Schedule announced for Latin American Poker Tour season eight
19 Jan 2015
The recently concluded LAPT Bahamas Main Event ran in conjunction with the 12th annual PCA and attracted a massive field. The combined festival format has seen great success on the European Poker Tour (EPT), where regional PokerStars-sponsored tours partner up with the EPT to create a festival that caters to both the local players and travelling professionals.
A total of 736 players paid the $3,000 buy-in event, creating a prize pool of $1.9 million. The first prize of $367,928 was won by Joshua Kay, who beat EPT Prague Season 8 champion Martin Finger heads up.
The LAPT returns to Punta del Este in Uruguay after a year away, in new surroundings at the Conrad Punta del Este Resort & Casino in mid-September. The highlight of the year will be the joint LAPT Grand Final and BSOP Millions in Sao Paulo – an event that will become the biggest-ever live poker festival in Central and South America.
David Carrion, PCA & LATAM Director of Live Operations, said: "We are very excited about the new LAPT season. It has many new introductions, thrilling destinations and hard-core poker formats, which are set to bring bumper fields and richer prize pools. Kicking off at PCA was fantastic and we are looking forward to a game-changing year in the history of LAPT."
TOUR SCHEDULE
Event
Location
Main Event Buy-in
Main Event Date
LAPT Bahamas
Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island
$3,000
January 7-9, 2015
LAPT Chile
Enjoy Casino, Vina del Mar
$2,500
March 6-10, 2015
LAPT Panama
Veneto Hotel and Casino, Panama City
$2,500
May 8-12, 2015
LAPT Peru
Atlantic City Casino
Lima, Peru
$2,500
Jul 10-14, 2015
LAPT Uruguay
Conrad Resort & Casino, Punta del Este
$3,300
September 18-22, 2015
LAPT Brazil Grand Final - BSOP Millions
São Paulo
R$10,000
- Subject to change
HIGHER BUY-IN, MORE EVENTS AND VARIANT
The LAPT Main Event buy-in is being increased to $2,500 while maintaining the unlimited re-entry format. In addition, Season 8 will feature new poker variants other than No-Limit Texas Hold'em. The line-up for each stop will boast a minimum of 13 tournaments including Pot-Limit Omaha, and mixed games such as H.O.S.E.
Carrion added: "PokerStars live events across the world offer the most diverse selection of different poker variants around. In Latin America, it is a challenge to cater for players fond of the less popular types, however this is something we are determined to do and are proud to introduce strong formats this season. With more variety available, we aim to attract more grinders, recreational and all-round players who can see higher EV with these options."