The Online Series of Poker (see earlier reports) tournament swung into action this week – the first time in online gaming that a tournament has been held across multiple independent online poker rooms.
Poker players worldwide now have the opportunity to win a share of $100,000 in free prize money by qualifying through online tournaments at participating internet poker rooms.
To date, Greg Langford of Canada and Todd Ivanhoe of the USA have won their tournaments at Party Poker and William Hill and James Campbell of the USA has won his place through Ultimate Bet. They will soon be joined by six other tournament winners at the final Championship Event in October.
Three other poker rooms in the event, Absolute Poker, PokerRoom and Golden Palace Poker, will each host two tournaments in the coming weeks. One will require a $100 buy-in plus a $9 fee, while the other will have a $250 buy-in and $20 fee.
Participating poker rooms are running daily satellites offering entry into an OSOP Main Event and players can earn a seat in an OSOP tournament for as little as $10 via these satellites.
The winner of each tournament will be awarded, in addition to the prize money from the tournament itself, a seat at the Online Series of Poker $100,000 Championship, to be held on October 8, 2005, at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, NJ.
The prize package will also include roundtrip airfare from anywhere in the world, airport transfers, accommodations at the Trump Taj Mahal hotel, and meal vouchers. The winner of the Championship will take home $30,000, but even the tenth place winner will receive $5,000.
All players who register at the OSOP website will be eligible for the OSOP Leader Board, sponsored by online payment solutions provider Citadel Commerce. The top six money leaders across all ten events will receive cash prizes, ranging from $3,000 to $500.