The Run It Up (RIU) Poker Series are coming back for yet another edition, hoping to draw huge crowds from December 5 through December 9.
The event will take place in Stones Gambling Hall in Citrus Heights, California and the organizers are preparing respected community member Jason Somerville to play the role of the host.
The event has grown beyond its stream-based beginnings and today it features top talent, such as Boston Rob Mariano and Tyson Apostle who make appearances on the show and will also be coming to the event itself.
Owing to its sound viewer base, RIU is hoping to reunite fans from across the globe who have been urged to come out to California for the festival, though whoever stays at home won’t be lacking opportunities to watch the event.
Propelled on community enthusiasm, RIU will avoid asking players to play at high-stakes tables, focusing on the low and mid segment instead. However, the hosts hope to attract players of varying aptitude and help create an event that will see genuine competition. The upshot will most likely be an amalgamation of easy-going semi-pros and hardened grinders.
RIU had some doubt about choosing the venue, with Stones Gambling Hall Social Media Manager and Tournament Director Justin Kuraitis spending a while to convince the organization to set up its largest land-based event in Somerville.
In fact, Mr. Kuraitis said that their request had been declined several times until, at last, RIU conceded to give the thing a go. However, preparations had to be carried out, with RIU visiting the venue and working out the details about the available broadcasting facilities as well as imparting advice how to beef them up.
StonesLive will be assisting the venue with setting up properly for the upcoming streaming and poker action. It’s worth noting that StonesLive started as a grassroots streaming facility but it has shaped up to be one of the bread-and-butter operators of any event.
Stones Live Stream and Somerville
The venue and the streaming provider have had experience working together, with the help of poker professionals who helped streamline the experience for their live stream viewers. The pair has worked on many noteworthy tournaments, too, including the Stones Bi-Annual Classic Series and the PokerStars Moneymaker PSPC Tour.
As to the event itself, the inaugural day will kick off with the Chip in for Charity, which will feature a $75 buy-in. The heavy guns will be debuting on Thursday with the $1,080 event taking place and players will be vying for as much as $50,000 in guaranteed prize money.
The full schedule of the festival is filled with interesting events of varying entry-levels and game combinations. The venue will be busy even after RIU has packed and left, with the Quantum Tournament arriving second and hosting a number of competitions, with up to $100,000 in guaranteed prizing for one of the events.
