PokerStars Adds 25K REG Charity Event to EPT Barcelona Schedule
On Friday, August 24 at 1 p.m. PokerStars and REG Charity once again join forces to host a special 25K REG Charity event during EPT Barcelona. The buy-in will be set at EUR 26,000, with 25k going into the prize pool and 1k to charity.
There will be unlimited re-entries, big blind ante and a thirty-second shot-clock, as well as a special structure that allows for deeper play at the beginning, as well as on the final table. Players will have lunch, dinner and drinks served during the tournament. Levels will be 20 minutes each and late registration will be open until the end of level 9.
REG (Raising for Effective Giving), founded by PokerStars Team Pro's Igor Kurganov and Liv Boeree, as well as Philipp Gruissem and Stefan Huber, has selected two charitable projects as beneficiaries of the donations. All donations will be split evenly between the Foundational Research Institute, which is working to prevent dystopian outcomes from advanced technology, and the Humane Slaughter Association, which is dedicated to minimizing suffering for animals during slaughter.
"With the help of partnering organisations, REG Charity identifies the most effective charities across human, animal and research areas," Kurganov explained the charity's goals. "Currently, the chosen two orgs seem to be exceptionally low-hanging fruit"
"I like to focus on underfunded and important causes," Kurganov added when asked about the choice for these specific two charities. The lives of future generations (far) outnumber current lives today and we affect them greatly. FRI [Foundational Research Institute] focuses on research and policy advice to reduce risks from emerging technologies and astronomical suffering in the future. They are cause-neutral, meaning that they focus on whichever research area has the highest EV in terms of suffering reduction."
"HSA [Humane Slaughter Association] has a great track record of working with governments and using tech advancements to increase the welfare of farm animals. Given the vast numbers of 50-100 billion land animals and over 100 billion fish that are slaughtered each year, a more humane treatment of those food animals affects tons of lives and is quite cheap," the REG Charity co-founder told PokerNews.
It's the fourth time PokerStars and REG Charity join forces with a special 25K event. Earlier events took place during the 2017 SCOOP, the 2017 WCOOP and the 2018 PCA. In total, over $250,000 has been raised for REG's recommended charities. In January, Stefan Schillhabel won the live 25K event at the 2018 PCA for $213,977.
Kurganov is excited for the special tournament that commences on Friday, August 24 at 1 p.m. "High Rollers are fun already - when you add a charity element to them and add food and especially drinks you get the best atmosphere you can find at a poker table. Playing a high buy-in, that's fast-paced with the entire rake going to charity is as good as a tournament can get!"
For more information about the organisations, visit:
HSA: https://www.hsa.org.uk/
FRI: https://foundational-research.org/
REG: https://reg-charity.org/