September 7-13. The Poker Masters is a series of seven high roller events. The player who wins the most HOY points during the series will win the Poker Master Championship and will receive the coveted Purple Jacket®. Mar 30, 2010 The Five-Star World Poker Classic tournament series began today at Bellagio, and it will conclude with the World Poker Tour Championship event, which will crown its champion on April 24.
The Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Classic will make a big adjustment next year. The tournament series will take place in May instead of April. The $25,000 no-limit hold’em World Poker Tour Championship event will run from May 21-27, 2011. The 2010 World Series of Poker begins on May 28, so it appears that this annual tournament series is trying to grow the elite field by catching players as they arrive in Las Vegas for the summer for the WSOP.
The 2010 WPT Championship, which concluded last week, attracted a turnout of just 195 players this year — the lowest for the event since it attracted 111 during season I. Bellagio tournament director Jack McClelland knew that he was fighting an uphill battle facing off with the PokerStars European Poker Tour events in San Remo and Monte Carlo that also take place in April and decided it was time for a change.
“We have hosted this tournament in the same time slot for a number of years and they scheduled right on top of us. I couldn’t overcome it,” said McClelland. “Maybe they didn’t put it on top of us on purpose; it could have been the only time they had available, but it has made it tough for us.”
McClelland went on to discuss the multiple logistics and scheduling aspects that have to be considered when scheduling a major poker tournament series.
“Each individual casino has to do what’s best for them. It might be better if the World Poker Tour Championship was held in the middle of January or something, but at that time the consumer electronic show is in Vegas and we can’t get any rooms,” said McClelland.
He is a little apprehensive to schedule so close to the WSOP, but he feels that it will ultimately make the travel demands on players more convenient.
“It was a very difficult decision because I don’t like to go right before the World Series because of tradition. I hope I don’t overlap them at all,”, said McClelland. “What we’re trying to do is make it so you don’t have to come out to the World Poker Tour Championship and then fly back to Europe before the World Series.”
Bellagio has made adjustments to the upcoming Bellagio Cup VI schedule, as well. Most notably, they are changing the buy-in for the WPT championship event from $15,000 down to $10,000. The tournament series runs June 25-July 16, and there are 23 events in all. The WPT championship event will run July 11-16 in order to catch players as they bust out of the WSOP main event. All but three of the events will feature a $1,000 buy-in, and there will be nightly $500 no-limit hold’em tournaments that will run from June 25-July 6. This was another adjustment made in consideration of player demand.
“We’re seeing that players want to play in the big events, and then there are others that want to play in the small $300-$1,000 events. That medium-range player that likes the $1,500-$3,000 events just doesn’t really exist anymore,” said McClelland.
Time will tell if these adjustments can stop the shrinking tournament fields at one of poker’s premiere location, with the first results available this summer. Bellagio already has one major tournament to book-end the conclusion of the WSOP and next year there will be another right at the start.
Here is a look at the adjusted schedule for the 2011 Five-Star World Poker Classic:
Tuesday, May 3: Event No. 1 ($500 no-limit hold’em event)
Wednesday, May 4: Event No. 2 ($1,000 Omaha eight-or-better)
Wednesday, May 4: Event No. 3 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em)
Thursday, May 5: Event No. 4 ($500 no-limit hold’em)
Friday, May 6: Event No. 5 ($1,000 H.O.R.S.E.)
Friday, May 6: Event No. 6 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em w/rebuys)
Saturday, May 7: Event No. 7 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em)
Sunday, May 8: Event No. 8 ($1,000 Seniors no-limit hold’em)
Sunday, May 8: Event No. 9 ($500 no-limit hold’em)
Monday, May 9: Event No. 10 ($1,000 pot-limit Omaha w/rebuys)
Monday, May 9: Event No. 11 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em)
Tuesday, May 10: Event No. 12 ($500 no-limit hold’em)
Wednesday, May 11: Event No. 13 ($1,000 pot-limit Omaha 8OB w/rebuys)
Wednesday, May 11: Event No. 14 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em)
Thursday, May 12: Event No. 15 ($1,000 no-limit deuce-to-seven lowball w/rebuys)
Thursday, May 12: Event No. 16 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em)
Friday, May 13: Event No. 17 ($1,000 Omaha eight-or-better)
Friday, May 13: Event No. 18 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em w/rebuys)
Saturday, May 14: Event No. 19 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em)
Sunday, May 15: Event No. 20 ($3,000 H.O.R.S.E.)
Sunday, May 15: Event No. 21 ($500 no-limit hold’em)
Monday, May 16: Event No. 22 ($1,000 pot-limit Omaha w/rebuys)
Monday, May 16: Event No. 23 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em)
Tuesday, May 17: Event No. 24 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em w/rebuys)
Wednesday, May 18: Event No. 25 ($1,000 pot-limit Omaha w/rebuys)
Wednesday, May 18: Event No. 26 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em)
Thursday, May 19: Event No. 27 ($5,000 no-limit hold’em)
Thursday, May 19: Event No. 28 ($2,500 no-limit hold’em super satellite)
Friday, May 20: Event No. 29 ($2,500 no-limit hold’em super satellite)
Friday, May 20: Event No. 30 ($2,500 no-limit hold’em super satellite)
Saturday, May 21: Event No. 31 ($25,000 WPT no-limit hold’em championship)
Saturday, May 21: Event No. 32 ($2,500 no-limit hold’em super satellite)
Tuesday, May 24: Event No. 33 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em w/rebuys)
One of the biggest bubbles of the tournament year occurs each season at the WPT Championship at Bellagio. This year is no different with at least $37,167 set aside for those fortunate enough to make their way to the final 27 players. Card Player caught up with a few players during the break before the bubble to get their thoughts on the tense situation.
For those who put up the $25,000 buy-in, busting on the bubble would amount to a $62,167 swing in variance. For a guy like Scott Seiver, who is on the hook for his entire buy-in, not cashing would mean three and a half days lost in the Fontana Lounge at Bellagio, when he could have easily been back at Ivey’s Room at Aria winning six-figure sums.
“It would be pretty brutal if I didn’t cash in this event,” said Seiver. “For the first 25 hours of this event, I really didn’t mind if I busted or not. I knew that the cash games were waiting for me if I was eliminated. But now that I’m so deep, it really would kind of hurt to bubble, having wasted almost four days of play.”
Fortunately for Seiver, he easily made it through the bubble and emerged with an above average chip stack. On the other end of the spectrum was online qualifier David Brownworth, a casual player from Arizona who beat out 2,947 players to win his seat.
“This is tough,” explained Brownworth. “But in the end, the money doesn’t mean much to me. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a lot of money, but I’m in this thing for $20. Frankly, it’s worth the $37,000 just to have this experience, playing with these excellent professionals. Heck, I probably would’ve paid $50,000 for the honor.”
Brownworth fought hard, but ultimately busted in 29th place, officially bubbling the bubble.
Bellagio Poker Room Tournament Schedule
Last year’s WPT Championship winner David Williams picked up a free seat thanks to his victory, but with the bubble looming, he had his sights set on a much more ambitious goal.
“My mind is focused on just making it through the day,” said Williams. “That’s how you win these things. You just take it one day at a time, focusing on the eight other players at the table.”
Bellagio Poker Games
When asked about the possibility of going back-to-back at the WPT Championship, Williams admitted that it was on his mind. “That’s the goal. It’s really tough to win back-to-back tournaments these days and if I were to accomplish that at one of the most prestigious events on tour, it would really be something.”
Williams was criticized by fellow player Kenny Tran for over-shoving pocket aces during the bubble, but Williams insisted he was doing it to disguise the strength of his hand. Nonetheless, he made it through to the final three tables with an average stack.
Will Failla has been traveling the tour for years and has nearly 2 million in tournament winnings, but found himself super short stacked entering the deciding level of play with about ten big blinds.
“I’m feeling strong and confident, but I need my cards to feel the same way,” joked Failla. “Honestly, I’m one of these guys who plays more for the accomplishment than the money. No matter what happens, I can say that I beat out almost 90 percent of this elite field. The money is just a bonus and hopefully it will be a big bonus.”
With 28 players remaining, Failla moved all in holding pocket nines against the K-J of chip leader Sam El Sayed. The tournament staff paused the action so that the WPT cameras could get in place, causing Failla to endure about a minute of stress, awaiting the five board cards that would determine his fate.
When the dealer finally rolled out the flop, Failla called out for a nine. A king appeared in the window, but fortunately for the man they call “The Thrill,” the nine of diamonds was right behind it. Failla went on to win the hand and safely double through into the money.
The unfortunate bubble boy was Hafiz Khan, who woke up with pocket aces and jammed them in preflop only to get outdrawn by Justin Young’s pocket jacks.
Now that they are safely in the money, the final 27 players can focus on the next goal, making the televised final table of six and after that, perhaps claim the $1,618,344 first-place prize.