Matthew Pitt
The second leg of the 2017 Genting Poker Series (GPS) sees the popular tour head to the North East this week where a £220 buy in Main Event with a £35,000 guaranteed prize pool is there for the taking.
Genting Casino Newcastle is the venue where hundreds of budding poker players will descend and attempt to follow in the footsteps of Ellie Biessek, Timothy Chung, Ludovic Geilich and Gary Mcinally who are all former champions in Newcastle soil.
When Biessek topped a field of 400 in the 2012 GPS Newcastle Main Event, history was made because Biessek became the first-ever female winner of a GPS Main Event. The tournament was a £440 buy in that day and Biessek returned home with £38,620 and the winner’s trophy.
Chung outlasted a smaller field of 297 the following year and turned his £440 into £32,815 after defeating Brett Angell heads-up for the title. Chung was followed into the history books by Scotland’s Geilich in 2015 when he came out on top of a 248-strong field to bank £27,500, and it is Mcinally who is the GPS Newcastle reigning champion having come out on top of a 249 player field in the £220 buy event in Nov. 2016, a result that saw him add £12,380 to his bankroll.
It is no longer possible to qualify for GPS events online because Genting closed down its online poker operation during 2016. There is a 10-seat satellite scheduled at 8:00 p.m. on Feb. 13 at the Genting Casino Newcastle if you want to try and win your way into the £35,000 guaranteed Main Event for only £35.
Space permitting, the casino will run cash games daily from 7:00 p.m.
2017 Genting Poker Series Newcastle Schedule
| Date | Time | Tournament |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 13 Feb | 8:00pm | £35 Big 10 Satellite – 10 seats Gtd |
| Wed 15 Feb | 7:00pm | £25 Satellite – 5 seats Gtd |
| Thu 16 Feb | 7:00pm | £220 GPS Newcastle Main Event Day 1a |
| Fri 17 Feb | 7:00pm | £220 GPS Newcastle Main Event Day 1b |
| Sat 18 Feb | 5:00pm | £220 GPS Newcastle Main Event Day 1c |
| Sun 19 Feb | 2:00pm | Main Event final day |
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