WPT’s Adam Pliska Breaks Big News: New Sweepstakes Site Is Coming!
4 minutes
Last Updated: October 5, 2024
Yesterday was one of the more exciting days for all poker fans out there as the World Poker Tour came out with two big announcements. The first one was revealing the full schedule for the upcoming WPT World Championship, which we all knew was coming.
The second one, however, sent a shockwave throughout the community as the company announced the launch of a brand new sweepstakes poker site, ClubWPT Gold. And, to get the ball rolling in style, there will be a massive $5,000,000 freeroll taking place in December, where the winner will walk away a millionaire!
In light of these events, Mypokercoaching’s own Tadas Peckaitis caught up with Adam Pliska, the World Poker Tour CEO, and you can check out the full interview below and find the most interesting highlights from the interview in this article.
Changing the Sweepstakes Game
The WPT brand has been one of the most recognized in the United States and in the world for many years now. It has helped bring countless people to the green felt, and now, they’ll be entering the sweepstakes poker space at full capacity.
According to Pliska, the new ClubWPT Gold site aims to offer a safe and trustworthy platform where players can enjoy the game. And, by the looks of it, the company isn’t afraid to back these aspirations with some serious money.
All players who sign up for ClubWPT Gold between now and December 13 will have a shot at one of 2,000 Golden Passports, which will secure them a seat in the $5,000,000 freeroll, the first tournament to take place on the site.
The winner of the tournament will take home a cool million, which is unheard of for freeroll tournaments, while 100 people will get a seat in the $10,400 WPT World Championship event kicking off on December 13.
It’s a little bit easier than last year… You know you lose right from the beginning; you take the hit right away, said Pliska jokingly, referring to last year’s WPT World Championship that fell a bit short of meeting its historic $40,000,000 guarantee.
Jokes aside, however, the team behind the new site seems focused on building a platform that players will enjoy, and this slower and methodical approach gives them time to raise the awareness (and giving away $5,000,000 certainly helps) while soliciting feedback and creating an environment that players will truly enjoy.
Once again, there are no additional requirements to get a shot at a freeroll seat. You only need to sign up and keep an eye out for all sorts of promotions coming up in the next few weeks. According to Pliska, and the math adds up, they’ll be, on average, giving away one seat every hour.
Players’ Feedback Is the Key
The ClubWPT Gold platform should go fully live at the start of 2025. The December freeroll, which coincides with the WPT World Championship, will give players an opportunity to not just claim heaps of free money but also see the software in action.
The WPT will use this opportunity to ask players for their feedback, things they like and don’t like, so that they can iron any wrinkles prior to full launch.
Everyone in the poker community should at least have an account, because it makes you eligible for a lot of things, and it helps us build this up. We’re just tying it with the Championship and putting our stake in the ground by doing something new and interesting, says Pliska.
Of course, the live festival in Las Vegas stands to benefit from all this. The freeroll will bring many players to town, so numbers across this year’s schedule should see a big boost. This is especially true for the WPT Prime Championship, which more than doubled its guarantee in 2023 on its own.
There are 60 tournaments on the schedule altogether (including various satellites), and this year, there are plenty of non-Hold’em events on offer as well. This variety is another proof that the WPT is in tune with the pulse of the poker community.
To that effect, Pliska wrapped up the interview with a strong statement that really rings true and that we may have somewhat forgotten:
I think, poker would love to see an amateur or someone who’s just interested in stepping into poker, come in, play in a freeroll, and end up winning a million dollars. Those stories really inspire a lot of us, and remind us that poker is inclusive and you can step in and your dreams can come true.
By all accounts, it will be an extremely exciting December at the Wynn, and for all poker players in the US, this is an opportunity that you simply can’t miss. I think it’s safe to say that it’ll be a while before we see a pure freeroll come anywhere near this one in terms of value!