February and March will be primetime for tournament players in St. Louis. Three major tours will make stops in St. Louis over a six-week period. With only a few days off between events, there will be almost continuous action in town.
• The Heartland Poker Tour has been making two St. Louis visits a year. It returns to River City Casino from Feb. 20 to March 3, which is a month earlier than last year’s spring visit. The St. Louis stops have grown visit to visit. This stop draws well with traveling pros and counts toward the HPT Player of the Year award.
• The Hollywood Poker Open returns to Hollywood Casino St. Louis from March 7-16 for a second visit. This series of tournaments leads to the main event. In addition to the main-event prize pool, the winner receives entry into the HPO Championship in Las Vegas this summer.
• The World Series of Poker Circuit visits Lumière Place Casino from March 20-31. St. Louis hosted the WSOPC until 2012, when Caesars Entertainment sold Harrah’s St. Louis. This stop is replacing Horseshoe Cleveland in the schedule and will be Lumière’s first tournament series. Lumière has been purchased by Tropicana Entertainment and is operating independently of Pinnacle Entertainment’s other businesses until the sale is complete.
Three tournament series in a row is a first for St. Louis. This is a great poker community and the series will offer great exposure to St. Louis players. All of these properties are offering special room rates during these events. Check with each poker room for details.
— Don Matusofsky is our Missouri Ambassador. Email him at anteupdonm@gmail.com.
