06 Oct 11

Laurent Tapie confirms to PokerStrategy.com: ISPT is on for 2012

The curtain is likely to go up for the International Stadiums Poker Tour in September 2012 in London. This date was confirmed by Laurent Tapie, president of the ISPT and son of Full Tilt Poker investor Bernard Tapie. The necessary gaming licenses are currently being acquired.

It sounds almost too good to be true: The promise is immense: a poker tournament with a guaranteed $30 million pot, to be held in Wembley Stadium and broadcast around the world. For several days now the announcement of the International Stadiums Poker Tour has fed the chatter on internet forums.

Details have been a bit spotty to date – beyond the ISPT homepage and this boisterous video clip:



Laurent Tapie: The $30 million has already been deposited

"The ISPT is real," he told us and confirmed that the event will be staged on five consecutive days. He also indicated that he and Prosper Masquelier are behind the ISPT company.

Tapie states that the pair are good friends who have already worked together for Partouche Interactive – a subsidiary of the Partouche Group. The Partouche Group claims to be the largest casino group in Europe.

"The ISPT is the largest poker event of all times and in the future will be held annually. The tournament series will always be held in famous stadiums in various countries," Tapie says.

Tapie also noted that the prize pool of $30 million has already been deposited into a separate account and thus is guaranteed.

Purportedly the rental contract for the first event of the International Stadiums Poker Tour in Wembley Stadium was signed on September 16, 2011. The president believes that between 20,000 and 30,000 players will take part in the mega-event.

A spokesman for Wembley Stadium declined to comment to PokerStrategy.com on Tapie's claims.

Still waiting on gaming licenses
Laurent Tapie
The plans for the International Stadiums Poker Tour were apparently not ready for release at all.

Laurent Tapie told PokerStrategy.com that work is still being made on acquiring the necessary gaming licenses and that the first press conference to draw attention to the event wasn't intended until early November – in other words, until the licenses were there.

Because of the heavy visitor counts to the ISPT website and skepticism on the part of many poker players, the event's organizers felt it necessary to show their hand publicly now.

The precise date for the tournament will be announced next month once the deadlines for the English national soccer team have been set. The English team plays its matches in Wembley Stadium.

Tapie claims that IMG World has committed to serving as a media partner. The marketing company is specialized in sporting events and is home to more than 3,000 employees.

It handles large-scale events like Wimbledon and the APT World Tour Finals for tennis as well as athletes like Roger Federer, Tiger Woods or Rafael Nadal. IMG will purportedly broadcast the ISPT on 26 channels in 32 countries.

Tournament style announced

The ISPT homepage now includes details on the qualification rounds and tournament type. The process is as follows:

The event is only open to participants who buy or win a ticket. For this reason negotiations will soon be starting with poker rooms, poker websites and distribution partners. The first qualification rounds are planned for January 2012.

All participants will sit in the stands at Wembley Stadium and play online with tablet PCs. Telecommunications company Orange is responsible for providing the technology, which Tapie claims will include wireless internet among other features.

Once the pool has been whittled down to just 3,000 players, they will be invited to make their way down to the field to sit at real poker tables. Participants will be playing for a guaranteed prize pool of $30 million.

The final table will have space for 10 players. They will play for the remaining $17.5 million prize pool. The victor will receive a fat $10 million.
Site of the ISPT event: Wembley Stadium in London

 

What's next and Full Tilt Poker

 

Preparations for the International Stadiums Poker Tour are running at full speed, Laurent Tapie maintains. Beyond its work to acquire the gaming licenses, plans are also underway to officially announce the organizational team and sign contracts with additional partners.

Tapie asserts that talks are slated to start soon with the largest operators of poker websites, with a partner selected from each country to serve as a partner to the ISPT. The general planning should be completed by the end of the year, he declares.

Tapie's management team declined to provide further information at this time about the involvement of the Bernard Tapie Group in Full Tilt Poker.


by Tobias Frey