The 2010 Irish Poker Festival was a smash success with 633 contestants in just the main event, which featured a massive €250,000 prize pool. Building off last year’s success, the 2011 Irish Poker Festival will again feature a €250,000 guarantee for the four-day main event, which runs from September 29 through October 2. Last year’s main event champion, Swedish player Lars Törngren, cashed for €75,000, a first place prize sure to be exceeded this year. With money like that at stake, the festival is likely to be even bigger in size than last year.

Ladbrokes has been running qualifiers for the Irish Poker Festival for some time now, with a number of packages already awarded. However, the site will continue its promotions, with many future chances to get in on the action. Ladbrokes is featuring the Killarney 2011 package, which includes a main event seat (€500), three nights at Gleneagle Hote in Killarney, €150 in expenses, transport to and from Kerry airport, and “fast track” sign-in on the first day of the main event.

Susanna Havukainen from Ladbrokes commented, “We are delighted with the response to online qualifications for this year’s Ladbrokes Poker Festival so customers should hurry if they want to qualify or buy-in for this year’s event. We are also delighted to be able to offer a pass to this weekend’s Summer Poker Festival satellite tournament – it really could be a double celebration for one lucky customer this weekend.”