Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Now a $5 Million Guaranteed w/ $3,500 Buy-in
Last Aug., the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $10 Million Guarantee Championship Event proved a tremendous success and captivated the poker world. On Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL tweeted that they would host another $10 million guarantee that would be a World Poker Tour event with a buy-in of $5,300. While the tweet was retweeted by Executive Tour Director of the WPT Matt Savage at the time, there was no official announcement from the WPT.
April 2014 @SHRHollywood Showdown just announced, $10 Million WPT Main Event Guarantee w/ $5300bi @SHRThePokerRoom #SHRPO
— Seminole Hard Rock (@SHRHollywood)
A press release originally dated Dec. 12, 2013, which currently does not appear on neither the Seminole Hard Rock Press page nor the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Blog, was recently obtained by PokerNews from the Seminole Hard Rock and states that the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown is now a $5 Million Guaranteed Championship with a buy-in of $3,500. The series will run from March 27 through April 16, 2014.
When reached for comment regarding the guarantee change, Ray Stefanelli, Director of Poker Marketing for Seminole Gaming, told PokerNews the following:
“Seminole Hard Rock Poker continues to strive to offer outstanding experiences for our tournament players. While the August Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open championship event was extremely successful at a $5,300 buy-in, we wanted to provide a more accessible price-point in April and expose more customers to both the WPT and Seminole Hard Rock poker brands and the televised championship event. The $5 million guarantee is largest guarantee for a $3,500 buy-in and provides outstanding value to the tournament players.”
Savage echoed those sentiments.“I personally feel that the $3,500 amount will be better for the poker economy in Florida," he told PokerNews.
The $5 million guarantee is the largest guaranteed prize pool offered for a $3,500 buy-in. The WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship will be televised, and registration for the event will open in March with more details to follow. A full schedule of events is expected in January.
“Our recent August Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open brought local, regional, national and international players together to take part in a historic event and experience our world renowned resort amenities and first-class poker operations,” said Larry Mullin, COO of Seminole Gaming. “We were thrilled with the positive responses to the SHRPO and are now very excited to offer the $3,500 buy-in for the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.”
Other announced dates include the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open returning Aug. 6-28 and the Seminole Hard Rock ‘N Roll Poker Open running Nov. 13 through Dec. 1.
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