Americas Cardroom (ACR) has joined the list of third-party online poker sites planning to feed players into November's World Series of Poker's 2021 main event. Through a promotion it calls the "WSOP Takedown," ACR will be awarding 20 cash-only prize packages to November's world championship in Las Vegas.
Each of the 20 prize packages is worth $12,500 and will be awarded in cash, meaning that winning players don't actually have to go to Vegas; they can choose just to keep the money. Unofficial third-party promotions such as this are a long tradition in the poker world. As with this effort from ACR, they are not affiliated with or sponsored by the World Series of Poker or its parent company, Caesars Interactive Entertainment.
Nonetheless, as has been the case for 20 years, many online players who otherwise do not have direct online access to the WSOP's offerings use such third-party promos as a way to earn an entry into the biggest live event in poker. A few of the WSOP's most famed champions have earned their way to Vegas via similar routes.
'Takedown' details offered
The "Takedown" promotion itself is simple enough. From September 5 through September 19, ACR will run daily satellites leading into two separate Sunday tournaments where the $1,250 packages will be awarded. On September 12, ACR will run a special Takedown event with a $109 entry where at least five (5) $1,250 cash prizes will be awarded. The event starts at 4pm EDT and includes a three-hour late-registration window.
Then, on September 19, there's another Takedown tourney, but with a $215 buy-in instead. This time, though, at least fifteen (15) $1,250 cash packages will be awarded. The September 19 event also begins at 4pm EDT and features another three hours of late registration.
Both the September 12 and September 19 "main" tournaments are served by a full week's worth of ACR's popular "MEGA" satellites. At least one of these runs each day for the eight days in advance of the main events. For the September 12 tourney where five $12,500 packages will be awarded, the week's preceding qualifiers are priced at $11. For the September 19 tourney, the MEGA satellite buy-in jumps up to $22. Both mains are also supported by a family of super-satellite events with entries as low as $1.10.
Cash paid directly into players' accounts
Each player winning one of the $12,500 prizes gets that money paid directly into his account. Whether that player actually chooses to go to Vegas to attempt to win poker's most famous title is, again, that player's own choice. The $12,500 prize amount was chosen to allow would-be participants to have not only the $10,000 buy-in, but to have $2,500 for travel and accomodations as well.
"There’s zero pressure to head to Sin City since we’re awarding all prize packages in cash," ACR noted in an in-house promo. "So, feel free to spend or save the cash as you see fit."
Featured image source: americascardroom.eu
