WPT Prepares for Season XVIII Start at Gardens Casino
The World Poker Tour is heading for the end of Season XVII this month, as it completes a stop at Choctaw and then heads to Las Vegas for an ARIA event, several final tables at the HyperX Esports Arena, and a Tournament of Champions.
Even so, the WPT is ready to start promoting Season XVIII, which will kick off in mid-July at the Gardens Casino in Southern California.
The announcement came as the busiest time of the poker year gets underway in Las Vegas, not just for the World Poker Tour but for casinos around Sin City as they gear up for the influx of players surrounding the 2019 World Series of Poker. Players are in peak form – or getting there – and putting their final touches on their summer poker plans.
Since the summer tends to bring new players into the poker arena, too, there’s no better time to make poker announcements. Players will be solidifying their calendars for the next few months, and the WPT wants its 18th season to be on that schedule.
Season 17 Wrapping Up
This weekend, the WPT is in Durant, Oklahoma. The WPT Choctaw Main Event is in action, playing out with a $3,500 buy-in and a $1 million guarantee on the prize pool. By the end of Monday, May 20, the final six players will have bagged their chips and secured sixth place money before heading to Las Vegas to play out the final table at the HyperX Esports Arena on May 31.
#WPTChoctaw gets underway today at 12:00 pm CT from @ChoctawDurant. Stay tuned to WPT Live Updates throughout the day for full coverage from the $1 million guaranteed WPT Main Event. https://t.co/HHJD0SYB5E pic.twitter.com/nwLkr4BOPC
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) May 17, 2019
Speaking of Vegas, the entire WPT crew will head to Vegas soon to prepare for the last open event of the season, the WPT ARIA Summer Championship. That $10K buy-in Main Event will begin on Monday, May 27, and the final table will be determined on May 30 and play on May 31, again at the HyperX.
Before those two final tables, however, the one left over from the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in April will play out at HyperX on May 30. That will officially kick off the days of final tables.
.@MariaHo looks to break through and win her first WPT title when the #WPTShowdown final table takes place on May 30 at @HyperXESALV. Listen to Ho tell her WPT story through the years before she plays for $715,175 and a seat in the @Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions. pic.twitter.com/SE9pRnGpwN
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) May 14, 2019
The final event of the season will then be the Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions. The $15K buy-in is available only to members of the WPT Champions Club and will play at out at ARIA on June 1-2, with the final table at the HyperX on June 3.
That will wrap Season XVII.
Season 18 on Tap
Just before the WPT Choctaw Main Event got underway, the World Poker Tour announced the start to its next season.
The WPT Gardens Poker Festival will be the first event of the main tour that will comprise Season XVIII. It will offer a $5K buy-in with unlimited reentries and take place at the Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens, which is in the greater Los Angeles area. The action will take place as follows:
–July 20: Day 1A starting at noon
–July 21: Day 1B starting at noon
–July 22: Day 2
–July 23: Day 3
–July 24: Day 4
–July 25: Final table starting at 4pm PT, live-streamed on a 30-minute delay
At this point, there is no guarantee on the prize pool, but there is an added prize for the winner – a new BMW X1 automobile.
World Poker Tour® Announces WPT® Gardens Poker Festival as the First WPT Main Tour Event of Season XVIII. https://t.co/aAnYmeopAF pic.twitter.com/MHGNJr936f
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) May 16, 2019
Last year’s WPT Gardens Poker Festival drew 584 entries and winner Simon Lam took home $565K.
An entire Gardens Poker Festival will be happening at the casino starting July 12, and the World Poker Tour Main Event will wrap the series. There will also be a WPT Satellite Spectacular before the Main Event, one with a guarantee of five Main Event seats.
No other events for the new season have been announced, but two of them do appear on the WPT website. The WPT UK is set for September 30 to October 6 with a £3K buy-in and £1.5 million prize pool guarantee at Dusk Till Dawn Casino in Nottingham. The WPT Montreal is scheduled for October 27 to November 3 with a C$3K buy-in and C$3 million guarantee at Playground Poker Club.
