888Live Costa Brava Begins with Kara Scott and Rupert Elder in the Field
888Live has returned to Cost Brava for four days of fun, sun, and poker running until May 22. A total of 65 online qualifiers, VIPs, and specially invited guests, including UK poker pro Rupert Elder, were flown in from around Europe to enjoy a relaxing poker holiday and to play in the $50,000 guaranteed Main Event.
Guests arrived at the five-star Guitart Monterrey Hotel on Wednesday and were welcomed to the event that evening by 888poker ambassador Kara Scott at a champagne reception. The following morning there were some special on-beach activities for players and their guests, including banana boat rides and jet skiing. In the evening there was a Main Event Satellite Freeroll.
The Gran Casino Costa Brava is the venue for the poker tournaments and is a short walk from the hotel. The modern casino has a spacious poker room and there was a lively atmosphere as the freeroll tournament kicked off at 8 p.m. local time with 130 runners, a competitive mix of 888poker guests and local players.
With the opportunity to rebuy and a turbo structure, there was plenty of action as everyone was eager to grab a slice of tet $50,000 guaranteed the next day. Play went on until the early hours of the morning when eventually nine lucky players grabbed a ticket for entry into the 888Live Costa Brava Main Event .
Cards were in the air for Day 1 of the Main Event at 5 p.m. local time today with Kara Scott giving a welcome speech and issuing the traditional "shuffle up and deal." This is the second live event in her new ambassador role since finishing third at the 888Live London Local event in March.
The tournament is expected to attract around 200 runners, including the 888 qualifiers and freeroll winners. The buy-in is $400 for those who haven't qualified already, and that will get you a starting stack of 20,000 in chips.
There are also special prizes on offer, including an iPhone 6s for making a royal flush and Sony speakers for making a full house, eights or better. Day 1 is expected to wrap up around 2 a.m. local time with the survivors reconvening at 5 p.m.local time on Saturday to play down to a winner. The final table will be streamed on Twitch for the first time.
That won’t be the end of the fun and poker, though. At 6 p.m. local time on Saturday, there will be a Special Bounty Freeroll with a $5,000 guarantee. Then, to round off the four-day event, there is a Farewell VIP Party at the Disco Tropics where the celebrations will surely go on into the early hours.
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