ONCHAN, Isle of Man,
January 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --
PokerStars makes six new
millionaires
PokerStars (Nasdaq: TSG) (TSE: TSGI), the flagship poker brand
of The Stars Group, announced today that Ramon Colillas from
Barcelona, Spain, won $5.1 million and was crowned the winner of the
PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold'em Championship (PSPC), the
richest and biggest-ever $25,000
buy-in poker tournament.
(Photo:
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/807239/PokerStars_Championship.jpg
)
(Photo:
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/807238/PokerStars_Ramon_Colillas.jpg
)
Colillas won free entry into the tournament as part of a
PokerStars global promotion that awarded 320 people a $30,000 Platinum Pass package, which in addition
to free entry, covered travel and hotel accommodations at the
Atlantis Resort & Casino in the Bahamas. Colillas topped a field of 1,039
players that produced a record-breaking total prize pool of
$26,455,500 and attracted players
from all over the globe. As part of the total pool, PokerStars
added an extra $1 million to the
first-place prize.
PokerStars awarded the 30-year old Spanish native a Platinum
Pass after he topped the Campeonato de España de Poker leader board
based upon his successful tournament play in a series of
PokerStars-sponsored tournaments in Spain. The former fitness trainer converted to
a professional poker player at the age of 24.
"A lot of players were saying this was the most important
tournament in history, so now it's only about happiness and
enjoying the moment," Colillas said moments after his win.
The runner-up was 26-year-old professional poker player
Julien Martini from Paris, France, winning an impressive
$2,974,000. Julien was a very
composed contender and had attempted to win a Platinum Pass last
year in the €1,100 EPT Barcelona National Event, just missing out
on the Platinum Pass, but still winning €323,000 for coming in
second.
Platinum Pass winner Marc Rivera
from The Philippines came in third
place with $2,168,000. The
45-year-old won his ticket at the APPT Manila National Main Event
with what was then his biggest live cash win. After being
introduced to the game 12 years ago by his brother Ashley, who told
Rivera he was "going to love it", the engineer (at the time) has
been playing ever since. When not on the felt, Rivera enjoys
basketball, watching TV series and spending time at home with his
family, playing with his son and daughter.
Not only has Colillas become a millionaire, but five other final
table players have also joined the club. The eight-handed final
table included US poker pro Scott
Baumstein who started amassing live tournament cashes in
2009 and has accrued over $1.9
million in winnings over the past decade, Jason Koonce who had two reported live cashes
worth a total $6,426, Marc Perrault who has had a string of hefty
online and live cashes dating back to 2012, Farid Jattin, a regular fixture on the live
tournament circuit across the United
States and who is leading the Colombian all-time money list
with over $2.9 million in winnings,
and Talal Shakerchi, a businessman
from London who has over
$6 million in winnings to date. The
players all took home cash winnings between $509,000 and $2.1
million for their efforts.
The PSPC made it into the history books with a total prize pool
of $26,455,500 awarded to 181
players, smashing the previous $15,495,750 prize pool record for a $25,000 event. Of the Platinum Pass holders, 43
collectively cashed in for nearly $9.8
million, including Jacqueline
Burkhart from the United
States with $86,400,
Atanas Pavlov from Bulgaria with $105,000 and Ireland's Sven
McDermott with $69,100.
PokerStars Director of Poker Marketing, Eric Hollreiser said, "We couldn't have scripted
a better outcome for the tournament and PokerStars congratulates
Ramon and all of the competitors for making this an historic event.
Ramon's victory is a reminder that with a dream, some talent and a
little luck, poker can change your life. We're proud to have
created a special experience for more than a thousand players, but
especially for those like Ramon who had never previously dreamed of
playing in such a tournament."
The poker fun doesn't stop despite the conclusion of the PSPC.
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) continues with events
including the $10,300 buy-in PCA Main
Event, $25,000 buy-in PCA High
Roller, $100,00 buy-in PCA Super High
Roller and $1,100 PCA National. Live
updates from the Super High Roller can be read on the PokerStars
Blog now and will be live-streamed on PokerStars TV on January 11 and 12.
To keep up to date with all live reports from the PCA visit the
PokerStars Blog or watch the live stream daily from 12:30 ET and 13:30
ET on January 16 at
PokerStars.TV.
Find out more about Colillas' win on the PokerStars Blog.
For further information, please contact
press@pokerstarslive.com
About PokerStars
PokerStars operates the world's most popular online poker sites,
serving the global poker community. Since it launched in 2001,
PokerStars has become the first choice of players all over the
world, with more daily tournaments than anywhere else and with the
best online security. More than 182 billion hands have been dealt
on PokerStars, which is more than any other site.
The Stars Group owns or licenses gaming and related consumer
businesses and brands, including PokerStars, PokerStars Casino,
BetStars, Full Tilt, Sky Bet, Sky
Vegas, Sky Casino, Sky Bingo,
Sky Poker and BetEasy as well as live poker tour and event brands,
including the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold'em Championship,
European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American
Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour, PokerStars Festival and
PokerStars MEGASTACK. The Stars Group is one of the world's most
licensed online gaming operators with its subsidiaries collectively
holding licenses or approvals in 21 jurisdictions throughout the
world, including in Europe,
Australia, and the Americas.
Play Responsibly! For more information on responsible
gaming please visit our website at
http://www.pokerstars.com/about/responsible-gaming/
Contact: Vaughan Lewis,
Press@starsgroup.com
SOURCE PokerStars