GSN World Series of Blackjack - $1,000,000!

2006 June 03, Jonny Vincent

The third season of GSN's World Series of Blackjack will have a total prizepool of $1,000,000 – with the winner taking away a massive $500,000. For the first time in the Series, qualifiers from casinos around the country and online qualifiers will join direct buy-in entrants to contest for the title and the massive first prize.

A number of new features have been added to the format to make the tournament more exciting for spectators like myself who didn't manage to qualify. These features include 'Knockout' cards and Burger King 'Power Chips'. The tournament series will be televised on GSN in one-hour segments and the initial word is that the added features will add great excitement and entertainment for viewers.

The new qualification structure features players who won tournaments at their local officially sanctioned casinos across the country. The field has been capped at 40 players, with two very lucky AOL subscribers qualifying their way through a field of over 300,000 entries. The massive response to AOL qualifying should prove there is massive interest in blackjack for this new series. The remaining seats were filled by the returning champion from last year and other top ranked blackjack tournament pros.

The show begins at 10pm ET (9pm CT). The host will be John Fugelsang (who has appeared on numerous TV shows including 'America's Funniest Home Videos') and commentators will include Ben Mezrich, the world-famous author of 'Bringing Down the House' – the fascinating book about the young MIT team who caused havoc in casinos across the country with their mathematically based blackjack card-counting skills and their techniques they used to escape detection and subsequent banning. 'Bringing Down the House' is being made into a feature film starring Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey.

There's a lot of people who think blackjack could turn out to be the next big thing after the poker rush subsides. GSN's 3rd series may well turn out to be the catalyst. All the best to the 40 entrants who will be contesting for the World Title!

Ed note: See what all the Blackjack fuss is about at Kiwi Casino.