World Poker Tour Kicks Off Season XVIII at Gardens
Less than two months ago, the World Poker Tour wrapped up its 17th season in Las Vegas. Two tournaments played out their final tables at the HyperX Esports Arena at Luxor in Las Vegas, the last regular event of the season played to completion at Aria, and the WPT Tournament of Champions took place and ultimately crowned Ole Schemion its winner.
WPT executives went back to their Southern California offices, crew members packed up the equipment for temporary storage, and many players moved on to the World Series of Poker.
But the WPT is now back in action, anxious to get its Season XVIII underway with the first stop of the main tour. And that brought players to Los Angeles and the Gardens Casino.
Starting at Home Base
The action kicked off on Saturday, July 20. The WPT Gardens Poker Festival actually started its local series of tournaments on July 12, but the WPT Main Event was set for this weekend.
The $5K buy-in event at Gardens Casino in Southern California offered two starting days and late registration open until several hours into Day 2 on Monday, July 22. Action was then set to continue through July 25, when the final table will play out on location and without any delays. The ultimate winner would not only take home his or her share of the prize pool but a 2019 BMW X1 car to go with it.
Watch @alexandraogray @_RoyalFlushCrew preview #WPTGardens Poker Festival Official @WPT Season XVIII #OpeningDay @gardenscasino #SaveTheDate pic.twitter.com/sRZ8dv8eh2
— @CavinCasino (@cavincasino) June 13, 2019
Other Stops Already Announced
The main World Poker Tour schedule will then welcome players back to Los Angeles before traversing the country and then crossing the pond and the northern American border.
Let’s look at the rest of the schedule as it stands thus far:
WPT Legends of Poker
Dates: August 31 – September 4, 2019
Location: Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, California
Buy-in: $5K
WPT Borgata Poker Open
Dates: September 15-20, 2019
Location: Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Buy-in: $3,500
WPT Maryland
Dates: September 28 – October 2, 2019
Location: Live! Casino in Hanover, Maryland
Buy-in: $3,500
WPT UK
Dates: September 30 – October 6, 2019
Location: Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham, UK
Buy-in: £3,300
Guarantee: £1.5 million
Partner: PartyPoker LIVE
WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble
Dates: October 11-15, 2019
Location: bestbet Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida
Buy-in: $5K
WPT Montreal
Dates: October 28 – November 3, 2019
Location: Playground Poker Club in Quebec, Canada
Buy-in: CAD $3,300
Guarantee: CAD $3 million
Partner: PartyPoker LIVE
WPT Seminole Rock & Roll Poker Open
Dates: November 29 – December 4, 2019
Location: Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida
Buy-in: $3,500
WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic
Dates: December 16-20, 2019
Location: Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada
Buy-in: $10K
WPT Russia
Dates: January 20-26, 2020
Location: Casino Sochi in Sochi, Russia
Buy-in: ₽198,000 ($3,025)
Partner: PartyPoker LIVE
WPT Germany
Dates: February 17-23, 2020
Location: King’s Resort Rozvadov, Czech Republic
Buy-in: €3,300
Livestreams, No TV Broadcasts
As the schedule appears on the WPT website, none of the tournaments listed above are slated for any type of filming or television broadcasts.
This could change, as the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas is supposed to be available for select final tables. However, there have been no announcements yet.
The website does, however, list several of the events as offering livestreams. The WPT UK in September/October, WPT Montreal in October/November, WPT Russia in late January, and WPT Germany in February are all set to offer some type of final table viewing online. Interestingly, all of the streamed events will take place outside of the United States.
