When it was announced that PokerStars would celebrate the milestone of dealing its 40 billionth hand this week with among other things, a special Sunday Million that featured a $4,000,000 posted guarantee- as opposed to the regular $1.5 million- many believed there would have to be an overlay.  The previous record for a prize pool for a Sunday Million was $3,875,400, so naturally $4 million seemed somewhat overly ambitious.

A whopping 20,000 players were going to be needed to pay the $200 + $15 buy-in, to cover the ridiculous guarantee, but by the close of registration Sunday afternoon, PokerStars didn't get that many- not even close- they got over 36,000 instead. 

36,169 players to be exact, signed up for yesterday's record setting Sunday Million, creating a total prize pool worth $7,233,800- enough to pay out 5,400 places.  If no deal was made, first place was set to receive over $1,140,000, with five players at the final table guaranteed to earn at least 6-figure returns on their $215 investments.

The difference between the first and ninth place payouts was over $1.1 million, so a final table deal seemed highly likely, however by heads-up play no deal had been reached, meaning online player "RichieRichZH" was eventually able to claim the entire $1,141,510.31 by dispatching his final opponent "lankeshwar," with a pair of 3's vs. Ace-4, in a mega final pot worth more than 113 million in tournament chips.

The final table finish positions for the $4 Million Guarantee Sunday Million were as follows:

1st.  RichieRichZH- $1,141,510.31

2nd.  lankeshwar- $754,774.69

3rd.  petinvest7- $506,366.00

4th.  lirarerik- $282,118.20?

5th.  WNYCEC- $151,909.80

6th.  DerHenker666- $86,805.60

7th.  Jaggy42- $57,870.40

8th.  highplaya- $43,402.80

9th.  Amoneymagnet- $28,935.20

For more information on the Sunday Million, or to sign up for a new PokerStars account through PokerRoad, just click here (new depositors can use promo code "STARS600" for a first deposit bonus of up to $600).


Story by Mark Anderson