For players looking to grab a seat in a World Poker Tour event, there may not be a better time to qualify. The company recently unveiled details of the $10,400 WPT World Championship, which features a record-setting $15 million guarantee, and numerous opportunities to score a seat at a bargain price.
The tournament and series are planned for Wynn Las Vegas in December. As part of the announcement, WPT also detailed the Feeder and Funnel Program (FFP). The system allows for partner casinos around the world to offer live satellites for WPT events.
The FFP may not be exactly new, but the tour is now working to spotlight the program even more. At a time when online qualifying and other satellite opportunities are becoming an even bigger part of poker, FFP offers another example of those efforts.
“This B2B (business to business) program has been in place for quite some time now but was not made public until recently,” WPT Vice President of Global Tour Management Angelica Hael told PokerScout.
“At its core, the Feeder and Funnel Program is a testament to our global partnerships, with the vision of sending local players to WPT events around the world. This year, WPT Global, Club WPT, and our brick-and-mortar partners will send hundreds of qualifiers to the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.”
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Expanding tournament fields
This year the WPT Main Tour and the mid-major WPT Prime have offered events in Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the United States. More events are also on tap in Spain and Taiwan.
The recent Cambodia stop was the largest WPT event in the country with 1,050 entries and a $1 million prize pool. That event offers a look into the success of FFP.
The tournament hosted players from several groups including Thank God for Poker, ITM Group, Hot Stone Venture, Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association, and Crown Poker Club Vietnam. All are partners in the qualifying program.
Even more is in the works. The tour currently has FFP partners in Australia, Cambodia, Canada, India, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, USA, and Vietnam. Tour officials will release more information and details on satellite scheduling at these properties soon.
“This program has already been in place for quite a while, preceding the announcement of this year’s WPT World Championship,” Heel said.
“We are simply focusing on making it more known to the general public now. We wanted to formalize the concept by letting the global poker community know that WPT Passports are up for grabs, not only via ClubWPT in the United States and internationally on WPT Global, but also live through our global casino partners.”
The largest guarantee in live poker history.
This December.
The WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/ZFrdQOKvfV
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) June 6, 2022
WPT live qualifiers coming soon
WPT officials are happy to bring more opportunities for players of all poker levels. Casinos are pleased to see a focus on offering major qualifying events at their properties.
“Our casino partners were thrilled at the prospect of welcoming players from around the world via our online and offline partners,” Hael said.
“A special shout out to the Gardens Casino in Southern California who has sent players to WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown and the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic over the years. The Gardens Casino will once again give their players the opportunity to qualify for packages. This time around, the destination will be Wynn Las Vegas for the WPT World Championship.”
With such a major guarantee, bringing in more players only offers a better chance to meet that $15 million as well.
While complete details on FFP qualifiers aren’t yet complete, a few events are in the works. Australians will have two opportunities to secure WPT World Championship seats at The Star Casino from Sept. 24-27 during WPT Australia. This is the first-ever Main Tour event in the country and also offers World Championship seats up for grabs.
A second opportunity is planned at The Star Sydney in early October. In September and October, Wynn will also offer several satellites in Las Vegas. For a complete preview of the schedule, click here.