If you heard that sonic boom an hour ago, don't fret. It was just the sound of 253,698 pennies dropping into the prize pool of the Common Cents series kickoff. The one-cent buy-in tourney was bound to draw a crowd. With a $100,000 guarantee and $10,000 first prize, anybody with a penny in their account couldn't justify missing it.

While it was an amazing kickoff, it was also something else: a PokerStars record.

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Two years ago, PokerStars hosted a tourney with 225,000 people in it. It was a record to break all records. Today was much bigger than that.

With two hours to go before the the first flop, 227,000 people had signed up. By the first hand, 238,000 people had registered. At the close of late registration one hour later? The field was 253,698.

It will be a bit before we know who will have the distinction of besting the biggest field in online poker history, but whoever does will have turned their penny into $10,000.

The Common Cents series continues all week long with another $150,000 in guaranteed money for your pocket change. Need a PokerStars account to play? Get one here.