The 2014 Ante Up World Championship will be Aug. 1-11 at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in California, featuring a $1,650 main event with a generous structure that will land the main event champion on the cover of Ante Up.
“While we and our guests enjoyed this year’s Ante Up World Championship in the Dominican Republic, bringing it stateside in 2014 makes the series accessible to more players,” said Scott Long, publisher of Ante Up with Christopher Cosenza. “Thunder Valley Casino Resort was the earliest supporter of the Ante Up Poker Tour, and its AAA Four Diamond Resort is the perfect location to host our tour’s marquee event.”
Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, Calif., just north of California, has hosted the Ante Up NorCal Classic Ante Up Poker Tour events the past two Novembers, and will do so again in November 2014. But for now, its focus is on the World Championship.
“This is the event we wanted to host. We are excited about the tour,” said Benjamin Erwin, director of poker operations for Thunder Valley Casino Resort. “When the opportunity came to host the World Championship, that was not something we were going miss. We’re absolutely committed to making sure the event is going to be as great as you’ll find anywhere.”
A full schedule of events is expected to be announced shortly, but it will include a variety of games to appeal to all players, as well as variations of no-limit hold’em that have proved popular in previous series at Thunder Valley Casino Resort. But the highlight will be the $1,650 main event, and Erwin is determined to make that event one players won’t want to miss. Players will start with 50K units with 40-minute levels that expand to 60 minutes later in the tournament.
“The World Championship structure is designed to allow each player the ability to play to their strengths,” Erwin said. “The players who really value hand-selection can pick their spots and the more active players can splash around some chips without being crippled by losing a couple of pots.”
The winner of the main event will appear on the cover of the September issue of Ante Up and win a personalized “World Champion” jacket.
Players will have ample opportunities to satellite into the World Championship Main Event at Thunder Valley leading up to and during the Ante Up World Championship, but also will be able to win their way into the event through the other Ante Up Poker Tour events around the country.
Ante Up will have up to 12 “championship” Ante Up Poker Tour events during the year, with the winner of the main event of each earning a spot on the cover of Ante Up as well as a seat in the Ante Up World Championship Main Event. New for 2014 will be a series of regional Ante Up Poker Tour stops, designed to bring the AUPT experience to more players around the country. The winner of AUPT main events at those locations also will win a seat in the Ante Up World Championship Main Event.
A schedule of initial Ante Up Poker Tour events will be announced in the February issue of Ante Up. Also new for 2014: The Ante Up Player of the Year race becomes the Ante Up Poker Tour Player of the Year, with cashers in every Ante Up Poker Tour event, including Ante Up Poker Cruises, earning points toward the title. Visit AnteUpPokerTour.Com for more information.
“Ante Up has covered every series we have had and will continue to do so as we look forward at another amazing year of events in 2014,” said Erwin, whose property also will host Heartland Poker Tour and World Poker Tour events in 2014. “The regional coverage and area ambassadors make Ante Up the perfect partner for any poker room in the country.”
2014 AUPT season starts with Cordova Casino
The 2014 Ante Up Poker Tour season will kick off in February at Cordova Casino in California. Nine more events, including five aboard Ante Up Poker Cruises, are confirmed, with several more expected to be added as the year goes on. More details on these events and new ones will be in the February issue of Ante Up and posted at AnteUpPokerTour.Com:
Feb. 15-16, Cordova Casino, Rancho Cordova, Calif.: The Ante Up Poker Tour event will be part of a two-month relaunch of poker at the lodge-themed casino just east of Sacramento.
March 7-17, Running Aces Card Club, Columbus, Minn.: This is the second year for the AUPT at this card club just north of Minneapolis. The event will be co-branded with the card club’s annual Spring Poker Classic.
March 30-April 6, NCL’s Star, Los Angeles: This will be the first Ante Up Poker Cruise on the West Coast.
April (dates TBA), 101 Casino, Petaluma, Calif.: The AUPT event at this casino just north of San Francisco will give Northern California players another opportunity to build an early lead in the AUPT Player of the Year race.
May 4-17, Independence of the Seas, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: This is the first Ante Up Poker Cruise to cross the Atlantic, with multiple tournaments planned every sea day.
July 28-Aug. 1, Enchantment of the Seas, Port Canaveral, Fla.: This is the first Ante Up Poker Cruise in the summer, giving players with children an opportunity to earn POY points when the children are out of school and can travel with them.
Aug. 1-11, Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Lincoln, Calif.: The Ante Up World Championship will feature a $1,650 main event with 50K starting units, as well as several other events, at this casino just north of Sacramento.
Oct. 19-26, Navigator of the Seas, Galveston, Texas: This is the first Ante Up Poker Cruise out of Texas.
November (dates TBA), Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Lincoln, Calif.: This will be the third year of the event that kicked off the inaugural AUPT, the Ante Up NorCal Classic.
Dec. 6-11, Brilliance of the Seas, Tampa, Fla.: This is always the most popular of the Ante Up Poker Cruises.
