It’s the ultimate poker tournament in the history of the game, boasting an €88 million prizepool with a massive €50 million first prize and based on live and online satellites all across the globe, and yet – not a single person in the poker industry has any intimate knowledge of it.
Biggest Poker Tournament of All Time is Coming?
ALL IN Prague, apparently a consortium of Czech and Armenian backing according to sources, announced their incredible event last week, asking “What would it be like to win over 1.25 billion CZK (€50,000,000)?”
The spiel surrounding the event, scheduled for October 8th – 13th 2020, claims: “the biggest ever tournament in the Czech Republic will be held to celebrate the 88th birthday of the giant in the poker world of [sic] Mr. Haig Kelegian”.
Giants of the poker world, you might imagine, would be well-known to even the least enthusiastic poker player, fan or follower – Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Daniel Negreanu or Phil Hellmuth for example.
Modern day poker beasts such as Fedor Holz or Bryn Kenney, the latter scooping the previously biggest-money event just recently in London, the Triton Million – officially second but bagging £16,890,000 ($20,563,324) after a deal.
So, what’s the deal with ALL IN Prague offering 3 times that figure to the winner of what they claim will be “the biggest tournament worldwide”?
You would imagine that, say the king of Czech poker Leon Tsoukernik might have a hand in it? After all, his Kings Casino is the biggest pokeroom outside of Vegas, hosting WSOP Europe next month and partypoker MILLIONS Europe just a few weeks ago.
Nope, by all accounts Loose Leon isn’t involved, nor is partypokerLIVE partner and Dusk Till Dawn casino supremo Rob Yong it seems.
That’s a big MTT 👀🚀
— Rob Yong (@rob_yong_) September 7, 2019
Who Are Behind the Mysterious ALL IN Prague?
The website, with details as dubious as the very valid points Barry Carter raises in the tweet above, claims:
“Qualifying (satellite) tournaments will take place around the world, both in well-known casinos (such as Bicycle Casino and others) as well as online in co-operating poker rooms.”
Which ‘well-known casinos’ and ‘co-operating poker rooms’ seems a pertinent question; the Bicycle Casino aside (and we’ll come back to that), not a single operator has answered ‘yes’ when asked if they were involved.
PokerStars had big announcements this week regarding huge live events. No ALL IN Prague though, not even a hint they would be involved. Perhaps, in 2plus2 forum fashion, it’s ‘untracked euro sites’ behind it all?
Mind you, with a buy-in of €50,000, and an aim of building an €88million prizepool, that’s one hell of a lot of satellite entries ‘from as little as €8’.
Guaranteed prize money! Errr, no. not a single mention of ‘guarantee’ anywhere in the ALL IN Prague bumph.
Promoted and advertised through the biggest poker sites in the world! Hmmmm, not so much – a single article in German, with no follow up at all.
That ought to do the trick, given that satellites have supposedly already started, and a schedule is due this month.
It gets worse.
As anyone in the business knows, a live tournament requires a live venue. Let’s imagine you wanted to run such a massive event in the Czech Republic. Naturally you’d head to Tsoukernik’s Kings Casino.
No. Our ALL IN crew are building a new one on the outskirts of Prague. Fear not, though, because according to their site “you‘ll find the largest casino in Central Europe inspired by LAS Vegas casino standards”.
Add in 1,000 slot machines and live table games, all surrounded by a luxury hotel with everything you might expect from such a complex and you have a venue befitting such a massive poker tournament.
All very pretty in the mock-ups above, but they still have to convert this abandoned hotel and trailer park to make it happen.
To one poker industry insider, who preferred to remain anonymous, the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival immediately sprang to mind.
Supposed to be a glamorous party on a deserted island with tickets costing up to $100,000, the music festival descended into chaos, organiser Billy McFarland later jailed for 6 years as thousands were ripped off by the businessman’s failure to produce what he had promised.
Who is Haig Kelegian?
Of course, all will ready, up-and-running in time for Haig Kelegian’s 88th birthday, because why wouldn’t you celebrate the poker giant in such a way?
Haig Kelegian…
Perhaps it’s my bad for having to google Mr. Kelegian.
Known as the King of Clubs, Kelegian – son an Armenian immigrant to the US – once owned five casinos in California; The Bicycle Casino, Oceans11, Crystal Casino, Commerce Casino and Club One Casino.
All well and good on the face of it, but when he handed control over to son Mark, the California Bureau of Gambling Control fined them $210,000 for violating California’s ownership prohibition.
This saw the Kelegian’s joining the legendary Larry Flynt in an unsuccessful lawsuit against then Attorney General Kamala Harris among others.
All pretty standard in the world of gambling, poker included, but not a hint of why he’d be celebrated with an €88 million poker tournament in Prague.
A tournament without a guarantee…
Or the backing of the world’s leading poker sites and venues…
And no proper media promotion…
Nor a functioning casino to host it…
Naturally, if we get some response from those behind the richest poker tournament the world has ever seen, you’ll be the first to know!
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