Another Boycott Against PokerStars

Another Boycott Against PokerStars
Following the news that Isaac “Ike” Haxton opted not to renew his PokerStars Team Pro Online contract, the effects of changes to the operator's loyalty program are still evident as another round of player boycotting kicked off on January 1st and is expected to continue until this Friday, January 8th. The boycott, organized by WeArePokerPlayers.com, Tiltbook, Gypsy Team and a group of high stakes players, was detailed on a popular poker forum with members planning to not only refuse to play at PokerStars for a week but also withdraw a minimum of 10 percent of their balances on day 1. According to information site Pocket Fives, the boycott has had a minimal impact on PokerStars despite 1,348 players registered to participate a week prior to the start date. In order to have a significant effect on business, a total of somewhere around 10,000 players would be required to cut rake. December's boycott, which last three days (December 1 through December 3, 2015), saw 2,600 players agree to participate and PokerStars reassured players that it would continue to make improvements to its poker offering but would not go back on loyalty program changes. At that time, PokerStars said, "An increase in the number of Supernova Elite, who are on average net withdrawing players, does not provide a financial benefit to us." The impact of the boycotts hasn't been significant enough to influence the company to make changes but at the very least it opens the door to communication. In related news, the first PokerStars Sunday Millions tournament of 2016 saw 6,479 participants, which created a $1,349,000 prize pool. "Noaceforme" of Sweden came out on top following an agreement to a four-way chop late in the game. This saw the first place prize cut down from $205,308.36 to $169,260.23. Additional payouts: “Saitek00" - $135,099.52 "Sheeeeep" - $117,231.37 "Bababooyboff" - $117,792.34
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