There\’s been a lot of speculation about where the regulatory-challenged NAPT would head next, as it looks to spread across the US and/or Canada after a too awesome for its own good spectacular made-for-TV debut on American soil in Nevada at the Venetian.
Word was leaking to interested parties that it would indeed be at the Bike in California, with the Gold-Strike Tunica all but ready to be locked down, too. But now we know the plans for sure — the Bike it is, November 12-17, right after the November Nine — as does any else who might have an extreme stake in the future success and expansion of the North American Poker Tour presented by PokerStars.net.
THE POKERSTARS.NET NAPT ANNOUNCES AN EXCITING NEW STOP FOR SEASON 1
The PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour (NAPT) today announced the addition of a new stop to its Season 1 schedule. The NAPT will visit beautiful sunny Southern California for NAPT Los Angeles, a festival scheduled for November 12 – 17, 2010 at one of the largest poker rooms in the world, the incredible Bicycle Casino, aka ‘The Bike’.
“I\’ve played at The Bike in the past and there is a strong local presence in LA,†comments poker legend and Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreaunu. “It\’s always really important for a tournament’s success to have a strong core of local players as it gives even more incentive to travel to the events when you know there will be big money on the line. I\’m looking forward to playing.\”
Others scheduled to be on hand for the new stop include highly renowned Team PokerStars.net Pros such as Vanessa Rousso, Barry Greenstein, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, 2004 WSOP Main Event winner Greg Raymer, plus returning WSOP champion; 2009 Main Event winner Joe Cada.
The festival will feature a five-day Main Event with a US$5,000 buy-in. There will also be a broad range of fun and exciting side events catering to players of all bankroll levels. Up-to-date information on the events and schedules will be posted on www.napt.com
Haig Kelegian, Managing Partner of The Bike, states, \”We are very enthusiastic to secure the West Coast Tour stop. We clearly recognize the NAPT as the next major happening in the evolution of poker, and we have no doubt this Tour will entice and attract players from all over the world.\”
Season 1 of the PokerStars.net NAPT has proven to be a resounding success. The NAPT\’s first three festivals of Season 1 enjoyed tremendous support from players. Sixty different countries were represented in fields that numbered from 700 to 1,500.
The NAPT PokerStars.net Caribbean Adventure drew in a record-breaking 1,529 players with US based player Harrison Gimbel taking home $2.2 million for first prize. The NAPT Venetian title was won by 22-year-old online player Tom Marchese for $827,648 and the NAPT Mohegan Sun saw local Vanessa Selbst beat 716 players to win her biggest live tournament pay day to date of $750,000.
Players at all three events were treated to luxurious accommodation, amazing parties, and well-designed, professionally-run poker tournaments.
The easiest path to NAPT Los Angeles is by winning a free tournament package on PokerStars.net. Packages for the festival will include the US$5,000 entry fee for the Main Event, accommodation for the duration of the festival and a stipend for travel expenses.
About PokerStars.net:
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PokerStars.net is the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour, PokerStars.net Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour and The World Cup of Poker. For more information please visit www.pokerstars.net