Despite its huge player base, Zynga Poker has been a virtually unheard of entity in the online poker industry…. until now. With 38 million players, Zynga Poker is in fact the largest poker site available and it is about to stage its first live poker event.

With 7.6 million players that log on to Zynga Poker every day, you may be surprised to learn that until this weekend, they have never hosted a live poker event. The first Zynga PokerCon is going to take place at Palms Casino as a way for Zynga players to branch out from online poker.

Lo Toney, Zynga Poker's General Manager stated: "So many fans are so passionate about Zynga Poker and we wanted to reward them and give something back to their community." He continued that this event is a way to "have our fans meet and interact with us; interact with each other. A lot of our fans are serious poker players, but for a lot of people, this is new."

The PokerCon event allowed players to buy $125 tickets online with 500 tickets having been sold. The tickets will provide entry into the tournament, as well as other events such as a poker clinic led by Annie Duke, a performance by B.o.B.Yes and a party with poker pros including Mike Sexton and David Williams.

Toney described the aims of the live event when he said, "Our first focus is to provide the best experience as we have the largest audience. Give back to the fans, get feedback and …… incorporate their feedback into the game." He continued that PokerCon is a "great way for Zynga Poker to reach out and embrace the poker community. Many people who have played against each other [online] haven't had the opportunity to meet. This will be an opportunity for them to meet in person at [the tables] and some of our exclusive parties."

Zynga Poker has been running online qualifiers for the live PokerCon event with winners being awarded free entry into the tournament. One lucky winner has earned an automatic spot at the final table to play for the $100,000 prize pool.