The top poker players in Australasia will next week converge on Auckland's Sky City casino, hoping to take home a share of the $720,000 prize pool generated from the biggest poker tournament in New Zealand.
Sky City's nine-day Festival of Poker (FOP) kicks off on Saturday November 14 and culminatesin a $2300 buy-in Main Event tournament next week which is expected to attract over 200 card-sharks.
This year's series also includes 12 side events, a $5000 buy-in high-roller tournament, and plenty of satellite tournaments that you can register for here.
The series is expected to attract the best professional and recreational players from New Zealand, Australia and Asia.
The FOP Main Event has produced four Kiwi winners over the past six years with Daniel Craker ($257,040), World Series of Poker bracelet winner Simon Watt ($209,000), Danny 'Brotha D' Leaoasavaii ($170,000) and Geoff Smith ($80,502) all taking home small fortunes. Last year Aussie Minh Nguyen outlasted a field of 224 players to pocket $111,600.
"There's much to look forward to this year with the first 225 Main Event entrants receiving a limited-edition Sky City Festival of Poker hoodie, plus every Main Event entrant will receive bonus play chips and food vouchers," said said Sky City Auckland Table Games Manager Radha Vellanki.
"We had such a high demand for places last year and want to have even more players this year. We strongly encourage people to register online or in the Poker Room at SKYCITY Auckland now to secure a seat in the tournament," said Ms Vellanki.
There are several new tournaments on offer this year, including:
- a $1,100 No Limit Texas Hold'em Warm Up 2 Day Event - a $550 Pot Limit Omaha & No Limit Hold'em Turbo Rotation Event - a $50 No Limit Texas Hold'em Flipout Event - a $5,000 High Roller No Limit Texas Hold'em Event
