INFORMATION

 

 

General information

The Irish government has lifted enough restrictions to allow IPO 2021 to go ahead as planned.  There are some restrictions and guidelines still in place that we have to adhere to but nothing that prevents the event from going ahead.  The IPO is a large event which requires a lot of planning and preparation.  During the planning of the IPO we worked tirelessly to anticipate and meet whatever challenges we may face as we come into an unknown and unpredictable set of circumstances.  Our planning has all complied with the government’s restrictions and guidelines which means most of what we’ve been advertising for the past six months will remain unchanged.  Please read the information below carefully so you are fully informed as to how IPO 2021 will proceed.  With player cooperation, we feel we are in a good position to host a fantastic poker event for everyone who takes part.

Please note:  You must bring a valid government-issued photo ID or you will not be permitted inside.

I look forward to welcoming you to Dublin and IPO 2021

Nick O’Hara, IPO Event Director

 

This is an evolving situation and not all of the information has been completely clarified so some of the finer points are still unclear.  The government are slowly releasing information which will clarify some elements; we will update you here as soon as we have relevant information so please check this page regularly

Contents

1. Vaccine cert & PCR tests.
2. Masks
3. Capacity & Seat availability
4. Unibet Online Qualifiers
5. Direct buy-in to Main Event on Unibet
6. LuxonPay buy-ins
7. Car parking
8. When you arrive at Bonnington Hotel
9. Playing players only inside the poker room
10. Limited cash on premises & max-cash payout
11. TV Stream, Photography and blogging

 

 

1.  Vaccine cert & PCR tests

Players who wish to enter the poker room must show government issued photo ID and one of the following …
A)  Vaccine cert OR
B)  Valid recovery cert no later than six months old OR
C) Negative PCR test dated no earlier than 48 hours prior to initial entrance into the poker room.

Once these documents are checked and accepted, the player will receive a green IPO wristband to be worn throughout the event.  No player will be granted entry into the poker room on any day without the green wristband.

Note:  We have electronic devices connected to the online live covid cert checker.  All vaccine certs, recovery certs and PCR certs will be checked for validity.  Neither the IPO nor any staff members will be responsible for any errors resulting from your document not being recognised.  If your document is not recognised, you will not be permitted inside the building and any prepaid buy-in will be returned to you.  This is laid out under government legislation and – under no circumstances – will anyone gain entry to the venue if their certificate fails this electronic check.  We will not have resources on-site to help with any issues relating to errors.

Getting a local PCR Test: GoSafe48 offers a same-day PCR service (results in 4-8 hours, £69 cost) and is located in Rosemount Business Park just a short drive away from the Bonnington.

2.  Masks

The wearing of masks while seated at the poker tables is not compulsory but is recommended. Under current legislation, you must wear a mask at all times if you are NOT seated at the table.  The only exceptions to this will be for those who have approved documentation clearly stating and proving a disability that prevents the wearing of a mask.  All players should bring their own masks to the event as we only have a limited number available to give out.  Any person who fails to obey the rules on masks will be ejected from the venue and removed from any tournament they are playing without any refund.

 

3.  Capacity & Seat availability

There are five Live Day 1’s in the IPO Main Event.

Below are details of tournament capacity and the estimated number of sold and available seats.  We will endeavour to keep this information up to date and will list the time and date of the last update.

Last updated at 07:00 Friday 22nd October

Friday 22nd, 12:00,  Day 1B with seating capacity of 450.  Circa 200 seats sold and 150 remaining

Friday 22nd, 20:00,  Day 1C with estimated seating capacity of 190. – 25 seats sold and 165 remaining

Saturday 23rd, 12:00, Day 1D with seating capacity of 450.  Circa 275 seats sold and 175 remaining

Saturday 23rd, 20:00, Day 1E with estimated seating capacity of 180 – 220.  10 seats sold and 200 remaining

Sunday 24th, 09:00, Day 1F with estimated seating capacity of 100.  0 seats sold and 100 remaining

 

Seats are selling fast and we encourage all players to register in advance of the event to ensure you have a seat.  We fully expect Saturday’s Day 1D to be a sell out and possibly Friday’s Day 1B.  Avoid disappointment and register now.  All information about registering can be found here.

 

4  Unibet Online Qualifiers

All players who won a Main Event seat via Unibet online qualifiers won a token to the online Day 1A which ran on Unibet at 21:00 Irish time Sunday 17th October.  All seat winners had the option to use this token to register in the online Day 1 or keep it and use it to enter any of the live Day 1’s at the venue.

I used my token to Play online Day 1A and did not survive –  you are out of the tournament and have the option to buy-in using your own funds.

I used my token to Play online Day 1A and survived – You are through to Day 2 which starts at 12:00 on Sunday 24th October.  Your name and chip count will be listed in the Day 2 seatdraw and your chips with tournament ticket will be in a sealed bag on the table at your seat – Good luck 😉

I did not use my token to play online Day 1A – You can arrive at the poker venue on any of the live Day 1’s and use your token there.  We have reserved enough seats for Unibet online qualifiers so you are guaranteed a seat upon your arrival.  Please go to the “Ticket Collection” desk and collect your tournament ticket with seat assignment, Good luck 😉

I qualified on Unibet multiple times and still have more than one unused token – You will have the option to use the €300 credit any way you like…  Re-Entry, Side Event buy-in, etc.  The €300 value on unused buy-ins will be deposited into your Unibet account in Tournament Dollars.  This will take a few days to complete after IPO has ended.

 

5  Direct buy-in to Main Event on Unibet

Unibet has sent us a full list of all players who paid for their tournament entry as a direct buy-in including which Day 1 they bought in to.  We have reserved enough seats for Unibet Direct buy-ins so you are guaranteed a seat upon your arrival.  Please go to the “Ticket Collection” desk and collect your tournament ticket with seat assignment, Good luck 😉

 

6  LuxonPay buy-in’s

We have a full list of all the players who paid for their tournament entry via the LuxonPay app. We have reserved enough seats for all players who registered and paid through LuxonPay so you are guaranteed a seat upon your arrival.  Please go to the “Ticket Collection” desk and collect your tournament ticket with seat assignment, Good luck 😉

 

7  Car parking

The car park in Bonnington hotel is significantly smaller now than it used to be.   There is very limited parking available at the hotel venue and it is usually full.  There is  a free public car park at Whitehall crossroads (Google maps link) just 8 minutes walk away.

 

8  When you arrive at the Bonnington Hotel

Vaccine Check – You must have valid government issued photo ID to enter the venue.  The only entrance that players will be permitted to use to enter the hotel is Main Reception.  You will enter the hotel here and once inside, you be greeted by our Vaccine cert check team.  They will scan the QR code on your vaccine cert, valid recovery cert or negative PCR cert and verify your photo ID.  Once your cert has been confirmed as valid you will be given a green IPO wristband which proves to all our staff that your vaccine cert has been validated.  You must wear this wristband at all times and will be asked to display it each time you walk through the entrance into the poker room.

Temperature Check – After you have your green wristband, follow the signs pointing to the IPO poker room.  At the entrance to the poker room, you will meet our temperature check team.  They will use a handheld infrared thermometer to read your body temperature from a distance of approximately 15cm.  The normal body temperature is 37 degrees Celcius.  If a person’s temperature is within normal range, they will be given a second IPO wristband to wear for that day.  You must wear this wristband throughout the day to show our staff your temperature has been checked and is in the normal range.  A person’s temperature is considered high with a potential fever at around 38 degrees or above.  If any person presents a high temperature, our team will work with you to see if it’s just due to exercise, a high room temperature, etc.  We will investigate and retest to see if the temperature drops down to normal or not.  We cannot permit anyone inside the poker venue who is presenting an unexplained high temperature.  The person will be offered a free, on-site antigen test in private.  If the test is positive, then that person will need to go for a PCR test and will not be permitted into the poker venue.  If the antigen test is negative, we will work with you to investigate why there is a high temperature and see if it comes back to normal.

IPO and its representatives reserve the right to make the final decision on whether or not a person will be permitted inside the poker venue.

Please note that all staff will also be undergoing the exact same testing procedures as players. Measures have also been taken to reduce staff contact; for more details, please see our dedicated Covid page.

9  Players only inside the poker room

There will be no spectators or non-playing people allowed inside the poker room other than staff.  This is in line with government guidance to minimise the number of people and potential risk at an indoor event.

 

10 Limited cash on site & max-cash payout

Due to the unusually high volume of pre-paid players and qualifiers along with our own security measures, there is a very limited amount of cash held on-site.  This escalates the need for a large percentage of tournament payouts to be paid by bank transfer.  Tournament prize winners will be offered a maximum cash payout accompanied by the remaining balance being paid by bank transfer or Luxon transfer.  All transfers will be made within five days after the completion of IPO 2021.

 

11  TV stream, photography and blogging

There will be a wide range of media staff ranging from live/recorded TV stream, photography and blogging on social media platforms. Your image, name, nationality and chip count may be recorded and posted on various social media platforms.  Official tournament results will be published on the Hendon Mob, IPO website and social media platforms.