Latin American Poker Tour Announces Season 9 Schedule; Kicks Off in Bahamas in January
The PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour has announced the schedule for Season 9. The new season will kick off with the LAPT Bahamas event in early January, and there are five events planned that will take place in Chile, Panama, Uruguay, and Brazil throughout 2016.
| Date (2016) | Event | Location | Main Event Buy-In |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 7-9 | LAPT Bahamas | Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island | $2,200 |
| March 4-8 | LAPT Chile | Enjoy Casino & Resort, Vina del Mar | $1,500 |
| May 12-16 | LAPT Panama | Sortis Hotel & Casino, Panama City | $1,500 |
| Sept. 23-27 | LAPT Uruguay | Conrad Resort & Casino, Punta del Este | $1,500 |
| --TBC-- | LAPT Brazil | São Paulo | $1,500 |
As part of the 104-event PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the 2016 LAPT Bahamas Main Event will feature a $2,200 buy-in and run Jan. 7-9 at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort. Last year's event was held with a buy-in of $3,000 and attracted 736 entries. American Joshua Kay scored first place and walked away with a hefty $367,928.
"The poker industry is booming in Latin America and by providing the best live poker experience in the region we will contribute to this growth for many years," said Edgar Stuchly, Director of Live Events at PokerStars, in a press release. "Every poker player will want to compete in the LAPT next year. The tour attracts some of the world’s best poker players, along with Team PokerStars SportStars such as Ronaldo and Neymar Jr., while offering more tournaments than ever before and buy-ins starting from as little as $50 to cater for our recreational players."
The LAPT Bahamas event won't be the only one on the schedule will a smaller buy-in in Season 9 than in Season 8, as the others have also been dropped to a more affordable $1,500 "in an effort to improve the player experience and attract a greater number of competitors to the tour."
The LAPT will be adding a new and special $400 No-Limit Hold'em Cup event at each stop. This event aims to provide an even more affordable alternative to players who are looking for the same sort of championship feel of more expensive events, but without the bigger price tag. There are also more mixed games and pot-limit Omaha tournaments planned.
"Over the past 10 years, I've been playing poker tournaments all around the world and it's great to see games that are popular in North America and Europe make their way to Latin America," said Andre Akkari, Brazilian Team PokerStars Pro. Other games besides Texas hold'em, such as pot-limit Omaha, will only become more popular if they are made available to play. With more variety available, the LAPT will appeal to more online grinders, recreational players, and mixed-game players, which will mean more players, larger tournament fields, and bigger prizes."
For complete tour information, head to LAPT.com.
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