The British Columbia Lottery Corporation has paid for the World Series of Poker entry for Vancouver Canucks’ Robert Luongo. The company has recently coined a sponsorship deal with the famed hockey player, and this will be their first major venture together. Luongo will be playing in the main event of this year’s World Series of Poker, and BCLC is footing the bill.
The main event of the WSOP is a No-Limit Hold ‘Em Tournament, which requires an impressive $10 000 buy-in. It is not the most expensive event by far, as the High Roller tournament (won by Antonio Esfandiari) requires a buy-in of $1 million. However, the $10 000 Main Event is the most prestigious event in the World Series of Poker, gathering thousands of professional poker players from around the world to compete for not only an impressive multimillion-dollar prize but also bragging rights.
The final details for this year’s Main Event have yet to be released, but if last year’s action is any indication of how this year will go down – it will certainly be an exciting event. In 2011, over 6000 entrants competed in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas. The winner was Plus Heinz from Germany, who earned $8.7 million.
It has recently been announced that Roberto Luongo has made Day 2 of the WSOP Main Event, an impressive feat for a full-time hockey player. He has outlasted some of the world’s best poker players including, Phil Hellmuth, who was eliminated on the first day of the competition. Luongo has 41 000 chips going into the second day, but the chip leaders’ rolls range from 100 000 chips to more than 250 000.
It will certainly be an uphill battle for Luongo, but it makes for an exciting tournament. We believe it will certainly pique the interest of Canadian hockey fans, in particular. Seeing one of the country’s most renowned players may be reason enough to tune in or keep up with live updates online. We know that we will certainly keep an eye on the event to monitor Luongo’s progress.
