Online players fresh to the land based game of Poker are about to receive a leg up into the exciting world of televised High Stakes Poker in the newest take on Texas Hold'em tournaments, the MANSION Superstar Challenge.
On July 12, three freeroll internet qualifiers will battle it out against a trio of the world's top poker professionals in a single table MANSION Speed Poker(TM) shootout, each fighting for the lion's share of the $1 million purse.
It's the world's best value freeroll, and with payouts to the top three finishers, that's a 50/50 chance of finishing in the money. Make no mistake, the action is guaranteed to be fierce, no doubt creating some tense moments, hot-tempered exchanges and overall compelling TV Poker viewing.
Stars of the game who have confirmed participation in a series of elimination tournaments to produce the starting pro field for the July event include Tony G, Marcel 'The Flying Dutchman' Luske, Michael Gracz, John Gale, Kirk Morrison and Gavin Smith.
In a format designed to even the odds, the three online contestants will each enter the arena with the advantage of a deeper chip stack than their pro rivals, and each with a coach in their corner. These coaches fill the allimportant shoes of poker 'wingman'. They will coach the three internet qualifiers on the nuances of a live tournament and walk them through the added pressures they can expect to encounter facing off against three of the world's toughest champs.
A unique twist to the format allows the poker mentors intervention twice throughout the challenge via two-way communication technology, while each coach is allowed one 60 second timeout from the sidelines, to be invoked at any stage as crucial plays unfold. The four hours of eye-opening televised poker will be filmed at the interim home of The Poker Dome at the Tropicana in Las Vegas to deliver an exhilarating brand of must-see poker to the audience.
The three internet qualifiers will be flown to Las Vegas a week before the big game, to be marched through their paces in an intensive five-day Poker Boot-Camp that will see the online qualifiers and pros playing Hold'em, analyzing strategy and preparing for combat.
A "Work Hard, Play Harder" philosophy will apply as each student of the game will be privy to an after hours itinerary usually enjoyed only by poker's crop of coolest card players, with planned visits to the city's most exclusive restaurants, access to the most celebrated bars and nightclubs in town, and entry into some of the biggest and most elite games in town.
A fly-on-the-wall style camera crew will tail each pair as the intense workout progresses at both work and at play, and all the blood, sweat and tears spilt between mentor and 'charge' will be captured, packaged and broadcast to over 100 million households worldwide.
The MANSION Superstar Challenge promises edge-of-yourseat television at its finest, culminating in the three lucky winners facing off against the three poker pros in a six-handed shootout for a share of the $1million prize pool. The Way to Play If you are not a Superstar yet, but want to be, you can qualify online with MANSION by participating in any of the three daily satellite tournaments, commencing June 12 until June 17 inclusive. Superstar Challenge - Daily Qualifier Times, June 12th-June 17th, 2006:
GMT CET EST PST
17:30 19:30 13:30 10:30
22:30 00:30 18:30 15:30
02:30 04:30 22:30 19:30
The top 6 finishers from each qualifying tournament win entry to play off in a Final on Sunday June 18, for a $150,000 seat. Superstar Challenge Qualifier - Final, June 18th, 2006:
GMT CET EST PST
22:30 00:30 18:30 15:30
108 starters will test their skills in a pulse-quickening final, and that is favourable odds in anybody's language.
There are three $150,000 value seats to be won, and players have a real opportunity to parlay their way into the MANSION Superstar Challenge, a thundering, tantalizing Texas Hold'em Pro-Am event set to create the hook-of-all-hooks in televised tournament poker.
That means a prize pool of US$1 Million, 6 players, 6 seats, and 3 winners ...and it is going to cost you nothing to get there.
For further details on how to become one of the internet qualifiers for the MANSION Superstar Challenge, go to www.masnsion.com
