Wpt And Star Entertainment Plan Three 2022 Aussie Stops
The World Poker Tour traveled to Australia for the first time in 2019. The Star Gold Coast was the place and invited the WPT back for more tournaments the next year. Of course, the pandemic prevented that from happening. The WPT did return at the end of May in 2021 and broke its own records. And as the pandemic subsided, the WPT scheduled another visit for 2022, that one to the Star Sydney. Now, an agreement between the World Poker Tour and the Star Entertainment Group will facilitate three stops in Australia this year.
Double Dose of Gold Coast
The WPT’s first visit to the Star Gold Coast in 2019 was special for many reasons. Obviously, it was the first time the World Poker Tour ventured Down Under…in the tour’s 18th season. And at the same time, the Star Gold Coast unveiled a newly-renovated poker room. Further, though, the WPT VP of Global Tour Management, Angelica Hael, was a native Australian. Anchor Lynn Gilmartin was and Aussie, too. Needless to say, both were quite excited about the WPT’s foray to Australia.
That WPT festival in September and October 2019 offered 11 events. The Main Event was a $2,500 buy-in affair that brought in 658 total entries and a prize pool of A$1,480,500.
As soon as pandemic protocols allowed, the WPT planned a return to the Star Gold Coast, that time a WPTDeepStacks tour stop. Lockdowns and travel restrictions lifted enough to allow the May 2021 series to happen. There were ten preliminary events and a WPTDS Main Event. That one was a $1,500 buy-in and garnered 1,113 entries. The prize pool was $1,502,550.
Set Up for Sydney
When the World Poker Tour released this year’s schedule in early January, Australia was not listed on the main tour. However, it was a part of the WPTDeepStacks tour. And it wasn’t going to be at the Star Gold Coast but at the Star Sydney in New South Wales.
The only information released at the time of that announcement was:
- WPTDeepStacks Sydney Festival: 30 March – 11 April
- WPTDS Sydney Main Event: A$1,500 buy-in for 7-11 April
And later, the WPT revealed that the Main Event would offer three starting flights and unlimited reentries.
The WPT also noted that there will be a $750 buy-in opening tournament, a $2K buy-in two-day tournament, and a $5K challenge.
Done Deal
That most recent information about WPTDS Sydney emerged as a part of a press release from the World Poker Tour and the Star Entertainment Group. They announced a deal to deliver three WPT events to Star poker rooms in Australia in 2022. The Sydney stop will be the first.
The other two stops for the WPT this year will be at the Star Gold Coast. There will be a WPTDeepstacks event there as well as a WPT main tour stop.
The deal solidifies the WPT’s commitment to bring more poker action to Australia. Star Sydney Chief Operating Office Damian Quayle noted:
“The Star is the home of poker in Australia, and we are thrilled with our partnership with WPT to host this globally-recognized tournament for the first time ever in Sydney. With the WPT celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022, this event will be the first time that WPT sets a footprint in Sydney. This looks set to be the biggest ever staged in Asia Pacific and with the world’s best players here to compete, Sydney and the Star will be showcased as one of the best vacation playgrounds in the world.”
Hael of the WPT was as excited about this as she was about the first stop in 2019. Moreover, she’s happy to see a stop on the main tour head to Australia. “I look forward to greeting every single one of my fellow Aussies at the event and welcoming the world to an amazing host property, the Star,” she said.
More Information to Follow
There is some missing information. Will the WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast and WPT main tour stop coincide? What are those dates? When will they release the WPTDS Sydney schedule?
As soon as they have it, the Star and WPT will announce those details. They must obtain the proper regulatory approvals prior to doing so.
Those who are unable to attend the events can catch the action online. The WPT will livestream some of the action for the global audience on the WPT YouTube and Twitch channels.
The return of the WPT to Australia is a step a long time in the making. The pandemic put a wrench in nearly everything in the past two years. But Aussies are not only craving live poker options because of the pandemic but also because online poker is absent. There is no online poker through large operators like PokerStars, partypoker, 888poker, or Natural8 for Aussies due to the government’s ban. That leaves live poker.
In addition, one of the fan favorite poker rooms is not in operation. Crown Melbourne once had a poker room that was internationally known and attracted players from around the world for its series like the Aussie Millions. But the pandemic combined with Crown scandal has kept the room closed since early in 2020. And there is no opening date in sight.
Australians are hungry for poker. There is no better time for the World Poker Tour to bring it to them.
