Unibet has selected the 60,000-seat Celtic Park stadium for its Unibet Open poker festival this year, the first time in the nine year history of the live-streamed event that it will visit Scotland.
Built 123 years ago, the famous stadium has seen many epic games between top football teams, with the best known the regular clashes involving home team Celtic and arch rivals Glasgow Rangers.
This year a special “Unibet Sports Legends Challenge” will see top sports personalities playing in the poker events, Unibet events manager Nataly Sopacuaperu revealed this week.
“We believed hosting a poker tournament at one of Europe’s premier football stadiums would be the perfect opportunity to host a sit-and-go with some great sports personalities,” Sopacuaperu said. “They have the discipline and drive to win, and with the stadium as a backdrop we think this will produce some exciting poker action.”
This Saturday Rangers defender, Arthur Numan will be pitted against face former Celtic striker Tony Cascarino. Cascarino won the Grosvenor Poker Tour Grand Final for GBP 168,800, and can boast three cashes that include a European Poker Tour main event pay day. Also playing are Newcastle United star Rob Lee, Chelsea ace Pat Nevin, Denmark’s Kenneth Perez, Martijn Reuser, Tommie van der Leegte, and former England cricketer Graeme Swann.
“Unlike your usual poker stream, this will be a special event to follow, as we will have hole cards up throughout the sit-and-go, and we’re expecting to see lots of friendly banter at the table,” said Sopacuaperu.
The event will be live-streamed on Unibet Poker’s YouTube and Twitch channels starting at 3:30 p.m. Central European Time.
The Open at Celtic Park will also feature a Euro 1,100 buy-in main event live streamed between June 6 and 9, and on the same day the Unibet Live Betting Championship will be held for 10 online qualifiers.
On the social side, there will be facilities to view the Champions League Final, which will be followed by the company’s bash at the Corinthian Club.