888poker Partners with World Poker Tour to Bring WPT500 to the UK
888poker and the World Poker Tour have joined forces to bring the $1 million WPT500 back to the United Kingdom this March after a year hiatus.
The UK edition of the WPT500 tournament called Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham home for three years and the tournament has been a roaring success. Eleanor Gudger won the inaugural WPT500 UK in 2014, outlasting 2,133 entrants to scoop £140,000.
Wales’ Richard Harris was the victor in 2015 after he topped a field of 1,616 to get his hands on the £150,000 first-place prize. It was 2016 that the WPT500 last stopped in the UK. Ben Winsor won on this occasion and turned his £550 into £150,000 by outlasting 1,834 opponents.
The WPT500 London is back, now with a new home; in fact it has four new homes. Thanks to 888poker enjoying a positive relationship with Aspers Casinos, several Day 1s will take place at various Aspers-owned venues before all Day 2 and final day action heads to the Aspers Casino Westfield Stratford City. The 2018 WPT500 UK Day 1s will take place at Aspers Westfield Stratford City, The Casino Milton Keynes, Aspers Casino in Newcastle, and also online at 888poker.
Everyone on Day 1 sits down with 15,000 chips and plays to 30-minute blinds for the first eight levels before play switches to 40-minuye levels thereafter and then 60-minute levels at the final table. The buy-in for the online Day 1 is $565 with the live Day 1s costing £420.
Players can re-enter once per starting flight and can enter as many Day 1s as they wish, although only their largest stack is taken through should they progress to Day 2 more than once.
2018 WPT500 UK Schedule
| Date | Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 11 Mar | 7:01 p.m. | 888 WPT500 Online Day 1 | 888poker |
| Fri 23 Mar | 6:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1A | Aspers Westfield Stratford City |
| 6:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1B | The Casino Milton Keynes | |
| 6:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1C | Aspers Casino Newcastle | |
| Sat 24 Mar | 1:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1D | Aspers Westfield Stratford City |
| 6:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1E | Aspers Westfield Stratford City | |
| 1:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1F | The Casino Milton Keynes | |
| 1:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1G | Aspers Casino Newcastle | |
| Sun 25 Mar | 1:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1H | Aspers Westfield Stratford City |
| 1:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1I | The Casino Milton Keynes | |
| 1:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1J | Aspers Casino Newcastle | |
| Thu 29 Mar | 7:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1K | Aspers Westfield Stratford City |
| Fri 30 Mar | 1:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1L | Aspers Westfield Stratford City |
| 7:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1M | Aspers Westfield Stratford City | |
| Sat 31 Mar | 1:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1N | Aspers Westfield Stratford City |
| 7:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 1O | Aspers Westfield Stratford City | |
| Sun 1 Apr | 1:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Day 2 | Aspers Westfield Stratford City |
| Mon 2 Apr | 1:00 p.m. | 888poker WPT500 London Final Day | Aspers Westfield Stratford City |
888poker ambassador Dominik Nitsche is a fan of being able to play a Day 1 online and enjoys the structure of the WPT500. Speaking to the 888poker eMagazine, Nitsche said: “I love the event because I get to play Day 1 online. It has everything that people enjoy about poker. There's nothing like playing deep in a tournament. I can't stress enough how important the structure is in a format like this. The WPT got it just right.”
Download 888poker via PokerNews and you could win a WPT500 seat from as little as $0.10 thanks to the satellites running online. You will receive a free $88 worth of tournament tickets and cash just for creating your account (this is a free £20 to residents of the UK) and then you can secure a 100 percent up to $888 bonus when you eventually make your first deposit.
