It was a busy week for news around the online poker world. We’ll start things off with PokerStars, which has released their schedule for the 2017 World Championship of Online Poker.
PokerStars Releases 2017 WCOOP Schedule
PokerStars has announced their schedule for the 2017 World Championship of Online Poker, also known as the WCOOP. The festivities will get underway on September 3 and run through September 26 with 81 tournaments in total. There will be a $5,200 Main Event that features a guarantee of $10 million, but there will be tournaments that everyone can play. There is a low stakes level for tournaments as well as a high stakes level. The low stakes will have events that are around 1/20th of the cost of the high stakes events, making the tournaments attainable for players of all backgrounds.
The WCOOP started in 2002 and has grown to be the biggest online poker tournament of this format in the world. In 2016, there were 82 events that handed out over $73 million in prize money. Jonas “IlJaYJaYII” Lauck was the big winner after placing first in the Main Event and claiming over $1.5 million in winnings.
888poker Unveils New Game Flopomania
The folks over at 888poker have come with a new game for their players, which is really just a spin on Texas Hold’em. The game is called Flopomania, which has already set “record numbers”, according to 888poker, after its release on Sunday.
The added element to Flopomania is that players don’t have the option to bet before the flop anymore. Now the action starts after the first three cards are shown. There are also no blinds as players will now simply pay an ante before they get to the hold cards. This makes the game even faster, so players can squeeze in more hands. In terms of strategy, players now get to see the flop for each hand.
In terms of the record numbers, all we have is what 888poker is offering, so they are not independently audited. 888poker has stated that the interest and action in Flopomania was 50% higher than the first day that BLAST was released, their previous poker creation. They set a record for the most flops ever seen in cash games in a single day. They also reported an 11% increase in active players this past Sunday in comparison to their regular Sundays.
Remission Process Begins For Poker Bet Victims
More than six years has passed since the poker world was rocked by Black Friday, but now the victims finally have some recourse. Anyone who played online with Absolute Poker and Ultimate Poker will be able to file a claim against them for money that was lost on Black Friday, which was April 15, 2011. If you had deposited money at either site and were unable to get it back that day, you are able to file a claim with the Garden City Group, which also worked on the remission process for Full Tilt Poker. So far, over $33 million is ready to be handed out to players that have filed a claim, so it is working.
If you are a player that fits this criteria, you have until September 7 to file a claim, and you can go to absolutepokerclaims.com to fill out a claim form.