With the Bellagio Cup V only three weeks away, officials from the World Poker Tour (WPT) released the schedule for Season VIII. A dozen tournaments will be held, including the brand new Hollywood Poker Open, which will debut from the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
The entire tournament series will be filmed in high-definition, making for a unique experience for viewers watching the action unfold on Fox Sports Net. The cable station returns as the television outlet for Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten, and the rest of the WPT broadcast crew for the second straight season. The first five seasons of the WPT aired on The Travel Channel, while Season VI could be seen on GSN. After a management change at GSN, WPT officials were left scrambling for a new media partner.
WPT Founder and CEO Steve Lipscomb commented in a press release distributed by the roving tournament series on Wednesday, “As this great game has evolved over the years, we have seen the tour grow and develop into something truly incredible. Each year seems to top the last, from stops in exciting new venues to historical moments to breakout players to unbelievable action. We’re looking forward to seeing what the eighth season brings and then watching it broadcast in HD!”
Hollywood Casino was formerly known as Argosy and makes its home outside of Cincinnati. The 270,000 square foot riverboat casino on the Ohio River will host a total of four WPT events, including the brand’s first televised tournament in the Midwest. Blue Diamond Almonds will once again sponsor WPT Live Updates, which Amanda Leatherman delivered last season.
Here’s a look at the schedule of events for WPT Season VIII, which kicks off in three weeks from beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada:
Bellagio Cup V
Bellagio (Las Vegas, NV)
July 13th to 19th, 2009
$15,000 + $400 buy-in
Legends of Poker
The Bicycle Casino (Los Angeles, CA)
August 22nd to 26th, 2009
$9,800 + $200 buy-in
Borgata Poker Open
Borgata Hotel, Casino, and Spa (Atlantic City, NJ)
September 19th to 24th, 2009
Buy-in To Be Determined
Festa al Lago
Bellagio (Las Vegas, NV)
October 20th to 26th, 2009
$15,000 + $400 buy-in
Foxwoods World Poker Finals
Foxwoods Resort Casino (Mashantucket, CT)
November 5th to 10th, 2009
$9,700 + $300 buy-in
Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic
Bellagio (Las Vegas, NV)
December 13th to 19th, 2009
$15,000 + $400 buy-in
Southern Poker Championship
Beau Rivage (Biloxi, MS)
January 24th to 27th, 2010
$9,700 + $300 buy-in
L.A. Poker Classic
Commerce Casino (Los Angeles, CA)
February 20th to 25th, 2010
$9,600 + $400 buy-in
WPT Invitational
Commerce Casino (Los Angeles, CA)
February 27th to March 1st, 2010
Invitation Only
Bay 101 Shooting Star
Bay 101 (San Jose, CA)
March 8th to 12th, 2010
$9,600 + $400 buy-in
Hollywood Poker Open
Hollywood Casino (Lawrenceburg, IN)
March 20th to 24th, 2010
$9,600 + $400 buy-in
WPT Championship
Bellagio (Las Vegas, NV)
April 17th to 24th, 2010
$25,000 + $500 buy-in
In addition, the WPT will host two tournaments outside of the United States in the coming months. From August 26th through September 5th, the WPT Slovakia will take place from the Golden Vegas Casino in Brataslava. The Main Event has a price tag of €4,400 and follows a deep stack structure. WPT officials are estimating a total prize pool of €2.8 million, with players receiving 30,000 in starting chips and blinds of 25-50.
From September 6th to 12th, the tournament series heads to Cyprus for the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic. The event is expected to be televised regionally and carries a $10,300 buy-in. In June, the WPT Spanish Championship played out from Casino Barcelona. In the end, Markus Lehmann banked €537,000 for his win in the annual overseas tournament, which attracted 226 entrants to the Spanish city.
how bout a wpt in the mid west? KC or St Louie
Why did I call the Poker Room at Lawrenceburg Indiana and speak with Jared and he said it was a WPT casino as they have advertised, and yet when I asked him “when is the next WPT event at Hollywood Lawrenceburg’s Poker room?”…..He did not know, or refused to tell me. He then told me I could speak with a supervisor and then rudely put the phone down for 6 or 7 minutes where upon I finally hung up. That poker room is clearly NOT a world class poker room. HELLO!! Back woods dealers too. When I visited the poker room, as a female I took offense to be called “Hon” by more than one dealer ~5 and 2 waitresses. While male poker players were often called “Boss” or “Sir” Hello!!!? What is with those hicks?
Based on my experiences, these are the least trained dealers and employees of all the casino’s that I have played in. To top it off. One player won money and then cashed out his winnings and continued playing short stacked at the same table and the dealer said nothing. When the guy made his second cash out I finally asked the dealer about it, his response was “yea he can do that” then later off the game I asked him in front of another dealer and he said “I’m new I didn’t know”……WTF!!? That is cheating!
I won a set at the wpt from knightdale N.C. in a tournenment of chapions in las vegas and no one is leting me know where or when. I have a chip that says i have a set inn the fall tounement.