PokerStars PA continues to give Pennsylvania poker players chances at $30,000 Platinum Pass packages to the PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC). At least seven more Platinum Passes will be awarded throughout 2022.
The full festival will run in the Bahamas from Jan. 22 to Feb. 3, 2023, including 70 events with buy-ins ranging from $330 to $250,000, and satellites as low as $30. It culminates with the $25,000 PSPC Main Event, which starts Jan. 30 and runs through Feb. 3.
Players can qualify through live events, online freerolls from points leaderboards and other promotions throughout the rest of the year. The total value of the package includes the $25,000 buy-in, six nights of hotel accommodations in a 5-star hotel, airport transfer, $1,900 in expenses and Platinum Pass winner experiences during the event.
PokerStars Platinum Pass qualifiers so far
To date, 12 players have already won Platinum Passes and punched their tickets to the Bahamas come January. Five of them hail from Pennsylvania.
Barrett Lipkin and Joseph Nicholas won their passes by winning points leaderboard freerolls, which the top 500 players qualify for each month.
Richard Milburn, Vladimir Grechnikov and Rishva Iyer also won Platinum Passes in the VIP Invitational, Live! Philadelphia Event and Women’s Event, respectively.
The Women’s Event was at Live! Casino Philadelphia, where Iyer is a regular. She bested a field of 120, including PokerStars Ambassador Jen Shahade and RunGood Poker Tour Ambassador Julie Ann Cornelius, earning the $5,840 top prize, in addition to her $30,000 Platinum Pass package.
Winners from other states include:
- Ramon Liriano (NJ – Leaderboard)
- Corey Hersch (NJ – Leaderboard)
- Ryan Flynn (NJ – VIP Invitational)
- Scott Brown (MI – Leaderboard)
- Jason Brown (MI – Leaderboard)
- Justin Buxman (MI – VIP Invitational)
- Chris Caruso (MD – Live Event MD)
More Platinum Passes await, both live and online
In September, PokerStars PA announced it would give away 10 Platinum Passes. So far, four have been claimed since Grechnikov and Iyer’s wins came at the live felt.
Three leaderboards remain, all of which will be giving away Platinum Passes:
- Golden Ticket Leaderboard: Nov. 1-7 (Platinum Pass freeroll on Nov. 8)
- Fall Fest Leaderboard: Nov. 8-28 (Platinum Pass freeroll on Nov. 29)
- December Leaderboard: Nov. 29-Dec. 9 (Platinum Pass freeroll on Dec. 10)
Additionally, the third live package of October will be awarded this weekend at Live! Casino Pittsburgh.
Like all live qualifiers, the tournament features a $360 buy-in with three starting flights from Thursday, Oct. 27, to Saturday, Oct. 29. Advancing players will return on Sunday, Oct. 30, to play down to a winner, who will earn a Platinum Pass, in addition to the tournament’s first-place prize.
Over $105,000 in Spin and Go prizes coming weekly
Starting Oct. 26, PokerStars is also running a new promotion with a Formula One World Championship theme. In partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing, the deal is centered around multiple Spin and Go leaderboards for different buy-in levels.
Each leaderboard will consist of 22 races, or tournaments. Each time a player wins, they earn points toward their respective leaderboard.
Players begin with a full fuel gauge, which depletes by 8% each time a player loses a three-handed Spin and Go tournament. When a player runs out of fuel, their points reset.
Every week, players get three chances to post a score for each buy-in level and compete for their share of the pool.
Rebecca McAdam Willetts, Director of Partnerships, Public Relations and Consumer Engagement at PokerStars, said of the promotion:
“We strive to give the community epic moments that they’ll never forget and there’s been so much excitement this F1 season, on and off the track, with community members winning unique and epic experiences. We can’t wait to see Spin and Go Races play out each week and give more rewards as part of our partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing.”
The promo will run through Nov. 20.
Shutterstock.com