Tonight was the first $1,500 + $150 MILLIONS Main Event satellite – Step 3 with 15 $10,300 Seats guaranteed for the MILLIONS North America Main Event. Considering that this was the first satellite for the event, these are the first 15 players that have booked their ticket for the event to be held in May!
Congratulations!
Tonight’s MILLIONS Main Event Step 3 satellite is now into level 5, and there are now 49 entries with lots of time left to join the satellite. Late registration and re-entry is still available for just under 2 hours – until 10:15pm.
Steps satellites are one of the best ways to play your way into the $10,300 MILLIONS event coming in May, and no matter what level you start at – Step 1 for $90, Step 2 for $440, or Step 3 for $1,650 – players will find tremendous value.
Here’s a look at the scene in the Tournament Hall tonight for the Step 3:
Tommy Dion of Granby, QC has been crowned the Champion of the 8-Year Anniversary edition of the Playground 200! He outplayed, out-drew, and outlasted 706 players in the event to emerge as the Champion, and the final Playground 200 Champion of 2018.
It was clear that something really special was happening relatively early in the day when Tommy took over a clear chip lead after having started with just 165,000 in chips – the equivalent of 6bb! Once he took the lead, although he took a few hits, Tommy stayed among the top 2 or 3 players the entire rest of the way. When the tournament dropped to 6 players, they chose to do an ICM chop (reserving $1,503 for 1st place) and Tommy was in 2nd place for a $14,315 score – and a chance at the additional prize.
By the final hand of play the two remaining players were playing virtually blind, and all the chips got in with Tommy holding 
while his opponent, Patrick Rabouin-St-Laurent, held 
. The board ran out 
and Tommy’s King kicker to the pair on the board was good enough for the win!
Playground 200 Champion: Tommy Dion: $15,818
Final Hand of play
2nd place: Patrick Rabouin-St-Laurent, $16,100
Tonight at 7:00pm is the first $1,500 + $150 Step 3 satellite for the MILLIONS North America Main Event, coming to Playground in May. This is the ultimate event in a 3-Step system designed to give players a wide opportunity to play in this amazing $10,300 MILLIONS event, and there are already 30 qualifiers from last night’s Step 2 satellite registered to play in this inaugural Step 3 satellite.
The beauty of the Steps system is that players may buy directly in at any level they choose – and with 15 seats in the MILLIONS Main Event, valued at $10,300 each, guaranteed, this represents a huge value for qualifiers and direct buy-in players alike.
Play will get underway at 7:00pm and late registration will be available until 10:15pm. See you on the felts later this evening!
Step 2 to the Playground MILLIONS Main Event has begun! See below for photos of some of the competitors already at their seats.
In May 2019, Playground will host its much anticipated MILLIONS Main Event, a huge tournament that will be sure to draw a crowded field of pros and amateurs alike. In the run-up to next May’s Main Event Playground is hosting a series of Step satellites that will allow players to play their way into the event starting at just $90.
For many, the journey to the MILLIONS Main Event has already begun through the 8 Step 1 satellites that have already been held in December. Tonight is special because at 8:30pm, we launch the very first Step 2 satellite.
Tonight’s Step 2 satellite is a $400 + $40 Turbo Re-entry tournament, with 30 guaranteed seats to tomorrow’s Step 3 satellite available for the winners.
Players will begin with 20,000 in chips (with an optional 5,000 chips for $5). Blinds increase every 15 minutes, and registration will be open until the end of level 10, or approximately 11pm. Keep in mind: this tournament is limited to 200 players!
With 30 guaranteed seats to tomorrow’s Step 3 up for grabs, now is the time to get down to Playground. Come and earn your place in one of next year’s biggest tournaments, the MILLIONS Main Event!
Note: Winners of tonight’s Step 2 satellite will be automatically registered in the Step 3 satellite on December 16 at 7pm.
It’s a long-standing tradition at Playground to mark the anniversary of our opening with… what else… an Anniversary Cake! This year is no exception – and the challenge was doubly difficult this time around – how can you compete, in cake form, with a whole new building and the launch of an entirely new form of gaming at Playground?
Chef Fadi Haddad of Wow Cakes has been faced with similar challenges for many years now, and for the 8-Year Anniversary of Playground, he has proved to be more than able to meet and surpass expectations! This year’s cake is nothing less than a miniature representation – in cake and fondant – of the entire Playground Complex!
Not only did Fadi create an amazing cake, though – he traveled to the future to do it! The 8-Year Anniversary cake represents a completed new building, all the way up to the trees and shrubs on the roof!
As usual, words do not do the cake justice – only photos can really communicate how great a job Chef Haddad has done. Make sure you’re here in the early evening tonight to get a taste!
Eight years ago, on December 17, 2010, Playground Poker Club first opened its doors to the public, and after eight years of constant evolution, we are now paving the way to MILLIONS North America, our first $10,300 buy-in Main Event! MILLIONS, set to take place in May 2019, is an unbelievable milestone, and what better way to celebrate eight years of existence than to boost all of our MILLIONS Step Satellites with unbelievable guarantees across the Anniversary weekend!
On the Anniversary schedule, you will find 7 events, including the Playground 200. The strong multi-day event comes back with 4 live starting flights instead of its usual 3. Players will get 4 chances to add their name to the list of qualifiers from last Sunday’s online flight. You can also find on the schedule some Short Deck, Bounty, Deepstack and Megastack, and 8-Max and 6-Max action.
However, the main focus will be on the 3-step satellite tree. Three Step 1 satellites have been played so far, sending 15 players to the next Step 2 (5 each). The first Step 2 and Step 3 will be held this weekend, with mind-blowing guarantees! Take a look:
There is something quite special about this satellite tree: all tickets won are non-transferable, including the MILLIONS Main Event seat! No more dilemma about whether or not you should sell your ticket; you win it, you play it! This is your chance at playing a major event on a global scale, rubbing shoulders with the greats of the game, at reduced cost… and who knows, maybe have your name enter poker history and your poker bankroll made – for life. It’s time for a new Moneymaker!
