A small buy-in paid off in a big way recently for three lucky Italian players at 888poker. The trio sat down for one of the site’s €1 BLAST Sit & Go tournaments and quickly found themselves playing for a jackpot prize pool of €1 million.
“AM,” a 54-year-old woman from the town of Mentana, ultimately walked away as the tournament’s big winner. She scored €700,000 for coming out on top and was shocked at her good fortune.
“When I realized that the €1 million jackpot had been hit,” she said in a news release, “I started screaming so much that my son got scared. I couldn’t believe it!”
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Hitting it big at 888poker
While AM was the event’s big winner, the other woman and man at the table also fared well. Unlike traditional BLAST events, second- and third-place finishers also score a nice prize. Here are the payouts for all three players:
- 1st – ”ilaria200651” (aka AM), €700,000
- 2nd – ”ele76m”, €200,000
- 3rd – ”Adria74”, €100,000
The sudden windfall was nice, but AM has no plans of slowing down or making any major life changes.
No doubt the six-figure cash can come in handy however. She plans on using some to help her family.
“We are a family of workers, and we will continue to work,” she said. “But, at least, now we can realize our dreams. We have four children – the eldest is 35, the youngest 15.
“So, it’s important for us to give them everything they need – to send the youngest to a good university and to help the eldest with the house loan. And we can have a bigger house now, too.”
Second-place finisher, 44-year-old EM from the town of Civita Castellana in Viterbo, didn’t initially see the amount she was playing for.
“At the beginning, I didn’t realize it,” she says.
After she noticed the funds in her account however, EM understood how large of a BLAST she had actually been playing. She already has some plans for the money.
“Incredible!” she says of the win. “I will use it to renovate my house.”
The remaining €100,000 went to AC, a player from Sondrio. He was certainly pleased with his results as well.
How do BLAST Sit & Go tournaments work?
Players looking to get in a BLAST Jackpot Sit & Go will find three-handed tournaments with a randomly-set prize pool. Each winner-take-all game kicks off with a drawing to determine the prize pool.
The prize is most often double a player’s buy-in. However, the amount can also be several times the buy-in and even more, as these three lucky players found out.
Once the prize pool is determined, players receive a starting stack of 1,500 chips. The BLAST blind structure and prize pool distribution are determined according to a multiplier.
Participants then play as in a normal tournament. However, once a timer runs out, all three players are all in every hand until only one is left standing.
$1 million Big Shot qualifiers continue
Other 888poker players have a shot at a nice payday in September as well. The site is currently running a special version of the site’s popular Sunday Big Shot tournament.
The event normally features a $109 buy-in with a $150,000 guaranteed prize pool. Throughout September, however, 888 is running numerous starting flights culminating with the Big Shot Special Edition on Sept. 27 with a $1 million guarantee.
Players advancing past a starting flight then have an opportunity to play for a share of the massive prize pool. 888 is also offering numerous opportunities to play in the event at a bargain price. That includes:
- Day 1 Flight Freerolls
- 24/7 Day 1 satellites
- Winner Spinner contests awarding free Day 1 tickets
- Gift drops including free tournament seats
Players can also score tournament tickets via social media contests, 888pokerTV and StreamTeam activities, and ambassador special events. The tournament is the biggest 888 event so far this year.