L.A. Poker Classic Draws Just 26 Entries on Day One — Registration Still Open on Day Two

The L.A. Poker Classic, a long-running staple in tournament poker, may be close to disappearing if the registration numbers for this year’s main event are any indication. And it is going out with an absolute whimper, unless bailed out by a horde of late-registering poker players.

(Editor’s note, Feb. 24: With 24 day 2 entries, the LAPC managed to get to 50. While the bottom line nearly doubled, that attendance figure is still almost 30% lower than even the rock-bottom 2021 COVID-affected field. Aside from that update, this article has been left as it was originally written.)

2026 LAPC Draws Record-Low Attendance

The 2026 LAPC main event has logged just 26 entries through its two “Day One” starting flights, one each on Saturday and Sunday. Like much of the poker world, the event took a big hit during the COVID-19 pandemic and never fully recovered. Even so, this year’s field is a fraction of the size it was in 2021, when the pandemic itself was still in full swing:

Granted, that 26-entry number isn’t final. Registration remains open until the start of Level 8. Technically, that means there will be exactly one 90-minute level of day 2 play during which some last-minute entries could boost the field. The WPT Venetian Las Vegas Spring Championship is running concurrently and now reaching its final stages. It’s possible that some of the players who have busted from that will make the short trip to Los Angeles to try their luck at LAPC. However, just matching the dismal 2021 numbers would require more players to enter during a single level of late registration than in two full starting flights.

Moreover, each player may only enter once on day 2, so there can’t be a flurry of bustouts and re-entries. And given the size of the prize pool, many players may feel the trip isn’t worth the hassle.

Players and industry stakeholders spoke to PokerScout in recent months and detailed the concerning pattern of L.A. poker venues caring progressively less about tournaments. LAPC bottoming out makes clear that some kind of change is necessary, at least for this particular tournament.

Why Did Attendance Crash at the L.A. Poker Classic?

If the LAPC was already wobbling from a series of blows, this year’s turnout is a sucker punch reminiscent of Dan Cates’ brief foray into boxing. Poor scheduling may be the single factor most to blame for the tournament’s TKO.

It would be hard to pick out a worse weekend for holding a large poker tournament than this past one. The LAPC, already a shadow of its former self, elected to go toe-to-toe with several other traditionally well-attended poker events taking place at other venues around the country:

That’s a huge number of players and poker dollars concentrated elsewhere.

Most damagingly, the World Poker Tour not only no longer co-promotes the LAPC as part of its schedule, but is a direct competitor thanks to the the Las Vegas Spring Championship. With L.A. and Las Vegas being only a few hours apart, and WPT Venetian being the only alternative for players who wanted to play above the $3,000 level, it looks like almost everyone chose to attend the WPT event.

Again, the hope for the Commerce and the LAPC team is that some of these players who busted on Sunday’s WPT day 2 may now drive to L.A. In theory, that could happen. But when the entire prize pool looks unlikely to crack $500,000, is there any real impetus for such a move?

Are $10,000 Poker Main Events a Thing of the Past?

In some ways, the LAPC main event has become a bit of an anachronism, a throwback to an era when $10,000 poker tournaments could be found throughout the calendar at various locales all over the world.

Consider that from 2003 through 2008, the WPT held a $10,000 event every year in Tunica, Mississippi. Tunica has a population of approximately 2,000 and is about 40 minutes from the nearest major city (Memphis).

The World Series of Poker Circuit held several $10,000 main events during this time period, as well. Chris Ferguson is one of the biggest money earners in WSOPC history despite only cashing once on tour since 2008. He won three events, all with buy-ins of $5,000 or $10,000.

In an age when every operator has shifted to formats heavy on re-entry, the LAPC skews closer to the old-school model of a big buy-in and limited bullets. It’s not quite a freezeout, since players can fire up to three times (once on each starting day, plus once on day 2). But at least two of the competing events listed above (MSPT and WPT) allowed unlimited re-entry.

Lower buy-ins combined with re-entry mean players stand to win more money for a smaller investment, at least on paper. In that sense, poker tournaments have followed the same trend as other forms of gambling. Take the sports betting world, for instance. The majority of recreational sports bettors have been drawn in by same-game parlays offering long odds, never mind that these products often hold 30% or more for the house.

Similarly, the average poker players would rather spread a $10,000 tournament budget over multiple smaller bullets in an event like MSPT that advertises $200,000 for first, than plunk it all down on one shot at the LAPC.

Just like the same-game parlays, the multi-bullet format has upside for the organizers as well. The amount of rake players will tolerate is in inverse proportion to the buy-in. That is, a $10,000 tournament can’t get away with charging four times the rake of a $2,500 one… even if players are firing four bullets in the latter.

Given the incredibly low turnout for 2026, don’t be surprised if the LAPC finally makes some changes to its main event format next year. That’s assuming the dire state of L.A. poker in general doesn’t kill off the event entirely.

Image credit: ProjectManhattan/Wikimedia Commons (license)