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World Series of Poker® Main Event ® to Return
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) announced plans to host 2020’s hybrid online and live version of the $10,000 No-Limit Hold-Em World Championship, known better to poker players and fans as the Main Event. The Main Event will begin for international players on Sunday, Nov. 29 and domestically on Sunday, Dec. 13.
Due to travel restrictions and out of an abundance of caution for player safety, this year’s format will be unique, where early round play will begin online with one entry on WSOP.com or GGPoker.com, before shifting to a live setting for final table action on two continents. Each “bracket” will pay out prize money to tournament entrants independently. The final table will be a world’s first, as an ultimate heads-up duel for the World Championship, where $1 million in prize money will be on the line courtesy of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: CZR) and GGPoker. The Main Event will be held consistent to the traditional “freeze-out” standards of the Main Event, offering only single entry, as well as the longest levels and deepest stacks ever offered on the online platform.
All in-person tournaments, domestic and international, will be subject to special COVID rules and procedures, the details of which will be published at a later date and will require players to undergo a required health screening prior to live participation. All participants must agree to abide by all applicable rules.
U.S. residents will be able to play the Main Event on the WSOP.com platform in either New Jersey or Nevada beginning on Sunday, Dec. 13. The $10,000 event is expected to take two full days to reach the final table, with play being suspended for an overnight break after approximately 12 hours of action. The tournament will be paused when play hits the final table, with the final nine players traveling to Las Vegas for the TV taping and culmination of the tournament to take place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, subject to applicable regulatory approval.
Dates for Domestic Tournament:
Day 1 – Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020
Day 2 – Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, Play down to 9 players
Final Table – Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 28, Play continues to a winner; prize monies paid
International residents eligible to use GGPoker’s popular online poker platform will have three dates from which to choose their starting flight. Similar to the traditional offline events, players may only choose one date of play. Similar to the domestic flight, and subject to casino availability, play will be paused for the final nine contestants who will report to King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic to play their final table in a live TV taping. Should travel restrictions or a casino shutdown prevent the live portion from moving forward in December, organizers reserve the right to continue the tournament play online or reschedule to a later date.
Dates for International Tournament:
Day 1A – Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020
Day1B – Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020
Day 1C – Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020
Day 2, Play down to 9 players, Monday, Dec. 7
Final Table – *King’s Casino, Tuesday, Dec.15, Play down to a winner
*Subject to local regulatory approval
Finally, the winner of the Domestic Tournament and the winner of the International Tournament will meet at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, subject to applicable regulatory approval, for a televised showdown on Wednesday, Dec.30, 2020. In addition to any prize monies won by entrants in their respective tournament, WSOP and GGPoker have committed an additional sum of $1 million to the winner of the Heads-Up match along with the Main Event championship bracelet and the title of 2020 World Champion. *Note, should the international winner be under the age of 21 and thereby ineligible to play in the state of Nevada, organizers reserve the right to change the date and location of the Heads-Up match.
Heads-Up Championship of Domestic Winner vs International Winner:
Wednesday, Dec. 30
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas*
A comprehensive list of satellite events allowing qualification for as little $1 will be available on both WSOP.com and GGPoker.com. There will also be weekly free-rolls offering $10,000 seat entry for multiple weeks leading up to the tournament.
To welcome visiting players, Caesars Entertainment will offer special Main Event room rates at several resorts in Nevada and New Jersey. Additionally, new options to deposit money into a WSOP.com account and cash out in person will be available for the first time at Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, NV. For more information about special hotel rates, and cash at the cage locations, visit wsop.com/mainevent.
Note, players are allowed to create and/or fund their online poker accounts prior to arriving within the state borders of Nevada and New Jersey. However, they must be geolocated through a CPU of mobile device to be within the state borders to be able to commence any gaming activity. New players may require document verification and are highly encouraged to register early.
As has been the case each year since 2003, ESPN will air coverage of the 2020 WSOP Main Event featuring Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.
“There must be a World Champion in 2020,” said Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the World Series of Poker. “Poker’s history is too important. It’s a unique format for the Main Event, but this is a unique year. We want to keep players’ health and safety top of mind and still deliver a great televised showcase for the game we love.”
Added GGPoker Head of Poker Operations Steve Preiss, “We’re very happy to continue to deepen our relationship with WSOP. It was a huge summer of record-setting action on GGPoker and we’re excited to offer players access to the biggest tournament of all.”
To stay up to date on the latest WSOP news, visit: www.WSOP.com.
SOURCE Caesars Entertainment, Inc.
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Paf employees donated €125,000
The Nordic gaming company Paf decided to give all employees the opportunity to donate €125,000 to various good causes, initiatives and projects. The causes were selected through a nomination and voting process by the employees.
All Paf employees were given the opportunity to nominate their own initiatives that they felt were worthy of Paf’s €125,000 donation. Once the nomination process was complete, employees were asked to vote for the initiatives, and it was the employees’ votes that determined which initiatives received the donation and how much of the sum was allocated to each project.
“It’s really important that everyone who works at Paf feels that our core mission is different and that it’s well worth working for. That’s why we wanted to involve the employees and give everyone a direct opportunity to determine the distribution of the donation,” says Paf’s CEO Christer Fahlstedt.
Paf’s basic purpose is to generate funds for the benefit of society. The annual profit is used as Paf funds for social, environmental, youth, sports and cultural purposes, among others.
Second year in a row
This is the second year in a row that Paf employees have been able to donate a sum of money to various good causes. Last year employees donated €100,000 and this year the amount was increased to €125,000.
“It was a great way to end last year and a good initiative to repeat this year. The donation is not part of Paf’s usual mission and purpose, but it reflects our overall core purpose in an excellent way,’ says Paf CEO Christer Fahlstedt.
The distribution of €125,000
When the employees gathered in December for the annual Christmas speech, the vote was taken and the result determined how the €125,000 would be distributed. The Employee vote gave causes for Ukraine the biggest donation and €40,000, followed by causes against cancer €25,000 and in third place causes for combating abuse of children €15.000.
1. €40.000 – Causes for Ukraine
2. €25.000 – Causes against cancer
3. €15.000 – Causes for combating abuse of children
4. €12.000 – Causes for Children
5. €9.000 – Causes for Animals
6. €7.000 – The Swedish Brain Foundation (Hjärnfonden)
7. €6.000 – Medical aid for Palestine
8. €5.000 – Causes for Women
9. €3.500 – Relief efforts – Spanish weather disaster
10. €2.500 – Jesuit Refugee Services Malta
Most votes – top 3
Causes for Ukraine goes to the following initiatives;
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Power Up Ukraine, Swedish based, helps with energy solutions
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Blågula Bilen, Swedish based, donates trucks & 4×4 vehicles with supplies
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Hospitallers, based in Ukraine, Hospitallers is a volunteer organization of paramedics.
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Come Back Alive, Ukraine, Demining in Ukraine
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Safe & Smart, Ukraine based, Restoring hybrid and offline learning in Ukrainian schools
Causes against cancer goes to;
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Barncancerfonden, Sweden, They help families and contribute to paediatric cancer research with the aim of eradicating childhood cancer
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Kingitud Elu, Estonia, Estonian Association of Parents of Children with Cancer
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Rintasyöpäyhdistys, Finland, Europa Donna Finland ry works to increase awareness of breast cancer and improve the quality of life for patients during and after the treatment period
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Project Liv, Finland, support children with cancer and their families
Causes for combating abuse of children goes to;
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Internet Watch Foundation, UK, stop child sexual abuse online
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Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative, USA based, end human trafficking and child exploitation
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Missing Children Europe, protects children from going missing
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ECPAT, based in Thailand, ensures children live a childhood free from sexual abuse and exploitation
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La Strada International, Europe, works against human trafficking
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Prajwala, India, works to end sex trafficking & sex crime
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Maiti Nepal, Nepal, works for a society free from trafficking of children & women
The nomination and voting process was not open to organisations or initiatives that were already beneficiaries of Paf funds. Since 1966, Paf has distributed more than €447 million in Paf funds. In the spring of 2024, Paf was able to distribute €31.4 million for the benefit of society.
The post Paf employees donated €125,000 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
2025 ICR Conference
Golden Matrix Group to Participate in the 2025 ICR Conference
Golden Matrix Group Inc., a developer and licensor of online gaming platforms, systems, and gaming content, today announced that management will participate in the 2025 ICR Conference on January 13-15, 2025 at the Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, FL.
Zoran Milosevic, Chief Executive Officer of Meridianbet, will participate in a fireside chat with an equity research analyst on Monday, January 13, 2025, at 2:30 PM ET and will also be available for meetings during the conference.
Latest News
The Power of High Performance: GR8 Tech Achieves 25% Turnover Growth in 2024
GR8 Tech has successfully closed the year – a 25% year-on-year increase in turnover, dozens of new clients signed, and a significant boost in client revenue. Throughout the year, the company developed nearly 200 new features and improvements, continually enhancing the functionality of its platform. With over 12.4 billion bets placed in 2024 (a 125% increase year-on-year), GR8 Tech has proven its ability to scale and deliver consistent performance, even during the busiest events.
“Our primary focus in 2024 was to empower operators with tools for seamless platform customization and streamlined management. We introduced geo-specific solutions that enable faster market launches, adapting platforms to meet local demands—whether through bonus mechanics, payment methods, or tailored content for sportsbook and casino. At the same time, we strengthened our offerings with enhanced sportsbook features, new games in the casino vertical, and innovative gamification mechanics to drive player engagement,” said Denys Parkhomenko, Chief Product Officer at GR8 Tech.
GR8 Tech demonstrated its robust scalability by handling 21.5 million bets during the IPL 2024 alone. With the capacity to process 20,000 bets and 54,000 wallet transactions per second, the platform consistently performs even during high-traffic periods.
In 2024, GR8 Tech signed numerous long-term partnerships, bringing its total number of projects worldwide to 45+ and proving the growing demand for customizable iGaming solutions. The company also received industry-wide acclaim, securing multiple prestigious awards, such as Silver as the Best Platform Provider of the Year at SBC Awards, “Best Online Sportsbook Provider” at SiGMA Eurasia, “Best Workplace” at SiGMA Americas, and “Rising Star Provider of the Year” at the Affpapa iGaming Awards 2024.
Building on its achievements, GR8 Tech is set for another successful year, continuing to deliver industry-leading solutions for operators around the world.
“Improvement and excellence are about consistently staying ahead. A trend might emerge and then disappear tomorrow, but improving your product – making it better than the competition – has lasting value. Whether it’s through better personalization, risk management, recommendations, or any other aspect, improvement is essential. And in this industry, you don’t really have a choice. It’s so fast-paced that if something new and valuable appears, you need to adopt it immediately. The mindset of constant improvement is what keeps a product relevant and competitive,” said Sergey Ghazaryan, CRO at GR8 Tech.
GR8 Tech heads into 2025 with a continued commitment to driving high-performance results, leading industry trends, and challenging the norm.
The post The Power of High Performance: GR8 Tech Achieves 25% Turnover Growth in 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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