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 […]
Top Stories
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 […]
Next Up: WPTDeepStacks Montreal
You know the name. You love the format. The WPTDeepStacks returns to Montreal, and this time as a full-fledged festival! Held from April 16 to April 27, the series features nine tournaments and over $1,900,000 in total guarantees. The tour was honoured at the 4th Annual American Poker Awards in February of 2018 with the well-deserved prize for Mid-Major Circuit of the Year. Since then, the brand has continued to expand and now offers premier poker festivals on six continents! What to expect in Montreal? Lots of action! Event #2 will be none other than the now famous WPTDeepStacks Opener, the $500 + $50 tournament that follows the WPTDeepStacks far and wide. With a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool, seven Day 1s to choose from and an unlimited re-entry format, this is a can’t-miss event. The WPTDeepStacks Montreal Main Event is a $1,500 + $150 tournament that is no stranger to our […]
A Power Weekend In February
The World Cup of Cards is in full swing and the upcoming weekend will be a riot. As the action unfolds in the tournament hall, we look forward to the next event on Playground’s schedule: the February Power Weekend. The mini-series, scheduled from February 27 to March 2, presents six events with a total of $141,000 in guaranteed prize pools. The headliner is none other than the Playground 200, one of our club’s most popular tournaments. The multi-day event allows players to shoot for a huge $100,000 guaranteed prize pool for a buy-in of only $200 + $20. Of course, you can go at it more heavily if you wish, as it has an unlimited re-entry format. Throw in as many bullets as needed to send a strong stack to Day 2! This Power Weekend also presents a handful of nice single-day events with buy-ins ranging from $110 to $220, […]
The Women’s Series Is Back In 2020
The Women’s Series Event #4 and Final Event are coming up this weekend, wrapping up a truly successful series that brought together women from here, neighbouring provinces and even the United States. Today, by popular demand, Playground and the Women’s Poker Association announce Women’s Series 2020, our second series exclusively for women. The new and improved edition presents five open events, one more than the inaugural series, and will span the whole calendar year. Each one has a $150 + $15 buy-in – of which $10 will go to the Championship Event prize pool – and a $5,000 guaranteed prize pool. Start each one with 25,000 chips, play your best, and finish in the top 40% of the field to earn leaderboard points. Climb up the leaderboard and finish the series in the top 30, the only way to earn a seat at the Championship. Once there, your starting stack […]
Introducing… The Seniors’ Series
For many years, Playground has included Seniors’ Events in poker festivals and mini-series, each of these events attracting a good number of players, eager to compete between them and have loads of fun… and they did without fault. Today, we are announcing the Seniors’ Series, a competition made up of five open events and culminating with a Championship Event, exclusively for players who are at least 50 years young! The series schedule features an open event every other month, the first one being on Sunday, February 23. Each tournament starts at 12:00pm and is held on a Sunday. The modest $200 + $20 buy-in and the $10,000 guarantee ensures that players enjoy a great ratio each time. View the full schedule here. Throughout the series, players will accumulate leaderboard points by placing in the top 40% of the field and try to finish the race in the top 30 on […]
Bust the Bank is Back!
Every Sunday from January 12 to March 1, Freeway Frank will return to host Bust the Bank. It was a hit with players the first time around, and the 2020 edition promises to be even more spectacular. Players can qualify for Bust the Bank through weekly raffle draws where every 250 points earned through EGD play gets you an entry. Also, points earned on Tuesdays will get players five times as many entries. Each Sunday will feature five draws, with four winners per draw. Three contestants will be selected from the raffle drum and one contestant will be randomly chosen via hot seat draw from all active EGD players at the time. That’s 20 winners per draw day for a total of 165 winners during the Bust the Bank promotion! Once all four contestants have been selected and are at the stage area, they will play a mini-game in order […]
Free Food is Back!
Playground is always looking for ways to improve the gaming experience. Over the years, that has meant making changes for players as well as following suggestions by players. But sometimes efforts undertaken with good intentions miss the mark, which was the case when Playground Rewards was introduced to our poker community. Reflecting on the year that has been revealed some missteps on Playground’s path to elevating gaming. Our motto has always been “For Players, By Players”, and 6 months later, we realized we had made a mistake. So what do you do when you make a mistake? You fix it. So we are helping ourselves to some humble pie and announcing the return of free food! That’s right. As of today, a new menu will be introduced, and cash game players will no longer have to pay for food. No points needed, no cash required, absolutely free. Just remember to […]
Announcing the World Cup of Cards
At Playground, the November Power Weekend is in full swing and the exciting 9-Year Anniversary series is not too far, but we are also looking at our next full-length festival, the World Cup of Cards with over $1,200,000 in guaranteed prize pools! The 2020 WCC will be held from January 19 to February 5, opening the year with 22 affordable events. Buy-ins range from $110 to $1,100, allowing everybody to shoot for a trophy, a title and of course, a pile of cash! It is a great opportunity for players of all bankrolls to play in the big league. This festival is known for offering friendly price points, but also for allowing players to indulge in original poker formats that you don’t get to enjoy very often. The schedule presents tournaments like the Shootout, Short Deck, Roll the Dice and Crazy Pineapple, all variants that will take you out of […]
Get Your partypoker MILLION Buy-in Back!
The $200 + $15 partypoker MILLION, guaranteed at $1,000,000, is back on the regular schedule and stronger than ever! The tournament is set to become a must-play weekly event for everyone, and partypoker has a special promotion for Canadians giving all of us a chance to win our $215 buy-in back as a free ticket! The event now presents six Day 1s that run during the week. All Day 1s are freezeout events, but you can play as many as you wish. Day 1s play 21 levels, which represents just under four hours of play, after which all players who still have chips take a break until Sunday’s Final Day where all qualifiers merge and play for a 6-figure payout! The Canadian promotion is applied specifically to Day 1D, which starts on Saturday at 6:00pm ET. If the chip leader at the end of Day 1D is Canadian, all Canadian […]
Happy Birthday Playground!
The month of December comes with winter, the excitement of the holidays, and Playground’s Anniversary Series! This year, we’re celebrating nine years of constant growth, from a small poker club to a massive entertainment destination with international poker events, electronic gaming, concerts and more. And what better way to celebrate than to play for it! Join us from December 8 to December 16 for the 9-Year Anniversary Series, a 9-day poker festival offering over $550,000 in guaranteed prize pools. And what’s more, the Grand Prix Canada presented by partypoker LIVE is our Main Event! It is an honour to welcome once again this great multi-day competition, a poker tournament that gives all players the chance to play for a massive prize pool for a minimal buy-in. Guaranteed at $500,000 and priced at $200 + $20, the event offers nineteen starting flights to choose from! Five online flights and fourteen live […]