This is quite a week for the World Poker Tour (WPT), with its championship tournament nearing a close, while momentum continues to build for its third televised season, which debuted last month. Through Sunday, the World's top poker players will battle it out for the title of WPT champion at Las Vegas' glitzy Bellagio casino. The championship kicked off on Monday, making the WPT championship an entire week of intense poker action.

The event's $25,000 buy-in didn't discourage the likes of Annie Duke, Johnny Chan, Marcel 'Flying Dutchman' Luske, or celebrity poker star Tobey McGuire. In total 450 poker players anted up for the championship. Early on in the tournament, a number of major poker pros got the axe, including Luske, as well as Scott Fishman and Amir Vahedi.

This year's championship has seen a rise in the number of contenders, and consequently, an increase in the prize pool as well. Last year's 343 players competed for a cut of the $8.6 million prize pool, compared to this year, in which contenders have a shot at their share of $11.3 million.

Source:  Poker777 Staff

Thursday, 21 April 2005