WPT Runs First Thailand Event As ‘Exhibition’ With ‘Travel Fund’ Prize Pools

The World Poker Tour ventured into Thailand last weekend to host the first sanctioned event since the country declared poker a sport. Local laws meant there was still some curious nomenclature surrounding the tournaments, which were held at UOB Live in Bangkok. However, efforts are underway to refine the regulations around poker, so the terminology may continue to evolve.

WPT Prime Thailand included the word “Exhibition” as part of the official naming. Tournament payouts are also listed as “THB travel funds.” THB is the official currency of the country, short for Thai baht.

Most likely, WPT is doing its best to avoid running afoul of local regulations. This first run was a rushed affair as poker had only become legal in Thailand one day before the event. Despite the payouts being called “travel funds,” the country’s opposition party has objected to the event and claimed that cash payouts were being awarded, according to The Bangkok Post.

WPT Successful With First Series On Thai Soil

The WPT event appears to have been a success. WPT Prime Thailand Exhibition went off without any regulatory intervention and attracted some pretty large fields.

Tournament poker, reportedly banned from 1958 until last week, received a favorable reclassification as a “mind sport.” That cleared the way for the WPT, though not without some quirks.

Most interestingly, the prizes have been reported not as USD or even THB, but “THB travel funds.” WPT didn’t respond to a request from PokerScout for clarification on what that means.

The main event attracted 2,337 entries and paid 11,477,000 THB in “travel funds” (~$355,000) for first place. PokerScout was unable to confirm whether there were strings attached to the payouts, but a source has confirmed that actual money was involved, not travel vouchers.

Haoran Sun of China won the WPT Prime Exhibition Main Event, which played out across three days and two starting flights. His first-place payout compares favorably to those of other recent international WPT Primes:

The 37,000 THB (~$1,144) buy-in was in line with the WPT Prime series as a whole. That further indicates the strength of the turnout in Thailand.

Path Cleared For More Poker In Thailand?

If those numbers aren’t signal enough that the WPT will return to Thailand, perhaps further favorable regulatory developments will seal the deal. On Aug. 6, right after the successful completion of WPT Prime Thailand Exhibition, Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai pushed back on criticisms of his government’s decision to allow poker.

Phumtham emphasized that the government has only authorized poker as a sport, not as a gambling activity.

Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong clarified that this means that play outside organized and approved events is still prohibited:

People cannot casually play poker unless permission has been granted.

Image credit: Dennis Wong (license)