Q/A With Lone Star Poker Series Founder Kim Stone
One of the familiar faces here at Champions Poker Club is Kim Stone, who along with her significant other, Hayden Fortini, founded the Lone Star Poker Series. The poker power couple is expecting their first child later this year, and PokerNews recently spoke to Stone about the Lone Star Poker Series.
PokerNews: How are you feeling now that the Lone Star Poker Series has a few events under their belt?
Kim Stone: Hayden and I are very pleasantly surprised by how much and how quickly the LSPS brand has taken off. We’ve even had to postpone a couple of events outside of Houston because of Baby Fortini coming in July. We feel very fortunate that Texas poker players love our events and already have a sense of loyalty and positive expectations for each series we put together When every event ends, they ask us when the next one is to be scheduled. It’s very humbling but exciting to be a part of something like this from the very beginning.
What should players look forward to in the upcoming series?
Partnering up with Champions Poker Club has been incredible. With their help and their support, we’ve been able to build up to a truly epic series. We are in the process of building a live stream studio under the design advisement of PokerGO. This is not your typical live stream poker table. You will have to see it to understand how amazing it’s going to be. We are elevating the whole player experience by making all the media outlets available to the players and their families and friends.
What sets the Lone Star Poker Series apart from other poker tournaments?
My vision has always been two-fold. First, it’s to have the best staff from around the country to elevate the player experience. Hiring highly experienced staff that run some of the largest fields and best structures around the country, allows our not-so-small poker community here in Houston to experience poker in its best form.
Second is to make poker fun again. Tournament poker is highly competitive and sometimes stressful, but it should never lose the core qualities of being a fun, exciting, and competitive way to gamble and potentially win tens of thousands of dollars! I want every player that plays one of our events to enjoy every minute. Fortunately, my partners allow me a lot of room for spending money on the small things that really matter - like the custom-made money clips and trophy buckles made by Max Lang, the $10,000 added money in the Surprise Bounty Event, and of course, the 1 Million Chip Custom Plaques that will be featured on the final tables of the Ultimate Monster and the $1 Million GTD Main Event
