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Ramon Colillas Turns Free Entry Into $5.1 Million as Winner of Record-Breaking PokerStars Players Championship
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PokerStars makes six new millionaires
PokerStars (Nasdaq: TSG) (TSE: TSGI), the flagship poker brand of The Stars Group, announced today that Ramon Colillas from Barcelona, Spain, won $5.1 million and was crowned the winner of the PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC), the richest and biggest-ever $25,000 buy-in poker tournament.
Colillas won free entry into the tournament as part of a PokerStars global promotion that awarded 320 people a $30,000 Platinum Pass package, which in addition to free entry, covered travel and hotel accommodations at the Atlantis Resort & Casino in the Bahamas. Colillas topped a field of 1,039 players that produced a record-breaking total prize pool of $26,455,500 and attracted players from all over the globe. As part of the total pool, PokerStars added an extra $1 million to the first-place prize.
PokerStars awarded the 30-year old Spanish native a Platinum Pass after he topped the Campeonato de España de Poker leader board based upon his successful tournament play in a series of PokerStars-sponsored tournaments in Spain. The former fitness trainer converted to a professional poker player at the age of 24.
“A lot of players were saying this was the most important tournament in history, so now it’s only about happiness and enjoying the moment,” Colillas said moments after his win.

Ramon Colillas Turns Free Entry Into $5.1 Million as Winner of Record-Breaking PokerStars Players Championship. Photo credit: Neil Stoddart and Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd.
The runner-up was 26-year-old professional poker player Julien Martini from Paris, France, winning an impressive $2,974,000. Julien was a very composed contender and had attempted to win a Platinum Pass last year in the €1,100 EPT Barcelona National Event, just missing out on the Platinum Pass, but still winning €323,000 for coming in second.
Platinum Pass winner Marc Rivera from The Philippines came in third place with $2,168,000. The 45-year-old won his ticket at the APPT Manila National Main Event with what was then his biggest live cash win. After being introduced to the game 12 years ago by his brother Ashley, who told Rivera he was “going to love it”, the engineer (at the time) has been playing ever since. When not on the felt, Rivera enjoys basketball, watching TV series and spending time at home with his family, playing with his son and daughter.
Not only has Colillas become a millionaire, but five other final table players have also joined the club. The eight-handed final table included US poker pro Scott Baumstein who started amassing live tournament cashes in 2009 and has accrued over $1.9 million in winnings over the past decade, Jason Koonce who had two reported live cashes worth a total $6,426, Marc Perrault who has had a string of hefty online and live cashes dating back to 2012, Farid Jattin, a regular fixture on the live tournament circuit across the United States and who is leading the Colombian all-time money list with over $2.9 million in winnings, and Talal Shakerchi, a businessman from London who has over $6 million in winnings to date. The players all took home cash winnings between $509,000 and $2.1 million for their efforts.
The PSPC made it into the history books with a total prize pool of $26,455,500 awarded to 181 players, smashing the previous $15,495,750 prize pool record for a $25,000 event. Of the Platinum Pass holders, 43 collectively cashed in for nearly $9.8 million, including Jacqueline Burkhart from the United States with $86,400, Atanas Pavlov from Bulgariawith $105,000 and Ireland’s Sven McDermott with $69,100.
PokerStars Director of Poker Marketing, Eric Hollreiser said, “We couldn’t have scripted a better outcome for the tournament and PokerStars congratulates Ramon and all of the competitors for making this an historic event. Ramon’s victory is a reminder that with a dream, some talent and a little luck, poker can change your life. We’re proud to have created a special experience for more than a thousand players, but especially for those like Ramon who had never previously dreamed of playing in such a tournament.”
The poker fun doesn’t stop despite the conclusion of the PSPC. The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) continues with events including the $10,300 buy-in PCA Main Event, $25,000 buy-in PCA High Roller, $100,00 buy-in PCA Super High Roller and $1,100 PCA National. Live updates from the Super High Roller can be read on the PokerStars Blog now and will be live-streamed on PokerStars TV on January 11 and 12.
To keep up to date with all live reports from the PCA visit the PokerStars Blog or watch the live stream daily from 12:30 ET and 13:30 ET on January 16 at PokerStars.TV.
Find out more about Colillas’ win on the PokerStars Blog.
For further information, please contact [email protected]
About PokerStars
PokerStars operates the world’s most popular online poker sites, serving the global poker community. Since it launched in 2001, PokerStars has become the first choice of players all over the world, with more daily tournaments than anywhere else and with the best online security. More than 182 billion hands have been dealt on PokerStars, which is more than any other site.
The Stars Group owns or licenses gaming and related consumer businesses and brands, including PokerStars, PokerStars Casino, BetStars, Full Tilt, Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, Sky Casino, Sky Bingo, Sky Poker and BetEasy as well as live poker tour and event brands, including the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship, European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour, PokerStars Festival and PokerStars MEGASTACK. The Stars Group is one of the world’s most licensed online gaming operators with its subsidiaries collectively holding licenses or approvals in 21 jurisdictions throughout the world, including in Europe, Australia, and the Americas.
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: Ramon Colillas Turns Free Entry Into .1 Million as Winner of Record-Breaking PokerStars Players Championship

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BC.GAME Big Win: Player Turns $20 Into $100K+ on “Majestic Express Gold Run” Slot
Massive 5,026.5x Win on Pragmatic Play’s High-Volatility Slot Makes Headlines
- A BC.GAME player wins $100,530 from a $20 bet on Majestic Express Gold Run by Pragmatic Play.
- The win came with a 5,026.5x multiplier during the bonus round.
- The player is ranked VIP 84 on BC.GAME — one of the highest tiers in its loyalty program.
High Roller Spins $20 Into $100K+
A recent session delivered a standout result: a single $20 spin, a clean bonus entry, and a multiplier that just kept climbing.
The player behind the win is no stranger to high-stakes slots. Public VIP data shows they’re ranked VIP 84 — one of the top tiers on BC.GAME. That level doesn’t come easy, and it usually means one thing: they know exactly what they’re doing.
Users can watch the full replay here: click to view
The Slot That Delivered the Win
Released in 2024, Majestic Express Gold Run is one of Pragmatic Play’s newer titles and is quickly establishing a presence among crypto casino players. Set against a backdrop of gold-laced train tracks, the slot is packed with fast spins, collection mechanics, and a notable bonus potential — up to 20,000x per bet, according to the provider.
It’s bold, direct, and doesn’t waste time — a perfect match for players chasing big moments in a few high-stakes spins.
The Person Behind the Spin
BC.GAME hasn’t shared the identity of the winner — but it is known they’re a VIP 84 high roller, which says a lot in itself.
To reach that level, players typically need to accumulate over 9.2 million XP, which translates to more than $9.2 million in lifetime wagers. At that point, the game’s no longer just about wins — it’s about the perks that come with loyalty.
High-ranking VIPs on BC.GAME unlock a suite of benefits: personalized bonuses, daily rakeback, faster withdrawals, higher-tier lucky draws, and round-the-clock support from a dedicated VIP host. They’re also invited to weigh in on future platform features — a level of access few ever reach.
About BC.GAME
BC.GAME is a leading Web3 entertainment platform that blends blockchain technology with immersive online gaming. Since its launch, BC.GAME has operated with a core focus on community-driven innovation and decentralization, delivering diverse and dynamic experiences to users around the globe.
Supporting hundreds of cryptocurrencies, the platform offers access to over 8,000 slot games, immersive sports betting, BC Originals titles, and more—secured by Provably Fair technology for guaranteed fairness.
With the launch of its native $BC token, BC.GAME is rapidly building a next-generation entertainment ecosystem rooted in transparency, openness, and creative collaboration.
The post BC.GAME Big Win: Player Turns $20 Into $100K+ on “Majestic Express Gold Run” Slot appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Romania Bans Celebrities from Gambling Ads
Celebrities will no longer be able to appear in gambling ads on TV, radio and online, following a decision voted on Wednesday in a public meeting of the National Audiovisual Council of Romania (CAN). The provision is part of a series of amendments that passed the Code of Broadcasting Regulation, the NAC’s secondary legislation.
“It is forbidden to broadcast advertising for gambling featuring public, cultural, scientific, sports or other personalities who, due to their online notoriety, may encourage participation in such games,” says the new Article 110, paragraph 7 of the newly voted Audiovisual Code.
The new provision will become mandatory in a few months, more precisely 90 days after the Audiovisual Code enters into force.
Several amendments were submitted by institutions or gambling companies in an attempt to stop this provision.
Among the challengers were Winbet, which asked the CNA to allow stars to be used at least in “social responsibility” campaigns. So did the Romanian Football Federation, which proposed that personalities should be allowed to appear in awareness or social responsibility campaigns.
Kaizergaming, the Federation of Gambling Organisers and the Romanian Bureau of Transmedia Audit asked for the deletion of the article.
All amendments were unanimously rejected.
The post Romania Bans Celebrities from Gambling Ads appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Vyking Adopts Oracle HeatWave MySQL & Analytics Cloud
Vyking, the next-generation iGaming platform provider, has announced a major infrastructure shift to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), along with the adoption of Oracle HeatWave MySQL and Oracle Analytics Cloud. This move marks a key milestone in Vyking’s commitment to delivering scalable, resilient and insight-driven platform solutions for modern iGaming operators.
By migrating its platform to OCI, Vyking has eliminated its dependence on co-located or on-premises server infrastructure and unlocked a new level of global performance, flexibility and operational efficiency. As a result, OCI will help Vyking enable its customers to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive and regulated digital landscape.
OCI provides Vyking with a secure, scalable, high-performance and cost-efficient cloud infrastructure built for mission-critical workloads. Compared to other hyperscalers, OCI delivers an average cost savings of up to 50% while offering enterprise-grade SLAs, built-in security and global reach.
Vyking can now benefit from OCI’s global network of 200+ live and planned cloud regions as well as its sovereign cloud and data residency capabilities that are essential for regulated iGaming markets. Each Oracle Cloud region offers a consistent set of 200+ enterprise-grade cloud and AI services that will enable Vyking to run its application faster, more securely and for less. With OCI, Vyking can perform its critical iGaming operations that require 99.99% uptime, compliance readiness and dynamic scalability across multiple jurisdictions.
Vyking’s adoption of Oracle HeatWave MySQL enables real-time analytics directly within MySQL, reducing the complexity and latency of traditional ETL workflows. The in-memory accelerator delivers industry-leading query performance, while support for AutoML and generative AI empowers operators with next-level data insights and automation.
“With Oracle HeatWave, we can query over 800 million records in just seconds, giving us a significant edge in running real-time analytical queries directly within MySQL. This level of performance enables us to deliver faster insights and smarter automation for our operators, without the complexity of external analytics engines,” said Helmut Kleinhans, Chief Technology Officer at Vyking.
Additionally, Oracle Analytics Cloud brings powerful AI-driven dashboards and predictive tools to the Vyking ecosystem, allowing business users and analysts to explore data intuitively with natural language queries and rich visualisations.
As Vyking continues to evolve, its Oracle powered cloud-native foundation will ensure clients benefit from greater performance, lower TCO and actionable insights—all delivered with enterprise reliability.
“This move is about more than infrastructure, it’s about unlocking freedom, intelligence, and scale for our operators. Adopting Oracle’s technology allows us to deliver the performance and autonomy today’s iGaming brands need — while laying the foundation for real-time analytics, smarter personalization, and global growth,” said Franz Gerhart, CEO at Vyking.
The post Vyking Adopts Oracle HeatWave MySQL & Analytics Cloud appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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