The abstraction fell from Rob Yong’s mind, landed in a tin of paint, his partypoker team dib-dabbed a paintbrush or two, and now they’re ready to show the world what they’ve created.
The partypoker LIVE MILLIONS 2020/21 schedule is out, and it’s unrecognisable from previous years.
There are three new events to mention, and we begin with the first stop of 2020: MILLIONS Cyprus.
The event takes place 3-11 May, at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel & Casino with a $5,300 buy-in, $5m GTD No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Main Event the focus of predatory attention.
There are four side-events, with all of them geared towards high rollers with a $15,500 NLHE event, a $25,000 NLHE event, a $25,000 Short-Deck (SD) event, and a $50,000 NLHE event.
The crew don’t have time to watch paint dry as they hop on board the party plane to McCarron Airport for MILLIONS Vegas. It is taking place 1 – 30 June, right smack, bang in the middle of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). The ARIA and partypoker provide a little something for everyone, topped off with a $5,300 buy-in, $5m GTD NLHE Main Event. It’s the second time a Las Vegas event has been on the MILLIONS schedule after Tom Marchese topped a 536-entrant field to win the $1m first prize, last year (when the game was a $10,300 buy-in).
partypoker then takes the month off before their innovative new stop in London. The $5,300 buy-in NLHE Main Event takes place at the Park Lane Hilton and is open to VIP guests, and MILLIONS Passport holders, only. No direct buy-in is allowed, and Simon Trumper will ensure that a VIP guest is sitting at every table from the moment of the starting whistle. More on MILLIONS Passport, below.
The MILLIONS Online event takes place in September before the team head to the Bahamas for MILLIONS Caribbean Poker Party (CPP). The title ‘World’ is gone, but the location hasn’t as the Baha Mar once again plays host to the $5,300 buy-in, $5m GTD Main Event.
Leon Tsoukernik caused quite a stir when he purchased the casino in the Hilton Prague “to give him something to do while the kids were in school.” The news lit up the poker world like a pyromaniac in a panic because the Hilton Prague was the home of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague. Notice the use of the past tense. That’s because Prague is no longer on the EPT schedule, and now we know why. In early 2021, MILLIONS Prague steps over the decomposed body of the EPT to set up camp.
There is no room for a MILLIONS South America. The Playground Club in Montreal is out of the picture, as is the King’s Resort in Rozvadov, and Rob Yong’s gaff: Dusk till Dwan (DTD).
MILLIONS Passport
As previously explained, the MILLIONS London event is available to VIP guests and MILLIONS Passport holders only. The Passport concept is new, groovy, and aimed at amateur and recreational players.
Players can earn a MILLIONS Passport by competing in $109 buy-in Phased satellites that hold their finals on Sunday. You cannot buy directly into a MILLIONS Passport finale, meaning all qualifiers will have come through the $109 route or direct satellite qualifiers for each event.
partypoker will allow winners to use their Passport to enter any MILLIONS event, including Online, within 12-months of winning it. Winners receive packages worth $11,000, and that goes for both live and online games. The VIP treatment is also part of the box.
partypoker LIVE President, John Duthie, said the changes came about after a thorough review of player feedback, and a direct focus on improving the MILLIONS experience for fans of the amateur game.
Here is the schedule in full.
May 2020 – MILLIONS Cyprus, Merit Casino
June 2020 – MILLIONS Vegas, Aria Resort & Casino
August 2020 – MILLIONS London, Park Lane Hilton
September 2020 – MILLIONS Online
November 2020 – MILLIONS Caribbean Poker Party, Baha Mar, The Bahamas
2021 – MILLIONS Prague, Hilton Prague