PokerStars ponies up for 1000 WSOP seats

Online poker behemoth Poker Stars announced this week that they intend to sponsor a thousand seats for the 2008 World Series of Poker. Qualifiers and satellites are already running to select the lucky 1000 who will test their poker wits against the best this year.

Poker Stars’ website proudly announced this week that “In 2008, PokerStars is giving you more chances than anywhere else to live the World Series dream […]Since Chris Moneymaker won the Championship in 2003 after qualifying on PokerStars, we’ve had a proud history of sending more players to the Main Event than any other site.” Chris Moneymaker’s historic 2003 win caused the “Moneymaker effect,” which greatly increased the public's interest in poker and made the World Series of Poker popular among semi-professional and amateur players.

The Moneymaker wannabes will be pitting their wits against each other in a bid for the $12500 sponsorships, which include the $10000 buy-in for the Main Event as well as $2500 for personal expenses. Players who agree to wear PokerStars apparel will also be entitled to extra perks such as extra cash and free accommodation. Elite players will also be entitled to suite upgrades.

Poker Stars has organized a variety of ways to qualify for these seats, including cash qualifiers, Frequent Player Points qualifiers and Steps Sit & Go Satellites.