Party Poker Millions

Party Poker Millions

The Party Poker Millions is an exclusive tournament set on a luxurious cruise ship on which most entries are won via satellites at PartyPoker. When this leg of the European Poker Tour was introduced, it was a new and innovative approach to the poker tournament. The PartyPoker Millions was a groundbreaking tournament that opened the eyes of online poker rooms. PartyPoker had set the bar and many other rooms tried to live up to the prestigious reputation that the PPM created for Party Poker. Big-name poker pros are often frequent passengers on the ship, as this tournament is held in high regard being one of the most sought after big-money tournament tickets around. The PPM was one of the first internationally televised tournaments and has definitely played its own role in making poker the global phenomenon that it is today.

Once poker players qualify online at PartyPoker, they set out for some poker on the open seas and must make their ways through several rounds of semi-finals. Winners then go on to the final table to win millions. At least those who get knocked out do not have to go home. They can relax for the remainder of their vacation and enjoy the cruise.

The first party ship to host the Party Poker Millions set sail in 2002 with only 139 players aboard. These players consisted of 100 satellite winners from PartyPoker.com and 39 buy-ins. The final table put Phil Hellmuth up against poker pro Kathy Liebert, who won the tournament out from under Hellmuth, making her the first woman to win a tournament with a $1 million prize. Hellmuth did come back on a later cruise to take a $60,000 prize. The Party Poker Millions II cruise had 177 attendees, 134 being qualified seat winners from the online PartyPoker poker room. Chip Jett lost in the final two when Howard Lederer won the $200,000+ cash prize. Other big winners have been Berj Kacherian, Joe Simpkins, and the biggest winner of the PPM to date is Michael Gracz with a $1.5 million win.

The 2009 Party Poker Millions VII has not been announced yet, but is sure to yield millions of dollars in prize pool cash, and there will undoubtedly be many satellites to be won at PartyPoker.com. Last year, a winning seat was worth a prize package of $12,600 including buy-in, accommodations, and fun money.

After Party Poker’s qualifiers are over, leftover seats can usually be bought, if there are any left. Last year’s buy-in went for $8,200, which isn’t bad for a week’s worth of cruising with some of the world’s most famous poker players and getting to actually play in a big-money poker tournament. It’s like a land-based tourney with a vacation. The Party Poker Millions VI left from Venice, Italy last year and cruised the Mediterranean stopping in Greece, Turkey, and Croatia.

Back in 2006, the cruise got a lot of buzz when 22-year-old James Schneider beat out Kenna James and 527 other sea-faring players. He won $700 grand on his spring break from the University of Minnesota. He was the youngest player to win the prominent Party Poker Millions.

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