The World Poker Tour (WPT) announced Tuesday that it was adding a new Main Event to the current Season X schedule, the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. The $3,500 buy-in tournament is scheduled for February 10th through February 14th.
While the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel is a new venue on the World Poker Tour, this will not be the first time a WPT event has been held there. The debut WPT event at the casino, the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, was just this past April during Season IX. Taylor Von Kriegenbergh prevailed in the $10,000 touranment, besting 422 opponents to win over $1.1 million. The WPT Regional Series was also held at the casino in both November and December.
Unlike many World Poker Tour final tables, the WPT Lucky Hearts final table will not be televised, but it can still be seen via live streaming on the World Poker Tour website.
This new Main Event is now the fourth in WPT Season X in the state of Florida, joining WPT Jacksonville (November 2011), the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown (April 2012), and the second running of WPT Jacksonville (April-May 2012). Since the state lifted its harsh restrictions on live poker games in 2010, Florida has seen more and more action from tournament organizers and cash game players alike. While the southeastern United States still has a ways to go to be considered truly “poker friendly,” players in the region now have a number of viable options.
The World Poker Tour just completed a string of tournaments in December. Prague was the stop during the first week of the month as 571 players ponied up €3,500 for their shot at the €450,000. Russia’s Andrey Pateychuk took it down, using one heck of a run of luck to win his second major title of the year. Immediately following WPT Prague, James Dempsey won the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, beating 412 opponents and winning $821,612. Finally, this weekend saw the conclusion of the €3000 + €300 WPT Venice, held at the Casino di Venezia. Edoardo Alescio made his first live tournament cash a big one, as he won the event and took the first prize of €194,000.
The World Poker Tour is taking a short break for the holidays and will resume on January 5th with WPT Ireland at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. The Tour will then head back to Venice in February for the WPT Venice Grand Prix before going back to the States for the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open.
