Running Aces Card Club hosted one of the first events in the inaugural season of the Ante Up Poker Tour, and in 2014, it has chosen one of its most popular events for the AUPT schedule, its Spring Poker Classic.
“The Spring Poker Classic is a growing event that we have run for the past couple years,” tournament director Tristan Wilberg said. “We were so successful with our Midwest Poker Classic in the fall that we decided to run a similar event in the spring.”
The event runs from March 4-17 at the cardroom in Columbus, Minn., just north of Minneapolis. The winner of the main event will appear on the cover of Ante Up, plenty of cash, a seat in the Ante Up World Championship Main Event and a personalized AUPT champion’s jacket.
“This year’s SPC will be redesigned to more closely resemble our highly successful 2013 MPC,” Wilberg said. “We will have a six-max event, a high roller, several Omaha tournaments, a HORSE event and a ladies-edge event.
“The ladies-edge tournament was a new concept I started last year,” Wilberg said. “Women receive a small discount when they buy in, but there is a bonus for how many men join the event. For every man that buys into the tournament, Running Aces adds $25 to a special prize to the top finishing (woman). This bonus makes women want men to join the event. The bonus last year was more than $3,000 for the top finishing woman.”
A complete schedule and structures are available on Running Aces’ website. Wilberg said players can count on the long structures that have become a hallmark of Running Aces tournaments.
“When designing the structures, it was very important to me that players would have the time to play their cards and not get to a less-than-10-big-blinds average stack and feel like they are just ‘flipping,’ ” Wilberg said. “I feel that it allows skill to come more to the forefront. It allows players to choose to make plays instead of forcing them to do so. It was also very important to me that there was plenty of play when we reach the final table. That is the most important time in the tournament and there are so many structures that do not focus on that.”
Running Aces has four “Club Pros” – professional players who call Running Aces their home room. Here is what some of them are saying about the Spring Poker Classic Ante Up Poker Tour event:
Erick Wright: “I enjoyed the Ante Up series at Running Aces last spring, and I’m excited to see that these two entities came together again this year to bring the Spring Poker Classic back to Running Aces. Both names have become synonymous with great tournament series and I expect this Year’s SPC to be the biggest yet.”
Chris Wallace: “The points series and bankroll builders will both be a big help for smaller bankrolls. A $135 with 15,000 starting stacks and Running Aces’ awesome structure is really a great opportunity to get more experience with deep stacks and take a shot at building your bankroll without spending a lot of money. I could talk about structure and competence and game selection and a host of other things, but the reason I play at Running Aces is because of the friendly environment. I have become friends with much of the staff and many of the regular players because of the relaxed playing environment and games are always more profitable when the players are having fun.”
Running Aces also offers several Las Vegas-style table games, all without antes and most with progressive jackpots and side bets, and the Winner’s Circle restaurant. The card club has partnered with three hotels within five miles of the racino, all of which are offering 15 percent discounts for players who mention the Ante Up tournament when booking.
