PokerStars hosts largest poker tournament in history (March 24, 2008)
Online poker juggernaut
PokerStars
set a record yesterday, hosting what is believed to be the largest tournament in
poker history. A staggering 22,500 players turned out for the Sunday Hundred Grand, shattering
the site's own previous tournament record by more than 10%.
The Hundred Grand had previously been capped at 20,000 entrants,
and had sold out every week in 2008. PokerStars decided to up the ante this week, adding 2,500
more seats. The event still sold out, pointing to the possibility of even larger tournaments in the future
if the servers are up to the task.
The event far exceeded the number of players that could simultaneously play in any
brick-and-mortar venue. To house the tournament's 2,500 tables would require more than seven
(American) football fields of open floor space.
Breaking new ground in online poker is nothing new for PokerStars. Headlines have trumpted the site's
previous forays into record-setting territory:
A "massive" turnout of 1,500 players in 2002
3,062 players in 2005
10,508 players a year ago
