Steps to Future High Rollers?

No plans for today? Have $25,000 laying around? You’re in luck, ARIA has scheduled an impromptu $25K High Roller to extend the series another day. Don’t have any plans but also don’t have $25,000 laying around? Today you are out of luck, in the future, you may have opportunities to play with the best.

Yesterday, East Coast professional Tim Reilly, who has over $1,000,000 in career earnings in both the live and online tournament arenas, brought up the idea of High Roller feeder satellites on Twitter. The concept was $250 single table satellites, that lead to $2,500 single table satellites, that win players entry into the $25K High Rollers.

Almost immediately, ARIA’s Sean McCormack put out a poll on Twitter, asking if players would be interested in Steps Single Table Satellites. The poll has been up for almost 15 hours and so far, the overwhelming majority is in favor of the idea.

Would you be interested in playing a steps single table satellite into a $25,000 @ARIAPoker High Roller? Ex. $250 >> $2500 >> $25,000 seat

— Sean McCormack (@ThePokerBoss) March 25, 2017

While yesterday’s ARIA High Roller played towards the end of late registration, we caught up with Reilly, who was at ARIA playing cash, to hear the whole story. 

“It just kind of hit me today, seeing these events since I just moved out to Vegas and I’m here so often. There are a lot of people willing to play $250 sit & go’s, winner goes on.” Reilly said, before adding, “ARIA is packed every night and in a week’s time, you could be playing with the likes of Scott Seiver and Bryn Kenney. Sounds like a Vegas dream to me.”

Reilly, who has experience traveling the globe and playing in some of the world’s biggest events, mentioned that few players have the bankrolls to play High Roller events. Conversely, mid-stakes grinders and players right under the High Roller level, like himself, would certainly play the satellites and potentially find some value from those steps.

“I think it is a win-win, I kind of just thought of it last minute. ‘Why don’t they have some sort of step program?’ I shot it out there to The Boss and it looks like people are loving the idea. Hopefully they go through with it and I’ll definitely be there for the first one for sure.”

Whether ARIA and Sean McCormack’s team elect to implement a steps system for future High Roller events remains to be seen. If they do, Reilly and plenty of others could get their chance in some of poker’s biggest events and live out their own Vegas dreams.