Americas Cardroom changing Million Dollar Sunday start times

(PRESS RELEASE) -- The clocks might not change until the first Sunday in November, but Americas Cardroom is making its own time change every Sunday in October. The US-facing online poker site today announced that the Million Dollar Sunday is getting pushed back by 2 hours to 5 p.m. ET. The Sunday Special, the online poker room’s $115,000 guaranteed poker tournament, is also moving up by an hour, from 4 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.

“If you’ve got an alert for the Million Dollar Sunday set in your iPhone, it’s time to adjust it,” said Americas Cardroom spokesperson Michael Harris. “We’re moving it to 5 p.m. ET effective this Sunday, and we’re moving The Sunday Special to 3 p.m. ET. Our new start times should help more players find a seat."

The Million Dollar Sunday is Americas Cardroom's signature tournament that runs every Sunday in October. The online poker tournament features a $1 million guaranteed prize pool, with $200,000 earmarked for first place. The last two Million Dollar Sunday tournaments featured overlays averaging over $211,000, making it one of the best-valued tournaments in the United States.

The prior Million Dollar Sundays kicked off at 3 p.m. ET. The new 5 p.m. ET start time means that more players based in the United States will have the opportunity to sleep in or focus their attention on watching the early NFL games.

Last Sunday’s Million Dollar Sunday featured an overlay of nearly $200,000, fueled by a lack of entries. With the site hit by DDoS attacks in a September Million Dollar Sunday tournament, many players chose to stay away from the $1 million guaranteed tournament.

However, Americas Cardroom’s DDoS Mitigation team did a fantastic job of limiting downtime in the most recent tournament. When the tournament was forced to pause, it was only for 30 or 40 seconds. The reduced entries meant that players had a smaller field to contend with, making it easier to chase that $200,000 first place prize.

However, the later start time could mean a smaller overlay as more players will have an opportunity to play, particularly those on the West Coast who felt the 3 p.m. ET start time (12 p.m. PT) was too early.

More information on the $1 million guaranteed tournament can be found at Americas Cardroom.