World Poker Tour returns to The Venetian Las Vegas

The World Poker Tour continues to expand its 2022 schedule with the $5,000 buy-in WPT Venetian Las Vegas beginning on 12 July, which will have a $4,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. This marks the largest prize pool guarantee ever for a WPT Main Tour stop at The Venetian Las Vegas.

Additional WPT events will be hosted from 7 July - 17 July, as part of the DeepStack Championship Poker Series, beginning with a 1-day $1,100 buy-in event. Other notable tournaments include the aforementioned $5,000 buy-in Main Event, a $2,400 buy-in 3-day tournament beginning on July 8, and another single-day $1,100 buy-in event on 11 July.

“We look forward to continuing to build upon our storied history of premier tournament poker at The Venetian Resort this summer”, said Adam Pliska, CEO of World Poker Tour. “I am confident that players will be impressed by our joint efforts with The Venetian Resort to make this event bigger and better than ever.”

The most recent WPT tournament at The Venetian Resort was in July 2021, where the $5,000 Main Event approached 1200 entries for a prize pool of over $5,500,000. Chad Eveslage of Muncie, Indiana, was the eventual champion, taking home $910,370 and joining the ranks of the other winners in the WPT Champions Club.

Entrants into all events on the DeepStack Championship Poker Series schedule will be eligible for the WPT Player of the Festival leaderboard, which awards a $1,100 WPT Passport to the player with the most points over the course of each tournament festival.

“We’ve created another exciting summer for poker players at The Venetian Resort,” said Tommy LaRosa, tournament director for The Venetian Poker Room. “The DeepStack Championship Poker Series is a must-play series every summer and adding four WPT events furthers our commitment to offering our players as many options as possible when planning their summers in Las Vegas.” Since the first WPT Main Tour stop at Venetian in 2019, WPT events have cleared millions of dollars in prize pools across all held tournaments. WPT’s $5,000 buy-in events at The Venetian Resort in March and July of 2021 cleared $4 million and $5 million prize pools, respectively.

Players can qualify for the WPT Venetian Las Vegas Main Event through ClubWPT, which will award two $7,000 Main Event seat packages to ClubWPT players in the month of April.

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World Poker Tour to hit Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant

Excitement is stacking up in our poker room as Choctaw Casino Resort - Durant hosts the World Poker Tour. On Thursday, 28 April to Sunday, 15 May, the WPT will provide an exciting schedule of events for poker players from around the country.

This year, Bally Sports will exclusively broadcast the 2022 WPT at Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant.

“At Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant our goal is to provide the best poker tournament experience to our guests and players from around the world,” states Bob Barnes, table games manager at Choctaw Casino & Resort- Durant. “We’re excited to offer players and spectators the opportunity to watch our live poker tournament as it elevates the poker experience and takes our WPT to the next level.”

Primary events kick off with a $300 buy-in featuring four opening flights and a $50,000 guarantee. The championship event will take place Friday, 13 May to Monday, 16 May and will play down to the final six players with a $3,800 buy-in and a $2 million guarantee. The final six players will advance on to the E-Sports Arena at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on 26 May.

Each tournament throughout the tour will have a guarantee, making the prize pool total more than $3 million.

Registration will be available on 21 April on Ticketmaster. Hotel Rates start at $119 Sunday through Thursday. For reservations, call 888.652.4628 and mention offer Code "WPT22".

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Ferro wins World Poker Tour Player of the Year

(via twitter)

Jake Ferro, a 32-year-old poker player originally from Syracuse, NY has captured the World Poker Tour Season XIX Player of the Year award by edging out WPT Champions Club members with a deep run in the final event of the season.

“The WPT Player of the Year race came down to the wire and Jake’s determination in the final event makes him a fantastic winner,” said Adam Pliska, World Poker Tour CEO. “It was an exciting way to close out Season XIX and certainly raises the bar for what will be an historic 20th anniversary season.”

Ferro cashed in three WPT events in Season XIX. The highlight of his performance came at the Seminole Rock 'N' Roll Poker Open in November when he outlasted 1,564 other entries before finishing runner-up to Gediminas Uselis. That result earned Ferro $573,605 and 1,200 POY points and set up the exciting finish at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in December where his 14th place finish earned him 300 more points and propelled him to the top of the leaderboard.

“I’m thrilled to have won WPT Player of the Year for Season XIX and am definitely looking forward to playing more World Poker Tour events in 2022,” said Ferro. “It would have been a dream come true to have etched my name on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, but coming so close only makes me hungrier for the coming season.”

Along with the title, Ferro also earned a WPT Passport worth $15,000 that can be used on any Season XX events. He’ll also receive VIP treatment throughout the upcoming season, with complimentary accommodations and ground transportation at WPT Main Tour events.

Rok Gostisa, Chad Eveslage, and Brian Altman all tied for the second highest point total. Gostisa, who won the WPT World Online Championships Main Event in September, finished as the official runner-up after having won the most money amongst the three, while Eveslage finished in third place. Gostisa earned a $7,500 WPT Passport and Eveslage walked away with a $2,500 WPT Passport.

Albert Knafo earned the WPTDeepStacks North America Player of the Year award on the strength of his victory in the WPTDeepStacks Venetian in July. Knafo received a $10,000 WPT Passport which can be used in any WPT event worldwide. Albert Shainiuk finished just 50 points behind Knafo and won a $3,500 WPT Passport while Jason Young came in third place and won a $1,500 WPT Passport.

Season XX of the World Poker Tour begins later this month with the Lucky Hearts Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and will feature an updated Player of the Year system which will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

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World Poker Tour to make stop at Las Vegas Strip

The World Poker Tour returns to the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for the Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event from 15-19 December. This event brings Season XIX to a close as the WPT ushers in a new era in 2022 in line with its 20th anniversary.

The $10,400 buy-in event, which has been a WPT staple since the first season in 2002, will be the final event of Season XIX. The final table will be filmed for broadcast at the HyperX Esports Arena at Luxor Hotel & Casino, and will air on Bally Sports at a later date.

“The Bellagio holds special significance for the World Poker Tour,” said Adam Pliska, WPT President and CEO. “The Five Diamond World Poker Classic was the first World Poker Tour event, and it seems fitting to finish our current season there before launching our historical 20th season in January.”

The last time the WPT was at the Bellagio was in December 2019 when Alex Foxen came out on top of the 1,035-entry field in the Season XVIII Five Diamond World Poker Classic to win $1,694,995 and his first WPT title.

The WPT Season XIX Player of the Year race will also conclude at the Bellagio. Through six events this season, there is a three-way tie for first between Brian Altman, Rok Gostisa, and Chad Eveslage with 1,450 points each. WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open champion Gediminas Uselis is just 50 points behind.

“We are thrilled to be able to finish our season with a showcase event with one of our longest running partners,” said Angelica Hael, WPT VP of Global Tour Management. “From there, we are ready to head into Season XX and put an even bigger spotlight on our partners, our champions, and our tour.”

Starting in Season XX, all WPT seasons will now begin in January and run through December, marking a change from the previous schedule which typically began each spring. The first event on the Season XX calendar is the Lucky Hearts Poker Open which runs 13-26 January at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL.

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First WPT Main Tour stop coming to Florida casino

First ever World Poker Tour main tour event is coming to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa kicking off on Wednesday, 9 June and runs through Tuesday, 22 June after a run of WPTDeepStacks events dating back to June 2016. Primary events kick off with a $500 Buy-in featuring seven opening flights and a $1 Million guarantee opener. The main event will take place Friday, 18 June through Tuesday, 22 June with a $3,500 Buy-in and a $2 Million guarantee.

Players will find safe and socially distant tournament play with the Hard Rock’s Safe + Sound initiative. In addition to thermal temperature scanning upon entry and mandatory masks/face coverings policy for all guests and team members, all tables are outfitted with protective Plexiglas between dealer and players, and in between players. Each table will be played eight-handed, as opposed to the standard nine-handed to encourage social distancing. All chips and cards will undergo routine cleaning, and all areas will be sanitized once a player leaves the table and before another sits.

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World Poker Tour President speaks on upcoming events

For 18 years the WPT has provided a unique player and fan-friendly environment within our industry. It has also adapted to multiple changes throughout the gaming landscape as they have arisen.

Due to the evolving circumstances surrounding the current crisis, the WPT will postpone its televised final tables set to tape between 31 March and 2 April at HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas. With public health welfare a priority and in line with government and agency directives, we will tentatively look to hold these tables in May with our second set of televised final tables. Further, we will communicate any other schedule changes to ongoing tournaments and events on WPT.com.

We are cognizant of the impact current conditions have on the industry as a whole, and we commend our casino partners on their deliberate action to protect their guests and employees by temporarily postponing their events and in many cases closing their doors.

With in-person play severely curtailed, we are introducing our first WPT Online Series on partypoker in May. Further, the WPT has increased the number and size of events and promotions on ClubWPT to the highest level in its 10-year history.

And finally, we will be airing new episodes on FSN, as well as back-to-back classic episodes on Pluto TV, among many other OTT platforms. We invite you to continue to participate and enjoy WPT poker offerings through these avenues, as well as to return to our tournaments after we resume our normal scheduling.

We greatly appreciate the support of our players and viewers, as you have kept us going for nearly two decades. Your continued support will ensure that the WPT will be able to provide the unique and high-quality experiences you have come to expect from us.

As part of this extraordinary community, while adapting to unprecedented conditions, I am confident that, as in the past, together we will endure and find ways to meet the challenges of these times. In the meantime, we remain committed to all our players, fans, and partners and to our guiding principle that the best is yet to come.

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