A look at featured tournaments around the country. The following pages also highlight daily events and promotions.
September is a busy month for tournament players all over the country as poker rooms and smaller tours start up again after giving the summer to the big dogs in Vegas. With the restart of the World Series of Poker Circuit, and events from every major tournament series, there are more tournaments this month than we’ve seen since we started TourneyTracks.com late last year. Here’s to hoping the trend continues.
East Coast
WPT BORGATA OPEN: The WPT brings 26 events to the Borgata, starting Sept. 5 with a $560 buy-in event that has a million-dollar guarantee. An excellent mix of events includes a short-handed and seniors events, and a $3,300 buy-in finale with a $3 million guarantee.
DELAWARE POKER CHAMPIONSHIP: Dover Downs hosts the second annual Delaware Poker Championship, featuring a $450 main event with a $50K guarantee on Sept. 8 and satellites running daily.
South
* BESTBET SUMMER SERIES: The WPT is becoming a fixture with two events in Florida this month. It starts off at bestbet Jacksonville, with events every day with $230-$560 buy-ins, plus a $1,500 main event that has hour-long blinds, 20K chips and a $300K guarantee. Events run until Sept. 9.
* WPT TAMPA BAY OPEN: The Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa is pulling out all the stops with significant guarantees on every event, including Event 1, which is a $125K guarantee for only $515 and offers two starting days. Day 1A of Event 1 starts at 11 a.m. Sept. 7 and the series runs through Event 15, which starts Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. The main event is $1,500 with a $250K guarantee and two starting days on the 13th and 14th. A beautiful venue, great weather and a nice tournament series will make it hard to miss this one.
* PALM BEACH SUMMER CLASSIC: The Palm Beach Kennel Club, which host the only WSOPC stop in Florida, hosts its signature Summer Classic in West Palm Beach, Fla. With fantastic structures and a nice mix of events, there’s no reason to miss this one, which runs until Sept. 9.
WSOPC BOSSIER CITY: The circuit brings its excellent structure and big fields to Bossier City, La., starting Sept. 13 with the main event on Sept 22.
EVERGLADES OPEN: The Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla., follows up its recent WPT event with a nice little series of smaller buy-in events and daily satellites into the $560 main event. The series starts Sept. 24 and runs until Oct. 1.
Midwest
HPT GOLDEN GATES: The Heartland Poker Tour rolls into Colorado from Sept 3-17, and last season’s event in Colorado was the largest in HPT history, so you can expect big fields for this one.
MSPT HO-CHUNK: The Mid-States Poker Tour holds its first event in Wisconsin at Ho-Chunk Wisconsin Dells. Family fun and water parks abound, so bring the little ones. The MSPT has a great structure and a final table with live hole cards broadcast online with a 15-minute delay.
MIDWEST POKER CLASSIC: Running Aces in Columbus, Minn., hosts this annual event on Sept. 21 and runs through the end of the month. Multiple tournaments per day, lots of satellites and an excellent structure in the $1,100 main make this a can’t miss event.
* HPT LUMIERE/RIVER CITY: The HPT will be in St. Louis from Sept. 21-Oct. 1. With tournaments running at both properties, this should be a unique event and the HPT always has a nice turnout in St. Louis.
WSOPC SOUTHERN INDIANA: The circuit always has huge fields at the Horseshoe in Elizabeth, Ind., starting Sept. 27 and running through Oct 8. This event should feature big fields and the venue is fantastic.
MSPT DOWNSTREAM: The MSPT will make its first appearance in Oklahoma starting with qualifiers in mid September and the main event starting Oct. 6. The platinum bracelet, friendly staff and excellent structure should draw players from many miles around, and the $1,100 main event should draw a huge field.
West Coast
COMMERCE HOLD’EM SERIES: This L.A. cardroom hosts this small buy-in series until Sept. 15, with smaller events daily and a few bigger buy-ins mixed in. Look for large, soft fields.
CAESARS KICKOFF CLASSIC: This low-roller series is great for casual players, running till mid September with three daily events in Las Vegas.
* WPT WESTERN POKER CHALLENGE: The beautiful Atlantis Casino in Reno hosts this WPT Regional. Great service, excellent staff and a solid tournament series help make the Atlantis a favorite place to play. Start with this series Sept. 14, and when it’s over you can move over to the Grand Sierra for the Fall Pot of Gold series.
GRAND SIERRA POT OF GOLD: Cheap flights into Reno, $35 hotel rooms at the Grand Sierra and lots of action make this smaller buy-in series a great value. Events run Sept. 27 to Oct. 7 with multiple events every day and a $1,080 main event Oct 6.
* Denotes the main event of this series/tournament qualifies for Ante Up Player of the Year consideration as the final 10 players earn POY points.
