In this column, we deliver you the latest and most interesting online poker industry news from across the world and all platforms.
Natural8 – GGNet’s Mini MILLION$ doubles in on the action
On its last leg, Natural8 – GGNet’s ongoing Mini MILLION$ series is once again attracting massive fanfare with its low buy-ins and eye-catching guarantees. The second Mini MILLION$ edition is currently running through February 6 as it makes its way to completing a 415-tournament lineup to start the year. The festival, geared for low stakes players prides itself with a lowest buy-in listed at $1 and its highest, still priced at an affordable $15.
Comparing the action to its debut last October 2022, the series showcases double in combined prize pools from last year’s $5 million to this January’s $10 million guarantee. The three-week schedule likewise saw a generous boost of events from its previous 206 lineup, yet still maintaining its average guarantee per tournament roughly the same.
Four main highlights heavily shine in this season’s festivities with the last two – $1M MYSTERY BOUNTY Main Event and the mini Omaholic Bounty MILLION$, $150K GTD, playing down its last week of flights. Both champions will be crowned on Monday, February 6, along with the lucky top mystery bounty winner bagging the $50K bonus prize.
GGpoker granted license to operate in Czech Republic
Online poker giant GGPoker is taking on the global scene aggressively having captured another share of the European market. Just recently, the leading network together with King’s slots s.r.o. has announced that it has successfully obtained a license to operate GGPoker.cz. The license issued by the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic allows Czech players to now join the GGPoker global player base, taking part in the largest tournaments available along with a wide variety of games running daily. The press release closed in on a promise to officially launch in the near future.
“I’m delighted to work with King’s slots s.r.o. to extend GGPoker access to Czech players,” said Marco Trucco, Head of Europe for GGPoker. “We will have a lot to offer the market in 2023 and beyond, including WSOP satellites, massive tournaments, the most exciting cash games, exclusive promotions and more!”
Mr Leon Tsoukernik, majority shareholder of King’s Entertainment group said: “We are excited for this announcement and the continued development of our partnership with GGPoker globally. As the leading casino and poker venue in Europe, home of WSOPE, it was only natural for both our companies to come together to introduce GGPoker to our local audience in Czech Republic. The timing of this launch is particularly significant as King’s Casino celebrates 20 years in the market and our business continues to grow from strength to strength.”
888Poker’s The Wizard’s Spell to award $300K in bonus prizes
For the first quarter of 2023, 888poker is launching several freerolls with a total value of $300,000 bonus prizes for its regular players. The Wizard’s Spell promotion, running through April 23rd, hosts a combination of daily, weekly, and monthly freerolls with mystery rewards throughout the three-month period. Players aged 18 and above who have deposited real money into their accounts prior or during the promotion are eligible to complete the challenges and claim tickets to the listed freerolls.
The first of three is the $300 Daily Wizard’s Wonder Freeroll where players can easily obtain tickets by completing any of the challenges below.
- Cash Games Challenge -Win a hand in cash games with Ace-King
- BLAST Challenge – Win a BLAST SNG game
- Bets Challenge – Place bets totalling $2 on any casino games or sports events
Its next weekly offering sees a much bigger prize pool of $2,000 with its Weekly Magical Mystery Bounty Freeroll scheduled every Sunday. Also easily attainable, players must only complete nine of any of the challenges above to gain an entry ticket. However, the real money kicks in the site’s Monthly Miraculous Mystery Bounty Freeroll where the prize pool can swell up to $60,000. Completing any of the challenges listed below automatically ensures you a spot in the bonus tournament with 888poker’s Wizard charming each monthly freeroll with a surprise guarantee three days before the action starts.
- Mega Cash Games Challenge – Win 100 hands in cash games with any cards
- Tournaments Challenge – Finish 5 or more tournaments in the money
- Knockout Challenge – Knock out 10 or more players in any PKO and Mystery Bounty tournaments
$2.5M GTD Winter Championship Online Poker Series at TigerGaming underway
Chico Poker Network’s flagship skin, TigerGaming is starting the year right with $2.5 million in guaranteed prizes in its latest Winter Championship Online Poker Series (WCOPS). The festival which runs through February 6th, sees a total of 153 events across the two-week duration consisting mainly of No Limit Hold’em events and a few Omaha tournaments.
Buy-ins range from $11 to $215 with its Main Event carrying a price tag of $109 for a $300,000 guaranteed prize pool, scheduled for the 5th. Those looking for a more affordable option can jump in the Mini Main Event happening on the same day for a $22 entry fee and a $50,000 guarantee. Omaha enthusiasts will also be glad to know that an Omaha RE Main Event for $215 is slated for later that Sunday for a lesser $10,000 prize pool. With a week left on the calendar, over 50 tournaments remain on schedule while the biggest prizes are yet to be awarded.
Winter Championship Online Poker Series Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Prize Pool | Buy-in |
| Wednesday, Feb 1 | 1:00 pm | 100: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $10,000 | $22.00 |
| 3:00 pm | 101: PKO NLH | $3,000 | $11.00 | |
| 5:00 pm | 102: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $10,000 | $55.00 | |
| 5:00 pm | 103: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $5,000 | $11.00 | |
| 6:00 pm | 104: Button Ante NLH | $2,000 | $22.00 | |
| 6:00 pm | 105: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $10,000 | $109.00 | |
| 6:00 pm | 106: PKO NLH | $7,500 | $33.00 | |
| 7:00 pm | 107: Daily NLH | $30,000 | $55.00 | |
| 8:00 pm | 108: RE Omaha TBC | $2,000 | $22.00 | |
| 9:00 pm | 109: PKO – RE NLH | $5,000 | $55.00 | |
| 9:00 pm | 110: PKO – RE NLH | $1,500 | $11.00 | |
| Thurs, Feb 2 | 2:00 pm | 111: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $15,000 | $33.00 |
| 2:00 pm | 112: TBC NLH | $1,500 | $11.00 | |
| 4:00 pm | 113: PKO NLH | $5,000 | $11.00 | |
| 5:00 pm | 114: PKO NLH | $15,000 | $55.00 | |
| 6:00 pm | 115: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $15,000 | $109.00 | |
| 7:00 pm | 116: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $10,000 | $22.00 | |
| 7:00 pm | 117: Daily NLH | $30,000 | $55.00 | |
| 8:00 pm | 118: RE Omaha TBC | $1,000 | $11.00 | |
| 9:00 pm | 119: RE NLH | $5,000 | $55.00 | |
| 9:00 pm | 120: RE NLH | $2,500 | $11.00 | |
| Fri, Feb 3 | 12:00 pm | 121: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $10,000 | $55.00 |
| 1:00 pm | 122: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $5,000 | $11.00 | |
| 2:00 pm | 123: PKO NLH | $5,000 | $11.00 | |
| 2:00 pm | 124: PKO NLH | $10,000 | $55.00 | |
| 5:00 pm | 125: PKO NLH | $10,000 | $55.00 | |
| 5:00 pm | 126: PKO NLH | $7,500 | $22.00 | |
| 6:00 pm | 127: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $10,000 | $33.00 | |
| 6:00 pm | 128: PKO NLH | $15,000 | $109.00 | |
| 7:00 pm | 129: Daily NLH | $30,000 | $55.00 | |
| 8:00 pm | 130: RE Omaha TBC | $2,000 | $22.00 | |
| 9:00 pm | 131: PKO – RE NLH | $2,500 | $11.00 | |
| 9:00 pm | 132: PKO – RE NLH | $5,000 | $55.00 | |
| Sat, Feb 4 | 1:00 pm | 133: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $10,000 | $33.00 |
| 3:00 pm | 134: RE NLH | $3,000 | $33.00 | |
| 4:00 pm | 135: PKO NLH | $5,000 | $11.00 | |
| 5:00 pm | 136: PKO NLH | $10,000 | $55.00 | |
| 6:00 pm | 137: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $10,000 | $33.00 | |
| 6:00 pm | 138: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $15,000 | $109.00 | |
| 7:00 pm | 139: Daily NLH | $40,000 | $55.00 | |
| 8:00 pm | 140: RE Omaha TBC | $2,000 | $22.00 | |
| 9:00 pm | 141: RE NLH | $5,000 | $55.00 | |
| 9:00 pm | 142: RE NLH | $2,000 | $11.00 | |
| Sun, Feb 5 | 1:00 pm | 143: Mini Main NLH | $50,000 | $22.00 |
| 1:00 pm | 144: Main NLH | $300,000 | $109.00 | |
| 2:00 pm | 145: PKO Omaha TBC | $3,000 | $33.00 | |
| 3:00 pm | 146: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $50,000 | $215.00 | |
| 4:00 pm | 147: Deep Stack – RE NLH | $30,000 | $55.00 | |
| 7:00 pm | 148: PKO NLH | $40,000 | $215.00 | |
| 7:00 pm | 149: PKO NLH | $20,000 | $55.00 | |
| 8:00 pm | 150: RE Omaha Main | $10,000 | $215.00 | |
| 9:00 pm | 151: PKO NLH | $20,000 | $109.00 | |
| 9:00 pm | 152: PKO NLH | $7,500 | $22.00 | |
| Mon, Feb 6 | 8:00 pm | 153: Freeroll NLH | $2,000 FP | $0.00 |
