The World Poker Tour (WPT) announced on Tuesday a new promotion in conjunction with ClubWPT that will reward ClubWPT players handsomely should they win a WPT Main Tour event. This year, any ClubWPT member who qualifies for a WPT Main Tour event and then wins it will win a $1 million bonus in addition to the tournament prize money.
“Since 2010, hundreds of thousands of players have honed their skills on ClubWPT, and we’re proud to kick off a new decade with the ClubWPT $1,000,000 Bonus,” said Adam Pliska, CEO of the World Poker Tour, in Tuesday morning’s press release. “With millions of dollars at stake in every WPT event, and now a $1,000,000 bonus on the line, ClubWPT is clearly the most rewarding way for players to qualify for a seat on the World Poker Tour.”
Not exactly $1 million, but almost
It is still a great prize to win, but the fact that it is called a “$1,000,000 Bonus” instead of simply “$1,000,000” is completely intentional. Looking at the Terms & Conditions of the promotion show why.
If someone is fortunate enough to get their name inscribed on the WPT Champions Cup after qualifying via ClubWPT, they will not win $1 million cash. It will be a ton of money, but it won’t be $1 million just straight-up deposited into the bank account.
10 percent of prize is for WPT buy-ins
$100,000 of the prize will be a combination of WPT tournament buy-ins and cash. The rules state that $50,000 of that amount will be cash and $50,000 will be for WPT buy-ins and travel expenses. It’s a little confusing, though, as it says that the winner will get $10,000 for each of the five WPT Main Tour televised tournaments. If the buy-in is less than $10,000, the recipient will be given the difference in cash. If the winner does not play in a TV event, the associated $10,000 is forfeited. The tournaments must be played in 2021.
There is no mention as to what, specifically, the “$50,000 cash portion,” that is, the non-buy-in amount is for or if it is linked to attendance at a WPT event. If it’s just $50,000 cash free and clear, it’s weird that it is separated in this way.
That’s because the other $900,000 is just good, old money with no strings attached. Well, maybe one string: it’s split up into nine $100,000 increments, paid once a year.
Naturally, a ClubWPT member who finds themselves heads-up for a WPT title would have incentive to try to make a deal with their opponent to give themselves a better chance at victory. This is addressed in the promotion’s rules. No portion of the $1 million prize package may be used as part of a deal. Additionally, the WPT determines that any sort of collusion or chip-dumping occurred to ensure the ClubWPT player wins (perhaps the player offers his opponent more prize money in exchange for letting him win), the player will be disqualified from the rest of the promotion.
