Tuesday marked the start of PocketFives’ first live poker festival. The site: Running Aces Harness Park outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Twenty-six events are on tap in total, including a special $300 Pro Bounty this weekend and a $750 Main Event that starts on April 11. View the schedule.

“The excitement has been big,” Chris FoxWallace, who is organizing the series of live events for PocketFives, commented. “A lot of people are excited about the way the schedule is set up. Four events in one day this Sunday is a big deal. Having Danielle Anderson show up with swag from the ‘Bet Raise Fold’ movie for the Pro Bounty is a big deal. Once the word gets out, the tournaments will grow.”

The Pro Bounty has a buy-in of $300 and starts this Saturday, April 5, at 4:00pm local time. “A lot of people are asking about it,” Wallace said. “It’s a chance for people to play with people they never have before. Danielle, for example, has never played at Running Aces. To have a shot at knocking out a pro and claiming a prize is a big deal. There’s a lot of stuff in our bounty package.”

The package for bounty winners includes PocketFives Gear as well as swag from companies like Blue Shark Optics. Anderson(pictured) will fork over a signed copy of “Bet Raise Fold” and Wallace is dishing out signed copies of his book, among other items.

Another tournament fetching a considerable amount of buzz is the series’ Main Event, whose Day 1A is Friday, April 11. The tournament has two starting days, with Day 2 taking place on Sunday, April 13. You can literally play in the Main Event over the weekend and not miss any work.

“We felt like $750 was a good number,” Wallace said of the featured event’s buy-in. “With a $750 price tag, we can satellite people in cheaper, get a bigger field, and have a more fun event. A lot of people responded positively to it. Registration will be open until the second break of both starting days. Day 1B on Saturday will start at 2:00pm and Day 2 starts at 2:00pm on Sunday, so people can get a reasonable amount of sleep in between.”

“I think the Main Event will have a big field,” Wallace previewed. “There’s not a lot going on that weekend to draw people away from it.” Check out PocketFives’ Live Events page for the full schedule and hotel information if you’re coming in from out of town.

Two events were held on the first day of the PocketFives Live stop at Running Aces on Tuesday. Tony Lazar, a member of the famed “Crew,” won Event #1, which was chopped five ways. Lazar took down a HORSE event and a Main Event at Running Aces in March, so he is certainly on a tear. The daily Turbo Double Stack, which has a $175 buy-in, was also held on Tuesday.

For updates, check out our Live Events pageand follow @p5spt on Twitter.

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