World Poker Tour Online India to take place in November

The World Poker Tour takes another step forward in its global reach of online poker events with the announcement of WPT Online India Powered by Adda52.com.

The series will take place from 5-22 November and includes 154 events totaling INR 135 million ($1.838 million) in guarantees and is highlighted by the INR 25 million ($340,000) guaranteed WPT Online India Main Event.

The WPT Online India Main Event starts on November 11, features 10 starting flights, and a buy-in of INR 11,000 ($150). The winner of this event will receive a $5,000 WPT Passport to be used at any live WPT event around the globe. In addition, the Main Event champion earns a prestigious Hublot Classic Fusion Chronograph Titanium timepiece, valued at $10,400.

Also on tap for the series is a Mega Player of the Series Leaderboard that includes INR 2.5 million in prizes ($34,000) and the winner will earn INR 1 million ($13,600). 29 pre-selected events will qualify for the leaderboard with buy-ins of up to INR 55,000 ($750) to play for.

There is also a Mini Player of the Series leaderboard with the additional 125 events eligible and INR 1 million awarded to the top-10 including INR 300,000 ($4,083) to the champion.

On November 22, there will be a special event to commemorate the memory of Mike Sexton. The Mike Sexton Tribute event will start at 8:00 pm local time and all entry fees for the event will be donated to Poker Gives. The INR 11,000 buy-in event will feature a trophy for the winner and a $1,000 WPT Passport.

“The World Poker Tour is pleased to be joining forces with Adda52 once again to extend our partnership into the online realm,” said Angelica Hael, VP of Global Tour Management for the World Poker Tour. “The WPT Online brand now advances to another thriving market and we look forward to a great series with the Indian online community.”

“Adda52 and the growing Indian player base make for a perfect combination to bring WPT Online brand to the Asia-Pacific region,” added Danny McDonagh, Live Events Specialist for the World Poker Tour. “Following our record-breaking success with live WPT India events, we expect to exceed even our own expectations for the upcoming series.”

“The WPT Online venture continues to grow as part of our overall online strategy which we have found effective across the global market,” said Adam Pliska, CEO of the World Poker Tour. “This series comes on the heels of our successful WPT Online series in other parts of the world and we are pleased to be working with Adda52 come November.”

“The WPT has built a great relationship with the Indian poker community and we’re proud to have them as our partners,” said Pratap Pandit VP Online Operations, Delta Corp. “The reach and accessibility of this year’s online series is really exciting and the festive season of Diwali is the perfect setting for it.”

“It been a learning experience working with the World Poker Tour in India with the live series,” said Manish J. Adnani Business Head – Poker, Delta Corp. “We expect to continue setting higher standards for online poker in the Indian Sub-continent, rollout a memorable experience on Adda52.com and offer the Indian players a platform to achieve glory at the world stage.”

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India: the poker TV series is born

Born in India 'Around the Table', sponsored by Spartan Poker, the leading digital gaming platform in the country, along with SnG Comedy and CHNO Shuffle, and brings together a diverse set of entertainers from various fields and puts them against professional poker players in a friendly environment. The show was created in such a way that even those who do not follow the sport of poker can appreciate it and therefore get closer to online gaming.

The first episode of the series includes composer and rapper Baba Sehgal, actor Aishwarya Sakhuja, professional poker player Abhishek Goindi and comedians Karan Talwar and Gursimran Khamba. The actor and comedian Suresh Menon will be part of the second episode of the series along with a couple of poker professionals who were once medical doctors.

Amin Rozani, co-founder and MD of Spartan Poker, said: "We are excited to present this series in order to reach a new audience and bring them closer to poker. Our vision is to offer viewers opportunities that will help them broaden their horizons and explore their interests. The collaboration with the leading brand of comic content like the SnG comedy feeds our ambition to recruit a more recent audience by keeping the poker fans glued to continue through these initiatives. We hope to continue to serve them and offer more platforms in the coming years. "

Anshu Patni Singhi, founder of CHNO Media, said: "The idea of ​​this video series was to mix entertainment and poker to introduce an entirely new audience to the incredibly fun world of poker."

Karan Talwar, founder of SnG Comedy, said: "Having been a fan of poker, I always wanted to do something fun during the game. We have designed this show in such a way that even someone who has very little knowledge of poker can follow and be entertained. "

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PokerStars signs first sponsored Team Pros from India and Japan

PokerStars.com today announced the signing of the site’s first Team Pros from India and Japan, highlighting the ongoing growth of poker around the world.

Aditya Agarwal is the first Indian Team Pro, having shown demonstrable success in PokerStars’ biggest online tournaments, while Kosei Ichinose is the first Japanese Team Pro, having previously become Japan’s first Supernova Elite player.

Kirsty Thompson, PokerStars’ Head of Pro & Celebrity Management, said: “The signing of these Team Pros from India and Japan is an important step in helping promote the game in countries where poker is only just coming to the fore. Both players are highly respected within the poker sphere, and their success and passion for the game will no doubt spread throughout their local and national communities.”

ADITYA AGARWAL
The Indian poker player grew up in India but moved to the US to study Engineering and Marketing. While in university he caught the poker bug after watching it on TV, and by the time he graduated he was already a full-time pro.

Agarwal has enjoyed poker success in all formats, including a deep run in the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2008, finishing in the top 100 for $51,466, and a cash finish at EPT Barcelona in 2007 for $34,313. He has also won several tournaments and made final tables in events across India.

KOSEI ICHINOSE
Kosei began playing poker in 2006 while studying in Canada and the English and Business student never looked back, with successful results in PokerStars SCOOP, WCOOP and Sunday Major events, and first-place finishes in APPT, Macau Millions and Red Dragon live events in Asia. He now competes in the toughest MTTs, Omaha and Mixed Games online at PokerStars.

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