HCL Million Dollar Game Returns This May with Huge Names in Attendance
5 minutes
Last Updated: February 24, 2024
Hustler Casino Live has truly become a legendary poker show, as it has created some of the biggest televised games and given birth to a whole new generation of players for fans to root for.
Last year, the production brought us the first-ever million dollar buyin game, with Tom Dwan winning a $3.1 million pot on a live stream and setting a new record, Rampage pulling a massive bluff against Handz, and countless other memorable moments.
Now, HCL has confirmed that a new Million Dollar Game is in the works and will be streamed live on their YouTube channel between May 28 and 31.
With plenty of action players already confirmed for the lineup, we are in for quite a show, as it seems HCL will bring together quite a few legends of the game and create a true spectacle.
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Who Is Playing the Million Dollar Game?
There is still almost three full months before the Million Dollar Game kicks off, but HCL has already announced a preliminary list of players who are expected to play it.
The lineup is made up of a mix of professional poker players, wealthy businessmen, and players who are a mix of both.
Nik Airball and Charles Yu will be representing the HCL regulars, with Handz also making a return and hoping not to repeat the same mistake he made against Rampage in the last iteration of this game.
Doug Polk is also announced in the preliminary lineup and has confirmed his attendance. However, he later created some confusion by tweeting that he would also like to play the $25k Heads Up tournament at the WSOP, which falls on the exact dates.
Players like Tony G, Santosh Suvarna, and Alan Keating will be at the table to make sure that the overall VPIP never falls too low and that there is plenty of cash in play at all times.
Another successful businessman who will be in the mix is Brandon Steven, who has historically done quite well playing on HCL streams, winning over a million dollars in his appearances on the show.
This makes up for quite a lineup, although we can expect that these players won’t all be at the table simultaneously, with several days of streaming planned and plenty of other players expected to be in the mix.
Yet, even just a few of these players will be enough to create one of the most iconic games ever played and make the Million Dollar Game one of the best we have ever seen.
Who Else Can We Expect to See?
The list of players who have been more or less confirmed for the Million Dollar Game is already quite impressive, but plenty of names are still missing from it.
Andrew Robl and Tom Dwan have both been among the most successful players in televised games over the years, and they would both likely be interested in playing a game this juicy.
It is unclear whether they have been invited at this time or whether the politics of high-stakes poker have once again made it impossible for some of the best players out there to show us what they can do.
Two players who came up in the live stream games, Andy Stacks and Garrett Adelstein, are also potential candidates for this game. However, the latter is unlikely to ever play on HCL again after the Robi Jade Lew saga and all that has transpired since.
From the business side, players like Chamath Palihapitiya and Stanley Tang might get in the mix, given their previous appearances in big HCL games and history of being very well-liked by both production and players.
Some of the other HCL notables, like Wesley and players like Rampage and Mariano, might also show up to play in May, even though the game might be just a little too big for them now.
One player every poker fan would love to see but is highly unlikely to show up for an event like this is Phil Hellmuth, the self-proclaimed “greatest of all time” who continues to run away from playing the biggest games in town on a regular basis.
All of these names are just speculations for the time being but may turn into more than that over the next few weeks, as HCL confirms more players and gives us a more detailed insight into what we can expect from the second Million Dollar Game on their stream.
Martin Kabrhel Shows Interest – Gets Shut Down by Airball
One player who was quick to jump at the opportunity and look for a seat in the game was Martin Kabrhel, the controversial Czech whose table antics have become legendary.
Upon seeing the tweet announcing the game, Kabrhel quickly asked if a seat was open, to which Nik Airball promptly responded: “Sorry, no seat.”
Of course, the final decision on who gets to play is not up to Airball, but the show’s producers will likely want to keep their star players happy.
Nik’s comment likely came as a result of an earlier spat with Kabrhel on the 24-hour stream that was played in December, when the Czech was one of the players who left the table abruptly with a big win and wanted to return to play as the stream was nearing its final stretch.
The players all protested against this and shunned Kabrhel, as they were apparently sick of his antics and refused to play with Martin.
It will be interesting to see how this drama unfolds and whether Ryan Feldman allows Martin to join the stream and potentially get into a war of words with the likes of Airball once again.
Perfect Lead-Up to the World Series of Poker
This year’s HCL Million Dollar Game will start on the same day as the first events of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), which also kicks off on May 28.
The four days of nosebleed cash games will be the perfect lead-up to the WSOP and a great chance to watch some of the best cash game action out there before two months of tournament madness begins.
With both the show and the WSOP schedule now released, it appears we are in for an epic summer in the poker world and a year that may even surpass 2023 in terms of magnitude.
Of course, there is plenty of HCL action to watch even before the Million Dollar Game and plenty of opportunity for some of the regulars there to build up a bankroll to play in what’s likely to be the biggest game of the year.
