The World Poker Tour (WPT) revealed the 2013 portion of its schedule for Season XI yesterday, presenting nine tour stops in three countries. The year kicks off with an old favorite, the WPT Borgata Winter Open, and ends, as usual, with the WPT World Championship.
The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has had a rough go of it lately, as it was forced to shut its doors for the better part of a week after Superstorm Sandy ravaged Atlantic City. Fortunately for poker fans, damages to the property were minimal and the WPT Borgata Winter Open should have no problem holding its $3,500 championship event from January 27th through February 1st. This will be the Winter Open’s first appearance on the tour since 2008, when Gavin Griffin won $1.4 million.
A week later, the tour will head down to warmer climes for the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. This is the second year for the $3,500 Lucky Hearts, though last year it was called the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Showdown.
The action then moves across the pond to Vienna, Austria for PartyPoker WPT Vienna. Those who do not make that tournament’s final table will be able to play in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic (enjoy that flight), which starts on February 23rd at the famous Commerce Casino, the same day WPT Vienna ends.
Players will be able to stay in California and just head up the coast for the next stop, the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star, which runs from March 4th through March 8th. After that, there’s a brief one month break before heading back across the Atlantic to Casino Barcelona for the PartyPoker WPT Barcelona, April 5th through April 10th.
After that, it’s back to the United States for the rest of Season XI and a return trip to the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida for the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown April 11th through the 16th. A month later, the eyes of the poker world will be trained on the Bellagio in Las Vegas for the $25,500 WPT World Championship (May 18th – May 24th) and the $100,000 WPT Super High Roller Championship (May 21st – May 23rd).
Last year’s WPT World Champion was Germany’s Marvin Rettenmaier, but that was just part of a larger accomplishment. Rettenmaier became the first player to ever win back-to-back World Poker Tour events when he followed that World Championship with a victory at the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic, the first event of Season XI.
The final five events in the United States will all be televised. The rest of the events can be watched via a live stream on WPT.com.
There will also be eight lower buy-in “National” events on the World Poker Tour, spread across several different countries including France, Ireland, Belgium, Cyprus, Mauritius and Spain.
In a press release, WPT CEO Steve Heller said, “After first-ever stops in Johannesburg, South Africa and Sanya, China in 2012 – along with repeat visits to popular venues such as Aviation Club de France in Paris and Bellagio in Las Vegas –it’s obvious that World Poker Tour remains the best choice for players who want to maximize the value of their tournament buy-in while also being able to compete against world-class competition on one of the biggest stages in the game today.”
