Full Tilt Poker Readies for 2009 WSOP

With the schedule set and registration underway, the countdown has begun for the 2009 World Series of Poker, and major online site Full Tilt Poker has much planned in the way of promotions, qualifying tournaments, and coverage.

One of the site's most talked-about promotions, the $10 Million Main Event Mania, is back again. That's the one which guarantees that any player who qualifies for the world series of poker Main Event through Full Tilt Poker stands to win an additional $10 million should he or she go on to win the tournament.

This marks the fifth year Full Tilt has offered this promotion to its qualifiers. In 2007, Lee Watkinson came close to snagging the $10 million bonus. Watkinson gained entry into the Main Event that year by qualifying through Full Tilt, and made it all of the way to the final table of the Main Event before busting out in eighth place.

Full Tilt is offering numerous chances to qualify for the WSOP during the coming weeks. The site is running 81-player shootout tournaments twice daily, with first prize for each being a $12,000 Main Event prize package. The site is also offering weekly qualifier tournaments five times a week which also offer the same $12,000 Main Event prize packages.

As we draw closer to the WSOP's kick-off in late May, Full Tilt will run a "150 Seat Guarantee" tournament in which the top 150 finishers will win Main Event packages. That tournament sports a nifty $1.8 million guarantee in the form of prize packages. There are also daily "Race for Bracelet" tournaments in which one can win $2,000 prize packages that can be used to enter preliminary events.

There are still other ways to get to the WSOP via Full Tilt Poker. A "Stimulus Qualifier" tournament with a $200,000 guarantee will be held in which players can win one of 80 guaranteed seats for Event No. 4, the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event that will be helping kick off this summer's series. There will be a Race for the Main Event in which players can compete for one of 50 free seats at the 2009 Main Event as well.

Full Tilt Poker also plans on special features from the WSOP, featuring Howard Lederer, Phil Gordon and Michael Craig. [Full Tilt is not affiliated with Harrah's Entertainment or the World Series of Poker.]