Deputy Editor
Poker tournament director Justin Hammer said a lack of satellites is partially to blame for the downfall of the L.A. Poker Classic.
PokerScout has covered the downfall of L.A.-area poker extensively. The most glaring sign of the ongoing issues was the incredibly poor turnout for the LAPC main event. That once-glamorous tournament drew just 50 entries, a modern-era low.
Much discourse followed the shockingly low turnout. A variety of factors contributed, with PokerScout noting strong national competition likely playing a huge role. Most damagingly, the World Poker Tour held a fairly well-attended $5,000 event just hours away in Las Vegas.
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‘Make Satellites Great Again’
Hammer cited several factors, most of which have already been covered by PokerScout. He mentioned the lack of satellites, though, which he said marked a stark departure from years past. Hammer formerly worked at Commerce and helped run LAPC.
“I would spend weeks, months planning how I was going to get a certain number of people into that event,” he said. “I did a single satellite that had 50 seats guaranteed. Bring back the satellites. Make satellites great again.”
LAPC did run satellites this year, as it does every year. A poker player who frequents the LAPC but skipped it this year told PokerScout that in most years, he satellited his way into the event.
The official LAPC schedule lists nine $1,100 satellites. No guarantee was listed on them.
While they are listed as “Landmark $10K Cash,” a source told PokerScout that they are must-play satellites for the main event. The player who regularly played satellites in the past told PokerScout that they were also must-play in years past.
Hammer expressed optimism that a more robust satellite schedule would result in a better turnout next year under new TD D.J. Villegas.
Satellites Play an Important Role in $10K Main Events
If Villegas hopes to restore LAPC to its former glory, he would do well to start constructing a robust satellite schedule, one that begins as soon as possible.
The fact of the matter is that $10,000 main event poker tournaments are a dying breed. It’s a difficult price point to make work these days because $10,000 is a large enough stake to attract the strongest pros but not small enough to attract most recreational players.
If there’s little value in the tournament, the lower-level regulars have no reason to take a shot in it.
The obvious solution is to provide that value via satellites. If Commerce can qualify 100 or more players, then at least another 100 regulars figure to follow. Even getting to 200 entries would mark the healthiest LAPC since it parted ways with the WPT after 2020.
Satelliting 100 players in should be doable, provided Commerce starts soon.
Historically, the most successful $10,000 events outside of the World Series of Poker have been stops like Aussie Millions and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The latter had more than 800 entries in its 2023 return. The former also hit that mark in its last three years of operation.
What these events have in common is a year-round commitment to satellites. Obviously, PCA could qualify players online via PokerStars. And Aussie Millions consistently held main event satellites throughout each year, establishing a floor of entries that made for an attractive prize pool. That, in turn, encouraged players to make the journey down under.
If LAPC hopes to regain any shred of its former glory, organizers need to follow the model that these events provide. The alternative is to let it die out entirely or change formats and make it another forgettable, cookie-cutter $1,100 tournament with a dozen starting flights.
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