PokerStars Focuses On Collecting Player Feedback For $25K PSPA

PokerStars not only wants more players to become aware of its PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC), but also wants players to shape this lucrative event.
To serve this purpose, the online poker room has launched a survey called “Have Your Say About #PSPC,” which interested players can access through the PokerStars Blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Players who have won Platinum Passes and registered members of PokerStars will be sent a link to the survey through email.
Player Feedback Essential
David Carrion, the director of poker marketing at PokerStars, said that PokerStars will not use the survey to make sweeping changes to the existing structure of the PSPC. On the other hand, the purpose of the survey is to make players feel that they were given a grand opportunity to exert their influence on this lucrative event.
The survey gives players the opportunity to modify elements of the PSPC structure such as the length of the levels, starting chip stacks, dinner break, levels per day, re-draws, shot clock, types of antes, minimum payout, and payout structure. PokerStars intends to use the player input to create a structure and schedule that appeals to most participants. The final details will be announced to players early in October.
Details of the Event
PokerStars’ annual Players NL Hold’em Championship is a live poker tournament with a prize pool to which the online poker room will be contributing a minimum of $9 million. The online poker room wants it to be the most lucrative live poker tournament in the very history of the game. The buy-in to this event is $25,000.
Daniel Negreanu, a member of Team PokerStars, has expressed his excitement about the event. Stating that it will be “an incredible experience” for all participants, he said that the event is unique as it gives poker players of all skill levels an opportunity to win Platinum Passes worth $30,000 each.
Each $30k Platinum Pass includes the $25,000 buy-in, a six-night stay at Atlantis Resort Nassau, $2000 for travel expenses, and surprise rewards that the online poker room is yet to announce. Players will get a Platinum Pass to the PSPA if they win major PokerStars online poker tournaments such as the Sunday Storm, the Sunday Million, the Turbo Championship of Online Poker (TCOPP), the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), the MicroMillions, or other tournaments. Players can also win Platinum Passes if they win wild card events, last longer events, and main events of live poker tournaments run by PokerStars.
The Participants
Right now, it is hard to say what the final PSPC player pool will look like, but the organizers expect it to be a rare mixture of different types of players. Carrion says that the PokerStars aims to get a bunch of participants who would never expect to be playing a $25,000 buy-in event along with players who would love to participate, but can’t because of their slim bankrolls. In addition, PokerStars also expects the usual crowd—the professional poker players who always participate in such events.
Platinum Passes
The highlight of the player pool would be the 320 Platinum Pass winners. Each of them will have a success story to tell, and Carrion calls it “a fantastic cocktail of emotion that creates excitement for those watching.” The mixed player pool would also create moments in which amateurs will find themselves playing against seasoned players.
Some poker players will be buying in directly to the event. Carrion says that it is hard to predict the exact number of direct buy-ins, but guesses that they would be in the range of 300 – 400. PokerStars, however, will be focusing on the 320 Platinum Pass winners as participating in the event would be a unique opportunity for them.
The inaugural event of the PSPC will be played the week before the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure of 2019 in the Bahamas. Players will get their first opportunity to win Platinum Passes at the PokerStars Championship, which will be played on December 15 in Prague. They will get their next opportunity at the Winter Series, an online event that will be played from December 25 to January 7. They can also win Platinum Passes at the PCA, the PokerStars Festival London, the PSL Macau, and the IPO Italy.