First of 18 Events at Hollywood Poker Open Columbus Kicks Off Thursday
As the spring winds to a close, summer and the World Series of Poker are on the horizon, and that means a number of poker tours are ending their current seasons. Among them is the Hollywood Poker Open, which is heading to Columbus, Ohio, for the fourth of five regional stops beginning Thursday, April 28.
HPO Columbus kicks off with a $235 entry, $20,000 guaranteed tournament, the first of 18 numbered events for the stop, which ends May 8 with the conclusion of the $1,115 Regional Main Event. Of the 18 events on tap, eight will be "featured" events, meaning players placing high enough will earn points towards the stop's leaderboard. Whoever accumulates the most points will earn a $2,500 seat into the HPO Season 4 Championship, taking place June 23-26 at M Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Of particular note is, of course, the aforementioned Main Event, which begins Friday, May 6, with the first of two starting flights. Last year at this stop, Daniel Swartz topped a field of 294, including a victory over Nick Pupillo heads up, to pocket $70,560 and his $2,500 seat.
This year, the tournament will carry a $200,000 guarantee and feature the HPO's traditional player-friendly structure with 50-minute levels throughout Day 1 and then 60-minute levels starting at Level 21 for players who make it a few hours into Day 2. Once again, the winner will take home an added $2,500 seat to the Season Championship. Check out full details of the Main Event here.
As always, PokerNews will be on hand for live coverage.
The other big highlight of HPO Columbus will coming up this weekend: the $300 Deepstack with a $100,000 guarantee. That kicks off Friday at 11:15 a.m. local time with the first of two starting flights. The second flight is Saturday, also at 11:15 a.m. The tournament features 30-minute levels early on Day 1 followed by 40-minute levels through the end of Day 1 and early into Day 2. At that point, 60-minute levels kick off — it's one of the slowest structures you're likely to find for a tournament at this level. Full structure and details here.
You can view the full schedule for HPO Columbus on the tour's official website.
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