The World Poker Tour (WPT) will break in the New Year with the Southern Poker Championship at Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. The largest poker event of the Mississippi Gulf Coast begins on January 2nd and concludes with the WPT Main Event on January 14th to 17th. In addition to an anticipated $1 million first place prize, the winner of the Main Event will receive a bracelet and a $25,000 seat in the WPT Championship at the Bellagio in April of 2009.
The 16 day event will feature 15 tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $300 up to $10,000. There will also be daily No Limit Hold’em tournaments, $540 buy-in Mega Satellites to the WPT Main Event every afternoon, and $200 buy-in Second Chance tournaments each night.
“This year’s Southern Poker Championship is our second time at the beautiful Beau Rivage in Biloxi,” said Founder, President, and CEO of the WPT Steve Lipscomb. “MGM and the WPT are great partners. When we host a World Poker Tour televised event together, it is tough to beat. Add Biloxi’s Southern hospitality and remarkable determination and you’ll understand why we are thrilled to be back at the Beau.”
“We have enjoyed a long-standing partnership with WPT,” said George P. Corchis, Jr., President and Chief Operating Officer of MGM MIRAGE’s Mississippi Operations, which includes Beau Rivage in Biloxi and Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica. “This year, our January WPT poker event will move to Beau Rivage and, by all accounts, this Southern poker tradition will only get bigger and better.”
The featured event leading up to the WPT Main Event will be the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship on January 11th, which is expected to draw many of the big names in poker. One of the largest Omaha events in the world, the $5,000 Championship originated in 2005 at the Gold Strike in Tunica.
Another popular event is the Ladies International Poker Series No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament on January 10th. The event has a $300 + 40 buy-in and will attract women from all over the world.
Established professional poker player Bill Edler will attempt to repeat as champion of the WPT Main Event at Beau Rivage, which kicks off on January 14th. Edler took home $747,615 by defeating David Robbins heads up for the title in September of 2007.
World Poker Tour Season VII will air on Fox Sports Net (FSN) starting in January of 2009 as part of the Sunday night block. FSN, the nation’s leading provider of local sports, received exclusive rights to broadcast 26 all-new WPT episodes across its national sports cable network. The WPT had previously been televised on The Travel Channel and GSN.
“Beau Rivage is proud to bring back the biggest and only televised poker event on the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” said Ken Lambert, Jr., Beau Rivage director of poker operations. “The players have really responded to the combination of Southern charm and hospitality at Beau Rivage, as well as the Gulf Coast’s mild winter temperatures.”
