By
Dan |
Published
Jun 24 2009, 08:53 PM
|
On August 26th, the World Poker Tour (WPT) invades Bratislava, Slovakia for the first ever WPT Slovakia. The WPT has partnered with Slovak Poker Sport Federation to bring the spectacle to life. The Main Event promises to be fierce, as a €4,400 buy-in deep stack tournament will play out beginning on August 31st, crowning a champion four days later. All of the action will take place at the Golden Palace Casino in the Slovakian capital and the field is capped at 700 runners. It is yet another example of the WPT expanding beyond the borders of the United States, bringing the total to five events in 2009. The tournament series announced its eighth season on Wednesday, bringing 12 more events into homes across the United States on Fox Sports Net.
The deep stack Main Event at WPT Slovakia awards 30,000 in starting chips to each player and blinds begin at 25-50. Each level lasts 60 minutes on Day 1 and expands to 90 minutes on Day 2 and beyond. On the newest addition to the Slovakian poker scene, Dag Palovic, President of the Slovak Poker Sport Federation, commented in a press release, “Slovak Poker Sport Federation is delighted to be associated with a top brand like the World Poker Tour in the creation of this unique and attractive event in the territory of Central and Eastern Europe. With the creation of WPT Slovakia, we intend to emphasize Bratislava’s attributes as a highly desirable destination for all poker players.”
The deep stack Main Event serves as the culmination of over a week’s worth of action in Bratislava. Here is the full schedule, so mark your calendars:
August 26th at 17:00 CET
€50 Rebuy
August 27th at 17:00 CET
€250 buy-in Freezout
August 28th at 17:00 CET
€200 Cubed
Augist 29th at 17:00 CET
€50 Rebuy
August 30th at 17:00 CET
€200 Rebuy Main Event Super-Satellite
August 31st at 12:00 CET
€4,400 WPT Slovakia Main Event Day 1A
September 1st at 12:00 CET
€4,400 WPT Slovakia Main Event 1B
September 2nd at 12.00 CET
WPT Slovakia Main Event Day 2
September 2nd at 17.00 CET
€550 Rebuy
September 3rd at 12.00 CET
WPT Slovakia Main Event Day 3
September 3rd at 17.00 CET
€1,630 buy-in Freezout
September 4th at 14.00 CET
WPT Slovakia Main Event Final Table
September 4th at 17.00 CET
€1,090 buy-in Freezout Plus One €50 Charity Add-On
Registration is available online for each event, including the feature tournament. Golden Vegas (pictured at left), which will play host to the brand new event, weighs in at 1,000 square meters of gaming space and has poker tournaments daily. The WPT Slovakia official website notes that four hotels will dole out reduced rates for tournament participants: the five star Radisson SAS Carlton, the riverside Park Inn Hotel, the four star Holiday Inn, and the new Hotel Aston.
The Slovakia stop is one of five non-U.S. destinations for the WPT in 2009. In May, tour officials held an event in historic Venice, Italy that also came with a €4,400 buy-in Main Event. In June, the WPT made its annual pilgrimage to Barcelona for the Spanish Championship, a non-televised event with a €5,300 buy-in. In October, the WPT brand will travel to Marrakech for a €4,500 buy-in feature tournament. Finally, in September, the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic will unfold. The tournament boasts a rich $10,300 price tag and will be televised regionally.
WPT Founder and CEO Steve Lipscomb told PocketFives.com that a major change in tournament structure will occur for Season 8 of the tour’s U.S. events. Blind levels will run for 60 minutes at the six-handed final table, but shrink to 30 minutes when play reaches heads-up in an effort to avoid marathon sessions. Lipscomb explained, “The players themselves have a sense that they want as much time as possible to prove that they’re the best player, but you don’t need 15 hours to prove that you’re better than five other people.”
Check out the full WPT Season 8 schedule.