WPT releases Season 8 U.S. schedule

Back for an 8th season and looking stronger than ever, the World Poker Tour (WPT) released its lineup of U.S. events today with a full dozen stops planned.

Bookending the U.S. tour as expected are the Bellagio Cup V, starting in just three weeks, and the $25k WPT Championship in April.

WPT Season VIII will also feature the traditional stops at Bay 101 in San Jose, Calif.; the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles; Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Miss.; the Borgata in Atlantic City; Commerce Casino in Los Angeles; and Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Conn.

Joining the tour as a new stop is the inaugural Hollywood Poker Open in Lawrenceburg, Ind, where on top of the $10k main event there will be three non-televised WPT tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $3,000 to $5,000. All tournaments will also be played in the casino’s brand-new WPT Poker Room.

Season 8 will be filmed in High Definition and broadcast on Fox Sports Net (FSN) in the United States.

The schedule:

Bellagio Cup V
Bellagio
Las Vegas, NV
July 13 – 19, 2009
$15,000 +$400

Legends of Poker
The Bicycle Casino
Los Angeles, CA
Aug 22 – 26, 2009
$9,800 + $200

Borgata Poker Open
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
Atlantic City, NJ
Sept 19 – 24, 2009
TBD

Festa al Lago
Bellagio
Las Vegas, NV
October 20 – 26, 2009
$15,000 +$400

Foxwoods World Poker Finals
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Mashantucket, CT
Nov 5 – 10, 2009
$9,700 + $300

Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic
Bellagio
Las Vegas, NV
Dec 13 – 19, 2009
$15,000 +$400

Southern Poker Championship
Beau Rivage
Biloxi, MS
Jan 24 – 27, 2010
$9,700 + $300

L.A. Poker Classic
Commerce Casino
Los Angeles, CA
Feb 20 – Feb 25, 2010
$9,600 + $400

WPT Invitational
Commerce Casino
Los Angeles, CA
Feb 27 – March 1, 2010
Invitation Only

Bay 101 Shooting Star
Bay 101
San Jose, CA
March 8 – 12, 2010
$9,600 + $400

Hollywood Poker Open
Hollywood Casino
Lawrenceburg, IN
March 20 – 24, 2010
$9,600 + $400

WPT World Championship
Bellagio
Las Vegas, NV
April 17-24, 2010
$25,000 + $500

For the complete lineup of worldwide WPT events check the “WPT on Tour” section of www.WorldPokerTour.com.