Starting next weekend PokerStars players in Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy will have the opportunity to enjoy a very merry Christmas, as the PokerStars Winter Series kicks off. The entire series lasts three weeks, starting December 25 and ending January 17.
Players in Spain, France, and Portugal have one set of events, while Italy has its own lineup. For the first three countries, the Winter Series is composed of 303 events with more than €15 million in guaranteed prize pools. The €1 million guaranteed Main Event takes place on January 10. Buy-ins for all of the tournaments range from €5 to €250, so there is something for everyone (except for ultra-high rollers, I suppose).
Players can opt-in to the Winter Series Ticket Machine promo to win tickets into the PokerStars Winter Series. €200,000 in total will be doled out from December 28 through January 10. To receive entries into the Ticket Machine drawing, players must participate in a Winter Series event. The higher the buy-ins, the more entries a player gets.
French and Spanish players can also try their skill and luck in special €12.50 Spin & Go’s to win a buy-in into the Main Event. Players in Portugal are ineligible for the Spin & Go’s.
“The Winter Series has become a staple in our offering for Southern Europe and Italy and we’re happy to bring this unique year to a close with it,” said Severin Rasset, PokerStars’ managing director and commercial officer of poker, in this week’s announcement. “We wanted to give our community many chances to qualify for the series so we’re really excited to be able to award $225,000 in tickets through a variety of routes. We hope this brings some well-needed holiday cheer to our community!”
Italy’s Winter Series is a bit smaller, which makes sense since it’s just one county instead of three. In this one, €6 million is guaranteed across 142 events, a 20 percent jump over last year’s €5 million in guaranteed prize pools. The Main Event on January 10 has half the guarantee of its Spain/France/Portugal counterpart: €500,000.
The buy-in ranges are the same and Italy also has the €12.50 Spin & Go’s.
In other PokerStars news, Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr confirmed on Tuesday that he is re-joining PokerStars as a brand ambassador.
“When I’m not playing football, I love playing cards,” he said. “Competing with my friends is a huge passion of mine, I love the sense of community, the fun, and the unpredictable moments that can occur in any game. As a true poker fan, I am excited to start a new chapter with PokerStars. Together we’ll be creating moments for our community and fans all over the world.”
As part of its marketing push, PokerStars is beginning to air its first set of responsible gambling television commercials.
