Guarantees Added to PokerStars Championship Panama
PokerStars has consolidated the schedule, tweaked some events and added guaranteed prize pools to a number of tournaments set to take place at the PokerStars Championship Panama, the company announced in a blog post today.
"PokerStars is always reviewing player feedback to see how we can improve the experience for players at our live events and some of the feedback over the last few events has involved field sizes and lower buy in events," said Head of Live Poker Operations Neil Johnson in the post. "With that in mind, we've taken a long look at the upcoming PokerStars Championship in Panama to see what changes we may want to make."
The changes come on the heels of a PokerStars Championship Bahamas — the inaugural event in PokerStars' new global tournament series — a festival that Johnson admitted would spur some adjustments.
Likely foremost among those in terms of player interest is the guarantees that have been tacked on to some of the events. The $1,000 National Championship will feature a $400,000 guarantee. The $400 PokerStars Cup and the $200 PokerStars Open also have guarantees of $150,000 and $50,000, respectively.
Ten events have also been lopped off the schedule as the PokerStars Live team attempts to consolidate the tournament schedule for fewer events and a better experience for players in those events. A number of side events drew poorly or were even canceled at PokerStars Championship Bahamas as Johnson admitted there was too much overlap between events.
Part of improving the experience for players in the events that are on the schedule will be longer late registration windows, single reentry options for many side events and deeper stacks and/or slower structures for events priced at $500 and less.
PokerStars Championship Panama will take place March 10-20 at Sortis Hotel in Panama City. A full schedule of the event is available here.
"Beautiful city, great nightlife, good weather and the chance to play with people you've never played with before," Johnson said in January.
Spin & Go satellites for PokerStars Championship Panama are running now with $8,200 Main Event packages up for grabs at the $20 buy in level. PokerStars is also offering discounted hotel rooms that can save players up to $600. Head on over to PokerStars to take advantage of these opportunities and make your way to PokerStars Championship Panama.