PCA Main Event Nearly Sets Field, Party Signs US Sports Deal, DSPT Sets Alberta Event

PCA Main Event Field Almost Set

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure started on January 7 this year with its $10K buy-in and $10 million guarantee. The first of two starting days brought in 295 players and finished with only 184. Dylan Hortin was the chip leader with 160,500 in his stack.

The second starting day attracted another 710 players, putting the total thus far at 1,005 players, which puts the prize pool past the guarantee. Registration remained open, however, until the start of Day 2 on January 9. Day 1B ended after eight levels, and there were 445 remaining players. Shankar Pillai was atop the overall leaderboard with 173,900 chips.

PartyPoker Signs Major US Sports Sponsorship

Bloomberg News reported today that bwin.party signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers basketball team, NHL’s New Jersey Devils hockey team, and their Newark home of the Prudential Center.

The deal will allow PartyPoker, which is licensed and regulated in the state of New Jersey, to advertise in the arena during games, concerts, and other events, as well as on television and via social media. The wide-ranging agreement is the first involving a professional sports team and any online gambling entity in the United States.

DSPT Sets First Canadian Series

The DeepStacks Poker Tour announced that it will head to Canada for the first time with a nine-day series set for September 20-28, 2014. The Grey Eagle Casino & Bingo in Calgary will host the series of tournaments, which will culminate in a $1,100 buy-in Main Event with a $100,000 guarantee. Players like Mike Matusow, Michael Mizrachi, and Tristan Wade have committed to play.

This will be the first US-based poker tour ever to host a live poker tournament in Alberta.