Fox Sports News and MansionPoker.com have confirmed their partnership in the Poker Dome series of tournaments that will take place in a specially constructed and very large dome on the Las Vegas Strip and will air on May 15, continuing for 43 weeks until a million dollar winner emerges.
Viewer numbers are likely to be high, given the game’s international following and the money to be won.
Within the Dome, players will be encased in a high-tech cone of silence overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. The one-way mirrored glass will allow fans to see in, without the players seeing out, and microphones let viewers hear the exchanges during each flop. Special cameras and computer chip card technology will capture hole cards as well as burn or discarded cards, allowing viewers to see the odds of each hand hitting before the players determine their decisions. And a rabbit-hunting camera will share what would have happened if each hand had continued to the river. The players’ images and reactions will be screened up close and personal on a giant video wall.
MansionPoker.net has added one more high-impact twist to the mix, “Speed Poker,” which will intensify the pressure and the excitement of a live tournament for seriously big money. Instead of the usual 12 to 15 hands an hour, the Speed format will turbo-boost that to as much as 80 to 100 hands per hour, with eacj player under the pressure of a “shot clock,” by having to make all decisions within fifteen seconds. If they fail to act before the allotted time their hand will be declared dead or if there is no prior action, their hand is automatically checked.
The PokerDome tourney will consist of circuit events culminating in a $1,000,000 winner-take-all series finale.