When the Mexican government stepped in and effectively halted the Latin American Poker Tour Nuevo Vallarta Main Event last Friday (see yesterday's "Madness in Mexico" story), 89 players still had chips. Without a doubt all 89 of those players were looking forward to their shot at claiming an LAPT title, and despite each player receiving a more than fair compensation package from the organizers and PokerStars (each remaining player has been given $5,000, plus a percentage of the total prize pool equal to their share of the total chips in play), there certainly was still some disappointment with the unexpected results of these players' hard fought efforts.

Later on, it was announced that PokerStars would also be giving each player $500 more to thank them for their understanding in the face of such a bizarre situation. As this was a $2,500 + $200 buy-in event, it was generally assumed this was all that would be given.

Today, PokerStars announced they want to do even more. According to recent reports, PokerStars has decided to hold a freeroll for the 89 final players on their free money site PokerStars.net. Once these players, which include Victor Ramdin and WSOP Main Event Champion Greg Raymer, play down to the final nine, the tournament will be paused and they will be flown to Vina del Mar, Chile (the next scheduled LAPT event) for a chance to compete at a live televised final table with PokerStars kicking in an additional $50,000 to juice the pot.

Story by Mark Anderson