PokerNews To Cover Sands Bethlehem DeepStack Extravaganza Dec. 14-17

Donnie Peters

Dec 12, 2012 3 min read

The Sands Bethlehem DeepStack Extravaganza kicked off on Dec. 5, 2013 and runs through Dec. 17. PokerNews is proud to announce that our Live Reporting Team will be present for the showcase event of the series, a $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event that runs Dec. 14 through Dec. 17.

Highlighting the eight-event schedule, the Main Event will boast a big $500,000 guarantee and allow reentry. With two starting days, the event is set to be an exciting one. A player may play Day 1a, Day 1b or both. According to the official structure sheet for the event, "Registration and reentries allowed for the first three (3) levels. Any player who plays Day 1a may also play Day 1b regardless if they busted or still remain in the tournament. After Day 1b, if a player has chips remaining from both Day 1a and Day 1b, only the greater chip stack will move forward to Day 2. The lesser of the chip stacks shall be removed from play." This should create an interesting dynamic and even allow those who finish short on Day 1a, but don't bust, to reenter on Day 1b.

It might be hard to bust with a large starting stack of 30,000 in chips and 60-minute levels for Day 1a and 1b. For Day 2, the levels are increased to 75 minutes, and for Day 3, the levels are bumped up again to 90 minutes. This should allow for a slow-moving, player-friendly structure, but one that's not so slow it seems as though it's at a standstill.

If $2,500 is a little too pricy for you, the Sands has that covered, as well. On Dec. 13, there will be three satellites held with buy-ins of $150, $275 and $400. The $150 Main Event Satellite takes place at 11:00 a.m. ET, the $275 Main Event Satellite takes place at 2:00 p.m. ET, and the $400 Main Event Satellite takes place at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is located just 82 miles and about 90 minutes from New York City and 50 miles and roughly 60 minutes from Philadelphia. It's also closer than Atlantic City to both of those places. For further information on location and directions, visit the Sands website.

If you're traveling from a bit further, the venue offers some promotional room rates. Through the dates of the series, a rate of $89 plus tax per night is available Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, a rate of $119 plus tax per night is available. You can find all of this information and more on the tournament's fact sheet.

The poker room itself boasts 30 tables of action hosting a wide variety of games that include Limit and No-Limit Texas Hold'em, Stud and Omaha. There is a bad beat jackpot available daily, 12 plasma televisions for your viewing pleasure and 24-hour table-side dining. Furthermore, you can see which games are currently running on the Sands website before you make the trip down.

What can you expect from PokerNews' presence? Our team will be on hand to provide live updates on the event from start to finish everyday in our live blog that will include hand histories, stories from the tournament floor, chip counts and photos. Daily recaps of the event will also be posted on PokerNews.com. If you're heading to play the event, don't be shy. Reach out to our team on the floor so we can help work you into the coverage. We hope to see you there!