With the start of the F1 Austin weekend, Global Poker is hosting its penultimate Grand Prix Turbo Series of tournaments, with 250,000 Sweeps Coins in prizes, plus individual leaderboards. The event actually consists of two similar series, one using Sweeps Coins (SCs, which can be redeemed for cash prizes) and the other using Gold Coins (GCs), which are just for fun. Both series run from Friday, Oct. 18, to Sunday, Oct. 20. Total prize pools for the Gold Coin series amount to 125 million GC.
The United States Grand Prix has been hosted in Austin every year since 2012, except for 2020 when it had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Team Ferrari is coming into the race with two of its drivers in the top five for the 2024 standings: Charles Leclerc of Monaco is in third, while teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. of Spain is in fifth. They’ll be trying to chase down Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, representing Red Bull Racing.
Grand Prix Turbo Series consists of 12 tournaments: four each on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with Gold Coin and Sweeps Coin versions of each. The first event will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET today, while the Main Event for each series starts at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The schedule (available in full below) consists entirely of Turbo-speed events, in keeping with the pace of F1 racing. However, Global Poker is mixing it up with different formats like Mystery Bounty Turbo, Deepstack Turbo, and Progressive Bounty Turbo events.
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Grand Prix Turbo Series Details
This Austin Edition of Grand Prix Turbo Series is the third of four for the year. Previous stops were Miami in May and Montreal in June. The final stop will be Las Vegas in November. Each edition has its own leaderboards, offering prizes and a path to qualification for the year-end Home Stretch Tournament.
The Sweeps Coin Main Event’s 100,000 SC prize pool makes up 40% of the total prizes for the series. On the Gold Coin side of things, the Main Event offers 50 million GCs in prizes. The top 10 finishers in the SC leaderboards will receive prizes ranging from 50 SC to 700 SC, plus Team Ferrari-branded merchandise and their shot at the Home Stretch Tournament. Gold Coin leaderboard winners get between 50,000 GC and 700,000 GC, plus merch and Home Stretch qualification.
The top ten on each leaderboard will qualify for the Home Stretch Tournament on December 1. There, they’ll compete against the top players from all previous editions of the Grand Prix Turbo Series—40 players total. The Scuderia Ferrari Hospitality Experience goes to the winner of the Sweeps Coin Home Stretch Tournament, consisting of an invitation for two to a North American Grand Prix of their choice, plus $3,000 towards airfare and hotel. The second and third-place winners will receive 3,000 SC and 1,000 SC, respectively. The top ten finishers also receive a Ferrari jacket, shirt, and cap. The remainder of the field will get a free 99 SC tournament entry as a consolation prize.
Meanwhile, the Gold Coin event winner will receive 6 million GC plus a Global Poker Grand Prix Turbo Series hoodie, T-shirt, and socks. The second-place winner will get 3 million GC, and the third-place winner will get 1 million GC.
Global Poker’s Relationship with Formula One
Global Poker’s parent company, VGW, became a Premium Partner of Ferrari in March 2023. As well as marketing opportunities like the Grand Prix Turbo Series, that has meant putting VGW’s logo onto Ferrari’s F1 cars and driver uniforms.
VGW is the US market leader in the sweepstakes-based social gaming space, with Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots also being part of its portfolio.
Once a niche sport in the US, Formula One is quickly gaining popularity with Americans. According to a Morning Consult report, 28% of US adults consider themselves F1 fans. The same report also found that fandom rose 33% from 2020 to 2022. The 2022 race in Austin broke F1’s all-time attendance record, with over 440,000 fans attending over the three-day weekend. The 2023 attendance was similarly huge, making it the biggest race of the year, so we can expect a crowd this year as well.
Austin’s success has led to the launch of two additional US races: Miami and Las Vegas. As a result, VGW isn’t the only gaming operator seeking out marketing opportunities with F1 teams. PokerStars sponsors Red Bull, which equipped its cars with PokerStars wheel covers last year in Las Vegas and drove one across the gaming floor at the Wynn. Meanwhile, Entain, the co-owner of BetMGM Casino, sponsors McLaren.
Grand Prix Turbo Series—Austin Edition Schedule
Below is the full series schedule for the Austin Edition of Global Poker’s Grand Prix Turbo Series.
| # | Date | Time (ET) | Format | Buy-In | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fri, 18 Oct | 7:30 p.m. | Mystery Bounty Turbo | 11 SC | 8,000 SC |
| 2 | Fri, 18 Oct | 8:30 p.m. | Mystery Bounty Turbo | 33 SC | 15,000 SC |
| 3 | Fri, 18 Oct | 9:30 p.m. | Mystery Bounty Turbo | 99 SC | 30,000 SC |
| 4 | Fri, 18 Oct | 10:30 p.m. | Mystery Bounty Turbo | 11 SC | 5,000 SC |
| 5 | Sat, 19 Oct | 3:00 p.m. | Progressive Bounty Deep Turbo | 11 SC | 6,000 SC |
| 6 | Sat, 19 Oct | 4:00 p.m. | Progressive Bounty Deep Turbo | 33 SC | 12,000 SC |
| 7 | Sat, 19 Oct | 5:00 p.m. | Progressive Bounty Deep Turbo | 99 SC | 25,000 SC |
| 8 | Sat, 19 Oct | 6:00 p.m. | Progressive Bounty Deep Turbo | 11 SC | 4,000 SC |
| 9 | Sun, 20 Oct | 3:00 p.m. | Rebuy (1R1A) Turbo | 11 SC | 10,000 SC |
| 10 | Sun, 20 Oct | 4:00 p.m. | Rebuy (1R1A) Turbo | 33 SC | 25,000 SC |
| 11 | Sun, 20 Oct | 5:00 p.m. | MAIN EVENT - Rebuy (1R1A) Turbo | 99 SC | 100,000 SC |
| 12 | Sun, 20 Oct | 6:00 p.m. | Rebuy (1R1A) Turbo | 11 SC | 10,000 SC |
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