The World Poker Tour and the Wynn are promising $40 million — the largest in history — for the $10,400 WPT World Championship in December.
That’s $25 million more than last year’s promise (and previous record) and enormous by any standard, and puts the WPT World Championship next to the World Series of Poker Main Event as one of tournament poker’s unofficial majors.
Not that it wasn’t before, but $40 million makes it a must-play tournament for the top players anywhere.
“The WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas is poised to reach new heights and we wanted to match that expectation with a guarantee that no live poker tournament has ever seen before,” said Adam Pliska, WPT CEO, in a press release. “The journey to December begins now, and we plan on giving players another unforgettable experience at Wynn Las Vegas.”
The prize pool will be fed by four starting flights beginning Dec. 12. The final table is set to take place eight days later on Dec. 20.
Last year, the WPT Championship came painfully close to doubling its $15 million guarantee with 2,960 entries who put a total of $29,008,000 into the kitty. Because $600 is taken from each $10,400 buy-in, 4,082 entries must be collected in order to avoid an overlay this year.
Thanks to a record-breaking WSOP Main Event, the confidence of organizers is buzzing.
“The astonishing support and excitement we’ve seen from the poker community after just one year is nothing like I’ve seen before,” said Ryan Beauregard, Executive Director of Poker Operations at Wynn Las Vegas. “We look forward to the 2023 WPT World Championship and hosting another industry-leading event with an unparalleled player experience.”
A true poker festival
The Championship event isn’t the only real “headliner” during this poker festival, it’s only the Grand Finale of a festival that starts Nov. 29, with a $1 million guarantee $600 buy-in event.
It then rolls right into some of the year’s biggest events, including the $5 million guaranteed $1,100 WPT Prime Championship $1,100 Dec. 7-12, the $250,000 guaranteed WPT Ladies World Championship Dec. 6-8, and the $1 million Big One for One Drop Dec. 18-20.
Last year, the WPT Prime Championship brought in 5,430 entries.
Two high roller events are set to take place: A $25,700 event December 17-18, followed by the WPT Alpha8, a $50,000 buy-in taking place December 20-21.
There’s also a a Mystery Bounty with a $2 million guarantee, a $1,100 Seniors Championship (50 and older), and a $10,000 Seniors High Roller. Also, new to the schedule is a $3,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship. Check out the full slate:
WPT World Championship at Wynn schedule
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