Poker Tour Australia
The Australian Poker Tour Brisbane 2020 Series 2 will be taking place at the Eatons Hil Hotel in Brisbane, Australia between October 7th and October 11th. 2020 Australian Poker Tour – Brisbane Tournament will run from 29 th January till 2 nd of February at the Eatons Hill Hotel. The tournament features over 18 events including events such as the Opening Event with a guaranteed A$25,000, NLH- APT Dracakis Players Championship with a guaranteed A$75,000 and the Main Event with a guaranteed A$150,000 in prize pool money. The Australian Poker Tour Gold Coast 2019 will be held from November 8th to November 10th at the Southport Sharks, Australia. Schedule OrianeMore Posts.
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Australia has a total of around 130 poker tables spread across 20+ poker rooms. Also, poker machines are extremely popular in Australia, with 180,000 units: that’s five times more than the US! There are numerous cities around the fringes of the country, but if you are seeking a top location to play poker, Melbourne is a great destination.
Remember when operators like the World Poker Tour traveled to destinations around the world to host poker tournaments? That was before Covid-19, when the world operated somewhat normally, unaffected by a pandemic.
The World Poker Tour was in its 18th season that began in July 2019 in California. There were the normal stops in the United States, like Atlantic City, Jacksonville, Atlantic City, and Las Vegas. But there were global stops on the main tour as well, such as the UK (Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham), Canada (Playground Poker in Montreal), Russia (Casino Sochi in Sochi), and Germany (King’s Casino in Rozvadov).
Even more global, however, was WPTDeepStacks, more of a mid-major tour that started its sixth season in Florida, but then jetted to Germany, New York, California, Portugal, Vietnam, Marrakech, Korea, Australia, the UK, Colorado, India, Pennsylvania, Canada, Belgium, Cambodia, South Africa, and California. And that was just the first half of that season.
That WPTDeepStacks stop in Australia was a popular one. Not only had it been in the works for some time, but it was special to WPT Anchor Lynn Gilmartin and WPT Vice President of Global Tour Management Angelica Hael. Both are Australian natives and more than thrilled to travel back to their home country to introduce the World Poker Tour.
Exciting Start to WPT/Aussie Relationship
When the WPT announced the first WPTDeepStacks Australia stop in 2019, poker players were excited. And the host casino, the Star Gold Coast in Queensland, took the opportunity to reveal its new poker room. Remodeled and offering 20 tables and a feature table, phone chargers and updated rules, the Star wanted to debut the room with the arrival of the WPT.
It went swimmingly well. Shane Warne was among the celebrity players in attendance, and poker pros like WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem played as well.
The 10-tournament series kicked off on September 27, 2019, and it culminated in the Main Event. The entries totaled 658 and the prize pool $1,480,500. And in the end, Hari Varma won the title and $274,247.
Scratched 2020 Plans
The World Poker Tour and Star Gold Coast were so pleased with the inaugural series that they planned more. In early March, the WPT announced that it scheduled two stops in Australia in 2020.
The WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast was set for April 24 through May 4 with 10 tournaments and a $1,500 Main Event. And into Season XIX, the WPTDS scheduled another stop alongside the WPT main tour. All of it was to run from September 24 through October 5, 2020. The WPTDS was to offer a $1,100 buy-in Main Event, and the main World Poker Tour schedule set up a $5,400 Main Event.
Everyone was excited.
Then, Covid-19.
The pandemic began sweeping the world in March 2020. Airlines cancelled flights. Countries like Australia closed their borders. Nonessential businesses around the world closed due to government protocols.
Little did they know it would last months and months…and now into 2021. At that time, the WPT just knew it had to postpone its WPT and WPTDS Australia stops, along with all others. Eventually, it became clear that nothing would be rescheduled in 2020.
The World Poker Tour took whatever events it could online and scheduled several series with PartyPoker. The online poker tournaments are available to players in many countries around the world…except those in Australia.
A New Schedule for 2021
The new year remains a big unknown. Everything seems to depend on a vaccine for Covid-19, one that will be distributed worldwide and eventually be available to the general populations of every country.
Right now, going into December 2020, there are several laboratories claiming the development of vaccines that are currently preparing for authorization and government approvals. Some say frontline workers and elderly populations, along with those with underlying health risks, could have the vaccines before the end of 2020.
However, most medical professionals estimate that it will take a minimum of a few months into 2021 to distribute the vaccines on a broader scale.
The World Poker Tour is optimistic.
Its schedule still shows a WPTDeepStacks Gold Coast festival set to begin on April 29 and run through May 3, 2021. The $1,500 buy-in WPTDS Main Event will begin on April 29 and run through the final day of the series. Of course, it will be at the Gold Coast.
Hael Speaks with PMA
Poker Media Australia has been on top of the live tournament action – and lack thereof – for years, so it’s no surprise that they booked WPT’s VP of Global Tour Management, Angelica Hael, for their most recent PMA Podcast episode.
PMA Managing Editor Ben Blaschke and Head of Content Landon Blackhall interviewed Hael in mid-November about a variety of issues related to Australia, the WPT, and the pandemic. Blaschke tried to get specific for the year ahead and what the WPT plans for 2021, insomuch as they can make plans.
Wpt Poker Tour
Hael said the WPT will be happy to have two or three stops in Australia every calendar year. There may also be more links with the WPT League to make tournaments available to people of more bankrolls.
What We Know
Amidst this wild ride of 2020 and the pandemic that threw everything into disarray, there is little one can say for sure.
What is known is that, as everyone on the PMA Podcast said, poker and its players are resilient.
When the World Poker Tour can get back to Australia, it will. It will resume its live tournament action in any place at any time that it feels it can do so safely and responsibly. With any luck, that will be in early 2021.
Table Of Contents
Poker players in Australia, particularly those looking to play for high stakes, got some welcome news earlier this week.
Poker Central announced the creation of a new tournament series, Australian Poker Open, to be held at the end of January through the beginning of February at The Star Gold Coast in Queensland. The festival will comprise a seven-event schedule similar in structure to the popular Poker Masters, with escalating buy-ins culminating in a $100,000 event.
Furthermore, following the Australian Poker Open, Poker Central will also host its flagship Super High Roller Bowl event.
Both events will be streamed on PokerGO. They're also jointly presented along with the World Poker Tour, according to a Poker Central presser.
Scheduled directly following the immensely popular Aussie Millions series in Melbourne, the addition of these two events makes for a packed poker schedule Down Under at the beginning of 2020.
Australian Poker Open
The schedule for the first Australian Poker Open will look pretty familiar to poker fans who have closely followed Poker Central events like the Poker Masters and U.S. Poker Open. It will be carried by no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha events entirely, though, whereas those events featured some short deck and mixed games.
Australian Poker Tour
2020 Australian Poker Open Schedule
| Date | Event # | Tournament |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 25 | 1 | AU$10,000 No-Limit Hold'em |
| Jan. 26 | 2 | AU$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha |
| Jan. 27 | 3 | AU$10,000 No-Limit Hold'em |
| Jan. 28 | 4 | AU$25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha |
| Jan. 29 | 5 | AU$25,000 No-Limit Hold'em |
| Jan. 30 | 6 | AU$50,000 No-Limit Hold'em |
| Jan. 31 | 7 | AU$100,000 No-Limit Hold'em |
Most likely, each tournament will be scheduled for two days, with the final tables streamed on PokerGO the day after the start date listed.
A points leaderboard will be tallied throughout the festival, as in other Poker Central series. The winner will be named Australian Poker Open champion and receive a trophy and AU$50,000 in bonus prize money.
Online Poker Australia
Super High Roller Bowl Australia
The Super High Roller Bowl has only been around since 2015, but it has quickly become one of poker's must-watch events. Fans around the world tuning in to PokerGO get to watch some of the world's best battle with cards-up coverage and a slow structure providing appointment viewing.
After starting out based in the PokerGO Studio outside ARIA, the SHRB has branched out in recent years. The Australia event will mark its fifth different country and fourth different continent as it embarks on its ninth overall iteration.
The tournament starts Feb. 2 and lasts three days.
“Creating the Australian Poker Open and Super High Roller Bowl Australia represents a key milestone for Poker Central and an important moment for our business as we further our international reach,” said Poker Central President Sampson Simmons in the press release. “As we bring our premier high roller event brands to new players and new destinations around the globe, PokerGO subscribers continue reaping the rewards of captivating poker content featuring the world’s best players.”
List of Super High Roller Bowl Champions
| Edition | Buy-In | Entries | Champion | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | $500,000 | 43 | Brian Rast | $7,525,000 |
| II | $300,000 | 49 | Rainer Kempe | $5,000,000 |
| III | $300,000 | 56 | Christoph Vogelsang | $6,000,000 |
| Macau | HK$2.1M | 75 | Justin Bonomo | HK$37.83M (~$4.8M) |
| IV | $300,000 | 48 | Justin Bonomo | $5,000,000 |
| V | $300,000 | 36 | Isaac Haxton | $3,672,000 |
| London | £250,000 | 12 | Cary Katz | £2,100,000 (~$2.6M) |
| Bahamas | $250,000 | 51 | Daniel Dvoress | $4,080,000 |
The price point of AU$250,000 makes SHRB Australia slightly more affordable than past editions. The exchange rate means the buy-in is roughly equivalent to $170,000, whereas previous SHRB's have cost between $250,000 and $500,000 to enter.
From 2011 through 2016, Aussie Millions hosted the AU$250K challenge — won three times in four years by Phil Ivey — but the event was canceled in 2017 and hasn't made a reappearance since as the appetite for ultra-high stakes Down Under has seemingly waned. SHRB organizers are betting there's still a market.
Marathon Run of Poker in Australia
The scheduling of Australian Poker Open and the subsequent SHRB, with the former kicking off Jan. 25, is unlikely to be coincidental.
That date puts it one day after the finale of Aussie Millions Main Event's final table. As Aussie Millions begins Jan. 4 and runs continuously through Jan. 24, the new Poker Central festivals make for a full month of uninterrupted poker action in Australia.
As Aussie Millions has plenty of high roller events on tap as well with the AU$25K Challenge, the AU$50K Challenge and the AU$100K Challenge, plus the AU$25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, bankrolls will undoubtedly be made and broken over the course of the all of the action.
Between Aussie Millions and the two Poker Central events, poker players of every buy-in level in Australia will have something to look forward to starting in early January. Stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the month for coverage of Aussie Millions and tournament recaps from the Australian Poker Open and Super High Roller Bowl.
Photo courtesy of Poker Central.
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