No location has been announced yet but the usual list of potential locations for the Toronto Casino include; Canadian National Exhibition (CNE where current temporary casino is held), Woodbine Racetracks, Man-made island in Lake Ontario (Harbourfront), Richmond Hill, Markham, Mississauga.
In 5 years GTA poker players will no longer have to travel to Port Perry, Niagara Falls, Brantford, Sarnia, Orillia, Windsor, or Thousand Islands to play poker in Ontario. With a megacity like Toronto with a casino, it will be just a matter of time before the biggest of online poker tournaments such as the WPT, WSOP, or even smaller ones such as the CPT, HPT or DSPT come to the Tdot for a mega Toronto Poker Tournament.
]]>
In 2012, Quebec will be the home of the biggest poker tournament ever in Canada. This tournament will be the first ever to hand out a Million Dollar prize to the lucky winner. The Grand Loto-Quebec Poker Tournament which takes on May 19th and 20th, 2012 at the Casino du Lac-Leamy in Hull Quebec is the most prestigious poker tournament ever held in Canada. This $25,000 buy-in tournament will reward the winner a seat valued at $1,000,000 to the biggest tournament in the world, The BIG ONE for ONE DROP that will be held during the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, on July 1-3, 2012.
There will be several ways other than paying the full $25k buyin to get into the Grand Tournament. You can buy-in directly at the first 4 casinos of the below list.
Satellite Tournaments will be running at various Quebec Casinos as well as on Espacejeux – The Loto Quebec online poker room. The next online satellites are Jan 9, Mar 12, and May 7 all at 8:30pm. Buy-in is $300+$20 Participating casinos include:
- Casino de Montreal
- Casino de Charlevoix
- Casino du Lac-Leamy
- Casino de Mont-Tremblant
- Salon de jeux de Quebec
- Salon de jeux de Trois-Rivieres
If you would rather rely on pure luck to get into the big tournament, there will also be $5 scratch ticket lotteries starting in Feb 2012 as well as a Second Chance lottery from Lotto Poker in April 2012 which you must register for on the Loto-Quebec website.
The Big One for One Drop
The 43rd annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) will play host to The BIG ONE for ONE DROP™ poker tournament at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino on July 1, 2 and 3, 2012, in Las Vegas. In addition to qualified participants, this poker championship will attract players from around the world and from all walks of life. Tournament registration fees are one million U.S. dollars, and the WSOP will contribute 11.1% of total collected fees to the ONE DROP® Foundation.
One Drop
ONE DROP® — an initiative of Guy Laliberté, Founder of Cirque du Soleil® — is a non-governmental organization established in Montréal, Québec, Canada, and active worldwide. The mission of ONE DROP® is to fight poverty by promoting access to water and in raising awareness among individuals and communities about water-related issues to convince them to mobilize for universal access to water and urge them to adopt sound habits for managing this precious resource for future generations. ONE DROP® continues to reach out to the world to realize its dream of safe water for all, today and tomorrow. To learn more about ONE DROP® or to make a donation, visit ONEDROP.org
Canadian Poker Network operations are based in Canada. The system is housed in a Montreal based data centre and poker network operations are in the National Operations Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick.
“The CPN is an excellent example of the kind of convergence of the igaming and lottery industries that GTECH G2 was created to serve,” said Paolo Personeni, President of GTECH G2. “We are proud to be partnered with such innovative lotteries, and look forward to enabling other lottery corporations to enter the igaming space with confidence.”
GTECH G2 is providing eight poker variants including Texas Hold’em and Canadian Stud (or Soko) which is played the same way as 5-Card Stud except that there are two extra combinations: a four-card Flush and a four-card Straight.
The Playnow.com poker room is now open. Grand opening promotions include a $100,000 freeroll on March 27, and you can also win VIP Vancouver Canucks tickets. There is also a Bad Beat Jackpot going on which is now over $300,000. Simply lose with quad jacks or better, and win the BBJ!
]]>Here is the official press release:
Loto-Québec and GTECH G2 Launch the Canadian Poker Network
Loto-Québec’s EspaceJeux.com igaming site now live and taking real-money wagers
13 December 2010 (London, UK) – GTECH G2 and Loto-Québec have successfully launched the first regulated poker network in North America. Presented by Loto-Québec on its new Espacejeux.com igaming site, the Canadian Poker Network (CPN) features the state-of-the-art poker software operating on a number of networks in Europe but will be open only to residents of the province of Quebec, Canada.
GTECH G2 will host its Canadian Poker Network operations in Canada. The system will be housed in its Montreal based data centre. Operations will be based in the National Operations Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick. The agreement with this WLA lottery operator is a 5 year operating contract with two, two-year extensions.
GTECH G2 is providing eight poker variants for the history-making poker network including Texas Hold’em and Canadian Stud (or Soko) which is played the same way as 5-Card Stud except that there are two extra combinations: a four-card Flush and a four-card Straight.
Available in both French and English, Espacejeux.com, began registering players on the 19th November and started to take its first real money wagers 1st December. It offers a full range of control and prevention measures that are among the most innovative in the industry.
“This is a major milestone for the lottery and igaming industries,” said Paolo Personeni, President of GTECH G2. “We’re very proud to be involved with such a highly-regarded WLA member in establishing the first regulated poker network in North America.”
GTECH G2 is the only interactive gaming software and services provider that can supply a complete end-to-end solution including lottery, poker, sports betting, bingo, casino, skill games, instant games and back office systems to commercial and state-run operators.
ENDS
Media inquiries:
Larry Colcy, Lyceum Media
G2@lyceummedia.com +44 (0) 208 123 7184
About GTECH G2 (www.gtechg2.com)
Only GTECH G2 can provide the complete suite of core platform gaming engines, innovative content and flexible support services to both enterprises who are just entering the interactive space as well as to those who already offer a fully mature suite of interactive games. Its portfolio of expertise and digital solutions covers Lottery, Poker, Bingo, Sports Betting, Casino, Skill Games, Instant Games as well as a full range of back office and business solutions to help maximize revenues. The group brings together the lottery expertise of GTECH with Boss Media, a leading innovator in software and systems for Poker, Casino and Bingo entertainment; Finsoft , a leading provider of enterprise-wide real time trading solutions for the commercial sports betting industry – both interactive and retail; St Minver, a fully managed service provider of Internet games to media, lifestyle, and other brands; and Dynamite Idea, a developer of unique, innovative digital instant and side games. salesteam@gtechg2.com
The Loto Quebec online poker room will hit off with a bang in the form of a $250,000 freeroll that takes place on Feb 13, 2011. Qualifying satellites are free and take place daily/weekly through a 2 stage qualification process. There is also a Espace Poker bad beat jackpot that will start off at $100,000
Espacejeux new members can also get a $20 free bet with the use of Espacejeux promo code Casino
The following deposit options are available at Espacejeux – Interac online, Visa, and MasterCard
It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the provinces get their act together and form the Canada Poker Network.
]]>