The Largest PokerStars “The Deal” Prize to Date Won “on Camera”
4 minutes
Last Updated: November 5, 2023
Winning a huge jackpot at a poker platform is not unheard of, as Bad Beat Jackpots are often won by lucky players, but the one that just dropped at PokerStars is quite a bit different.
Irish poker player Marc Macdonnel, who goes under screen name “14alonso14,” won the largest-ever “The Deal” jackpot at PokerStars this Monday, following many days of non-stop action in the mini game, which saw the jackpot swell to over $800,000.
The fortunate player, who saw the fabled Luck of the Irish smile upon him, took home $413,196.82, with thousands of other players awarded $30.98 for their efforts in the 12 hours before the big jackpot drop.
What’s even more incredible, Marc recorded his jackpot winning spin and posted it on the social media platform Twitter (X), which is something we don’t quite see every day.
You can see Mcdonnell’s winning spin and his reaction to winning The Deal jackpot right here:
Was like it fell from the sky! 🍀 pic.twitter.com/0BgNBtogNP
— Marc Macdonnell (@MarcMacdonnell) September 18, 2023
What’s The Deal?
While PokerStars is easily one of the most popular online poker sites out there, not everyone who plays on the platform is familiar with The Deal, a mini game that gives players a chance to wager their Stars Coins in pursuit of a massive progressive jackpot.
The game has been around for many years, and has awarded some huge prizes, including the $152,000 won by “angelovskiy” back in May 2021.
The game is all about pure luck, as you are given a chance to wager 7 or 70 Stars Coins to be dealt seven cards, five of which you can choose to act as your poker hand.
You will not see any of the cards before you pick the two to discard, at which point the five remaining cards are turned over, and your hand is revealed.
To enter the jackpot round, you need to have a Royal Flush, the most uncommon of all poker hands, and this gives you a chance at winning the jackpot.
Alternatively, players playing The Deal for 70 Coins a pop have a chance to initiate the jackpot round every time they are dealt any Straight Flush, as well as win prizes of up to $300 for Straights, Flushes, Full Houses, and Quads.
Yet, even most players who do get to the jackpot round never get to become The Deal champions, as a prize of $1,000 is much more common.
The Deal can keep growing for a long time when luck is not on the side of players, and in this particular occasion it went up to over $800,000 before “14alonso14” finally took it down.
Thousands of Players Share in the Spoils
The Deal jackpot reached unprecedented heights last week, as numbers of players chasing after it kept growing, and the jackpot kept increasing by the minute.
At the time it landed, the jackpot stood at just over $826,000, and thousands of players got to reap the benefits.
All you needed to do to get a consolation prize of just over $30 was play a single spin of The Deal in the 12 hours before the jackpot was hit.
It's a done deal 🤝
Earlier today, The Deal Jackpot was hit, with Ireland's 14alonso14 collecting $413,213.41. 🤯
The remaining 50% was shared amongst those who played The Deal within 12 hours of the jackpot being hit, were you one of them?
👉 https://t.co/Gh4bLS53gw pic.twitter.com/CNguZxw5GR
— PokerStars (@PokerStars) September 18, 2023
With each spin costing just 7 Stars Coins, it was a no-brainer to keep coming back and playing the mini game at least one every 12 hours, a fact that many players used to the fullest, with more than 13,000 people sharing in the second half of the prize pool.
While the consolation prize certainly didn’t come anywhere close to what Marc won, it will be good for a couple of tournament entries for the thousands of players who competed for the biggest The Deal prize ever paid out.
The Deal Jackpot Restarted
It’s been a crazy week at PokerStars, with thousands of otherwise skill-focused poker players put their trust in pure luck and kept playing The Deal in the hopes of being the luckiest of the bunch.
In the end, it was the Irish player who took home the majority of the spoils, but it is sure that thousands of competitors will keep coming back to The Deal as the jackpot once again grows into the hundreds of thousands.
Presently, the jackpot has been restarted and now stands at just over $28,000, a fraction of the massive number we could see on the screen just some hours ago.
Yet, it is only a matter of time before the prize pool swells once more and makes it worth taking a few spins of The Deal, so make sure to keep your eye on the game and get in at the right time to stand a chance at another life-changing jackpot.
Join PokerStars Today for More Exciting Promotions
The Deal is only one of the countless exciting and lucrative promotions that PokerStars runs on a regular basis, whether you are looking to play some poker or entrust your fortunes entirely to chance.
Becoming a new PokerStars member will open many doors for you, including access to the lucrative $600 welcome bonus, the operator’s incredible Stars Rewards scheme, and Weekly Poker Challenges that offer more returns on your rake than you could get from most other operators.
What’s even more, fun little games like The Deal, and various other giveaways are always available at PokerStars, easily making it one of the must-have poker rooms to download to your device.
Download PokerStars for your desktop or mobile device today, grab your poker bonus, and make sure to get in on The Deal the next time the jackpot becomes as nice and juicy as it was over the past weekend.