Originally, Mac-friendly online poker room Full Tilt Poker announced that it was gunning to break the Guinness World Record by inviting over 50,000 players to participate in the world’s largest multi-table tournament. Not to be outdone, fellow Mac-friendly room PokerStars announced that it also would host a world record attempt on the same day, aiming to attract 65,000 players.
The winner in the record attempt was, predictably, PokerStars, which generated a sold-out field of 65,000 runners. The tournament’s cost was just $1, so players from all bankrolls took part of the festivities. The previous world record for an online poker tournament field was 30,000 players. Sunday’s tournament had 10 minute blind levels and each player started with 2,000 in tournament chips. This equated to plenty of poker being played, as the tournament concluded in just 10 hours.
PokerStars ensured that 65,000 players would enter by doubling the prize pool on its own dime, meaning that players contributed $65,000 and the site piled on another $65,000. In the end, it was “004 license” who took home the first place prize of $13,000. The top 10 finishers were as follows:
1. 004 license – $13,000
2. I_SCORPIO_I – $11,000
3. nawyk – $9,000
4. papadrago95 – $7,500
5. tjopsjoap – $6,000
6. Vortex2 – $4,500
7. Bibbob0630 – $3,000
8. FrankyFoReal – $1,750
9. Caska_137 – $1,250
10. BBRRAASSIILL – $825
Unfortunately, lost in the hoopla was the tournament at Full Tilt Poker that amassed 50,000 players, each putting up $5. The site added a whopping $250,000, creating a half-million dollar prize pool. Although it may not have won the Guinness World Record, Full Tilt arguably put on the better tournament for poker players.
The Full Tilt event was played with standard 10 minute blinds. After everything was said and done, “breo40” took home $45,000 for his 10 hours of work. The runner-up, “gustavincho2,” took home $31,450 for his efforts. Several members of Team Full Tilt entered the tournament, including Gus Hanson and Paul Wasicka, who finished in 13th place.
Experts and poker players alike are expecting another promotion for an attempt at a new world record before the year is done. Since the old record was smashed by more than double, there’s little doubt the next attempt might be at 100,000 players. Stay tuned to MacPoker.com for more information.
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