WPT EveryOne for One Drop $10K

This event was played from July 9-14 at the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas and featured a buy-in of $10,500. A total of 1,676 entries created a prize pool of $16.2 million, far exceeding the $10 million guarantee.

Among the notable players who finished in the money were: Isaac Haxton (198th), Erik Seidel (197th), Joe McKeehen (192nd), Andrew Moreno (186th), Chris Moneymaker (141st), Ethan “Rampage” Yau (127th ), Dan Smith (115th), Jeremy Ausmus (79th), 2022 WPT World Championship champion Eliot Hudon (66th), Adrián Mateos (57th), WPT Prime Championship winner Stephen Song (39th), 4-time WPT champion Darren Elias (19th) and Stephen Chidwick (16th), among others.

The winner of the tournament was Bin Weng, who collected the biggest prize of his career: $2.2 million. Weng is in the midst of his best year ever, having already made two final tables in WPT Main Events — placing fourth at the WPT Choctaw for $143K and winning the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $1.1 million. With these results he leads the WPT Player of the Year rankings, and has passed the $7 million mark for career live tournament earnings.

Bin Weng Wins the WPT EveryOne for One Drop ($2,227,054)
Photo Credit : WPT#onedrop #wpt #wynnlasvegas #everyoneforonedrop #poker4water pic.twitter.com/BYMSrwPQTP

— All In For ONE DROP (@allinforonedrop) July 15, 2023

The final table consisted of a half dozen crushers, each of whom happily padded their bank accounts:

1. Bin Weng –  $2,227,054
2. Scott Baumstein  –  $1,503,988
3. Niko Koop  –  $1,872,438
4. Freddy Heller –  $956,000
5. Dominik Nitsche   –  $700,100
6. Tom Cannuli  –  $524,500

WPT Alpha 8 For One Drop $111K

After several years of absence, the exclusive Alpha 8-branded tournament returned and was played from July 14-16 at the Wynn Casino. With 45 entrants paying $111K each for seats at the tables, the total prize pool was $4.6 million, and it was split among the final seven players.

The lion’s share went to Jonathan Jaffe, who collected the biggest prize of his career: over $1.5 million. Jonathan is a regular player on the World Poker Tour, where he boasts 14 cashes, 4 final tables and 1 title (WPT Montreal in 2014). With his Alpha 8 win, he boosted his live tournament earnings to $9 million.

Here’s how the final table played out among those who made the money:

1. Jonathan Jaffe –  $1,537,600
2. Taylor von Kriegenbergh –  $1,042,100
3. Dan Smith –  $701,700
4. Aleksejs Ponakovs –  $485,200
5. Michael Lim –  $350,100
6. Iaron Lightbourne –  $273,200
7. Isaac Haxton –  $222,600

Congratulations Jonathan Jaffe, Winner of the $111,000 @WPT Alpha 8 For One Drop Event. Jonathan battled his way to victory through a star studded field, taking home $1,537,600! pic.twitter.com/BGVNylpKxX

— Wynn Poker Room (@WynnPoker) July 17, 2023

WPT Big One For One Drop $1M

The crown jewel of the WPT-One Drop Foundation trifecta will be the return of the “Big One For One Drop,” which will feature a whopping $1 million price tag to enter, and which will be played from December 18-20 as part of the 2023 WPT World Championship. It will be the fifth edition of this event after previous installments of the tournament held in 2012 (winner: Antonio Esfandiari – $18.3M), 2014 (winner: Dan Colman – $15.3M), 2016 (winner: Elton Tsang – $12.2M) and 2018 (winner: Justin Bonomo – $10M).

How many entries will the new edition have? Who is most likely to emerge atop as a newly-minted multi-millionare among millionaires? Learn more in this article.

It’s coming. #TheBigOne @onedrop @allinforonedrop @WynnLasVegas @WynnPoker pic.twitter.com/0dpunxnMBV

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) July 12, 2023

The full 2023 WPT World Championship schedule will soon be announced, with even higher numbers expected than last year, and the returning Big One For One Drop on top of it all. This will signal a perfect end to 2023, a year where live poker has broken numerous records, with more likely to fall at the Wynn in December.

“We are beyond excited to be announcing the resurgence of our most iconic charity event,” said Alexandre Meunier, One Drop Foundation’s Chief Marketing and Events Officer. He added, “It is an incredible feeling to be able to have the support of WPT and the Wynn to run our fifth edition of the Big One. There is always a palpable buzz in the air during the lead-up to the one-million-dollar affair. The magnitude of the buy-in, of the prize pool, and also of the funds that are directed to the crucial cause of access to safe water makes the Big One the event of all superlatives.”

As part of the new partnership, there will be three charity events taking place over the coming months that will raise funds for the One Drop Foundation:

The WPT World Championship at the Wynn Casino will be a spectacular setting for the return of the Big One For One Drop, which will distribute millions of dollars in prizes and raise money so that areas most in need can have sustainable access to water.

“The Big One for One Drop is such an iconic tournament in the world of poker. We are honored to put on this incredible event in conjunction with the One Drop Foundation and Wynn Las Vegas,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “The $1 million buy-in is a testament to the heights this industry can reach and the continuous evolution of the World Poker Tour.”

The Story of the Big One For One Drop

The million-dollar event made its debut in 2012 during the WSOP. That year 48 people took part, creating a prize pool of $42.6M. The nine finalists were awarded and among them were Mike Sexton (ninth), Brian Rast (sixth), Phil Hellmuth (fourth) and Sam Trickett (second).

The champion was Antonio Esfandiari, achieving the highest prize for a poker player up to that moment: $18.3M. Antonio celebrated by standing on top of the table and them jumping off directly on to his rail cheering him on. After that, he hugged his father with tears in his eyes and gave him the newly-won bracelet.

In 2014 the tournament returned. This time there were 42 players, with a prize pool of $37.3M. Daniel Colman defeated Canadian Daniel Negreanu in the heads-up final to become champion, earning $15.3M. The Canadian had to settle for an $8.2M for second place prize.

During that tournament an incredible bad beat happened where two pairs of aces met pre-flop and Cary Katz hit a flush eliminating Connor Drinan from the tournament. You can see the hand here:

In 2016 the Big One for One Drop left the United States and was instead played in Monte Carlo, with 28 people paying the €1M buy-in and playing for a €24.8M prize pool. Elton Tsang from Hong Kong was the winner and accepted a huge prize of €11.1M ($12.2M).

The last edition of the Big One for One Drop was held in 2018 during the WSOP in Las Vegas. It garnered 27 players, distributing $24.8M in prizes. Justin Bonomo was having the best year of his career and confirmed it by winning this tournament, earning $10M. Fedor Holz placed second and Dan Smith finished on the podium in third.

In December we will learn whether the new venue of the Wynn and the framework of the World Poker Tour World Championship will result in the largest field yet of Big One For One Drop players. Will we have a new record prize in poker history? We can’t wait to find out.

The WPT Prime San Remo Festival

The festival features 26 events, with the Prime Main Event running from June 7-11 carrying a buy-in of €1,100. It features tournaments for all bankrolls, with buy-ins starting from €200 up to the €1,650 buy-in High Roller. A variety of satellites for the Main Event Prime and High Roller are available for players who want to win their entry for a low investment.

These are the festival events:

Find the full schedule, including satellites at this link.

The WPT Prime San Remo Main Event

The most important tournament of the festival features the details below:

• Buy-In: €1,100
• Re-entry: unlimited during late registration
• Starting stack: 30,000
• Blind levels: 40 minutes
• Late registration: 6 levels
• Payouts: 12.5% of the field

Schedule:

• Day 1A: Wednesday June 7 at 1 PM
• Day 1B: Thursday June 8 at 1 PM
• Day 1C: Friday June 9 at 1 PM
• Day 1D: Friday June 9 at 7 PM
• Day 2: Saturday June 10 at 1 PM (until the final table)
• Day 3: Sunday June 11 at 1 PM (final table)

The Main Event champion will add his or her name to the new WPT Prime Perpetual Trophy , which was released in the last stage of WPT Prime Vietnam .

The Venue

The Casino di Sanremo first opened in 1905 under the name of Kurzaal and was managed by the architect Eugene Ferret. Activities at the casino included parties, shows, concerts, and games of chance. In December 1927, the casino was  renamed Casino di San Remo and authorized to offer legal gambling. The official opening of the casino occurred on January 21, 1928 with a grand gala night.

The casino stands at 18 Corso Inglesi, in the heart of the city. It is connected to Piazza Colombo by the Via Matteotti pedestrian street, which is ideal for shopping, culture, and entertainment.

The City of Sanremo, Italy

The most popular activities in San Remo include:

• Enjoy one of the beautiful beaches such as Tre Ponti, Serenella, or Lido Foce
• La Pigna: the old historic center built to defend against pirates
• The Reina Elena Gardens: one of the most charming green spaces in the city
• Get to know the Co-Cathedral of San Ciro: the oldest church in San Remo
• See a show at the Ariston Theatre: it has been the venue of the famous Festival Della Canzone Italiana since 1977
• Go to the Fort of Santa Tecla, built in 1756

Past WPT Events in San Remo

It will be the fifth time that the World Poker Tour visits the city of San Remo. Past editions include:

Date	Circuit	Buy-In	Entries	Prize Pool	Champion	Prize
June 2015	WPT National	€990	354	€309,042	Denis Karakashi	€70,000
April 2016	WPT National	€990	616	€456,503	Joeri Zandvliet	€102,000
October 2016	WPT National	€1,000	444	€387,612	Christophe Bouziane	€78,000
June 2018	WPTDeepStacks	€1,000	286	€249,678	Melanie Hafeli	€57,081

The last leg of the WPT Prime took place in Vietnam. The Vietnam Main Event garnered 1,151 entries and distributed $1M in prizes. This was the biggest WPT Main Event in Asia, the second-largest WPT Prime Main Event in history, and the largest non-High Roller event in terms of entries in Vietnam.

We’ll see if the WPT Prime San Remo   manages to break some records this month!

Photo: Joe Giron

WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown

Between the two initial days, there were 2,290 registrations. This was thus the second largest edition of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. There was a huge prize pool of $7,328,000 which was distributed among the top 287 players. Among the awarded participants were: Andrew Moreno (15^th place), Natasha Mercier (18^th place), WPT Champions Asher Conniff (20^th place), Taylor von Kriegenbergh (22^nd place), Ryan Riess (28^th place), Matthew Wantman (55^th place) and Chance Kornuth (105^th place), WPT Global Ambassador Ethan “Rampage” Yau (65^th place), and many more. All of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown payouts can be found here.

Danny Garcia became the father of his first daughter, Leah Alize on Day 2, and had to let his stack be consumed by the blinds. Her birth was expected in mid-May, but it came early and he had to rush to the hospital mid-tournament. He was eliminated in 236th place and won $5,850 without playing a single hand on Day 2.

I had a baby girl Best reason to miss Day 2 pic.twitter.com/Ks6xJcVCsF

— Danny Invested (@DInvested) May 1, 2023

WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Final Table

During Day 4 the final table was defined:

1. Bin Weng – 46,050,000 (154 bb’s)
2. Sridhar Sangannagari – 19,100,000 (64 bb’s)
3. Mitch Garshofsky – 18,550,000 (62 bb’s)
4. David Mzareulov - 13,350,000 (45 bb’s)
5. Naing Thu – 13,250,000 (44 bb’s)
6. Rafael Farah Jarufe – 4,275,000 (14 bb’s)

The chip leader is Bin Weng with a stack of 154 big blinds and 40% of the total chips. In 2017, Bin started playing the live circuit and has 111 cashes under his belt, with earnings of $3.2M. He is playing his second WPT final table at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. In 2020 he finished fifth at the Borgata Winter Poker Open, winning $187K. If he is crowned champion, he will win the biggest prize of his career.

Bin Weng / Photo: Joe Giron

Second in chips is Sridhar Sangannagari of India with 64 big blinds. He has earned $1.7M online and $175K in live events. This is his second WPT cash and his first final table. The other non-American at the final table is Rafael Farah Jarufe, who will seek to become Peru’s first WPT champion. This is his third cash in a WPT Main Event.

These are the prizes still to be distributed:

1. + $1,128,250 + $10,400 seat at the 2023 WPT World Championship
2. $745,000
3. $550,000
4. $413,000
5. $312,000
6. $238,000

The final table of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown will commence on May 25 at the HyperX Arena located in the Luxor Hotel & Casino. All remaining action is set to be filmed for television. Who will add their name to the prestigious Mike Sexton trophy?

If you wish to see photos of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown you can do so on the WPT Flickr website.

WPT Choctaw

The next WPT stop will be at the Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma and will be played May 5-8 with a $3,800 buy-in and a guaranteed prize pool of $2,000,000. The festival began on April 28 and will feature 70 events altogether, with buy-ins starting at just $130.

Main Event Schedule:

• Day 1A: May 5 at 11 AM
• Day 1B: May 6 at 11 AM
• Day 2: May 7 at 12 PM
• Day 3: May 8 at 12 PM

You can see the complete calendar with all the events and satellites at this link.

WPT Gardens Poker Championship

The 2023 WPT Gardens Poker Championship will be held May 15-31 at the Gardens Casino in California. The main event will feature a buy-in of $5,250 and will be played May 21-25. On May 19 at 11 AM, one of Andrew Neeme and Brad Owen‘s popular Meet Up Games will be held with $5/$5 cash games.

Main Event Schedule:

• Day 1A: May 21 at 11 AM
• Day 1B: May 22 at 11 AM
• Day 2: May 23 at 12 PM
• Day 3: May 24 at 12 PM
• Day 4: May 25 at 12 PM

These will be the dates of the final tables that will be played out in Las Vegas:

• WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown: May 25
• WPT Choctaw: May 26
• WPT Gardens Poker Championship: May 27

Across just three days we will have three new World Poker Tour champions!

The WPT Prime Slovakia Festival

The festival will be held at the Card Casino in the capital city of Bratislava, Slovakia. A total of 18 tournaments will be played, guaranteeing a total of €1,250,000 in prizes. There will also be satellites to the most important tournaments and to the 2023 WPT World Championship to be played in December in Las Vegas.

Kicking off the WPT Prime Slovakia festival will be Event #1, the WPT Bratislava Championship, which will have a buy-in of €330 and a huge guaranteed prize pool of €250,000. Seven starting flights will be available for participants to seek their pass to Day 2.

Listed below are the WPT Prime Slovakia events that will have guaranteed prize pools:

You can see the complete schedule at this link.

The WPT Prime Slovakia Main Event

The highest profile tournament of the festival will be the WPT Prime Slovakia Main Event, which will feature a buy-in of €1,100 and a guaranteed prize pool of €500,000. Starting stacks will be 30,000 chips and the blinds will increase every 40 minutes.

This will be the schedule for WPT Prime Slovakia Main Event:

• Day 1A: Thursday, May 11 at 4 p.m.
• Day 1B: Friday, May 12 at 1 p.m.
• Day 1C: Friday, May 12 at 6 p.m.
• Day 1D: Saturday, May 13 at 1 p.m.
• Day 1E: Saturday, May 13 at 6 p.m.
• Day 2: Sunday, May 14 at 3 p.m.
• Day 3: Monday, May 15 at 2 p.m.

#WPTPrimeSlovakia is coming up next month at @cardcasino_svk featuring an €1,100 €500k GTD Main Event!

Festival Dates: May 3 – 15
Main Event Dates: May 11 – 15

More Info & Full Schedule: https://t.co/KbqaQzG5YR pic.twitter.com/a6ZV8veFaS

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) April 10, 2023

The WPT Prime Slovakia Venue

The Card Casino is the largest gaming establishment in Slovakia at 8,000 square meters. In addition to the traditional games of blackjack, slots, roulette and baccarat, the facility features a Cabaret and several restaurants. It is located right next to Bratislava airport and just 30 minutes from Vienna airport in neighboring Austria. If you’re further afield, it’s only two hours from Budapest, Hungary and three hours from Prague, Czech Republic.

The Poker Room awaiting players at Bratislava’s Card Casino

The Card Casino offers players three different packages that include transfers, hotel and tournament entry:

• WPT Silver €1,600: airport pick-up, 5 nights in Vienna House Hotel, free buffet and WPT Prime entry
• WPT Gold €1,900: airport pick-up, 5 nights in NH One Gate Hotel, free buffet and WPT Prime entry
• WPT Premium €4,900: airport pick-up, 5 nights in NH One Gate Hotel, free buffet, WPT Prime entryand WPT High Roller €3K entry

The City of Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava is the seat of the Slovak parliament and government and offers a wide range of artistic, cultural, and educational offerings. The southern territories of Slovakia, including Bratislava, were part of the Kingdom of Hungary from the arrival of the Hungarians in 895 until the end of World War I in 1918.

What is there to see in Bratislava? There is a wide variety of options, from touring the historic center, passing under St. Michael’s Gate, visiting Bratislava Castle, learning about the country’s past at the Bratislava History Museum, and admiring St. Martin’s Cathedral. You can also climb the tower of the Old Town Hall, photograph St. Elizabeth’s Church, explore nature around the city, stand in front of the Savlin, and admire the facade of Grassalkovich Palace. Other alternatives include looking for Bratislava statues, climbing the Most SNP or Bratislava UFO, taking a trip to Devin Castle and enjoying the city’s nightlife.

WPT Prime tournaments have been very successful around the world so far in 2023. The Paris leg registered 1,071 entries in January and that number was surpassed in Australia with 1,224 entries on the Gold Coast. Can WPT Prime Slovakia surpass it? We will see in a few days!

2023 WPT Rolling Thunder Recap

The festival’s $3,500 buy-in main event was played from April 1-4 at the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln City, California, and attracted 590 entries. It thus became the largest edition of this tournament, surpassing the 465 entries from back in 2014. Just like last year, the World Poker Tour continues to break records, and is at the forefront of the current live poker boom.

Photo: Joe Giron for WPT

The prize pool for the main event totaled $1,888,000 and was distributed among the top 74 players. Among them were notable names such as Allen Kessler (73rd), Angela Jordison (67th), Steven Buckner (65th), Eric Afriat (60th), Giuseppe Pantaleo (51st), Aaron Mermelstein (48th), Matas Cimbolas (35th), David Baker (14th) and James Turner (11th).

The big name at the final table was the World Poker Tour’s own Tony Dunst, who was looking to add to his already stellar career resume. Alas, it was not be due to a tough board runout that benefitted the tournament’s eventual winner. Scott Eskenazi started the final table with the second smallest stack among the final 6, but began winning smaller pots and grew in chip count. Hands later, he eliminated Dunst in sixth place after hitting a flopped straight. You can watch the hand here:

BRUTAL RIVER for @tonydunsttv #WPTChampionsClub Member and Commentator @tonydunsttv got off to an absolutely brutal start at our #WPTRollingThunder Final Table…

In this hand, Tony faces the absolute worst possible river card against Scott Eskenazi — can he make the… pic.twitter.com/Pnqq6xPJbf

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) April 4, 2023

With only 4 players left Scott became the new chip-leader and then eliminated Alberto Tapia when his 9-9 beat Tapia’s A-K. He held the lead until Jeremy Joseph eliminated Alejandro Jauregui in third place.

The heads-up began with these stacks: 11.1M for Scott and 18.2M for Jeremy. Scott won several pots and went on to lead the count. The tournament came to an end when Jeremy went all-in with A-2s and Scott paid with a better hand: A-Ks. The board brought no surprises and Scott Eskenazi became the 2023 WPT Rolling Thunder champion.

Here are the full final table results:

1. Scott Eskenazi – $361,660 + WPT World Championship entry +
2. Jeremy Joseph – $234,000
3. Alejandro Jauregui Reynoso – $172,000
4. Alberto Tapia – $128,000
5. Victor Paredes – $97,000
6. Tony Dunst – $73,400

Congratulations to Scott Eskenazi our new #WPTRollingThunder Champion!

After navigating the 590 entry field @TVPokerRoom, Eskenazi showed up as one of the short stacks going into the Final Table before battling Jeremy Joseph heads-up to take home the title, $361,660 and the… pic.twitter.com/94Px20434l

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) April 5, 2023

2023 WPT Rolling Thunder Champion Scott Eskenazi Speaks

We got in touch with the brand new champion and asked him what it felt like to win his first WPT title at his first final table on the circuit: “It feels great but still a little surreal. It’s a poker dream come true.”

When we asked with whom Scott celebrated his the victory, he said “I was very lucky that my wife was there railing me. She’s my biggest fan and my soulmate. We didn’t get to celebrate that night but we’ve been celebrating ever since – we actually had to rush to the airport right after the tourney as we were hosting a big family dinner the next night. I’ve gotten so many congratulatory calls and texts from friends and family which means so much to me.”

Photo: Joe Giron for WPT

What does it mean for Scott to join the WPT Champions Club and have his name on the Mike Sexton Trophy? “It’s humbling. My last dinner at a restaurant before COVID was a group dinner where I met and sat next to Mike Sexton. He was telling these great poker stories and it was such an honor to meet him. He was a wonderful ambassador for poker.”

In addition to Scott’s best result, he also won an entry to the 2023 WPT World Championship at Wynn, Las Vegas. Naturally, he hopes to parlay this success to even bigger success at that event later in the year.

Scott has been collecting cashes on the live circuit for 15 years, with his first result being a win in a Las Vegas event. While he doesn’t remember too much from that specific event, Scott remembers that “after winning it, I was definitely hooked.”

We asked Scott what he enjoys most about playing World Poker Tour tournaments in particular and he responded that he “loves the competitiveness. I’m also a numbers guy so poker allows me to use my math skills.”

Beyond hopefully winning the 2023 WPT World Championship, Scott told us that he also has ambitions to “win a WSOP bracelet and to have fun doing it.”

Photo: Joe Giron for WPT

Coming up after #WPTRollingThunder, we head to our #WPTPrimeIndia Festival aboard the @TheDeltinLife @Adda_52 featuring a ₹65,000 Main Event!

Festival Dates : April 12 – 18
Main Event Dates : April 13 – 17

Full Schedule & More Info: https://t.co/PcmNimduHM pic.twitter.com/OsDAiLqHEI

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) April 3, 2023

The WPT Prime India Festival

The festival will have 14 events with different entries and modalities. In addition to the WPT Prime Main Event, there will be a High Roller, a ladies-only women’s event, a team tournament and a Mini Main Event for those of lesser bankroll means.

Below is a listing of the tournaments to be held during the festival:

You can see the complete schedule with the satellites in this link.

WPT Prime India Main Event

Schedule:

• Day 1A: April 13 at 1 PM (Play till field is in the money)
• Day 1B: April 14 at 1 PM (Play till field is in the money)
• Day 1C: April 15 at 1 PM (Play till field is in the Money)
• Day 2: April 16 at 1 PM (Play till the Final Table has been reached)
• Day 3: April 17 at 1 PM (Final Table)

Structure:

• Buy-In: ₹65,000
• Re-entry: Unlimited re-entry is allowed until the start of Level 7
• Starting stack: 30,000
• Ante Format: Big Blind Ante
• Blind levels: 40 minutes during Day 1, 60 minutes during Day 2 and Day 3
• Late registration: Registration closes at the start of Level 7
• Payouts: One in eight entries will be in the money (approximately 12.5%)

The Deltin Royale Ship

The Deltin Royale is considered the best casino in India and is one of the largest in Asia. In addition to the casino games, it offers live entertainment, restaurants and a bar on the deck of the ship that offers a magnificent view. The ship’s poker room is the largest in India.

The City

The ship is located off the west-central coast of India, bordering Maharastra to the north, Karnataka to the east and south, and the Indian Ocean to the west. It was established as a state on May 30, 1987 and is the least extensive state and the fourth least populated. The churches and convents of Goa were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986.

What can you do in Goa besides play poker on the Destin Royale? The options are several: visit the Bom Jesus Basilica, enjoy the nightlife, go to the Shree Manguesh Shantadurgai Pradanna Temple, visit the Bhagwan Mahavir wildlife sanctuary, visit the Dudhsagar waterfall or hang out on the magnificent beaches.

One of the magnificent beaches of Goa

The World Poker Tour’s History in India

The World Poker Tour visited India for the first time in 2017 with its WPTDeepStacks circuit, which had 527 entries and distributed $420,622 in prize money. The winner was Vikash Mantri, who achieved a career-best score by cashing for $92,539.

Another WPTDeepStacks tournament was played in November 2018 and this time the number of entries grew to 697, with a prize pool of $506,237. Nikunj Jhunjhunwala emerged as champion, winning $92,660.

The last time the WPT came through India was in October 2019 and the 630 entries made up a prize pool of $463,464. Ashish Munot took first place and the top prize of $89,576.

Ashish Munot

Who will be the champion this year? Will the 2018 event numbers be beaten? We’ll see in a few days.

The Festival

The festival will feature 11 events with buy-ins ranging from €275 to the €2,200 High Roller. Those who don’t have the bankroll to play the higher buy-in tournaments can take advantage of the satellites that will be played for the Main Event and the High Roller.

WPT Prime Main Event Schedule

• Day 1A: March 28 at 12:30 PM (play till field is in the money)
• Day 1B: March 29 at 12:30 PM (play till field is in the money)
• Day 1C Turbo (20 minutes blind levels): March 29 at 7 PM (play till field is in the money)
• Day 2: March 30 at 12:30 PM (play until final table)
• Day 3: March 31 at 6 PM (final table)

We're just ONE WEEK away from our #WPTPrimeAmsterdam Festival at @hollandcasino featuring an €1,100 Main Event!

Festival Dates: Mar 24 – Apr 1
Main Event Dates: Mar 28 – Mar 31

Full Schedule & More Info: https://t.co/Fy9CKBj88G pic.twitter.com/zhmefi2x3z

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) March 17, 2023

WPT Prime Main Event structure

• Buy-In: €1,100
• Starting stack: 30,000 chips (150 big blinds)
• Re-entry: Unlimited during late registration
• Blind levels: 40 minutes during Day 1 and then 60 minutes
• First level: 100/200 with 200 Big Blind Ante
• Ante Format: Big Blind Ante
• Late registration: Closes at the start of Level 7
• Guaranteed Prize Pool: $500,000
• Action Clock: During Day 2 and final table
• Payouts: 12.5%

You can see the complete schedule of the festival via this link.

The Venue

Holland Casino has a legal monopoly on gambling in the Netherlands and the first one opened in 1976 in Zandvoort. There are 14 casinos in the country and the one in the city of Amsterdam is the largest of them. There are also other venues in Breda, Eindhoven Enschede, Groningen, Leeuwarden, Nijmegen and Rotterdam Scheveningen, among others.

At Holland Casino Amsterdam, in addition to poker, you can play Blackjack, American roulette, French roulette, slots and Wheel of Fortune, to name the most popular games. To enjoy a meal, the Vondel and Brasserie restaurants stand out. And those who wish to have a drink can choose from four traditional bars. Proper attire is strict, so no jeans or tennis shoes are allowed.

The City

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands and the Amstel River lies to the southeast. It was founded in the 12th Century as a small fishing village and today is the largest city in the country and a major financial and cultural center of international projection. Having water canals, it is called the “Venice of the North”.

What can you do in Amsterdam during a day off? There are several options and these are the most chosen by visitors:

• Visit Anne Frank’s house that has been converted into a museum
• Take a walk through the Hortus Botanicus, which is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, with many ancient and rare species
• Listen to a concert at the Concertgebouw, home of the famous Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which gave its first concert in 1888
• Visit the Heineken brewery, which has its own museum
• There are many internationally renowned museums such as the Rijksmuseum, the modern art museum Stedelijk Museum, the Museum het Rembrandthuis which was the home and workshop of Rembrandt, the van Gogh Museum, which has the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world; the Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, or the Cinema Museum, also known as Filmmuseum

WPT in Amsterdam

The first time the World Poker Tour was played in Amsterdam was in 2015 with its main circuit. There were 341 entries of €3,300 and the prize pool was €992K. The champion was Farid Yachou, winning a prize of €201K.

After that tournament, the WPT returned to the capital of the Netherlands seven times: four events of the WPTDeepstacks circuit and three tournaments of the main circuit. Now the city will host the fourth event of the second season of the popular WPT Prime. Will you be there?

Here are the key dates:

• Festival: November 29 to December 23
• Seniors: December 6-8
• WPT Prime Championship: December 7-12
• WPT World Championship: December 12-18
• WPT Ladies Championship: Decmeber 16-18
• Mystery Bounty: December 18-21

The complete schedule with all events and satellites will be published in the coming months.

Pliska, Beauregard Expect Another Great Series

WPT CEO Adam Pliska stated: “The WPT World Championship festival was such an extraordinary milestone during our 20th season last year, thanks to our partner Wynn Las Vegas and the enthusiastic support of the players.” He added: “It is our hope that we have started a tradition in poker that we can enhance and add to each season. We look forward to making this year’s World Championship even more memorable for players.”

“After paying out more than $53 million in total prize money last December, we are excited for the return of the WPT World Championship at Wynn,” said Ryan Beauregard, Executive Director of Poker Operations at Wynn Las Vegas. “Due to last year’s incredible turnout and the strong rapport we built with WPT, we have extended the festival dates and will create a tournament schedule to make 2023 even more memorable.”

Winners of the 2022 WPT World Championship

The inaugural edition of the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas was a resounding success, with 2,960 $10K entries and a prize pool of $29 million, nearly doubling the $15 million guaranteed.

The top 370 players cashed in the tournament and the champion was Canadian Eliot Hudon, winning the biggest prize of his career: $4,136,000. Second place went to Englishman Benny Glaser, who took home $2,830,000. Rounding out the podium was Jean-Claude Moussa with a prize of $2,095,000. All six players who made the final table received at least $1 million in prize money.

Eliot Hudon / Photo: Joe Giron

For its part, the WPT Prime Championship had 5,430 $1,100 entries and distributed $5,267,100 in prize money among the top 677 finishers. The winner was Stephen Song who earned a grand prize of $712,650 and thereby  multiplied his initial investment by a factor of 650.

The ladies had their feature tournament, too, with the WPT Ladies World Championship, which boasted 578 entries of $1,100 and a prize pool of $560,660. The champion was Canadian Lina Liu, who achieved her best result on the poker circuit: $105,136. Notables near the top included Kathy Liebert who finished sixth and Jamie Kerstetter in fifth.

Lina Niu / Photo: Joe Giron

The inaugural WPT World Championship festival’s 23 events awarded over $53 million in prize money, and the full results of all those events can be seen on the Hendon Mob database.

What can we expect for the 2023 edition? It is very likely that this year’s edition will be even bigger, as those who have already played will surely come back and many new players will also join and will not want to miss the “event of the year” which attracted the attention of players from different countries. Many of them, like Dr. Josef Strazynski, father of Cardplayer Lifestyle founder Robbie Strazynski, managed to snag a seat in the premier event via WPT Global, which will surely be holding numerous satellites on their online platform throughout the year once again.

To reminisce  about last year’s incredible festival, be sure to check out our top 10 highlights of the 2022 WPT World Championship article. Those of you wishing to reserve their place at the Wynn or Encore well in advance so as to be close to the action can do so by clicking here.