokerStars Championship in Monte Carlo (April 25th to May 5th), and the WPT Amsterdam (May 5th to May 13th) will be able to win extra packages to various future PokerStars Championship and WPT events, giving players an extra incentive to take part in the upcoming tours. Commenting on the latest development, Edgar Stuchly, PokerStars Director of Live Events, stated:
“Both PokerStars and the World Poker Tour are committed to growing the game of poker, and the PokerStars Championship WPT MonteDam Swing was developed to benefit players competing at both PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo and WPT Amsterdam.”
To give an example of what’s on offer, the top five finishers at the WPT Amsterdam Main Event (May 9-13) can expect to receive package through to the following tournaments:
1st: PokerStars Championship Barcelona Main Event
2nd: WPT Main Event
3rd: WPTDeepStacks
4th: PokerStars National Championship Barcelona
5th: WPTDeepStacks
Reading between the lines, though, brings us to the early point that despite healthy attendance numbers, tournament organizers are keen to secure their series into the future by attracting more recreational players. That because professional players, which make up an ever larger proportion of the tournament fields, are finding it difficult to
get an edge on their competitors, thus decreasing their equity and margins in the games. By introducing new promotions and incentives, however, the WPT and PokerStars are taking steps towards appealing to new players, while returning more value to their regular troop of attendees.