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All-Stars Comeback Tour Powered by PokerGO Set to Go

Written by Jennifer Newell
Last updated on
Jennifer Newell

The RunGood Poker Series may be one of the last to resume its live tournament schedule in the United States – at least it survived the pandemic, as not all were so lucky – and it’s doing so with renewed energy and excitement. Not only has the tour put out schedules for its first two comeback stops, but further stops are in the works.

One of the things that the RGPS is also anxious to resume is its partnership with Poker Central. That means the RunGood Poker Series is ready to go as the All-Stars Comeback Tour Powered by PokerGO.

Years in the Making

Poker Central actually first teamed up with the RunGood Poker Series in late 2018. The deal was called Showbound Powered by PokerGO.

That deal involved the 2019 RGPS tour streaming its final tables on the PokerGO subscription network. More than that, though, the winners of all RGPS preliminary events and the final table players of the RGPS Main Events received a seat into a freeroll at the end of the season. The two winners received their seats – worth $5K each – to play on an episode of Poker After Dark. After complimentary trips to Las Vegas and hotel accommodations, they also received a tour of the PokerGO Studios, meet-and-greets with poker players, and the chance to compete on the show.

The qualifiers were Woody Kaawar and Clyde Lorance. They played the $5K buy-in SNG alongside Norm Macdonald, Jamie Gold, Maria Ho, Jamie Kerstetter, Garry Gates, Jeff Platt, Chance Kornuth, and Sam Simmons.

The RGPS and Poker Central partnership continued into 2020 with a twist. The name of the season was the All-Stars Presented by PokerGO. Players at every RPGS stop in 2020 had to chance for a unique Las Vegas by winning that stop’s Main Event or points leaderboard. Those players were to win $550 seats to the Pro-Am tournament, one with the qualifiers and invited poker pros and celebrities.

It started strong with the RGPS kicking off at the Horseshoe Council Bluffs in Iowa, but after stops in San Diego and Joplin, the pandemic swept through the country, prompting RunGood – and all other poker tours throughout the US – to shut down. Casinos closed. And everything was on a temporary-turned-long-term hold.

Needless to say, the Pro-Am didn’t happen, nor did most of the RGPS 2020 season.

Call It a Comeback

In March of this year, the RunGood Poker Series was preparing its return. And PokerGO was with it. Together, they dubbed the 2021 season as the All-Stars Comeback Tour Powered by PokerGO.

By the first of May, the RGPS announced its first stops and their schedules. Jamul Casino will bring RGPS players back to the tables in San Diego in June before the tour heads to Horseshoe Council Bluffs and then to Horseshoe Tunica in July.

The plans with Poker Central will pick up where they left off. Again, the Main Event winner and Casino Champion from each stop will win seats to the year-end RGPS: All-Star ProAm in Las Vegas, each seat worth $550. As 2021 progresses, Poker Central will announce more details about the ProAm, including some of the invited players.

RunGood President Tana Karn noted, “The excitement of coming back to the felt and getting to finish what we started one year ago has the office buzzing. The landscape may have changed, but the heart and soul of the tour remain the same. Let’s finish what we started.”

Representing Poker Teams

Another aspect of the year’s festivities will be the “Name Your City’s Poker Team” campaign that started in early 2020. In the lead-up to each tour stop, players vote on potential names for each stop. For example, the ones that happened prior to the shutdowns in 2020 were:

-San Diego Card Sharks

-Council Bluffs Bluffers

-Joplin Grinders

-Tunica Riverboat Rounders

Those names will remain in place for the start of the 2021 tour, and as new stops appear on the schedule, players will vote on names for them. For each stop with a name, the RunGoodGear team will professionally design a logo and debut it on the opening night of that tour stop. There will be promotional items like gear for players.

 

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