The 16th season of the World Poker Tour (WPT) will get a grand conclusion in Las Vegas this May. The season-ending festival will be held at Aria Resort & Casino, where the main attractions will be the WPT Tournament of Champions and a new $10,000 buy-in main event, the WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic, named after Poker Hall of Famer and the president of Aria – Bobby Baldwin.
Talking about the grand festival, Sean McCormack, director of poker operations for Aria, said, “Aria takes great pride in being the host of the Season XVI WPT Tournament of Champions.”
He also added, “We have developed a tremendous festival of events, highlighted by the premiere of the WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic, and are excited to welcome the biggest names in poker to Las Vegas in May.”
The series will be known as the WPT Tournament of Champions Festival and will run from May 17-26. It will kick-off with a $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament followed by five $25,000 high roller events scheduled for May 18, 19, 22, 23 and 24 respectively.
The WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic $10,000 buy-in main event kicks off on May 20 and runs till the champion is crowned on May 23. The winner of that event will be the final player to qualify for the WPT Tournament of Champions, which begins on May 24 and where all the winners of the WPT main tour events of season 16 will compete against any WPT champion from prior season who puts up the rake-free $15,000 buy-in. The televised final table will happen at the Esports Arena Las Vegas.
Adam Pliska, CEO of the World Poker Tour said, “The World Poker Tour is thrilled to bring the illustrious WPT Tournament of Champions to the luxurious Aria, as we close out a historic Season XVI. The WPT Tournament of Champions is our most prized event, and the winner will join Farid Yachou and Daniel Weinman as a WPT Tournament of Champions winner. We look forward to returning to Las Vegas, the birthplace of the WPT and the global home of poker, to crown this season’s champion of champions.”