Over the course of the last week, Playground implemented a series of measures to support the effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which culminated in a complete closure on Friday night at 11:59pm. Today, we announce that the WPTDeepStacks Montreal, on Playground’s event schedule from April 16 to April 27, 2020, is postponed indefinitely. The decision was taken in conjunction with our partners the World Poker Tour and partypoker LIVE. All of us are still very excited about the WPTDeepStacks Montreal and we wish to assure the community that the new dates will be made public as soon as they are decided. Playground’s senior management team is still meeting daily, analysing the latest news and development and discussing the best course of action for the public’s safety. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
Playground
Closure Announcement
After closely following the development of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on a daily basis, Playground feels that a suspension of activities is the wisest course of action at this time. The health and safety of Playground’s community, staff and players remains our top priority. In order to facilitate public health measures to combat the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Playground is announcing a temporary closure. Playground will cease all operations, as of 4:00am on Saturday, March 14. No new guests will be permitted on the premises after 11:59pm tonight. Playground will close and remain so until further notice. The Rail Coal Fire Bistro will remain open, with slight changes to its operating hours. The Rail will be open from 6:00am to 11:00pm Sunday through Thursday and from 6:00am to 3:00am on Fridays and Saturdays. We thank all our staff and guests for their continued patience, understanding and support. We hope […]
Updated Health and Safety Measures
Further to the additional health and safety measures announced yesterday, Playground will be making operational changes in response to the growing public health concern surrounding coronavirus (COVID-19). Effective immediately, Playground will: Cancel our weekend Brunch Buffet as well as our Oyster Night and Sweet Weekends promotions; Suspend massage services; Suspend all poker tournaments; Move cash game activity to the tournament hall and limit total volume to 20 tables; Separate foot traffic into two different corridors, one for poker players and the other for EGD players; Introduce a screening questionnaire regarding recent travel, contact with others and any potential symptoms for anyone who enters the building; Screening for temperature using non-invasive infrared thermometers at all our entrances; Cap the capacity of all spaces to a maximum of 250 people, keeping in line with the suggestion of not having more than 250 people in close proximity, within a single closed area. The […]
Health and Safety Measures
The health and safety of our staff, players and community is Playground’s top priority. We anticipate that many people may have questions and concerns about our response to the coronavirus (COVID-19). We are closely monitoring local developments and managing the situation carefully so that everyone will continue to feel confident when they visit us. Canadian public health authorities advise that the overall risk to Canadians remains low, however, Playground will be undertaking several measures to make sure everyone will be able to continue to play safely. This includes: Daily meetings by a senior management team to assess changes in the situation; A dedicated staff member at the entrances administering a mandatory hand sanitizing for everyone entering the premise; Deploying additional hand sanitizer dispensers around the property for player and staff use; Adding signs that encourage patrons to wash hands in all bathrooms; Implementing additional hygiene and safety measures for all […]
The Perfect Turn
As Omaha players know, any hand can have some wild swings from street to street. But at a $2/$2 table yesterday evening, the uncertainty was put to rest on the turn of an exciting hand, and the result was just what the table was hoping for. On Sunday evening, the hand played out on a seven-way Omaha table, where the action started off with a $5 straddle and a call. Two other players made the call before a raise to $25 from Charles B changed the action. Sensing an opportunity, the short stack at the table moved all in for his last $60. Francois C made the cold call and Charles followed suit. Flop: Francois checked the action over to Charles, who made a bet of $130, which was promptly called. Turn: Boom! With a large pot brewing and the perfect card on the turn, it wouldn’t be long before […]
Get Set for the March Power Weekend
The next Power Weekend is just around the corner! This edition brings plenty of player favourites across a range of formats with over $190,000 in prize pool guarantees. This seven-event series runs from March 26 to March 30 and promises to be action packed! Along with huge payouts, those who emerge victorious from these events will take home a stunning Power Weekend champion’s ring. There will be two multi-day events, the Playground 500 and the Playground 100, each with massive prize pool guarantees and unlimited re-entry structures. The $500 + $50 Playground 500 offers a $100,000 prize pool guarantee and a choice of four starting flights. Players will enjoy a premium structure throughout three days of play as they battle it out for five-figure payouts. The $100 + $10 Playground 100 will have six starting flights throughout the weekend, so expect a huge turnout for this two-day event. Many players […]
Spring into Action
The snow is finally melting and spring is in the air. These are sure signs that the seasons are changing. Just like Playground’s cash game promotions. That’s right! There is an exciting new lineup on the way that will award huge prizes every day of the week beginning on March 9. And the six-figure Bad Beat Jackpot is coming back! The Daily High Hands schedule will vary a bit from day to day, but the format will always be the same. At all times, the minimum qualifying hand will be quad sevens, and any unclaimed prizes will roll over to the next time slot. Those rollovers will lead to some huge payouts! Click here to see the daily breakdown. All cash game players will get the chance to qualify for Daily High Hands because Omaha tables are now eligible. Omaha players can win any of the huge prizes offered by […]
Ducks and Snowmen Combine For A BBJ!
In a fine way to usher in spring, a couple of ducks ran into two snowmen on a $1/$2 Hold’em table to bring about a Bad Beat Jackpot! It started with a call from under the gun by Ernest B, which initiated a series of limps until the action reached the small blind, where Fabian E put in a big raise to $7. Everyone who had put chips into the pot called the raise, which led to a seven-way hand. On the flop, the action was checked to Michel D, who made a bet of $17. This bet drew a call from Richard G and chased most others out of the way. But, when the action came back to Ernest B, he moved all in. Ernest’s raise prompted a three-way all in, as Michel and Richard followed suit and put their stacks in the middle. The dealer then revealed the […]
Playground 200 Champion: Jean-Pascal Gauthier
The Playground 200 was the marquee event of the February Power Weekend, featuring a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool. Players were allowed unlimited re-entries during the first six levels of each of the five Day 1 starting flights, and in the end, the event attracted a total of 697 entries, allowing the prize pool to grow to $132,218. The top 88 finishers were in the money, with a min-cash in 88th paying out $350, and the top prize paying $24,500 plus the coveted Power Weekend Champion’s ring! Day 2 saw 152 players return to play through ten 40-minute levels and when the day came to an end, Jean-Pascal Gauthier lead 23 qualifiers into Day 3. Each player had now secured a $940 payday although all eyes were on the top prize. On Day 3 the short stacks made moves from the first very hand of play and eliminations started to happen […]
$100 + $10 Single Rebuy Champion: Ariel Sherker
The $100 + $10 Single Rebuy kicked off tonight at 8:00pm with a $5,000 prize pool guarantee. By the time late registration was closed, the 81 entries, including 21 re-entries, were able to up the guarantee to $9,894 to put the top 11 in the money. The chips flew throughout the night as there were no consistent leaders. The field shrunk relatively quickly until the players reached the money bubble and the stakes got higher. Once Marcel Basset was eliminated in fifth place for $820, the final four paused the action and agreed to an ICM deal that would award an additional $320 to the winner. The ICM Payouts were as follows: Tina Howie – $1,445 Serge Roy – $1,575 Ariel Sherker – $1,695 Vladislav Gulii – $1,719 Serge Roy was the first to be eliminated in fourth place, followed shortly by Vladislav Gulii in third. This left Tina Howie […]
$150 + $20 + $50 PL Omaha Bounty Re-entry Champion: Stefan Siveski
The $150 + $20 + $50 PL Omaha Bounty Re-entry has wrapped up the first day of the February Power Weekend. Tonight’s event featured a guaranteed prize pool of $6,000 in addition to the $50 players would receive after eliminating a fellow competitor from the tournament. Event #3 was able to garner a total of 49 entries, including 18 re-entries, to push the traditional prize pool to $7,056 and bring the bounty total to $2,450. There were no consistent chip leads throughout the night, as the leaderboard shifted after every break. The field narrowed to the final table relatively quickly and soon to the top five where play slowed. Goran Brestovac was eliminated in fifth place to go home with $560 and Matt. O followed in fourth for $800. The final three, Stefan Siveski, Nick Nickoletopoulos, and Wilfredo Mendoza Escobar, moved the chips back and forth for two levels before […]
Re-entry Champion: Christopher Goudreault
The February Power Weekend kicked off today with the $100 + $10 Re-entry, which featured a $5,000 guaranteed prize pool. By the time the late registration period came to a close, there were a total of 56 entries (including 15 re-entries) and a prize pool of $5,432! Charli Azoulay took an early lead this afternoon, but, by the time the second break of the day came around, it was Matteo Carelli who was in the driver’s seat. Carelli maintained his lead all the way to the final table, however, he took a big hit when his pocket jacks went down to Christopher Goudreault’s set of fours. From that point forward, Goudreault started to win pot after pot, building a monster stack along the way. One by one the players busted out, leaving in Goudreault in full control. Carelli ended up falling in third place, losing his chips to Goudreault. When […]