The Winning Poker Network´s Venom event will now have three Day 1s in order to accommodate players who found it difficult to play on the original opening day.
If you are one of the hundred or so players who have already qualified for the Winning Poker Network´s $5 million guaranteed Venom event next month, there´s been a significant change. No longer will you have to take time off work to play in the opening Day 1A on Tuesday July 16th, because a new Day 1 has been announced for Sunday July 14th – giving you a more convenient option to shoot for glory.
The new Day 1 on July 14th will now be Day 1A, what was Day 1A on July 16th will now become Day 1B, and what was Day 1B on Sunday July 21st (the original start date for the tournament) will now become Day 1C. The rest of the tournament schedule remains the same. Day 2 will take place on Monday July 22nd, Day 3 (if required) on Tuesday July 23rd, and the Final Table on Wednesday July 24th.
The Extra Day 1 Makes Perfect Sense
The addition of the new Day 1 makes perfect sense. The rule that players winning a seat in advance of the Venom would automatically be seated at the start of Tuesday´s action could have put players off trying to qualify in advance. Some would have probably waited until after the first flight before taking advantage of the expected plethora of satellites between the Tuesday and following Sunday.
Now, in addition to providing a more convenient option for players unable to take time off work, the extra day will encourage more players to win their seats in advance – and, if they don´t survive the thirty-six levels of the new Day 1A, they have the chance to try and qualify again for the re-titled Day 1C. It also makes it more likely the Venom will meet its ambitious $5 million prize pool guarantee.
Player Response to Extra Day is Instant
The announcement there would be a new Day 1A was only tweeted on Friday, but it had an instant response over the weekend. The Venom Steps promotion I wrote about last week was swamped with players, and the scheduled final Step 6 played last night attracted an incredible forty-two entries – the satellite giving away six more seats into the target tournament than its advertised guarantee of three.
The rush to play in the Venom Steps promotion hasn´t stopped yet. Even as I write on a Monday morning (11:30am ET), there is a Step 3 tournament underway that will pay double its guaranteed number of seats into Step 4, and two “Skip” Steps in late registration that have already beaten their guarantees. Everywhere, tables are filling faster than usual and I get the impression this promotion is going to be on fire over the next four weeks.
Good News Too for WSOP Steps Players
Last Sunday the Winning Poker Network concluded its WSOP Steps promotion. One hundred and eight players successfully qualified for the final Step 7, and fifteen of those walked away with $12,500 in cash. Due to the tournament beating its guarantee, the sixteen placed player also pocketed $6,900. But what happens now to all the Steps tickets held by players who didn´t qualify for the Final Step?
In a Tweet last night, the Network announced that players holding WSOP Steps tickets with a value of $0.28, $1.65, $6.60, and $16.50 can use them to play in Steps 1 to 4 of the Venom promotion. If you have higher value WSOP Steps tickets, I suggest you contact Customer Support to find out if they can also be converted into Venom Steps tickets.
Just Four Weeks to Go. Will You Qualify in Time?
The addition of an extra Day 1 on a Sunday has already given new impetus to the Venom event and it looks likely there will be further announcements and promotions as the start date draws closer. Be sure to keep an eye out for further announcements on Twitter, and don´t forget to be a regular visitor to USAFriendlyPokerSites.com in order to keep up-to-date with news about the WPN´s Venom.
