The full schedule for the 2011 PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun stop was released this week. The 35-event series will run from April 5 to 15, with the $5,000 Main Event set to take place from April 9 to 13.
NAPT Mohegan Sun will kick off with a $300 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry Event with three separate flights beginning on April 5 and the series will culminate with the talent-laden $10,000 Bounty Shootout, an open event with an 81-player capacity. The two-day Bounty Shootout begins on April 12 with the first flights and the final table will take place on April 14.
The Main Event and Bounty Shootout will be filmed by 441 Productions and air on ESPN later this year.
“We are thrilled to once again be hosting the North American Poker Tour here at Mohegan Sun,” said Ray Pineault, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Mohegan Sun. “Last year’s inaugural event was such a huge success and we anticipate this year’s event will bring out even more big names from within the poker community.”
2010 NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event champion Vanessa Selbst will return to defend her title in May. Last year, Selbst bested a tough final table that included Scott Seiver, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, Derek Raymond, and Jon “FatalError” Aguiar; fellow PokerStars Team Pro Vanessa Rousso finished in 10th. Selbst defeated Mike Beasley heads-up to claim the title and $750,000 in prize money.
“Winning my first major Main Event at NAPT Mohegan Sun was one of the great highlights of my career,” said Selbst, who last year earned more than $2.6 million in live tournaments. “It was my first major Main Event win and in my home state of Connecticut, which made it so much more meaningful for me. I can’t wait to get back to Uncasville and make it two in a row!”
Other PokerStars pros expected to participate this year include Daniel Negreanu, Jonathan Duhamel, Victor Ramdin, Joe Cada, Jason Mercier, Pat Pezzin, Greg DeBora, Anh Van Nguyen, and Marcello del Grosso.
Mercier returns as the defending champion of the winner-take-all Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout, which had a $25,000 buy-in last year. He picked up $475,000 and yet another victory on his extraordinary resume after coming from behind to beat Sam Stein heads-up. The star-studded final table also featured Faraz Jaka, Matt Glantz, Shawn Buchanan, and Luis Vazquez.
Players can qualify for a $5,000 Main Event seat plus travel expenses on the world’s largest poker site until March 29. There are satellites for as little as $3 running throughout the day, plus freeroll qualifiers running twice every day at 7:00pm ET and 10:00pm ET. Players that finish in the top 45 in each freeroll will advance to the Grand Final, which takes place on March 30 at 9:00pm ET. The winner will be awarded an NAPT Mohegan Sun prize package worth $7,000. This includes the buy-in for the Mohegan Sun Main Event, accommodation, and expenses.
“We are delighted to be heading back to Mohegan Sun, where last year we had a field of 716 players for the $5,000 NAPT Main Event,” said Jeffrey Haas, spokesman for the NAPT. “The players loved the first class experience of the poker room and we are looking forward to partnering with the casino once again and hoping to build on the success of last year with even bigger fields and prize pools.”
