There were already plenty of reasons to be excited about this November’s NAPT festival at Resorts World Las Vegas – from the return of the North American Poker Tour after a 12-year hiatus, to Gold Passes sending qualifiers to the iconic poker destination that is Las Vegas.

But the event just got even more thrilling for poker fans, particularly for those unable to attend.

Not only has a full streaming schedule for NAPT Las Vegas been confirmed, but also…

Legendary poker TV show The Big Game is back!

Ten brand-new episodes of the unique show – beloved for its ‘Loose Cannon’ format where a qualifier is bankrolled for the cash game session – will air in 2024.

RETURN OF THE BIG GAME

The Big Game ran for two seasons in 2010 and 2011 and now returns after a 12-year hiatus. Here’s how it worked back then, and will also work for this new run of episodes:

A qualifier known as the ‘Loose Cannon’ is bankrolled for a high-stakes cash game session against some of the world’s best players in the world.

Each session lasts 150 hands and the Loose Cannon gets to keep any profit they have made at the end of it. 

Some of the most memorable and most viewed poker hands in history took place on The Big Game. Ernest Wiggins running it four times against Phil Hellmuth. Tony G pretending not to look at his hole cards. Vanessa Selbst shoving J7 into AA!

But there’s a twist this time…

THE BIG GAME ON TOUR

Yep, for this new series, The Big Game is going “on tour” in Las Vegas to not only find a new pair of Loose Cannon qualifiers but follow their journies to the game from the very beginning.

“The Big Game was one of the most beloved poker programs of all time,” said VP of PokerStars North America, Steve Preiss. “As we continue our focus on creating the best poker content, re-imagining and re-launching The Big Game was a no-brainer.

“The Big Game on Tour will bring a level of play that hardcore fans expect from poker content. But we also will capture the journey from start to finish of our Loose Cannons in a way that hopefully reaches new audiences as well.”

HOW TO BECOME A LOOSE CANNON

On Sunday, November 5 at NAPT Las Vegas at Resorts World, PokerStars will be running two exclusive satellites allowing players to qualify for The Big Game on Tour for free. 

There will be two shootout tournaments, each with a maximum capacity of 10 tables, and the 10 winners of each nine-handed table will advance to the casting stage (November 6 and 7) to audition for a spot in the game. This process will be run by a panel of judges, including the show’s hosts James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton. 

The judges will decide which two players will be given the invitation to be staked $50,000 to play in The Big Game on Tour.

Registration for both shootout tournaments will open at 11am on November 4. There are only 180 seats available, so act fast to secure your spot!

The first tournament will begin at 2pm and the second tournament will begin at 6pm.

The line-ups for The Big Game on Tour are to be confirmed, but there will be two $100/$200 No-Limit Hold’em cash games tables on Wednesday, November 8 and Thursday, November 9 with some familiar faces along with some of the biggest poker crushers of today.

The game will then be produced into a series of 10 episodes to air in 2024.

NAPT LAS VEGAS STREAMING SCHEDULE

PokerStars has also confirmed three days of live streaming from NAPT Las Vegas.

The stream gets underway on Friday, November 10 with the penultimate day (Day 3) of the $1,650 NAPT Main Event, as the field plays down to the final table. The final table will be broadcast the following day, Saturday, November 11, with the final table of the $5,000 High Roller broadcast on Sunday, November 12.

NAPT Live Streaming Schedule:

–        Friday, November 10: NAPT Las Vegas $1,650 Main Event Day 3 (12:30 PST)

–        Saturday, November 11: NAPT Las Vegas $1,650 Main Event Final Table (13:00 PST)

–        Sunday, November 12: NAPT Las Vegas $5,000 High Roller Final Table (13:00 PST)

The stream will be broadcast on PokerStars Twitch and YouTube channels hosted by the PokerStars commentary team: James Hartigan, Joe Stapleton, Maria Ho, Griffin Benger and Nick Walsh.

In addition to the English language broadcast, there will be a Brazilian-Portuguese stream anchored by our Brazilian commentators Felipe de Paulo and Flavio del Valle on Twitch and YouTube.

PokerStars Big Game on Tour Promotion: Terms & Conditions and Rules

The following are terms and conditions for the ‘PokerStars Big Game on Tour’ promotion, and the related qualifying tournaments.

• This promotion will run from November 4-9, 2023.
• Two players will win the opportunity to take part in the filming of the television show, ‘PokerStars Big Game on Tour’ during NAPT Las Vegas.
• The filming takes place on November 8 and 9 at Resorts Word, 3000 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89109.
• The ‘PokerStars Big Game on Tour’ qualifying tournaments will take place at Resorts World on November 5 at 14:00 and 18:00 Pacific Standard Time (PST).
• Registration for both tournaments will open at Resorts World on November 4 at 11:00 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
• Participants must be at least 25 years or over.
• Participants must be members of the Genting Rewards Las Vegas program.
• Participants agree to have read and have accepted the PokerStarsLive.com terms and conditions.
• Participants are not permitted to be sponsored (either directly or indirectly) into this event and must not wear any competitors clothing or branding during the Event, including at any TV or webcast table, the definition and determination of who is a competitor is solely at PokerStars discretion.
• Participants may be required to wear a PokerStars logo during the Event, including during the casting or at the webcast table without further compensation. The position and orientation of the logo will be determined by PokerStars.
• The qualifying tournaments will be limited to 180 players on a first come, first served basis. The first 90 players to register will participate in the first qualifying tournament (November 5, 14:00 PST). The second 90 players to register will participate in the second qualifying tournament (November 5, 18:00 PST).
• Once 180 players are registered, registration will close. There will be no late registration period and no alternates list.
• Each tournament will play as a shootout format, with ten tables, and a maximum of nine players at each table.
• The winner of each table will receive a ($1,650) ticket for the NAPT Las Vegas Main Event and advance to the casting phase of the promotion.
• Winners will only be eligible to receive their tickets if they agree to participate in the casting phase and co-operate with the TV production.
• Winners will be asked to reveal/disclose certain information about previous criminal offences, cautions, current prosecutions, sanctions in relation to children and civil proceedings before taking part in the casting (“Criminal History”). Further details as to the basis upon which we request and process your information can be found in our Privacy Policy. We may ask you for the details of any of these and any other relevant matters which might reasonably give rise to the prospect of bringing PokerStars or its associates and business partners into disrepute.
• The casting phase will take place at Resorts World on November 6 and 7.
• During the casting phase, the twenty finalists who advanced from the qualifying tournaments will be invited to appear before a panel of judges and be interviewed in the English language.
• These interviews will be filmed and may be used in PokerStars video productions, including the ‘PokerStars Big Game on Tour’ TV shows.
• The judges and producers will assess players on the following criteria: communication, confidence, humour, personality, passion for poker and poker thinking. The judges and producers will, in their sole discretion, determine the two winners who will be asked to participate as Loose Cannons in the recording of the show on November 8 and 9. The winners will be notified by November 7.
• Should you be selected as a Loose Cannon you agree not to discuss any information concerning the TV Production (including any photographs), the result of the show, and your  participation in it, with any other person or company, whether by means of discussion, letter, press and television interviews, social media postings or otherwise, at any time without the prior written consent of PokerStars.
• Each Loose Cannon will be required to enter into a staking agreement with PokerStars and be provided with chips to the value of 50,000 USD (staking money) to play in one of the two ‘PokerStars Big Game on Tour’ sessions on November 8 and November 9.
• Each session will last 150 hands, and the Loose Cannon will be required to be seated at the table for the whole session and play through all hands.
• If the Loose Cannon loses all their staking money, they will leave the game.
• At the end of the session, the Loose Cannon will return any remaining staking money, up to 50,000 USD.
• The Loose Cannon will keep any profit they have made during the session, over the 50,000 USD staking money.

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