One of the major players in the Canadian poker scene, Heads Up Entertainment – which owns the Canadian Poker Tour and will host the upcoming Canadian Open Poker Championships in August – is the subject of good news on the financial front in a time when such reports are rare for various poker tournament schedules and companies.
Heads Up Entertainment (listed under the stock ticker “HDUP” on the OTC Pink Sheets) last week reported that their revenues for tournament entries and corporate sponsorships have exceeded their expectations. Their July tournaments, including the recently completed Stampede Poker Classic, saw a 30% increase in total player registrations. According to Kelly Kellner, the president and Chief Executive Officer of Heads Up Entertainment, the growing success of the CPT should only extend up to the upcoming COPC.
“Right now, we’re ahead of schedule with player registrations for the COPC compared to past years,” Kellner stated in an exclusive interview with Poker News Daily. “Everything is looking very good for the COPC, but there’s always some concerns that you have directing such a big event. I constantly am thinking, ’what if no one shows up,’ and then the next minute thinking, ’what if everyone shows up’. There’s no point of happiness until the tournament goes off,” Kellner said with a laugh.
The news from player registrations has been exceptionally good. Heads Up Entertainment expects a complete sell out for the COPC, which will put total revenues from just the COPC and the Stampede Poker Classic at around $250,000 (Canadian dollars). Overall revenues from events that have been held by the CPT have passed $400,000 to this point in 2010.
Several corporate sponsors have stepped up to support the COPC in August. Kellner stressed the importance of those sponsors in not only being critical to the bottom line, but also important in working with the local community. “We have lined up three major sponsors for the COPC,” Kellner told Poker News Daily. “Big Rock Brewery is a local Calgary company and one of their best products, Gopher Lager, is also a part of the COPC. Joining those companies is another quality sponsor in Dank Energy Drink.” Kellner also stated that he is “continuously” looking for other sponsors that want to be a part of such a prestigious tournament.
With the fields for the COPC tournaments quickly filling up, Kellner stressed the importance of early registration to ensure players can get into the events they want. “Pre-registering for tournaments can be done on the tournament’s website and players don’t have to prepay for any event other than the Heads Up Championship,” Kellner says. “It is definitely looking like this year’s COPC will surpass everyone’s expectations.”
Kellner also noted that Heads Up Entertainment is looking to improve its standing as a publicly traded company. “We are going through the processes to become a fully reporting member (reporting in-depth financials quarterly is a must for any publicly traded company) and, as such, to be able to move from the pink sheets to a higher level of investment,” Kellner reported. “Heads Up Entertainment is a solid organization and a good opportunity for investors.”
The COPC is Canada’s version of a national championship, with their penultimate event, the $5000 Heads Up Championship, serving as their Main Event. From August 19th to the 29th, eleven events will take place (including the $5K) over three casinos located in Calgary. The Deerfoot Inn and Casino, the Grey Eagle Casino and the Cash Casino will all be running events during the COPC. Satellites will run at all three casinos, with different events during the COPC schedule to be held at each casino. Buy ins range from $170 for satellite tournaments to the $5000 Heads Up Championship.
The COPC has been popular with everyone in the poker world, from grinders looking for an inexpensive event to top pros looking for a major championship. Over the past few years, such players as former COPC Heads Up Champion Huck Seed, former World Champions Phil Hellmuth and Joseph Hachem, Canadian poker professionals Brad Booth, Gavin Smith and Greg Mueller, and other poker pros such as Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly have played in COPC events. Because of the strength of the fields throughout the ten day schedule – and the entertainment organized by Heads Up Entertainment during off nights – it is extremely likely that this year’s COPC will be one of the largest poker festivals in Canadian poker history.
