After their massive success last year, you knew that they would be back in 2024. PokerStars announced last week that its North American Poker Tour stop in Las Vegas will return in November. The location once again will be Resorts World Las Vegas, which will host several big tournaments during a ten-day run in the desert.
“Last year, the NAPT smashed all expectations, so this year, we’re going even bigger,” Steve Preiss, the Vice President of PokerStars North America, stated during the announcement. “With a premier partner like Resorts World Las Vegas, we’re stepping up our game: bigger tournaments, buy-ins, and player-focused events.”
The director of Poker Operations for Resorts World echoed those sentiments. “Resorts World Las Vegas is thrilled to announce the highly anticipated return of PokerStars and the NAPT this November,” Leon Wheeler said. “After last year’s tremendous success, we are eager to capitalize on that momentum and host an even more spectacular festival in 2024.”
Mark Your Calendars
Resorts World Las Vegas will open its doors to the NAPT from November 1 through November 10, with a $500 “Mystery Bounty” tournament kicking off the action. On the 4th, big money will be on the line as the $25,000 Super High Roller draws the crème of the poker world to the tables. For those who get knocked out of the Super High Roller, the NAPT Main Event will start on November 5, with the $5000 buy-in event sure to bring together both amateurs and pros looking for an end-of-year score.
If players bust from the Main Event, then there are a couple more options for the players to jump into. On November 8, the NAPT High Roller will be held, with the $10,000 buy-in sure to have a strong field and a big prize pool. As the Main Event plays out on November 10, the NAPT Cup (a $500 buy in tournament) will play out alongside it and the High Roller.
Players in North America will have a chance to get in on the action in November. There will be online qualifiers held in states that offer the PokerStars online poker platform. That means that players in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania will be able to get in through satellites, alongside those from Ontario who play on the Canadian client and make it a true North American event.
Memorable 2023 Event First in Twelve Years
There were plenty of questions when PokerStars revived the NAPT in 2023. The original NAPT started in 2010 and was cruising along into its second season in 2011…then “Black Friday” struck. It would take a long twelve years before the NAPT would be revived (albeit in a limited format) when poker began its long climb out of the COVID pandemic of 2020.
The 2023 version of the NAPT Las Vegas was admittedly a bit less ambitious to start. The Main Event was only $1500 ($150 juice), and its side events of a High Roller ($500) and a Super High Roller ($10,000) were also scaled back a bit. The six Day Ones of the Main Event helped to build what would become a special event from last year.
Sami Bechahed came to the final table as the massive chip leader, holding 10.57 million chips, but he had several tough customers to overcome. He would knock them all down, however, with David Coleman, Nick Schulman, Sergio Aido, and Ping Liu being just some of the opponents who left before Bechahed did. After a twelve-hour final table, Bechahed was able to defeat Jonathan Borenstein in heads up play to capture the first NAPT title in twelve years and pick up the $268,545 first place prize.
If there were a major critique with the NAPT and PokerStars, it is the fact that they have not yet announced any other tournaments to make it a “tour.” With the rebirth of the NAPT Las Vegas, PokerStars will begin to create its North American counterpart to its European Poker Tour offerings.
