Season XVII of the WPT Main Tour kicks off this month with the WPT Gardens Poker Festival, July 13-26, 2018, at the Gardens Casino in Southern California. The schedule has 12 feature events, including the $5,000 buy-in WPT Gardens Main Event running July 21-26. In celebration of hosting its first WPT Main Tour event and kicking off Season XVII, the Gardens Casino is adding $250,000 in cash and prizes to the WPT Gardens Main Event prize pool.
Included in the added cash and prizes is $200,000 in cash and a Mercedes-Benz SLC Roadster. The SLC Roadster will be presented by the Gardens Casino to the winner of the WPT Gardens Main Event as a unique first-place “trophy” in addition to the prestigious WPT Champions Cup. The winner of the WPT Gardens Main Event will also earn this season’s first automatic entry into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions.
The WPT Gardens Main Event will be the first event with the new and upgraded WPT structure that includes 40,000 starting chips and big blind ante.
What’s more is that the Gardens Casino has 13 mega satellites scheduled from July 13-20 with at least one per day during that period. Each of these mega satellites has two $5,000 seats guaranteed. In total, the Gardens Casino has planned to award 40 seats to the WPT Gardens Main Event via satellites. For more on the WPT Gardens Poker Festival schedule, including date and times for the mega satellites, click here.
In addition to the $5,000 buy-in WPT Gardens Main Event, the WPT Gardens Poker Festival has a $25,500 High Roller on the schedule. The High Roller is slated to start on Tuesday, July 24, at 2 p.m. local time and will be played with the Action Clock, provided by Protection Poker, and a big blind ante format. The High Roller will be rake-free for those that pre-register ahead of the event’s start time.
Monday, July 23, will be satellite day for the $25,500 High Roller. At 3 p.m., there is a $275 buy-in Step 1 Satellite scheduled that will see one in 10 advance to Step 2. At 6 p.m., there is a $2,550 buy-in Step 2 Satellite that will see one in 10 advance to the $25,500 High Roller.
For all of the mixed-game aficionados out there, there are a couple of events on the WPT Gardens Poker Festival to grab your attention. First, on Thursday, July 19, at 12 p.m. local time, the Gardens Casino will kick off the $350 H.O.R.S.E. event. Then, on Wednesday, July 25, a $2,200 8-Game Mix tournament kicks off at 1 p.m. local time.
For more information on the WPT Gardens Poker Festival, check out the event hub on WPT.com.
Hotel Information
For those looking to book trips to Southern California for the WPT Gardens Poker Festival and in need of hotel, special rates are available at the Ayres Hotel and the Sheraton Hotel.
At the Ayres, rooms are available for $149 on a limited basis. Please call the Ayres hotel directly at (562) 296-1405 and mention the group name “World Poker Tour” and group code “2296” to book.
To book with the Sheraton, rates can be found with limited availability for $189- $220. Click here to find the best rates and book directly with the Sheraton Hotel online.
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