Russian Player Wins $1 Million PokerStars Spin & Go
January 14, 2015 2:53 pmSpin & Go tournaments are proving quite a success in attracting the interest of casual players who would otherwise steer clear from a mature poker market characterized by fish hungry, tech-savvy, highly experienced grinders. The fast-paced format offers a new way for those losing players to enjoy some bang for their buck, whilst also taking a random shot at winning up to 1,200 times their initial buy-in.
In its efforts to promote the poker variant, PokerStars even held a $1 Million Spin & Go special promotion in December, which was then extended into January after the huge payout failed to be hit. Soon after, three incredibly fortunate players defied the long odds of 3-in-10 million to release the jackpot, and while the $1 million top prize was eventually won by Russian player “Sss66666″, the two other players from Belgium and Bulgaria also received a life changing $100,000 a piece, and all from their initial $5 investment.
Proving the point made earlier, prior to his incredible win the Russian player apparently only ever played at PokerStars’ small stakes cash games and tournaments, before trying his luck at the Spin & Go promotion. And just like in the “Moneymaker era”, a recreational player now has the opportunity to parlay a few dollars into a major, life-altering experience.
As to be expected, when Spin & Go tournaments were first introduced at PokerStars they caused a backlash from the site’s regular grinders, who saw them as driving players away from cash games and tournaments, thereby attacking their potential profits. In the end, this attitude was seen as short-sighted criticism of an industry desperately seeking to narrow the huge skill gap which now exists in the game, and calling detractors out at the time, PokerStars’ main sponsored pro, Daniel Negreanu, commented:
“Do you know what kills games and destroy the poker ecosystem above and beyond all the things mentioned? Winning players. Yup, you guys lol. The winning players as a whole win a lot more money than the company makes each and every year. Yet, oddly, they still offer VIP programs to the very people who are essentially ‘killing the games.”