In May, Hustler Casino Live (HCL) will host what producer Ryan Feldman anticipates to be the “biggest event in live-streamed poker history,” — a $1 million minimum buy-in cash game.
Actually, there might be two games, if Feldman puts together multiple nosebleed games, which he told PokerNews he’ll attempt to pull off. The exact date of the stream isn’t yet determined. The show’s co-founder said they won’t set a date until the lineup is in place.
What we do know at this point is that the no-limit hold’em blinds will start at $500/$1,000, but you can expect frequent straddles, the blinds to increase as the session progresses, and potentially upwards of $15 million or more on the table before it’s all said and done. Feldman appeared on the HCL pre-game show on Tuesday afternoon with host Billy “DGAF” to share the announcement.
Shooting for the Stars
Feldman, who along with Nick Vertucci, launched Hustler Casino Live in August 2021, and the live-streamed poker show from Hustler Casino in Los Angeles has since dominated the industry. There’s never been a more popular live-stream show, not even Live at the Bike, which Feldman previously ran.
Last May, HCL hosted the legendary “MrBeast Game,” a table full of YouTube and Twitch mega-stars along with poker pros Phil Hellmuth and Tom Dwan. At one point, viewership reached 37,000 concurrent on HCL’s YouTube channel and over 100,000 across various channels, far and away a poker record. If the show’s producer has any say, the $1 million buy-in game will crush those numbers.
“Our goal is to get more views than the MrBeast game,” Feldman said.
So, who can viewers expect to see competing for unthinkable amounts of money in May? One fan favorite, Alan Keating, is certainly a possibility.
“Keating is a superstar and we want him to be on every one of the biggest shows that we put together,” Feldman said. “And we are confident that we will have him in this game.”
But, as Feldman explained, Keating isn’t locked into the game yet and neither is Eric Persson, another regular in the highest stakes games in Southern California and Las Vegas. But both are on Hustler’s radar.
“We have enough of our local players that we’ll be able to pull this off.”
Although he doesn’t have a lineup ready yet, Feldman expressed confidence in being able to pull it off and put together a roster of players with hefty bankrolls who can also entertain the audience.
“We have enough of our local players that we’ll be able to pull this off,” he confidently stated.
The potential lineup could be a mix of players such as Keating and Persson, mainstream poker legends, and perhaps non-poker celebrities similar to the MrBeast game, which Feldman said he’d love to get.
“We’re going to shoot for the stars.”
On Monday, PokerGO also announced a $1 million buy-in live-stream to air Feb. 17. The lineup will include Persson, Patrik Antonius, MJ Gonzales, Rob Yong, Rick Salomon, and Andrew Robl.
Both games should be highly entertaining and should bring in a massive audience.