8 INDIANS win life-changing trip to the Bahamas for 'Pokerstars Players NL Hold’em Championship'

Eight poker players from across India each have the chance to win part of a minimum ₹63 crore prize pool in what PokerStars aims to be the richest ₹17.5 lakh buy-in poker tournament in history. The PokerStars Players NL Hold’em Championship (PSPC) has a prize pool of at least ₹63 crore including ₹6.2 crore guaranteed for the winner and runs from January 6-10 in the Bahamas.

Each of the eight Indians heading to the tournament won a prestigious Platinum Pass worth a whopping ₹21 Lac (including hotel room costs and expenses) by participating in various online contests and poker tournaments initiated by PokerStars and the brand’s ambassadors, such as Daniel Negreanu, Liv Boeree and Chris Moneymaker.

The winners of the PSPC Platinum Passes are Sumit Sapra, Nikhil Segel, Sharad Rao, Raman Gujral, Aneesh Nair, Vivek Singh, Saurabh Sindhwani and Kavin Shah.

Nikhil Segel, an architect from New Delhi set himself the goal to stop smoking and lost over 15 kgs in response to PokerStars Ambassador Jaime Staples #UltimateSweat challenge. The challenge awarded the most resilient and determined individual with a PSPC pass, and Nikhil successfully quit smoking 50 cigarettes a day to win the PSPC Platinum Pass.

Sharad Rao, a young online poker professional regular from Pune, outlasted over 500 players in an online poker battle and emerged as the winner of the PokerStars India Diwali Rush tournament, earning himself a PSPC Platinum Pass. A keen animal lover, he’d like to retire early and open a zoo.

Sumit Sapra is a well-known poker player who beat PokerStars Ambassador Randy Lew to win a Platinum Pass at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Korea.

Raman Gujral from Chandigarh; Kavin Shah from Mumbai; Vivek Singh from Chennai; Saurabh Sindhwani from Ghaziabad; and Aneesh Nair from Kerala won their passes by participating in the Global Poker League (GPL) tournament hosted by PokerStars India, beating five other GPL Teams, and over 7,000 online qualifiers.

PokerStars India Ambassador Aditya Agarwal will also be at the PSPC with the intention of leading the team to victory, as well as providing poker advice and encouragement.

“I am extremely delighted to see the growing interest amongst people towards poker which has led to so many players from India travelling to the Bahamas to compete in this incredible tournament,” said Mr. Ankur Dewani, CEO at Sachiko Gaming Pvt. Ltd.

“It is the biggest Indian contingent to head to the PCA/Bahamas so far and I’m confident it will only get better. Our country has come a long way and it’s exhilarating to see that skilled poker players from all across India are winning global tournaments and contests to make their mark on the international poker scene. I wish our eight proud winners of the PSPC Platinum Passesall the best in the Bahamas but more than anything I hope they enjoy every bit of the experience and bring home a trophy.”

Throughout the year, PokerStars has awarded hundreds of Platinum Passes worldwide. The PSPC Pass winners receive the ₹17.5 Lac entry to the PSPC, six nights’ accommodation at Atlantis Resort, Nassau, Bahamas and ₹ 1.4 Lac in travel expenses and room folio. Details can be found on the PokerStars PSPC website.

While it may be too late to qualify for the PSPC, there are plenty of ways to get involved in poker on PokerStars.IN. Players can also learn the rules, improve their skills and play poker for free via the dedicated PokerStarsSchool.