PokerStars announced Tuesday that the site will be offering a freeroll to all players left in the LAPT Nuevo Vallarta event that was suspended last week. Each of the 89 remaining players will begin the freeroll with the same number of chips they had when the tournament was paused and will play down to the final table. The final nine will then be flown to Chile, where they will finish the tournament live on a televised table in conjunction with the LAPT Vina del Mar that is scheduled for January 20-22, 2009.
“We know that many of our remaining players really wanted the opportunity to finish this tournament and earn their shot at an LAPT title,” said Sarne Lightman, Director of Marketing for PokerStars Latin America. “Although the tournament was suspended and the prize money distributed, PokerStars still wants to offer their players this extra opportunity. PokerStars will also be adding $50,000 in prize money to the final table.”
The LAPT Nuevo Vallarta was suspended due to a raid from Mexican gaming officials during Day 1 of the event. Tournament director Mike Ward halted play at around 11:30 p.m. ET while parties from both sides attempted to resolve the issue, but players and media members were asked to leave several minutes later as Ward announced that the tournament was postponed. The event was officially cancelled the next day due to “an indefinite suspension served on one of its local partners,” according to LAPT officials.
PokerStars released the following statement upon the suspension:
“The Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) confirms that it is cancelling the poker tournament in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, due to an indefinite suspension served on one of its local partners.
The LAPT states it has cooperated fully and in good faith with the requirements outlined by the Mexican government. The LAPT respects and abides by local regulations in each market.
LAPT’s partner in Mexico obtained a formal ruling from the Mexican Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB) allowing the event to take place. As the LAPT compiled with every rule stipulated by the Code of the Mexican Federal Law of Games and Raffles, the reasons for suspension are being reviewed by lawyers of all parties.”
A date and time for the online freeroll has not yet been put into place, as PokerStars is waiting to hear back from the remaining 89 players to settle on the most opportune time to resume play. Originally the 89 players were told they would receive double their $2,500 buy-in from the tournament’s $568,850 prize pool, plus a percentage of any remaining money based on their chip count. Each player would also receive a $500 transfer into their PokerStars account for any troubles.
This announcement resulted in an uprising from the players that had been eliminated from the tournament according to witnesses. Several protested at the entrance of the Marival’s theater and had to be asked to leave by police.
Among those still remaining and expected to play in the freeroll are Team PokerStars pros Greg Raymer, Victor Ramdin and Alex Brenes.
