World Poker Tour Schedules Season Nine Tournament Date For Florida

A report in the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel – and confirmed by Poker News Daily from the tour itself – states that a deal has been signed between the World Poker Tour and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for a tournament stop on this year’s schedule.

The story, entitled “Poker Big-Time: World Poker Tour Coming To Hard Rock In April”, by writer Nick Sortal, contains quotes from both sides discussing the completed deal. In Sortal’s story, Seminole Indian tribe spokesman Gary Bitner is quoted as saying, “The Hard Rock poker people did some research as to what their players wanted most, and bringing in the WPT was at the top of the list. They’ve responded by making that happen.”

Sortal continues on to quote the highest leadership of the WPT following these statements from the Seminoles. “What’s exciting is that Florida will draw from not only the local area, but from across the world,” said WPT Chief Executive Officer Steve Heller. “This year you’ll see Florida boom as poker market.” WPT President Adam Pliska is quoted as saying, “It’s a new day for the WPT. We have not only the premier room and the premiere property in Florida, the Seminoles have a whole series of properties they can put together (for potential satellite tournaments to the WPT event).”

Poker News Daily was able to confirm that the first event held by the Seminoles will be at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida beginning on April 27th. It will be a $10,000 buy-in tournament on the Season Nine schedule and will end on May 3rd with the traditional WPT final table. A multi-year deal was struck between the Seminoles and the WPT. In addition, it’s possible that the site of the Florida event could switch back and forth between the Hollywood Hard Rock location and its sister site in Tampa over the span of the contract. The tournament also appears on the WPT’s official website and will be televised.

The proposed tournament would be a boon for tourism in the Sunshine State and a huge advertisement of the its newfound commitment to gaming through the Seminole Indian properties. At one point, the Florida Gaming Commission didn’t allow any No Limit Hold’em games unless they were tournaments. Back in 2007, though, the laws were changed to allow for No Limit cash games, with a stringent requirement as to the amount a player could buy in for at one time ($100).

In May, Florida signed a new agreement with the Seminoles to open up the rules regarding poker. Caps were removed from the buy-ins for cash games and tournaments, making Florida an appealing target for such organizations as the WPT. The new regulations took effect on July 1st and have been warmly received by both home-grown poker talent and tourists flocking to the felt.

The new stop at the Seminole Hard Rock properties in Florida could spark another boom for the WPT, which has seen its attendance shrink over the past couple of years due to the economic hard times experienced by businesses and poker players. Florida has become a hotbed of talented players, with three Sunshine State residents – John Dolan, John Racener, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi – making the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event final table.