2009 Set to Begin With Tourneys From Bahamas to Russia

December 26, 2008

It is the time of year when tournaments around the world come to a virtual standstill. With the completion of the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio in Las Vegas, the tournament circuit has wrapped (pun intended) up for the year. But after all of the family gatherings and holiday trips run their courses over coming days and weeks, the focus will again be on the poker tournaments of the world.

The poker tournament circuit has grown by leaps and bounds in past year, and 2009 looks to be no different. And with new recent additions like the Asian Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour, Latin American Poker Tour, and soon-to-kick-off Russian Poker Tour, there will be no shortage of events to choose from as players plan their schedules for the start of the new year.

The first series of events doesn’t leave for much recovery time from New Year’s celebrations. The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure begins on January 5 and runs through the 10th with numerous tournaments and activities. While the $10,000 buy-in main event is the main attraction, other events are playing out like the final table of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker, the $25,000 buy-in High Rollers tournament, and the Battleship tournament. (Yes, that Battleship game from your childhood!) There will also be a PokerStars poker camp during the week, and altogether it is being dubbed the Festival of Poker. What better way to ring in the new year than at the Atlantis Resort & Casino in the Bahamas?

The next stop on the 2009 tournament circuit is the World Poker Tour Gulf Coast Poker Championship at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi. The standard $10,000 buy-in will be in place, and the tournament will run from January 14th to 17th. Players looking to follow in the footsteps of six and a half seasons of WPT champions will be there in force.

Throughout the month of January, the Aussie Millions series of tournaments will be ongoing at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. It culminates in the $10,500 main event that will run from January 18th through the 24th with a guaranteed $2 million first prize. Also included in the festivities will be the World’s Largest Cash Game with a $1 million buy-in, sure to attract some of the world’s most well-known high rollers.

For those in Europe and who can’t make the long trek to Australia, the European Poker Tour will be in full swing from January 20th to the 24th with its reinstated Deauville, France stop. Back by popular demand, the €5,000 buy-in tournament will take place at the Barriere Casino with a cap of 700 players. If the recent EPT events are any indication, the tour will have no problem filling those seats.

Also on January 20th, players from all over Latin and South America will be traveling to Vina del Mar, Chile for the Latin American Poker Tour’s first stop there. With a $2,500 buy-in and the ever-growing popularity of poker in the region, the three-day tournament is likely to draw a sizable crowd. In addition to the Vina del Mar tournament, the final table of the LAPT’s Mexico stop will also take place there. After the Nuevo Vallarta tournament was abruptly shut down by government officials, the powers-that-be decided to play out the tournament online and fly the final tablists to Chile to play for the win in front of the LAPT cameras.

As if January wasn’t already full enough, an entirely new tour has been added to the scene, courtesy of PokerStars. The Russian Poker Tour will launch in St. Petersburg on January 25th and run through February 1st. The $5,000 buy-in main event is sure to attract new faces as the first major tour to hit Russian soil, and with so many new stellar players coming from the region, it is sure to attract them to the RPT to capture its first title.

Lastly, the Asian Poker Tour will hit the Philippines on January 27th and wrap on February 1st at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati. The $2,500 buy-in main event is estimated to garner a $1 million prize pool, and with the success of other tours to travel to the Philippine islands, players will surely turn out in droves for the APT.

Once the holidays are over, the tournament circuit will obviously be in full swing quickly, and new champions will be crowned the world over. Best of luck in 2009 to everyone!

Poker Most Searched Term Again in 2008

For three consecutive years, poker has topped the list of online search terms on Lycos.com. The idea that poker was a fad or has diminished in popularity in the last few years, well, simply is not true. Dec 11, 2008

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