WPT World Championship at Wynn Has $15 Million Guarantee
December 12, 2022, is the date Australian poker players need to jet off to Las Vegas if they want to play in a poker tournament with the largest-ever guaranteed prize pool. Wynn Las Vegas is hosting the 2022 WPT World Championship, a $10,400 buy-in event with $15 million guaranteed. No live poker event has ever put such a large guarantee on a single tournament’s prize pool.
The WPT World Championship at Wynn requires 1,500 entrants to avoid paying an overly. Hitting that ambitious target will see this event become the largest-ever field for a $10,000+ buy-in tournament held outside the World Series of Poker (WSOP). This even will create several millionaires.
WPT CEO Adam Pliska knows the enormity of such a massive guaranteed prize pool.
“This is one of the most ambitious initiatives the World Poker Tour has undertaken in our 20-year history. We expect this to be highly-anticipated festival and are elated to be partnering with Wynn Las Vegas to bring this concept to life.”
Executive Director of Poker Operations at Wynn Las Vegas, Ryan Beauregard, called the WPT World Championship a “one-of-a-kind” event.
“We offer our guests the biggest and best poker experiences available, coupled with the world-class service and amenities that can only be found at Wynn Las Vegas. In partnership with WPT, we have created a festival that will be one-of-a-kind, must-attend event for both our current and new players.”
The Wynn Prepares For $15M Guaranteed WPT Event
Some online poker operators slap large guarantees on their tournament then run dozens of flights to help hit their targets. The World Poker Tour has not done this, which is surprising. The $15 million guaranteed tournament features only three Day 1s. They shuffle up and deal on December 12, 13, and 14. Rules permit a only single re-entry per flight. The tournament crowns its champion on December 20, giving someone the perfect Christmas present.
The WPT World Championship is no the only huge event taking place at Wynn Las Vegas. There is a $2 million guaranteed WPT Prime Championship, costing $1,100, from December 8-12. In addition, there is a Wynn Mystery Bounty from December 16-19, which also has a $2 million guarantee. One of the mystery bounties weighs in at a cool $100,000.
It cost $25,000 to enter the WPT World Championship originally. This fell to $15,000 from 2014 onwards. This new-look $10,400 edition has a lower prize still, making it more attractive to the masses.
A $25,000 buy-in edition in 2007 attracted 639 entrants, who created a $15,495,750 prize pool. Carlos Mortensen won $3,970,415 that day, which is still the biggest prize awarded on the WPT in 20-years. This latest event at Wynn puts that long-standing record at risk.
Casino Is No Stranger to Hosting Major Poker Tournaments
The Wynn Las Vegas is no stranger to hosting prestigious live poker events. Wynn regularly runs large festivals, but recently launched the Wynn Millions.
The 2021 edition drew in a 1,328-strong crowd, each paying $10,000. Popular poker pro Andrew Moreno came out on top that day and walked away with $1,460,106. Moreno’s prize would have been larger but he struck a deal with runner-up Clayton Maguire ($1,443,757) and Toby Lewis ($1,235,204). Lewis is a regular at the Aussie Millions.
Wynn Millions ran again in 2022 and saw 1,075 players buy-in, helping pass the $10 million prize pool. No deal occurred this time around as two American players became millionaires overnight. Runner-up Isaac Kempton banked $1,093,314 while champion Tony Sinishtaj scooped $1,655,952.
Such a large even without some Australian grinders in it would be surprising. Michael Addamo thrives in these high-stakes, high-pressure environments. As do the likes of Kahle Burns and Alex Lynskey, the latter currently fighting it out in the 2022 WSOP.
There is no doubt the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas has got tongues wagging. Do you think it will hit its ambitious guarantee?
All monetary amounts are in displayed in US dollars
